- Pothana – Landruk
There was another early rise at 5.45 to see the views of Annapurna and Machapuchre, this time with the sunrise itself. After breakfast the walk through forest took us up to the high point of Deurali at 2100m where there are excellent views and several restaurants to choose from. Much photography was made of ourselves and for other groups. Then the path went down over many steps and stones, sometimes rather slippery, to our destination of Landruk 1565m. In parts the path was lined with clusters of white orchids hanging from the trees or from steep cliffs. The last part of the route had been somewhat spoilt by the construction of an unpaved road to the village, but views could still be had of the basic way of village life. The construction of roads is of course going on in many places and will in time change the character of the area.
The lodges, here the Tibet Guest House, are quite well equipped with small double rooms and I was sharing with a young man called Reto. He was by far the youngest in the group. Then there were of course Vreni with Brigitte, two other ladies together and the guide Heinz alone. He was 71. We had a supporting team consisting of the boss Padam, another guide Amrit, and 4 porters of which at least 3 are also relatives. There were shower(s), hot if you pay and above all, proper flushing loos. One has to keep the luggage organised since there is hardly any space to put things down and no hooks to hang anything up.