Annapurna Conservation Area

Here comes the last article about this adventure in Nepal. After experiencing the madness of Kathmandu (Part I and Part II) and the wildlife of Chitwan National Park, here we are, at the bottom of the Himalayan range, ready for six days of trekking through the Annapurna Region. Voila le dernier article sur mon mois au Nepal. Apres les folies de Kathmandu a lire ici Part I et ici Part II, les animaux de Chitwan National Park nous voila au pied de l’Himalaya, pret a partir pour 6 jours de trek.

By the time I got ready, this is probably the last big lightning that occurred.

The top image is taken in the middle of the night only lit by the moon and was meant just to be a test shot, I kept it since it turned out okay. L’image tout en haut de l’article a été prise en pleine nuit, la lune a produit toute la lumiere. C’etait un test shot a la base mais je l’ai gardé car c’est celle qui marche le mieux.

This image was taken the first night of the trek. It was the first I could see part of the Himalayan range (Annapurna South in this case) and it was an amazing sight, just breath taking. Cette image a été prise durant la 1ere nuit du Trek et c’est la 1ere fois que j’ai pu voir une partie de L’himalaya, ici c’est Annapurna sud.

I quickly learnt that to get the best out of the mountains you have to wake up early…really early (well that’s the case most of the time in photography) but this time it was even more critical. Je me suis vite rendu compte que la regle qui dit que la lumiere est mieux le matin est tres essentielle en montagne, sinon on se retrouve vite avec des lumieres dures et plates.

Annapurna South (7,219 m) with the 300mm. Annapurna Sud (7,219m) avec le 300mm.

The Fishtail Moutain, or Macchapucchre in Nepali.

If you go trekking in Nepal you’ll find these bridges quite often.

The volley-ball court in Gorhepani, our last stop before climbing to Poon Hill.

Gorhepani.

The dining room in the guest house, warm and cozy, our best friend that night for the warmth.

Taken from Poon Hill (3210m), the sun is just starting to reach the horizon.

The other side of Poon Hill, where the sun has not reached yet, the moon is still present.

The weather station on the way down from Poon Hill.

Between Poon Hiil and Tadapani, five minutes after I took this picture the sky was completely grey and fogged up.

A night shot in Tadapani, because of the bright full moon it was not easy to expose correctly. It was also really cold; there was frost/snow on all the cameras.

Morning views from Tadapani.

Hiking down from 2900m to 2000, Tadapani to Ghandruk. No more snow and more crops.

End of the school day in Ghandruk.

Ghandruk, Gurung village in the Annapurna Region.

Here it is, the end of my Nepal stories. Big thanks to everyone who read and gave me feedback but also to everyone that helped me, Maanav for translating and teaching us so much about the culture, Chris for carrying part of my heavy gear all throughout the Himalayas, all my friends for just having the right mindset during this travel :), the porter teams for their help, hospitality and good spirit and Narinder for organising everything, assuring we had a bed every night and were fed, and everyone else. :). Voila, c’est la fin de mes histoires et image a propos de ce mois au Nepal. Un grand merci a tout ceux qui m’ont aidés, Maanav pour avoir traduit tant de fois et nous avoir appris beaucoup a propos de la culture, Chris pour avoir porté une partie de mon lourd matériel pendant toute le trek, tout mes amis pour avoir un bon esprit de voyage, les porteurs pour nous avoir aidés tout du long, tant avec leur muscles que leur superbe esprit (Soman si tu nous lis ;) ), et Narinder pour toute la logistique et fait en sorte qu’on ait un toit et un plat tout les soirs !

I have some more drafts I have to finish, Reunion Island is the next on the list. J’ai des brouillons a venir, notamment le prochain sur l’ile de la Reunion

- Bonus -

Little bonus, here is a video/fake trailer/fun trailer with some videos I took. Enjoy!