Phu - trek 2

Namaste
A two day walk up the Phu Khola (stream/river), following a narrow gorge, led us to Phu, a remote village not far from the Tibet border.

The scenery along the gorge was stunning - at every turn a new view of interest; eroded rocks and pillars, high snow-capped mountains and even the wild Himalayan 'blue' sheep.


Apart from a couple of deserted winter yak grazing grounds (karka) and their associated flat roofed stone houses, there was no habitation along the gorge.  We had hot food and slept at one isolated house, though it wasn't a hotel.



At another karka two enterprising lads had set up a small cafe/shop where we had tea and biscuits. I'm sure they didn't do much trade, as there were so few people passing that way.

We walked for many hours without seeing a soul, and in one day only saw two muleteers leading their animals.
The path ascended and descended to bypass obstacles such as cliff and landslides. At times we were beside the river, at others high above. We crossed the river several times on precarious-looking wooden bridges.

High above the river

The high mountain scenery around us was spectacular; which ever way we looked there were wonderful mountain views. 

The Phu village and higher valley is guarded by high rocky cliffs, with the river cutting through between them.  

To get into the valley we had to climb a steep rocky hillside up a zig-zag path, and at the top we entered through the archway 'Gateway to Phu'. 

Phu, perched on a small hill in a barren eroded landscape.

The village itself is built on a small hill.  Many families have moved away, down to less remote places, and many houses damaged in the earthquake do not seem to be being repaired. The village houses, built of stone, have flat rooves and seem to be build, one on top of the next, in tiers like a child's building bricks.  The houses are small and dark inside, with very few windows, to minimise the draughts from the bitter wind.  Wood for burning has to be fetched from far away, so a fire for warmth is a luxury. The collected wood is stacked outside each house. Cooking is done on a wood fire and the family congregate around that to keep warm. We went to bed early just to keep warm!

Very few windows in the houses.

The nearby hill has a Buddhist monastery on it, and we walked over there on our rest day spent in Phu. The hillside was covered in chortens, mani stones and prayer flags, and there were good views up the valley of the path leading to Tibet and Upper Mustang. It looks very barren and remote!

The path along the hillside, leading off into the distance to Tibet and Upper Mustang