In 2009 I did a circular trek with to Gandruk, a village high up in the Annapurna with spectacular views of the Fish Tail Mountain. It was my first visit to Nepal and the start of an almost annual pilgrimage to the Himalaya.
Steep steps up and down mountainsides past teahouses and terraced paddy fields. Local people threshing rice before the winter snows came. I watched a family spreading turmeric out on a cloth to dry in the sun, a cat sitting by their side. A young girl showed me how she made Chang, a local intoxicating hooch. A dog came on the trek most of the way just for the company. It’s what they do.
