Note:  clicking on any photograph will present a larger version.

Ghandruk.   The town sits on the edge of a hilltop ridge, surrounded by terraced farmlands. It is a spectacular setting, crowned by Macchapuchare, Hiunchuli and Annapurna South (photo). From town, you have a perfect view straight up the Modi Khola valley that sits between Macchapuchare and Hiunchuli. The valley is incredibly steep, and the scale is difficult to comprehend. To give you an idea, it's not quite as steep as Yosemite, but almost so, and the valley walls are about three times higher.

Local Kids.  We overnighted in Ghandruk prior to our hike out via the Modi Khola. Along the way, we saw a huge number of kids playing and asking us for gum, candy, toys, etc. Most of the kids were ill-clothed, if clothed at all, but they were incredibly enthusiastic and very cute. Here are a couple of shots we took of some of the kids.

Gurung House.  The trip back to Naya Pul was gorgeous, as the trail descends through terraced fields from the relative heights of Ghandruk all the way down to the river bed. Here's a shot of a typical Gurung house (we stayed in one like this in Ghandruk) on the way down the mountain. The weather this day, like others, was gorgeous, and the views stupendous. It was one of the best hiking days we've ever had.

Nepalese Girl.   Upon reaching Naya Pul, we stopped for lunch while our guide figured out the return transport to Pokhara. While we sat trailside, we saw people carrying everything up the trail to be sold in the mountains: beer, bottled water, Snickers bars, chickens and firewood, to name a few. We spied this beautiful young girl carrying a load of firewood up the trail (notice the rhododendron flower in her basket). She had stopped where we were eating to take a rest.  

After lunch, we climbed on a rickety bus (called a "video coach," although it had no functioning televsion) for a bumpy one and a half hour ride back to Pokhara, where we boarded an afternoon flight back to Kathmandu. Upon our arrival, we collapsed into our hotel room and watched the Godfather II on HBO. Isn't satellite TV grand?