Nar Phu Valley Trekking is probably the best trek of Annapurna region and for those who want to explore hidden valley and trek off the beaten crossing through challenging high passes like Masokanto La (5099m), Kangla pass (5200m) & Tilicho Pass (5230m) with beautiful Lake Tilicho.
Hidden by swirls of mountain mist ahead of us, from Kangla pass at 5200m the magnificent panorama view of Annapurna massif appears remote and forbidding. Our destination is the Nar-Phu valley, above the tree line on the upper limits of cultivation, in the very north of Manang district. It takes five hours reaching the pass that links Nar with Manang and three other Bhotia villages in the Nyershang down valley.
Nowadays, Nar Phu has about 300 inhabitants who depend on livestock, unlike most Bhotia people, whose trading patterns changed drastically after the Nepali Government closed borders with Tibet, the people of Nar and Phu valley were least affected by this change. The tortuous path leading from the valley into Tibet had never made them dependent on the salt trade and till today yak herding is the basis of their livelihood. The Nepal government’s recent decision to open up Nar and Phu to tourists has evoked little enthusiasm among the villagers whose pastoral lifestyle continues.
