Nepal, Day 8 - an afternoon in Jomsom

The ride was short, so we get a chance to wander around the small town, stretched along the edges of the Kali Gandaki river in the Lower Mustang Valley. But although Jomsom is small, there is an airport here. The runway is virtually outside our hotel. Not that the noise was a problem, we didn't see an aircraft for the entire time here.

The hotel has the most character of any we've stayed in, with high ceilings and first floor balconies overlooking the central common areas with paintings on the wall. The front of the hotel has a courtyard and from here you can see the mighty Annapurna range overlooking the town. We think one of the peaks is Fishtail or is it Nilgiri?

I take a walk towards the centre, past the end of the runway with it's turning circle (apparently the wind comes up the valley like clockwork from 11am and the aircraft are timed to take-off/land into it) and then the local army garrison: "no photos" sign-posted.

There's a metal bridge across the river to the other side of town and I cross it to see what's over there. A few houses, municipal offices and shops, plus a sports field where a local team is practising. I buy some local produce, sea buckthorn squash. Mixed with water it's a pleasant drink. Sea buckthorn is a berry that grows at high altitude here, and I'm told it's full of antioxidants.

Walking through the other side of town, there are people returning home from work and kids playing. There's also ample evidence of Earthquake damage and some houses are now just piles of rubble. But unlike the village we visited on day 1 there are very few buildings over two storeys.

Upstream of where the river enters the town is a large flood plain, which probably becomes a lake at certain times of the year. Before our ride, Gerard had trekked into Jomson from the north (we rode in from the south) along that river bed, in which he says many fossils can be found. There's a concrete bridge being built, just where the floodplain ends and until it is complete, vehicles have to cross the river on the gravel floodplain, which probably becomes unusable at certain times of the year.  The other bridges in the town are strictly for pedestrians, bikes and horses.

Downstream of this I cross back to the hotel side of the town on a very old wooden bridge that was warped by the Earthquakes. It's still usable, but there are signs there asking that no more than five persons be on the bridge at any one time.

There's a small bus station here which serves the valley below; to get further up the valley, there's a jeep station a few hundred metres north. Small shops, hotels and travellers services are located in this area, as well as a colourful temple complete with prayer wheels embedded into the walls. While I'm there, some locals are walking around, spinning the wheels and chanting softly.

I walk back to the hotel taking care not to take any pictures of the garrison. ;-)

That night the moon rises over the mountains rather spectacularly. Often such sights should just be absorbed, rather than attempted to be photographed. Bed early, it's a 6am start.

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