Landruk to Phedi...and on to Pokhara
The last morning of the trek and oh what a beautiful day! The clouds were hovering around the peaks of Annapurnna but the snow capped mountains were in view and glowing in the morning sun. We hiked up a long jungly stone staircase and caught our last good glimpse of the mountains before they disappeared behind the clouds and we descended the other side of the ridge into the Pokhara valley.
The final descent into the town of Phedi was a nightmare...the 'staircase from hell' a fellow trekker called it. winding down through short steep switchbacks, seemingly never ending, all the way to the road. When we finally reach the vehicle road we would have jumped for joy had it not been for the fact that no cars were heading to Pokhara that day due to a strike, yet again! We were stranded...20km from Pokhara on a paved road though rice fields....and it was late in the afternoon. We briefly considered hiking back up the 'staircase from hell' but thought better of it. While contemplating what to do we met a Swiss girl and her guide who were walking at a brake neck speed towards Pokhara. They offered us a ride from their taxi (how they managed to get a vehicle is beyond us) if we could keep up with their pace for another kilometer.
Well we made it to Pokhara after paying too much for a taxi...but we were back in town, good food, good bed, good shower...