This way to Pothana, a photo from Gandaki, West

Photographer's Note

‘Dhampus - This way to Pothana’

More pictures taken on my three-day trek to and around Dhampus.

The first overnight would normally be in a place called Australian Camp (so named because an Australian couple discovered it and camped there throughout their honeymoon).
Neither in Pokhara nor online you can make reservations for overnights in lodges in the mountains.
You have to show up on time. If there were no free rooms, my guide had to look for a solution.
This was already needed in Australian Camp. All rooms were fully booked and there was only the possibility to spend the night in a tent.
Despite the fact that this location is not really very high, it can still be quite cold at night.
So I asked the guide to go to another place, Pothana which was only a fifteen minute walk away.

There lived acquaintances of him who rented four small rooms and there was no other traveler when we arrived. Simple accommodation but clean.
It was cold in the room but not in bed under the covers.
A simple but tasty evening meal was cooked and I also had a good breakfast.

Just before dark, a Danish hiker passed by and he rented one of the remaining rooms. He made his trek by himself but had good maps of the trails in the mountains.
Since I was making only a short three-day trek, I hadn't bought maps of the mountains and relied on the guide.
After dinner on a small terrace and before going to sleep, the Danish traveller and I drank a lot of tea together.
The hot tea was really needed because around mid-November it was getting already quite cold outside.

The next morning the skies were very clear and we went back to Australian Camp to enjoy the panoramas.
See photo in the WS.
You may prefer one of those pictures over the main photo …

Once back home, I realized that I should have noted the names of the mountain peaks of every photo.
On the spot I was sure I would remember them.
But that was much overly optimistic thinking when making a four and a half month journey :)

You should also know that several peaks in the Range are named Annapurna followed by a number.
There are Annapurna I (Main) at 8.091 m, Annapurna II at 7.937 m, Annapurna III at 7.555 m, Annapurna IV at 7.525 m and Annapurna South at 7.219 m.
What I know for sure is that I haven't seen Annapurna I.

Royaldevon, pierrefonds, PiotrF, COSTANTINO, ikeharel, papagolf21, jemaflor, holmertz, Fis2, jhm, sacimar, jean113, adramad heeft deze opmerking als nuttig gemarkeerd

Critiques | Translate

Royaldevon (86598) 2020-08-13 15:01

Hello Paul,

How reassuring it is that others, believing that their memory will serve them well, realise that it doesn’t always work like that!

I must admit, I immediately liked the Australia Camp photograph, with its colourful, orange tents adding such good focal points, and contrasting well with the greenery. But, when returning to your main shot, I took another deep breath at the beauty of the scene and was convinced that you were right in your choice. The cows were a bit of a surprise but they helped anchor the f/g, along with the path, which guided down to the sunlit trees and from there the magnificence of the unfolding scenery just grew and grew! Even the clouds look amazing!

My warm regards,
Bev 😊

lousat (140082) 2020-08-13 15:18

Hi Paul,2 wonderful pics showing the mountains and a nice shot about the camp too,it's sure a great experience to sleep there,a second amazing post from this walk,well done as usual! Have a nice day and thanks,Luciano

pierrefonds (115705) 2020-08-13 16:31

Bonsoir Paul,

L'étendue de l'endroit crée de la profondeur. La prise de vue permet de voir les détails des arbres et des montagnes. La qualité de la lumière embellit les couleurs de l'image. Bonne soirée.

Pierre

PiotrF (56210) 2020-08-13 16:41

Hello Paul,
Another interesting serie of photos with beautiful landscapes.
I like amazing mountains in bg, good composition, nice colours and good quality.
For me superb!
Regards
Piotr

Silvio1953 (223141) 2020-08-13 21:10

Ciao Paul, fascinating mountain landscape with fantastic sky, wonderful natural colors, good perspective, splendid light and excellent clarity, very well done, my friend, have a good weekend, ciao Silvio

COSTANTINO (117940) 2020-08-13 21:36

Hello dear friend and have a nice day
greetings to all of you who decided
to do this difficult sport
it is not so easy for everybody of us
regards
Costantino

ifege (49653) 2020-08-13 22:23

Hi Paul
I do like the fancy direction sign for Pothana. A well composed photo from steps to snow covered peak. Good commentary.
cheers
Ian

papagolf21 (152607) 2020-08-13 23:05

Bonjour, cher Paul,
Quelle proposition photographique à travers cette superbe image !
C'est tout simplement magnifique et splendide de découvrir un tel spectacle (grandiose).
Amitiés.
Philippe

jemaflor (148398) 2020-08-13 23:19

Salut Paul,
Un paysage grandiose avec ces sommets enneigés en fond d'image, parfaite composition et format avec cette présentation verticale qui convient au sujet et avec ce sentier qui nous indique la direction, bon effet de profondeur d'image.

emka (158988) 2020-08-14 0:04

Hello Paul, Interesting note about this trek. Indeed, if there are so many stairs and few places with the good view it maybe not the best trekking route. On the other hand, here the view of the snowy peaks above the forested mountains is magnificent, so this was well worth doing. and nice adventure. I was on similar trek in the Golden traingle. I liked it.

Best regards MAlgo

holmertz (103762) 2020-08-14 0:15

Hello Paul,
I agree with your choice. One WS is certainly more colourful, but this is by far the best composition in my opinion. There are interesting features all the way from the rather uncomfortable looking road to the white peaks. The many trees that sometimes hid the views look very beautiful from this angle, especially with the very fine light in the foreground.
Best regards,
Gert

ikeharel (114777) 2020-08-14 0:54

Hello Paul,
Wonderful sight from a high point along the paved trail.
captured well from the thick green vegetation and up the snowy summits on the far side.
Have a nice friday,
Ike

Fis2 (172115) 2020-08-14 1:22

Witaj Paul!
Wonderful landscape, interesting place.
View makes impression.
The cows and the "cross" are impressive.
Excellent framing, colors and light.
I like it.
Well done my friend.
Nice day.
Krzysztof

jhm (211738) 2020-08-14 6:14

Dag Paul,

Ik ben geen wereld reiziger maar ik ben wel onder de indruk van het heen u ons laat zien.
Dit panorama beeld is echt fenomenaal.
Uw samenstelling is echt mooi gedaan, bedankt

Groeten uit Oost-Vlaanderen,
John

Tue (93606) 2020-08-14 14:21

Hallo Paul,
Wat een schitterend landschap met de bosrijke voorgrond en verschillende heuvels waarachter de grote besneeuwde berg op een indrukwekkende wijze verrijst en bovendien te zien is in een helder licht. Het pad zorgt voor een goede voorgrond in deze verticale compositie.
Lars

sacimar (38173) 2020-08-15 6:10

Hello Paul,

this is an impressive mountain landscape, I like the combination of trees and mountains, it is a beautiful natural place, well seen,

Best regards,

Sergio

kasianowak (17676) 2020-08-15 9:56

Lovely set of three photos but I like the main one the most because of the path filling the foreground and then disappearing among the trees. It leads somewhere we can't see - it could be a promise of an adventure or, like in your case, much awaited end of the day's trek with a warm bed and lots of tea! The snow capped mountain at the top makes it postcard-perfect.

jean113 (28351) 2020-08-18 8:19

Hello Paul, all I can say is WOW!
What a view! I enjoyed reading your notes about your three days in and around Dhampus.
This is a lovely view. I like the little sign to Pothana in the foreground, and the rather rugged path; I guess that you have to watch your steps carefully on paths like this.
The sunlight has highlighted some of the trees very nicely.
Thanks for sharing, kind regards, Jean.

jmdias (116663) 2020-08-18 11:34

paul

this snowy peak remind me huazcaran in peru, I saw once for few time between clouds. anyway it was less than 6,000 meters high. nice note explaining about your trekking.

take care

jorge

adramad (73524) 2020-08-19 10:48

Hello Paul.
Spectacular this great view with the wooded mountains and as a background the impressive summit, with those perpetual snows, the stone path I do not know how far it will go, but it must be difficult to walk with the irregular pavement.
Very nice coloring, which together with the good quality and optimal lighting, gives great quality to the image.
Well done. I like very much
You have a good day.
Very best regards
Luis.

ruisc_pt (11594) 2020-08-20 12:17

Hi Paul,
You are a photograph with the ability to capture either a place , an experience an idea, or a moment. For this reasonyour picture is worth a thousand words.
Your photographs can convey a feeling faster than, and sometimes even more effectively than words can. you can make the viewer see the world the way the photographer sees it.

TFS
R

Miguel82 (47110) 2020-08-30 12:33

Hallo Paul, steep paths connect the different villages each other. I m happy to see the area wasn t deforested. The mountain slopes are covered with natural vegetation. The annapurnas range appears majestically on the horizon, it is made of several peaks. Fine colors, good sharpness, regards.