Annapurna Circuit, The Last Episode

So we rented mountain bikes in the town of Muktinath from Mustang Mountainbikes and headed downhill... mostly. We had a lot of fun whether it was terrorizing small towns that are a dream to ride through, or screaming down high plains and salt flats at high speeds.

Here are the girls sneaking out from under a Gompa.  Inside, you can stand at full height and enjoy religious paintings.

Here are the girls racing each other on parallel roads.  It is hard to tell, but this is actually a steep descent.

Here is Ali cruising town like a pro! (Note the face mask for dust protection.)

Rhiannon . . . not so much!  :)

Cruising down rocky roads and steep cliffs made for hair raising excitment.

We took our time to do side trips and explore lakes and hidden forests.

As we dropped elevation the scenery became greener and lush. It was like riding in a magical forest.

But it was very exhausting none the less! Even Jurian, the owner of the bikes was feeling it.

Don’t you love when water buffalo come to say hi during your lunch break?

The road continued downhill almost endlessly.  It was blasted out of the side of the hill with loose rocks, mud holes and water crossings to keep it exciting.

We met other bike riders and all stopped for a break at the last waterfall before our ride came to and end.

Jeeps provide local transportation, but the bikes seemed safer. Maybe he drove down the river to pick those funny looking plants?

After the amazing ride and a break at the Tatopani hot springs we had to start hiking again, and this time up to Poon Hill.

Talk about slow food movement. All our food was local and as far as I can tell, organic. 

Forest nymph abound. Aren’t they cute?

Eventually, we made it to the top of Poon Hill. Can you spot Ali taking in the view on the bench below?

Since Rhiannon had to leave us in Tatopani, Jennifer offered to be our new trekking friend. She fit in right away!

I had to! How often do you get a selfie with a goat?

As we dropped from Poon Hill we decended into lush rain forests with wild orchids everywhere.

Last shot of the Annapurna circuit. The vegetation was back and so were the rivers. It was so tempting to take a dip in those swimming holes. Twenty-one days after we started, we completed the traditional Annapurna circuit and loved it!  We made our way to Pokhara where our legs would be sore for almost two weeks.