Jeeps make AC kind of nasty now

[chas]

Well, I recently finished another AC trek (going there since 1972, and third complete AC since 1990) and I must say, in my opinion the Kali Gandaki side of the trek (i.e. Jomsom) is pretty well wrecked. The road is in. Last year it was open from basically Pokara to a day shy of Lo Mantang in Mustang, for a while, I was told. This September there were a couple small landslides that closed parts of it, but heavy equipment was working hard to restore it. Still, hundreds of jeeps roared at high speed, horns blaring, from Muktinath to below Lete, and from Beni to above Tatopani. Buses too. I'd say, at least every five minutes, if not evenmore frequently. Not unusual to put 25 people in and on these jeeps. There was only about 4 hours of trekking from Muktinath to Tatopani that didn't have motor traffic. Not pleasant. There is almost no new tourist construction in that valley (don't know about Mustang - the govt. is pushing tourists to go there), and the lodge owners can see that their trekking business will wither and die in the near future. An industrial dust facemask is a good addition to your AC trekking kit now.
The Marshyangi (Manang) side is still a delight (I always liked it better, anyway). The road construction is much more tenuous there, because it is far more geologically unstable with literally hundreds of landslides, large and small, and a generally narrower valley. I'd not expect a working road there for a while yet, but it will happen eventually. The immediate plan is to push it through to Ghasa, the administrative center, then on to Manang. Beyond that, who knows.
So I'm calling the AC, as it has existed since the early 80s, dead. Trek the other side, cross the pass, sure, but fly out from Jomsom. That's my advice.

[kegarne]

Thanks for that - last time I trekked the AC was in 2003 and I sort of knew then it would be the last time I would cross the Thorung La.

I reckon a new, exciting route would have to be Manaslu Circuit then across Namun Bhanyjang and all the way to Pokhara. Even exploration of the Na district would be awesome but I will certainly be staying away from the Kali Gandaki.

Were the hot springs still there at Tatopani ?

[Holy stRoller]

Yep, I agree. I'll not be going back this way again. We flew into Jomsom two weeks ago, (ish), trekked up to Muktinath and back down to Beni. Pretty much assaulted by dust stirring jeeps all the way. See pic

[Suginami]

Gosh. Its all over. I still remember when Birethanti was a two day trek from Pokara. What is the benefit of this road. Where do people want to go to? There is nothing up around Jomsom except scenery. Why drive to Muktinath? Pilgrims are supposed to walk. What possible benefit is this to local people? Now the trekkers will go else where.
Even if you can drive all the way to Mustang and the Chinese border the other side is like the moon. Who wants to go there?

I don:t get it.

[Petrus]

It was only tractors in -06... now that. Well, at least you can ride on the roof, not possible in Switzerland. :-)

Next april-may we are doing the Manaslu-NarPhu-Tilicho bit and well see how the trail is on the other side of Kali Kandaki. There are small villages there so there must also be paths. Improvise!

[Escher]

Just to balance up the negative views of the AC presented here, I posted my experience of the AC when I went last in February/March here (http://www.trekinfo.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11070) where I wrote:-

I didn't find that the road detracted very much from the whole experience. The AC is so much more than just the walking - the fascinating villages and people and the wonderful natural wealth of the area. The road could be avoided for 95% of the time and it remains a world class trek. I am glad that we didn't fly out of Jomsom and think that the whole trek is still a very worthwhile proposition. It never was a wilderness trek in any case. For me it wasn't as spoiled as some have made out. I trekked the AC in 2002, Jomsom side in 2003 and the Marsyangdi side in 2004. This last trek was equally as enjoyable, just different because of the road in places, not worse IMO. It is what it is and the road is now part of it. The worst part of the road is around Jomsom, with a few motorbikes and jeeps passing you but not really that bad at all, but that section has always been dusty and windy and, for me, the least enjoyable part. But the AC is worth continuing with after here as there are so many interesting places to experience after Jomsom.

We also had a bit of a debate about the road building here (http://www.trekinfo.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15550&page=2).