Kang Guru Expedition

Height: 6981 m.
Nepal, Asia
Accommodation: Hotel/ Lodges/ Camping
Duration: 24 Days Trek/Climbing
Grade: Mountaineering
Season: Spring & Autumn
Entry and Exit point: Besi Shahar

Overview:

Mt. Kangguru is one of the first mountains, which can be seen on the Jiri- Everest BC-trek. Its ridges are very steep and razor-sharp. It is the most difficult trekking peak in the Everest region. Serious climbing skills are needed for this mountain. One glance is sufficient to know that this is a very serious climb. Kangguru repelled four attempts before a Japanese party made the first ascent. A number of different routes have subsequently been made, among them the E-face. None of these could be considered easy.

Our destination is the Nar-Phu valley, above the tree line on the upper limits of cultivation, in the very north of Manang district. It takes five hours reaching the pass that links Nar with Manang and three other Bhotia village in the Nyershang down valley.

Nowadays, Nar Phu the population about 300 inhabitants who depend on livestock, unlike most Bhotia people, whose trading patterns changed drastically after the Nepali Government closed borders with Tibet, the people of Nar and Phu valley were least affected by this change. The tortuous path leading from the valley into Tibet had never made them dependent on the salt trade, and till today yak herding is the basis of their livelihood.

Besides the Kangla linking Nar to the Nyeshang valley, the most direct route from Kathmandu to Nar and Phu is along the Marshyangdi River. Travelers trek through the Himalayan foothills and round the eastern end of the Annapurna before they arrive at Qupar, a police check post half and hour before Chame, Manang's district headquarters. From here a long and steep trail winds up to Nar and Phu whose villagers, laden with goods purchased in Chame and even lower down in Besishhar, the end of the road head leading to Manang, often camp at Dharmashala, a rudimentary wooden hut built by the people from the two villages.

The Government's of Nepal recent decision to open up Nar and Phu to tourists has evoked little enthusiasm among the villagers, whose pastoral lifestyle continues. Apart from the odd researcher and climbing expeditions permitted to climb Kang Guru 6701m. Mt. Himlung, Mt. Ratna Chuli and Mt. Gyajing Kang, few foreigners have visited the area and tourism infrastructure is almost non-existent. Since Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) recently extended its network to include Nar and Phu Valley, it is preparing a suitable tourism development plan at the request of the government for undiscovered valley.