Narchyang and Ruma

Myagdi is the district north-west of Pokhara where the Kali Gandaki comes down between Dhaulagiri and Annapurna. Narchyang and Ruma are Magar villages up that valley, well past the point where the tarmac ends, on the approach to the south side of Annapurna and under the Dhaulagiri wall.

Nothing here is a sight. There is no temple to photograph and no viewpoint with a name. What there is is a valley where people farm, and a set of relationships 8Mountains has kept up here for years.

The place

Narchyang sits on the trail towards the Annapurna south approach, a Magar settlement of stone and slate on terraces above the river. Ruma, at around 1,925 metres, looks out at Dhaulagiri.

The Magar are one of the largest ethnic groups in Nepal and this is one of their heartlands. Houses are ochre-washed with white bands, roofs are slate, and the fields are millet, maize and potato at this altitude.

The valley below is loud, the Kali Gandaki carries a great deal of water, and the walking is up and down between villages on paths that were the only way here until recently.

Why 8Mountains keeps coming back

A chance visit turned into long-term work. Over the years that has meant clean-ups in the villages, bamboo waste baskets made locally and put where rubbish was going into the river, support with health needs, distributing clothing, and a community library set up for the school.

None of that is a reason to visit on its own, and it should not be sold as one. The reason to come is that it is a good valley to walk in and the households here are good hosts. The work is why the welcome is what it is.

Guests are not asked to volunteer, fund anything or inspect anything. If you want to know how the library is used, ask the teacher, she will tell you, at length.

What a few days look like

Village walks between Narchyang, Ruma and the settlements around them. Time in the fields if the season is right. Dhaulagiri in the morning before cloud builds.

Further up the valley the trail continues towards the Annapurna south base camp approach, which is a serious multi-day trek and a different proposition. Below, at Tatopani on the main valley road, there are hot springs beside the river that everyone coming down the Annapurna Circuit stops at.

The Kali Gandaki is also one of Nepal’s better rafting rivers, run from Beni downwards, usually as two or three days.

Where you stay

Homestays in the villages. Simple rooms, family food, shared washing arrangements, electricity that comes and goes. Bring a torch and a sleeping bag liner.

Anyone expecting a lodge should book Pokhara instead. Anyone who wants to spend a week somewhere ordinary in the Nepali hills will find this is exactly that.

Practical things

• ACAP permit, issued in Pokhara or Kathmandu, with passport photographs.
• The road above Beni is rough and the last section is jeep-only. In heavy monsoon rain, landslides close it.
• Cash from Pokhara or Beni. There is nothing above that.
• Leeches in the wet months.
• Very little English in the villages.