After Muktinath, I descended back down through Jarkhot, Jomsom and eventually to Marpha, all with many stops to smaller villages off of the tourist track. On the way down I had a chance to visit many monasteries that were hundreds of years old and steeped in tradition, culture, and art. One of the monasteries I visited had only one Buddhist nun who occupied it, and it was so old that she said she literally did not know when it was built. Meeting people in these smaller villages that haven’t yet seen hoards of trekkers was a very rewarding experience filled with lots of laughs and smiles.

I decided to spend an extra day in Marpha, a town filled with orchards of apples, apricots, and peaches. While walking around the village, I was very fortunate to actually meet the man that brought these fruit trees to Marpha. He proceeded to tell me his story and how he ended up bringing the fruit trees to the region and founded a horticultural school for locals to continue his work in the years to come. It was wonderful speaking with someone who was so instrumental in bringing such advantageous change to the region.

I spent the rainy afternoon of my day off at a Tibetan camp, a small settlement of Tibetan refugees, who were having an archery competition filled with rukshe (local homemade liquor), black tea, and momos. It was amazing to see inebriated men who could barely walk, regularly hit a target 100 feet away with a bow and arrow. When the rukshe level continued to rise, and accuracy started to plummet, I decide it was time to leave if I were to get out in one peace. The people there were incredibly friendly and very welcoming, and one even let me try out his bow–a great experience to say the least.

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