Village Life in the Markha Valley

One of the coolest parts of trekking through the Markha Valley, was staying with families in tiny villages along the way. The villages usually ranged from 3-8 homes, and usually had no electricity, running water, toilets, etc. (Considering my job though, I was very happy to see that one of them had a small solar grid set up by a social enterprise, with each home having it’s own lighting system). After a long day of hiking, we spent our time drinking insane amounts of tea, playing cards, eating delicious food, and meeting both locals and other travelers. One of my favorite moments was when I was eating dinner and a family member came in and put a day-old baby lamb on my lap! And there it sat the rest of the meal. Other highlights include learning to make momos (dumplings), Naveen showing his magic tricks to a village grandmother (seen laughing at him in a pic above), checking out the village monasteries, some being from the 10th century, and camping the last night (along with 15 other trekkers and 200 sheep). Lastly, our guide, seen with the lamb and making momos, is one of a couple female guides out there and was the absolute best. She would be up at 5am, making us chapatis so that they would be fresh for our 6am breakfast, and then would be out helping the families take care of the animals after dinner. Not to mention she was in the most incredible shape. In fact, she submitted twice, going back down because one of the guys couldn’t carry his bag. Not even needing a drink of water at the top. I’m still in awe of this woman, and she definitely made our experience even more special.