Jaget, Nepal

Winter of 2010 I trekked the Annapurna Circuit in the Nepalese Himalayas. Early into the twenty three day journey, my hiking partner became ill and we were delayed on two separate days in the villages of Jaget and Chame. We weren’t on a strict itinerary, so I looked at these days as a perfect opportunity to explore village life and get in some extra rest before the steep climbing to come. Amongst the Herculean mountains Himalayan life resided in the pure simple present.

A young girl looks down on the Marshyangdi Khola rushing far below

Children Playing in Jaget

Young Shepard

Stupa at the gates of Chame

Farmers plant their vegetable plots along the steep slopes above Chame

Grain field above Chame

Bow and arrow festival in Chame. Locals gather yearly for this quasi completion. This was not for the benefit of tourists (I was the only one). Dressed in traditional outfits the men, eldest first, shot arrows towards a target about one hundred feet away. It becomes quickly apparent that the villagers, mainly farmers, have never had to depend on precision archery to secure a meal.