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Thankfully a shorter day, and the sun was out again. It was only 13km to Tatopani which we did before lunch, walking through steep-sided valleys back in rice paddy territory passing through pretty villages with lots of colourful flowers and butterflies. We chose the slightly longer route which meant leaving the road for a decent chunk of the day. We had to cross quite a few streams and rivers. Heather's blistered toes meant she was wearing a fetching socks and sandals combo, so she had to be especially careful on the stepping stones. However Devendra was a hero as usual and helped as across any obstacles. We passed at least one very impressive waterfall.

Tatopani means hot water, and there are springs / baths here down by the river. These are popular with trekkers suffering from aches and pains. After some lunch we set out to find the springs and were slightly disappointed but not entirely surprised to find just a couple of grubby concrete baths fed by a big burping plastic hosepipe. However, they were certainly hot and it was quite relaxing having a dip by the river (even if every vehicle which passed on the road stopped to allow everyone on board to gawp at the foreigners in their swimming gear). Heather as usual with water over-indulged a little and felt quite feint and light-headed for some time afterwards.

Heather was now not the only one with blisters, Drew having worn through one pair of socks has started to suffer too. Hopefully the springs will have worked their magic, as we have another long day tomorrow with a 1.6km climb - the last of the tough days though, and then its literally all downhill from there.

We enjoyed happy hour at a small bar with a cold beer and fresh popcorn, complete with the delights of being back down below 2000m; a swarm of mosquitoes.

Dal Bhat for dinner; 8 out of 10 - tasty with one curry of potato and tomato, standard fare with slightly meagre seconds.

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