BESISAHAR - The city at a base

Besisahar literally translates to "the town at the base of a hill" and is the district headquarters of Lamjung district. It is a concrete jungle with lots of buildings and more famously a bus stop. If you take a bus to Besisahar then this is the place where the road ends. Not literally, though. From here onwards only high clearance jeeps are available as it is so required due to the treacherous motor roads. Besisahar is everything that trekkers come to the Annapurna circuit to escape. Any trekker will want to trek right away as soon as she has arrived at Besisahar. Overlooking the not so appetizing qualities, this town can be important in many ways. For example, it is the second last place before the Thorung-La that has a bank. The last bank before the pass is at Chame and if we were you, we wouldn't pin too much hope on the banks at Chame. Besisahar also has decent shops to cater to any needs just in case you forgot to bring along anything from Kathmandu. There are many hotels in the northern part of the town. But we aren't quite sure if you would want to stay at Besisahar unless there is some emergency. Also, let it be known that summer months can be quite upsetting here because of the mosquitoes and the humid heat.

Above and to the south-west of Besisahar is Gausahar where there are an old fortress and a palace. The palace is named Lamjung Durbar and can be a good side trip. Gausahar is a mere 7 km away from Besisahar. From the 15-18th century, this region was a collection of independent kingdoms that continually waged war on each other. In 1782, the kingdom of Gorkha absorbed Lamjung, the principality that was ruled from the Gausahar Palace and of which Besisahar used to be their winter residence.