Valleys of Naar and Phu trek
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Day 7 Kyang to Phu
From Kyang we keep heading north and make a steep descent down to the river,. This is partly on a path built into the cliff. The path is wide enough to be very safe but if you are afraid of heights don't look down!
After meandering for a while near the river, passing a few interesting chortens the river narrows at a huge rock wall and the path needs to ascend very steeply out of the river bed to the ‘Phu gate’.
Again it is a wide path but will not be comfortable if you suffer for vertigo as it winds its way up a vertical cliff. We had an additional problem when we passed: there was a flock of goats above the path and they were dislodging stones that were falling straight down on the path.
Beyond this ancient stone gateway there is a mani wall and we get our first view of the valley of Phu and the impressive ruins of forts perched on ridges above the path.
Approximately an hour after passing through the Phu Gate we cross the river on a long new bridge and climb to the village of Phu where we set up our camp below the village at an altitude of approximately 4100m.
The settlement of Phu consists of around 30 stone houses built on the south face of a small hill in the Tibetan style and is home to around 150 people. There is a fortress type construction at the top. I was surprised to learn that it was only built in the early 1970s because the village was threatened by Khampa incursions and needed a protected place.
There are also two gompas built on hills a little higher up. The main one is on the other side of the river. Additionally there is a farming settlement higher up on a hill to the South of Phu. You can get up in about 20 minutes on a steep track directly opposite the village.
It takes around 4 hours walking time to reach Phu from Kyang but in practice you will probably spend longer getting there as there is so much to look at and admire on the way.
There is an ACAP camp site on the river side (by the bridge that crosses to Phu) but we camped on terraces right in the village. I guess that if you came before harvest time you would need to camp by the river.
