Our arrival in Kaza coincided with the annual festivities. Traditional dances and songs were performed and dignitaries, many who were flown in by helicopter from the south. We heard them giving long speeches to inaugurate a satellite telecommunication service. On the other side of town, about 200 metres away, was a fairground, complete with Ferris wheel, loud popular music, shooting galleries and a market place selling fresh produce. For a week the town bustles with activity to accommodate and serve the influx.
Rice beer flows freely and many village people enjoy a rare opportunity to meet.
For us the days of noise and activity were too sharp a contrast with the quietude and enchantment with the higher slopes, and we decided to head up the Pin and down into the Bhaba valley. Rod Walker is planning several walking tours in the Himalayas.