Walnut Garden – but where are the walnuts?

Saturday 9th December 2006 

A day to discover the Walnut Garden but I found no walnuts I was so disapointed. Instead I decided to go with the boys 800m up the mountain. We opted not to take a guide but to make our own way, through villages, across rice fields and scrambling up rocks whilst Emily took a more relaxing option of looking for Walnuts in the Gardens. We were eventually pointed to the proper path after it may have looked like we had destroyed one whole villages’ crops for the year tramping across their rice paddies. Some strenous two hours later we made it to the summit of 2775m with breathtaking views of the gorge, well worth the climb despite the mid day heat. Exhausted some 5 hours later we made it safe and sound back to the guesthouse, the forth “intrepid” group to make it to the top and the first group without a guide. We are a clever bunch! My throat was now feeling like triple thickness sandpaper so this evening I opted for steam vegetables to keep off all that oily chinese food.