We continue up the corridor to Kagbeni, the medieval village at the confluence that has marked the threshold of the upper kshetra for centuries. The landscape has changed entirely now, from forest to a high desert of wind and stone beneath snow peaks.
At the riverbed comes one of the most quietly moving moments of the yatra: the meeting with the Shaligram at the one river on earth that bears it. Under guidance, pilgrims learn how a Shaligram is recognized, and what it means when one comes to you.
This is the day many pilgrims carry with them for the rest of their lives. The black stone so many keep in their home shrine is, here, simply part of the river.