As Kartik begins, the chilling cold sets in. The sun, which rises late in the morning, sets quickly. As the wind begins to howl loudly, the settlement gradually becomes deserted.

The houses of Phu village, located at an altitude of 4,100 meters in Manang, are currently locked. Hotels are closed. There are no human footsteps on the road. This settlement, which grows only barley and potatoes, does not even have farming in winter.

Residents of the remote Phu village in the Himalayan district of Manang leave their homes for about 4 months and come to the city. Those who can walk reach Kathmandu-Pokhara. Those who cannot, go down and live in Kyang or stay in the village.

72-year-old Tshiring Karsang Lama of Narpabhumi Rural Municipality-5 came down to Kyang towards the end of October. She was unmarried and had fallen into a monastery when she was young. She underwent surgery at the age of 50, and the iron in her left leg has not yet been removed. 'It is difficult to walk. It is very cold in the village.' That's why I have come and stayed here (Kyang).'
Her sister went to Kathmandu in the first week of November to escape the cold. She stayed. After not being able to stay in Phu, she chose the side of Kyang village at an altitude of 3,850 meters. 'The sun shines here. There is no direct shadow from the river and the mountains. Since it is located in a ditch, it is colder than other places,' she said.

The story of 94-year-old Sange Chenjop Ghale from Phu village is even more difficult. She can see a little with her right eye but cannot see at all with her left. 'She has been treated 3 times. The doctor says it will not work anymore,' she said. 'Earlier, we could see and walk, but now we can't walk at all.' Relatives even carried her to Kyang. 'It takes 2 days for those who can walk to reach Koto.' How much will it cost us,’ she said, ‘Now neither our eyes can see nor our legs can support us.’ She lives with her youngest daughter, Tsering Ongjin Ghale.

81-year-old Pasang Dandul Lama has not been able to go to Kathmandu for 4 years. Her eldest son, Dawa Dindul, and daughter, Karma Richi, run a hotel in Kyang. Her youngest son, Karma Dhorje, has gone to Kathmandu to escape the cold. ‘I am getting old. I can’t anymore,’ she says, trying to laugh. ‘Those who can walk go to the city, those like us who can’t go to Kyang.’

90-year-old Karsang Jhombo Lama of Ward 5, Fu Village, used to go to Kathmandu with her children to escape the cold. ‘It has been how many years since I went to Kathmandu. It must have been 12-15 years,’ she said. ‘Now my feet can’t move. It's like going down and dying, and going back up. The road is narrow. If you fall, you end up in the river.''

According to Sonam Teje Lama, ward chairman of Narpabhumi-5, every year, the residents of Fu village are forced to go to the city as the cold weather sets in. Those who cannot go to the city are forced to stay in Kyang. All those who go to the city return in Chait. 'This time, elections are held. Now, we have to return gradually,' he said. 'After we return, we will take our grandparents who are in Kyang to the village.'

Fu village, which is on the way to Himlung Mountain (7,126 m.), is about 2 days' drive from the China-Tibet Autonomous Region border. According to the 2078 census, 138 people from 38 households live here. Narpabhumi Rural Municipality, where this settlement is located, is one of the least populated rural municipalities in Nepal.

There are 258 people in 90 households in Nar village from wards 1 to 3. The entire rural municipality has a population of 396 in 128 households. But with the onset of cold weather, about 80 percent of the citizens will descend to the city, said Konjo Tenzing Lama, the rural municipality chairman, who is also a local.