M & I decided that while in Nepal...do what the Nepalese do...trek through the "hills." We signed up for a short-ish trek out of Pokhara taking us through an area with spectacular views of the Annapurna Himalaya Range. We boarded a bus out of Kathmandu and suited up with much anticipation for the first day. We were joined by a Canadian trekker, our "guide" and porter. It started with a 2 hour local bus trip to the start of the trek. 60km in 2 hours. Yes, that is normal in Nepal. We hiked for about 6 hours the first day, mostly through mountain villages and up hundreds of stone steps. We were thoroughly exhausted when we made it to the tea house in Tikhedhunga, we dropped our bags, tossed our shoes aside and took in the fresh mountain air. After some refreshingly cold showers, we ate some food that may or may not have later made us very sick, then retired for the night by 9 PM. Early the second morning the steep climb to Ghorepani began. The steep climb consisted of endless, uneven stone steps. Hours later the steps continued and continued. And just when we thought we were as high as we could climb, they continued even more.Read: Walking up and down uneven, sloped, steep steps for 5 days = buns of steel!
We finally made it to our second tea house at the base of Poon Hill with wobbly, jello legs. We were extra early to bed and up at 4AM the next morning to catch a beautiful sunrise on Poon Hill. The quick ascent caused M some early morning altitude problems, but we did succeed in catching the sunrise just in time to see the sun glittering on the summit of South Annapurna and Machhapuchhre. We had jaw dropping views across a valley where we could see Mt. Dhaulagiri (8167m.), Tukuche Peak (6920m.), Nilgiri (6940m.), Varaha Shikhar (7847m.), Mt. Annapurna I (8091m.), Annapurna South (7219m.), Annapurna III (7855m.), Machhapuchhre (6993m.), Annapurna IV (7525m.), Annapurna II (7937m.), Lamjung Himal (6931m.) and other numerous snowcapped mountain peaks.
Being just above 3000 meters with only one layer of long sleeves set quite a chill in our bones. We began the descent back to Ghorepani town for a warm breakfast and some relaxation by the wood stove. A few hours later, we were back at it, day 3's goal was to make it to Tadapani village. This walk entailed walking down thousands of uneven steps to cross a roaring river, just to climb back up the other side to reach the top where our tea house was situated. After some warm Masala tea and a pasta dinner, all we wanted to do was snuggle up for warmth until we fell asleep...This proved to be a problem thanks to the GIANT, red, 100+ legged insects crawling and buzzing around our room. We pretended that if we hosed down the beg in bug spray and slept with the lights on they wouldn't come and attack us. M is the hero and warded off 2 during the night. Needless to say we got very little sleep. Our guide ensured us not to worry since the days' walk would be "easy"- OK we admit that there were way fewer steps that day, but "easy" is not the correct adjective! It may been the lack of sleep causing us to be delirious, but this day proved to be the most fun as we took our time, making a supposed 4 hour walk into a 6.5 hour stroll. We found ourselves surrounded by goats many times, talking to roaming buffs from time to time, stopping for many photo ops and picking wildberries along the way. Hours later we reached the village of Landruk and caught sight of our porter and guide as they relaxed at our tea house, which somehow clung on to a cliffside overlooking a rather deep river gorge- the Nepalese defy the law's of nature in many, many ways! We settled in at the tea house and took a risk ordering pizza off the menu- now it was no Grandpa's, but this pizza was the best we've had since leaving NYC, you can only imagine our excitement!
Up extra early on our last day, we headed down into the river gorge to relax our muscles in some natural hot springs- they were no match for Japan's onsens, but we were glad to be relaxing as the hot water soothed our aching muscles. After drying off, we laced up again for what turned out to be a very, very long, sweaty day. P was feeling a bit under the weather, so we took it extra slow through mountain villages and past hordes of kids dressed in crisp school uniforms shouting "Namaste!" in our direction. Finally at around 6pm, covered in a layer of dirt and soaked through in sweat, we completed our 5 day trek. We rewarded ourselves with two bottles of ice cold Coca Cola and awaited our 2 hour ride back to the guesthouse in Pokhara.
-invest in boots with ankle support, your joints will thank you after 5 days of steps
-get water purification tablets, the higher you go, the higher the price of water goes (and everything else for that matter!)
And as they say in Ecuador- "walk slowly, drink a lot of water & sleep alone!"
OK- the sleep alone part isn't necessary ;)
Being just above 3000 meters with only one layer of long sleeves set quite a chill in our bones. We began the descent back to Ghorepani town for a warm breakfast and some relaxation by the wood stove. A few hours later, we were back at it, day 3's goal was to make it to Tadapani village. This walk entailed walking down thousands of uneven steps to cross a roaring river, just to climb back up the other side to reach the top where our tea house was situated. After some warm Masala tea and a pasta dinner, all we wanted to do was snuggle up for warmth until we fell asleep...This proved to be a problem thanks to the GIANT, red, 100+ legged insects crawling and buzzing around our room. We pretended that if we hosed down the beg in bug spray and slept with the lights on they wouldn't come and attack us. M is the hero and warded off 2 during the night. Needless to say we got very little sleep. Our guide ensured us not to worry since the days' walk would be "easy"- OK we admit that there were way fewer steps that day, but "easy" is not the correct adjective! It may been the lack of sleep causing us to be delirious, but this day proved to be the most fun as we took our time, making a supposed 4 hour walk into a 6.5 hour stroll. We found ourselves surrounded by goats many times, talking to roaming buffs from time to time, stopping for many photo ops and picking wildberries along the way. Hours later we reached the village of Landruk and caught sight of our porter and guide as they relaxed at our tea house, which somehow clung on to a cliffside overlooking a rather deep river gorge- the Nepalese defy the law's of nature in many, many ways! We settled in at the tea house and took a risk ordering pizza off the menu- now it was no Grandpa's, but this pizza was the best we've had since leaving NYC, you can only imagine our excitement!
Up extra early on our last day, we headed down into the river gorge to relax our muscles in some natural hot springs- they were no match for Japan's onsens, but we were glad to be relaxing as the hot water soothed our aching muscles. After drying off, we laced up again for what turned out to be a very, very long, sweaty day. P was feeling a bit under the weather, so we took it extra slow through mountain villages and past hordes of kids dressed in crisp school uniforms shouting "Namaste!" in our direction. Finally at around 6pm, covered in a layer of dirt and soaked through in sweat, we completed our 5 day trek. We rewarded ourselves with two bottles of ice cold Coca Cola and awaited our 2 hour ride back to the guesthouse in Pokhara.
Although 5 days sounds short, it was challenging...more challenging than we expected, but we are glad we did it!
So some advice:-don't hire a guide- trekking in Nepal is straightforward, safe and definitely more fun done on your own
-don't hire a porter- M wore the same outfit everyday, washing it at each teahouse of course, so a daypack will do.-invest in boots with ankle support, your joints will thank you after 5 days of steps
-get water purification tablets, the higher you go, the higher the price of water goes (and everything else for that matter!)
And as they say in Ecuador- "walk slowly, drink a lot of water & sleep alone!"
OK- the sleep alone part isn't necessary ;)
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1 comment:
wow, gorgeous photos. I've always wanted to see k2. Everest is a big deal for some people, but I think k2 is more dramatic looking.
Def on my list of places to visit. My next trip is to Australia in August and September.
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