Blogs from Annapurna, Nepal, Asia - page 2

This morning we woke to glorious blue skies and amazing views of Annapurna 2 and the Annapurna range. The original plan which was also on our itinerary had us taking the lower road to our next stop, Manang, but I had read that the upper road offers much nicer views of the mountains. As the weather last night was so bad we had agreed to take the easier low road, but with the weather so clear now we all agreed to take the longer, higher and more scenic route. We also decided that we would do that and not do the Ice Lake trek tomorrow which would be another long 8 hour return hike. This would increase our hiking time from 6 to 9 hours plus in meant ascending to 3,800m before descending to Manang at ... read more

This morning we had breakfast at 07:00 and this enabled us to leave earlier than previous days, at 08:00. Besides Sudarshan, our guide, we have three porters, Ganesh, Sujan and Suman. As soon as you leave Besisahar the road condition is considerably worse and very bumpy but still follows the Marsyangdi River . However the scenery just continued getting better and better as we drove further into the mountains gradually getting to higher altitudes. The first stop of the day was at a checkpoint for the Annapurna Conservation Area. Here we also saw a group of British cyclists who are cycling the Annapurna Circuit. As we drove up the first big unsealed road I couldn’t help but remember my own cycling trip in Yunnan under similar conditions. I was more than happy this time to be ... read more

After a reasonably comfortable sleep on a somewhat questionable mattress, we went down for breakfast early and planned to be back on the road for around 8am. Two veggie omelettes (both mine), some porridge and a pot of black tea later, we paid our host for his hospitality, roughly 3000 rupees for 6 meals and 3 beds, and we set off on what we had already presumed would be the hardest part of the 4 day trek! At 8am on a Saturday morning in the Himalayas, nothing can quite prepare your body for the literal uphill battle which it is about to endure. Starting in Hille, we were already 1500m above sea level and our next destination Ulleri, the point which we had not quite made it to on our first day, was regrettably another 460m ... read more

One of the main reasons Nepal has thousands of tourists flood in from across the globe throughout the year is for the many epic trekking routes which the country has to offer, including, but not limited to, Mount Everest! On a much smaller, cheaper and realistic scale for a backpacker (and a sane man), there is also the Annapurna circuit situated in Central Nepal. Today, the APC has developed into several different smaller routes that can accommodate travellers on a budget or tight schedule and even allow the trekker to partake in the adventure without a guide. After spending weeks researching which trek would be best suited to our limited experience of following a map, as well as our now somewhat questionable fitness levels, we had decided on the Ghorepani - Poon Hill trek which is ... read more

Happy Birthday to me in a not so happy way. I woke up around midnight feeling hot, cold sweats and like my insides were going to explode. For the rest of the night, I alternated between sleeping for 30 minutes, running to the bathroom, and putting on and taking off clothes as my body temp fluctuated. In the morning I was not top par and my breakfast was runny porridge which was no help to me. After some emergency meds, it was time to take off. It was a painful 30 minute start to the day with it being all uphill essentially Poon Hill minus 200 feet. But by the time, we reach the half way point of the climb, meds were kicking in and I felt like I had some control of my body again. ... read more