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Published: December 30th 2007
Sunrise from Poon Hill
One of the highlights of my trip, watching the sun rise over 8,000 plus peaks.From Veranassi two 11 hour bus journeys and a slightly out of joint back have got me to Pokhara in Nepal. Pokhara is just heaven after the hustle and bustle of India. A laid back city set on a lake and surrounded by picturesque hills and mountains - just the tonic. I have reunited with a mate I met in Laos, Sam, with the two of us are trekking the Annapurna Circuit together.
The trek is 150- 200 miles long depending on which account you read (I prefer 200 miles, as it sounds a lot more impressive), and at its highest point, the Thorung La pass, we'll have trekked up to just under 5,500 metres above sea level. The trek is around 18-21 days long, depending on which side trips you decide to take on, and the Annapurna circuit has the reputation for being the trek with the best scenery and most cultural contact in the whole of Nepal (although June is supposed to be the month in which the monsoon season begins, so it may be a mite cloudy en-route!).
Between us Sam and I hired a porter in order to help carry some of our stuff and
to improve our cultural contact with the locals. I say porter but he was more of an unemployed guy who did casual labour at our guest house and had apparently done some portering once upon a time... Things didn't start all that well when on the first day Eshor, the aforementioned porter/unemployed guy, struggled badly with the weight of the bag and on the 2nd day missed a river crossing and took us the wrong way. Sam and I were beginning to have our doubts, but it turned out he was just a bit rusty and was soon stomping along with the bag and beating us at card games that we'd only taught him the previous day!
As for the trekking itself it was just absolutely superb. I thought the views in New Zealand were stunning but walking through the Nepali Himalaya took what I had seen to a whole new level. To be walking at altitudes highest than the tallest peaks in Europe (Mount Blanc is 4807 metres and our trek took us up to 5416 metres at the Thorung La Pass) and still be completely dwarfed by peaks of up to and over 8000 metres was a
pretty incredible experience.
Along the trek we would be spending the night in tea-houses. Basically these were local guesthouses in which the owners also lived and tended to be a combination of sleeping quarters, restaurant and chill-out area for us to relax in during the evenings. Also, as we were trekking during the low season most of the tea-houses were empty and so we had the pick of them all and were able to spend our nights in some absolutely beautiful locations.
Nepalis generally eat two meals per day. A breakfast at around 10 or 11 and then a second meal in the middle of the afternoon. The staple food in Nepal is Dal Bhaat; a lentil curry served with potato, rice and vegetables and eaten with chapatis. When eating from the tea-houses en-route the Dal Bhaat is bottomless, with the restaurant bringing out more and more of the stuff until you finally declare yourself full! Eshor got through plates and plates of the stuff with Sam never too far behind!
The first week of our walk was spent climbing steadily from Besishar at 800 odd metres to Manang at over 3500 metres. Here the effects of
the altitude really sink in. Your nose is constantly streaming due to the cold and the first night I spent above 3500 metres I found it so hard just to breath because of the incredibly thin air. If we were going to make it safely over the pass some 2000 metres higher we needed to do some acclimatisation. Therefore we spent a fantastic three days on a side trip walking to Tilicho Lake - an amazing azure blue glacial lake which at about 5,000 metres in altitude claims to be the highest one in the world! The lake was well worth the tough climb as it was just so beautiful. When the wind dropped it perfectly reflected the surrounding snow capped peaks, and the colour of the lake changed with the strength and position of the Sun.
After the Tilicho walk I decided to do another day walk to acclimatise - this time to the so called ice lake. Unfortunately, I had an accurate map which didn't show the ice lake and a tourist booklet which showed the ice lake but wasn't too scale. Thus between the two of them I managed to get hopelessly lost and walk up
god knows which hill. My progress was only checked when I bumped into some genuine Nepali yak-herders who took me in for a couple of tea and pointed me in the right direction. After a long time I eventually found the signposted trail, only to lose it again and only be stopped this time by a sheer 600 metre odd drop at the end of the goat trail I was following. Defeated, I returned to Manang having had a lot of fun but not actually found the ice lake!
From Manang we were ready to strike out for the highest point on our trek, the Thorung La pass. As we approached the highest point on our trek, the thin air and total lack of wind meant that the hike was undertaken in serene peace. Sam and I also found that our voices travelled incredibly far at this altitude and we could communicate over great distances hardly raising our voices! Thanks to our acclimatisation treks I found that the hike up to the actual pass was a lot easier than expected, and the good time that we made meant that we had plenty of time to mess around at the
Annapurna II
Some of the spectacular scenery we encountered on our climb towards the Thorung La pass. top taking comedy photos and celebrating our achievements.
Throughout the trek to Thorung La the weather had been absolutely glorious for us, even though it was supposedly the monsoon season which was meant to bring constant cloud and low visibility. As some of the photos show we were able to get some incredible views of the biggest mountains in the Annapurna range. On the way back down from the pass the weather got worse and the views unfortunately became obstructed with cloud.
Day 18 saw us take our first day off at the hot springs in Tatopani. It was absolutely heavenly to while away the aches of the previous weeks of trekking. Although upon arrival we found that in true Nepali style the springs hadn't been maintained and so we had to block up the access for the natural hot water (which had turned the hot springs into scalding springs) and wait patiently for the boiling water to cool enough to accept our aching limbs!
The final day of the trek was possibly the best for me. In the pre-dawn darkness I climbed (conquered I like to think) Poon Hill which at 3210 metres gives incredible views
of the Annapurna range and is a great spot to watch the sun rise. As an aside, the Nepalis refuse to call anything a mountain unless it is permanently covered in snow - thus in Nepal you get some "hills" that tower well above 5,000 metres! Luckily the weather gods were with me and a massive storm the previous night led to a very clear morning and some perfectly clear views. Watching the Sun rise over 8,000 metre plus peaks has definitely been one of the highlights of my travels.
In addition to the scenery and the actual trekking itself, the cultural contact is something that the Annapurna treks are famous for. Meeting the local people and watching them live and work (ploughing the terraced hillsides by ox and by hand and carrying all supplies in either by mule or on porter's back's) added so much to the trek and is definitely part of the experience that I will take away with me and never forget.
Winding down from the trek, Sam and I decided to rent motorbikes and get out and explore the countryside. It was a lot of fun and viewing the stunning landscape from the
Yak herding saviors!
The locals who provided me with tea and pointed me in the right direction to the ice lake. saddle of our steel horses (sorry getting a bit carried away!) was definitely a cool way of getting around. However I did manage to fall off the bike as well Luckily it was only at about 5 miles an hour as I tried to go past a parked bus and found that there was another bus haring around the corner towards me. I panicked, slammed on the brakes and the bike toppled over! Fortunately the low speed meant that it was just a cut elbow and wounded pride to worry about. Mental note: NEVER use the front brake of a motorbike while cornering!
My time in Nepal has been so rewarding. The people are incredibly friendly and speak really good English and theres so much to do here I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Nepal to anyone.
Leaving Nepal also brought the curtain down on my travels as a whole, as the next stop would be Heathrow and then home. Looking back on what I have done and achieved over the last eight months I feel incredibly pleased. The experiences I have gained traveling through all these countries and seeing how people live their lives right across the globe
Tilicho Lake
When the wind dropped the incredible scenery was reflected perfectly in the clear waters. have been incredible and have really changed my perspectives in a positive way. The fact that it has been hugely enjoyable at the same time is definitely an added bonus! I think that the traveling spirit is well and truly in my blood now and I look forward to setting off on another adventure as son as I can!
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