Trekking the Annapurna Mountains — All Good Things... — Day 4 Out on the Himalayan Trail to Poon Hill: Ghandruk to Naya Pol and Pokhara

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Today was our last day trekking. We set out in the morning with great hopes that the rain would hold off. As it was, we needed to put all of our wet clothes back on, and our still sopping wet shoes. It's kind of like putting on a wet bathing suit, except for your entire body. The good news is that it isn't so bad once you warm the clothes up.

We were both happy and sad to leave Ghandruk. We were sad because it is an absolutely stunning town, with breathtaking views. We were happy because the teahouse/hotel we stayed at was not good at all. Even the food was terrible. For the first time, it felt like the people didn't care about us at all. We chalk that up to the fact that this was actually a fairly large place, and they must pull in a good deal of money.

Today was our second day descending out of the mountains. That means, our legs were very sore. Mike's were the worst of the group, but everyone was pretty sore. We had to be careful descending down the stone steps to make sure that we didn't lose our footing.

The steps down the mountain side were long and steep. They made for excellent views. The weather was clear enough that we could see clearly across the valley to the mountains on the other side. It seemed like everywhere you looked there were waterfalls or farmers tending to their terraced fields. We saw many farmers tilling their rice patties with Oxen. It's a rather cumbersome process because the terraces are narrow and often the patties are quite short. It means that each time the farmer sets the plough, he could sometimes only get the oxen to pull it 20-50 feet before having to get them to turn around for the next row. All in about a foot of mud and water!

We basically descended the steps for a few hours until we reached the road, which is near the bottom of the valley. We then walked along the road until we reached the river, and continued along the river for another hour or two. Before we reached the river, however, we had to cross another river that feeds the big river at the base of the valley. The feeder river itself was pretty big, and it went right across the road. There was no bridge, so we had to take our shoes and socks off and walk through the river to the other side. How refreshing! From there, it was a straight walk along the road. There were still lots of nice sights along the way. We saw waterfalls and many more farmers tending to their fields. At one point, we had to cross downed power lines. Someone had put a large rock on them to hold them onto the road, and they didn't seem live, but we were careful anyways. After all, they were unshielded, and we were still a bit wet!

Eventually we got to the base of the valley and the river. Because it is monsoon season, and the rains have been particularly heavy over the last few days, the river was huge. Unlike the river we walked along on the first day of our trek, this river was very brown. There must have been some landslides up stream.

Every so often, we would run into some children who were playing in their yards or walking along the roads. They would always talk to us for a bit, and then ask for chocolate. They were so cute! Unfortunately we didn't have any chocolate to give them, but they didn't mind too much. Unlike in the city, we think its okay to give these kids something if they ask. The city kids have made a career out of begging, and by facilitating their begging, you really are just reinforcing the idea that they shouldn't do anything more with their lives. In the country though, these kids just seemed like regular kids looking for a candy. When they didn't get it, they liked to walk, talk and play with us.

When we arrived back in Birenthanti, which was the town that we had to get our permits validated in when we started, we decided to stop for lunch. To help spread out the business to the different restaurants, we decided to go to the restaurant that was basically empty. When we finally got our food, it was good, but they only had about half the things on their menu so it took a while to figure out something that we could actually eat! Lucky for us, while we were eating our lunch it started to rain, but the worst of it had passed by the time we were finished and ready to walk to Naya Pol, where our driver was waiting to pick us up. The walk to Naya Pol was pretty straight forward — instead of taking the road though, we decided to climb the steps, which made for a nicer walk.

Once we got back to Pokhara and checked into the hotel, we all took much needed showers. Four days in the wilderness gets to you eventually!

That evening, we did a bit of shopping and purchased a painting by a famous Nepalese artist of the Annapurna mountains that we saw when the clouds lifted. It is a gorgeous painting (oil on canvas) and we can't wait to hang it in our apartment!

For dinner, we went to an Indian restaurant with Devman and Katie. There was some dancing and singing by a local group, and at the end of the performance, they asked Katie and Elysia to go up and dance with them!

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Today's Trek by the Numbers

Starting Elevation: 2,066 m (6,778 feet)
Starting Place: Ghandruk, Nepal (28.375498 N, 83.808052 E)
Ending Elevation: 990 m (3,248 feet)
Ending Place: Naya Pol, Nepal (28.300720 N, 83.769501 E)
Total Vertical Climb (included all the ups in the ups and downs): 798 m (2,618 feet)
Distance Traveled over Ground: 14.22 km (8.84 miles)
Pace: 22:53 minutes/km (36:50 minutes/mile)
Hiking Time: 5:25:19
Calories Burned: 3,876

You can see a detailed and interactive map of our route, along with a 3D video of our path here:
Interactive Map and Video of Route

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A Bit About Our Guide

Today was a fantastic day, in no small part to our wonderful guide. We thought we would share his contact information in case any other travellers are planning a Nepal trek and looking for a guide. If you are, get in touch with Devman Tamang - he will take care of you and knows all there is to know about trekking in Nepal and all of the different routes. We would strongly recommend him, without any hesitation! Here is how you can get in touch with him:

Devman Tamang
Email: [e-mail] or [e-mail]
Devman's Tour Company Website: Himalayan Nepal Trek
Devman's Facebook Page
Telephone: [phone]

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Photos

Today's Descent
Actually, walking down was harder than up.

Landruk
On the Other Side of the Gorge... that involves a LOT of stairs.

A Leech
This little fellow waits until some unfortunate soul steps beside him, at which point, Mr. Leech grabs on and finds a soft patch of skin to cut through...

Laundry Day
Any day that it doesn't rain is a good day to dry your laundry!