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Published: December 19th 2014
Sunday 5th October - Nayapul (1070m) to Ulleri (1930m) - Height gain 860m - 7 hours We were up early today to meet up with Dende, Mia's porter, and our jeep driver to head off for the 90 minute scenic trip to Nayapul - the beginning of our trek. As we left Pokhara it was quite cloudy with no views, however, within about 15 minutes the skies cleared and the fabulous Annapurnas were ours to enjoy once again! The journey to Nayapul is gorgeous but quite scary. As we began to climb in altitude the winding, bumpy roads through local villages had steep drop offs into the valleys way below. Pretty, but what my nightmares are made of (I seriously have nightmares of being in cars that go over the edge of roads like these...) At least we were in a jeep, where we were able to have some control over the driver, telling him we didn't care how long it took - that we just wanted him to drive slowly and safely. (Normal taxi drivers can be madmen - basically a death wish on wheels).
After arriving in Nayapul, we hitched our packs onto our backs (about 12kgs)
- their home for the next week or so - and finally began our trek. Nayapul itself is little more than a couple of streets of shacks selling food and tourist items. From here it is any easy, mainly downhill 20 minute stroll to the first village of Birethanti where we had to wait in line (or Gav and Dende did) to register at our first checkpoint. Although it was only 10.30am it was already scorching hot, with not a cloud in the sky, so Mia and I slathered ourselves in sunscreen whilst waiting for our permits to be registered.
We knew that today was going to be our toughest day of our trek. Not only due to the fact that it's day one carrying our packs for many hours uphill but also that we'd decided to tackle the infamous Ulleri steps at the end of our first day rather than at the beginning of day two.
The route from Birethanti unfortunatley begins on what is now a rocky, uphill, gravel road for approximately 2 - 3 hours to the hillside village of Hille (it took us three). When we first walked this trail, many years ago, it
was along a path following the Bhurungdi river which was much more enjoyable. Recently a road has been carved which is a blessing in some ways for the locals but also not great for the trekking industry (which their main income is based on). It was extremely hot, with next to no shade, and by the time we reached Hille, I was so exhausted and started to seriously doubt my fitness and training. Not a good start!
We took a break and drank copious amounts of icy water before heading on towards Tikhedhungga - about a half hours walk away and finally on the real trail - the road had come to an end - yay! Funnily enough, as you left the teahouse in Hille where we rested, they had mules lined up outside in case trekkers needed them to go on!
A lot of trekkers end day one at the village of Tikhedhungga, as the (approximate) 3300 steep steps to Ulleri begin from here. Many choose to start day two tackling them rather than making day one a long, tiring, tough one.
Having trekked this route back in '97, Gav & I knew we wanted to
get them over and done with. Whats another 2-3 hours at the end of an already tough day??
We took a quick break in Tikhedhungga where we met some other trekkers - a lovely Spanish couple and an English family of 4 boys travelling with their dad. The family were staying overnight however we knew we'd probably bump into them in the next day or so as they caught up to us.
After we crossed the bridge at the lower end of Tikhedhungga the stairs started almost instantly. Relentlessly they climbed. These are not like the 1000 steps in Upper Ferntree Gully. There are no flat parts. There are no small steps. Just 3,300 large, ongoing, rock steps that seem to never end. And this when we were already exhausted! Since leaving the road back in Hille, I was now enjoying myself, funnily enough, and although still tough found it easier in a weird way. This is how I had trained - steps, steps and more steps - not steep roads. Mental note to next time also train along steep, flat, uphill roads! There were great views along the way, passing local baby buffalos, horses and donkeys etc.
Mia was amazing. We had trained her pretty well but we never expected her to cope as well as she did. About 45 minutes from the top she asked "Are we nearly there?" When I replied "Not quite, but getting there" her response was just "This is just so annoying - it never ends!" That was literally her only whinge and we can't blame her. She has already proved to be an absolute trouper.
After about 3 hours we finally made it to Ulleri. The last time we came (1997) Gav had been sick since leaving Pokhara (how he did it I still don't know) so we had stayed at the first teahouse we had come to. I'd had a nice welcoming cold beer with fellow trekkers whilst Gav vomited off the balcony! This was a teahouse that I'd never stay in again. I still remember climbing down a ladder into the basement to have a shower (cold; since we were late getting in and the hot water was all used up, and dark; clenching a torch between my teeth for light as I showered as a rat ran over my feet...)
So... when Dende suggested we stop
at lower Ulleri, we said that we wanted to keep going up until we found a decent teahouse, and hopefully some of the trekkers we'd met in Tikhedhungga. We climbed for another 10-15 minutes until Dende suggested another teahouse. It looked ok and we were exhausted so decided this would have to be it.
We lucked in, so to speak, as the Spanish couple were staying here as well as other trekkers from France, the Phillipines and Israel who we spent the night with, sitting outside in the moonlit courtyard, eating dinner, chatting to, playing Uno and admiring our first close up glimpses of the Annapurnas as the clouds drifted in and out. What a perfect end to a long, tough but fantastic first day!
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