Saturday 18th April 2015
We were up and packed earlier than we had been for quite a
while but by the time we had breakfast and were ready to go the morning was
getting away from us. We took a taxi the short distance to the bus station and
from there got a local bus to Nayapul.
The bus was crammed with people gas bottles and huge sacks
of who knows what. Several times the driver had to force people to clamber onto
the gas bottles which lined the aisle of the bus where they were forced to
stand bent awkwardly so their head didn’t hit the roof or somehow crouch on the
uneven surface.
The bus wound its way over a mountain and arrived in the little
town of Nayapul about two hours after we had set off. The ride was a tad scary
with the bus going far too close to the edge on more than one occasion.
Once we stepped down it was about 11am and the trek began
immediately we walked through town and across a bridge to the trekking office
where we showed the officials our permits and we were on our way.
For the first few hours we walked along a wide dirt path
every so often a jeep would pass us with tourists doing a shorter trek or with
goods for the many restaurants and guesthouses that lined the way.
We stopped for lunch with a view of rolling green mountains.
Not long after we resumed walking the road turned into a flight of stone steps
which led upwards for several hours the going was tough and we stopped
frequently to hydrate and also to wait for our guide who was lagging behind us.
We reached our first stop Ulleri earlier than expected at
about 4pm we collapsed into chairs and had a cup of tea before heading upstairs
for a hot shower. Sitting down we became quite cold so it was nice when we came
back downstairs and the log burner was lit.
We got chatting to a couple of girls who were trekking to
base camp the first few days of their hike is the same as ours and we ended up
spending a lot of time together.
We spent the evening huddled round the fire having dinner
and endless pots of tea before heading to bed quite early. (Although there was
a huge tour group who did keep us up late)
Crossing the bridge form Nayapul to the trails
Waterfall just out of Nayapul
Entering the conservation area
One of the many suspension bridges in the mountains
Sunday 19th April 2015
The same group that was up so late last night was up early
this morning and made no effort to keep the noise down by the time the alarm
went off at 7am I had already been awake a few hours listening to them all bang
about.
We had breakfast although the porridge had far too much milk
in it for me and so I left most of it. We packed up and headed off around 8am
the other girls had left before us but we caught up with them on the trail. The
morning was clear and crisp and when we came out of the tree cover we could see
snow-capped mountains in every direction.
Today was a short walking day the path went up and down and
didn’t present any major challenges. We stopped for lunch early at about 11am
which was fine by me as I hadn’t eaten much breakfast from lunch it was only
another 90 minutes or so to Ghorepani which was our second nights stop.
Ghorepani translates to mean ‘horse water’ so named for the
wild horses who come down from the mountains to drink close by to the village.
We arrived and the sky was still clear as anything we could see all the
surrounding mountains the sight was stunning.
We planned to take a rest and then head up to Poon Hill
which is the highest point of our trek but as we were sitting the clouds rolled
n and soon we couldn’t even see the mountains.
It was early and the whole afternoon stretched out in front
of us we had showers and then took a walk in the town but there wasn’t too much
to see other than guesthouses. I did buy some wool slippers at the woollen shop
though.
We headed back to our room which was on the third floor and
was on the corner of the building the room had windows on three sides and even
with the clouds the room was bright and we had great views. Mark had a nap and I
lost myself in my book when I looked up the cloud had become so thick that it
was just a thick mist clinging to the windows and even with my nose pressed up against
the glass I couldn’t see a thing outside.
Later in the afternoon we headed downstairs where the log
fire was roaring. And settled in for the evening on the sofas. Since we had
eaten lunch so early we had an early dinner and then headed up to bed at about
9pm as we planned to get up for the sunrise.
first peek at some peaks!
I love bridges
Welcome to Horse Water
All the mountains before the clouds rolled in
Monday 20th April 2015
I was woken up before 4am this morning much to my annoyance
as we didn’t need to hit the mountain until about 5am meaning we could roll out
of bed pull on clothes and go. We left at 5am with just our cameras and water
to see the sunrise and then head back for breakfast.
We left in the dark and made our way up Poon Hill. Ghorepani
sits at 2874m and Poon hill is 3210m it took us about 40mins to climb 336m up
steep steps. We stopped about two thirds up where we had beautiful mountain
views but by the time we reached the people filled top of the mountain the
cloud had rolled in and we were awarded just glimpses of snowy tops every now
and again.
We took photos from the viewing platform and in front of the
ever hilarious Poon Hill sign hanging out hoping for a break in the weather but
we had no such luck and after a while it began to get truly cold so we headed
down for breakfast.
distant peaks from most of the way up Poon Hill
Barely awake to see the mountains
the mist rolling in at the top of Poom Hill
A brief glimpse of some snowy peaks
What a hilarious name!
The gang before we trooped down to breakfast
Prayer flags at Poon Hill
Back in the lodge the fire was going and the tea was flowing
we had a leisurely breakfast before packing up and hitting the trail. Today’s
hike was very up and down with the first portion a solid hour or so toiling
upwards. Ghorepani is the meeting point for three different hikes and so today’s
leg of the journey was full of other travellers heading in both directions, in
some parts we were all walking in a train.
After the uphill slog we wound up and down until lunch we
were under the cover of trees for most of it but every so often we popped out
and were rewarded with views of rolling green hills covered in trees and flowers
or of distant white tipped mountains peeking out of the clouds.
We stopped for lunch and the clouds started to pull cover by
the time we had eaten they looked heavy with rain so we wrapped up and continued
on. For the next wee bit it was just
down down down with the occasional flat bit thrown in we passed a bunch of languor’s
chilling in the trees that fled when they saw us stop to take a photo and
stopped a few times for waterfalls and odd rock formations.
We stopped at the bottom of a hill to rest where our guide
informed us it was 30mins straight up ad we would be in Tadapani where we would
spend the night. As we geared ourselves up for the climb it began to rain so we
hopped to it. Luckily it wasn’t too heavy or cold and it gave us the extra push
to get there quickly.
We arrived and checked into our rooms the rain started coming
down in full force and we were all freezing so were glad for the beautiful hot
shower. Once we were clean dry and warm we headed to the common room (which of
course had a log burner) and had apple pie and pots of tea as an afternoon
snack we sat and read and laughed at the huge thermos of tea three Chilean guys
got when they asked for a big pot (it had about enough tea for 30 people!)
We had dinner about 6pm and stayed up a few hours more but
we were all fading after the early start and the long days hike so as soon as
it was a respectable time we headed to bed.
Down the stairs we go
This little hut was the cutest...it also said danger!
All the piles of stones
Can you spot the creepy arse scarecrow?
Tuesday 21st April 2015
Today as our longest day yet with about seven hours trekking
after a breakfast of Tibetan bread and honey and eggs we said goodbye to the
girls and set off at about 8am almost instantly the path started downwards in a
flight of stairs which was to become the norm for the day
Compared to yesterday the path was gloriously empty we took
our time and rested when we felt like it. The first part was in the jungle of
the mountain where we saw a few monkeys and some leeches (and as I was walking
along alone at the back of the group I fell down but if no one saw it did it
happen?) but we soon came out of the cover where the sun was hot and punishing.
After three hours we arrived in a town where we could hire a
jeep the whole way back to Pokhara but we were set on walking all the way down
to Nayapul and getting the bus from there.
A few hours in and it felt like we had already been walking
all day with the constant jarring on the knees. After four hours we stopped for
lunch which was a hugely welcome break from the continuous stairs and all the
children asking for chocolate.
After eating we set off again and the stairs soon ended and
we were onto the dirt road by this stage we had been walking about five hours
and still had a few more to go but at least the path wasn’t as hard to walk on.
We walked next to a river for the rest of the way with f=some friendly dogs who
accompanied us back.
Mossy jungle
dont encourage me to buy 'snackers'
Sad donkeys hauling arse
More sad donkeys
This little girl demanded I took her photo and then told me it would cost me some chocalate... jokes on her i didnt hae any!
Terraced hillside
Some of the many stairs we walked down
flat ground far in the distance
A baby and a puppy
everywhere you look in Nepal there are quarries
Back at the bridge in Nayapul
sad tractor
what a poser!
We were so set in our stride we didn’t even notice we had
arrived in the town. We stopped in the permit office to say we had arrived and
then walked up through the town to the bus stop which did take almost an hour.
We arrived at the bus stop as a bus was about to pull away out luckily we got
some seats at the back.
We took a seat and sat back for the bumpy journey to
Pokhara. The driver was a bit nuts and we hurtled along being thrown about in
our seats quite often. We were close to town when it started to pour with rain
and then the bus stopped and we were all sent to another bus which was already
full.
By the time we got down at the bus station it was 5pm and we
were the walking dead. We got a taxi back to the guesthouse and got our bags
out of storage. There was no hot water but the guesthouse owner’s wife kindly
boiled us a few buckets worth and we felt human again.
With clean clothes we headed out for food and headed back to
the guesthouse to watch a movie and hide from the rain.
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