The Trek, Part 2.

Trip Start Sep 29, 2008

Trip End Aug 2009

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Where I stayed

Hotel Om

(Kathmandu hotels)

Flag of Nepal Jomsom, Nepal
Saturday, October 18, 2008

As with The Godfather sequel this one is better.
We leave Pokhara for the second time, this time with less toilet paper in our rucksacks and more enthusiasm.
We again start in Nyapul and this time walk further, all the way to our first nights stop at Tikhedhunga. The second day starts hard, with a climb up 3000 steps! We don't count them but there was definitely more than that. With aching legs and the smell of a hard days trekking we get to Ghorepani. We are now at 2750 metres and the views are of amazing snow capped mountains. We stay the night in The Pele chalet, next door to Muhammed Ali. The Michael Schumacher room wasn't as nice.
We have an early start on Day 3, for we're walking up to Poon Hill for the sunrise. In the darkness we walk in a convoy of heavy breathing trekkers illuminated by the glow of head-torches. We climb in the cold morning air to 3200 meres and watch as the sun appears over the Annapurna range. The photos don't do the view justice. You'll need to go there yourselves to appreciate the sheer vastness of the range.
We have a long day today as we continue to Tatopani. Dave has to cross several rope suspension bridges, high above the Kali Gandaki River below. Indianna Jones would have been right at home. The valley rings to the sound of blasphemy and expletives!
Tatopani. What can we say about this place renowned for it's natural hot springs said to heal all illnesses? Don't bother ever going there, it's that bad. We spend a horrible night in the worst place we've ever stayed.
We're glad to leave the next morning, a feeling echoed by all those that we talk to.
The euphoria is short lived, right until we both nearly die!
While walking high about the river, in the deepest valley in the world, the path disappears. A landslide has taken the road. There is no way on, except to scrabble and cling to a sheer gravel drop. We shout and scream our way across both thinking that this was going to be IT. Never again. That was the most stupid and dangerous thing we have ever done.
We rest at Ghasa in a lovely quiet hotel, soaking up the sun.
From here we travel by jeep to Marpha, the home of the apple. Every food on the menu has an apple involved in it. This place is right at the foot of the Kali Gandaki valley and is subjected to the strong wind which bellows through it.
The next day we walk to Kagbeni, a remote mountain village as far North as we can go. It's on the boundary of the Restricted Area which borders Tibet. We have a real liking for Kagbeni, a village that appears unchanged for thousands of years. Suzi befriends all the Yak calfs and spends most of the afternoon feeding them.
From Kagbeni we climb to Muktinath, the highest that we have been at 3800 metres. The thin air makes it hard to climb the steep mountain trails. Once there Dave visits the Hindu Temple and drinks from the 108 water outlets, shaped like cows heads. All his past sins are forgiven. Result!
We leave the height of Muktinath and take the easy walk down to Jomsom, staying the night before an early morning flight back to Pokhara and civilisation.
If only things were that easy.
The 6 am fligh is first delayed and then cancelled due to the weather. We're faced with a 2 day trek back down, including crossing the landslide. We will miss our flight to Kathmandu and then onto Hong Kong. This isn't good. We end up jumping in a helicopter with a couple of sinister looking Russians, and make our escape off the mountain. The ride back is worth it, the views stunning.
Back in Pokhara we make our connection to Kathmandu and then onto Delhi.
Nepal is a beautiful country, from the jungles of Chitwan to the snow covered peaks of the Himalayas. It is well worth a visit.