A few hundred kilometres north of Kolkata lies Kathmandu and the Himilayan playground. Being so close to such incredible scenery and having had a taste during Christmas, Georgie, Willem and I booked ourselves a two week slot to venture into the Nepalese mountains.
On arrival into Kathmandu international airport, which itself looked like a small 1960s red brick garage block, we were informed over 250 peaks in Nepal are over 6000m high! Unfortunately final approach into Kathmandu was cloudy so the spectacular scenery stayed hidden under cloud.
Kathmandu, apparently the second most polluted city in the world, greeted us with a huge thunder storm and rain, two things I haven't seen for a good few months. The streets around the tourist area of Thamel are jammed together creating a real maze of almost entirely fake northface clothing, foreign exchange and travel and tour company stores.
With time against us we headed to Pokhara the following morning, 7 hours away by bus. Running round like headless chickens, we got ourselves cereal bar supplies and the two mandatory permits each costing NRS 2000 (£12.50). No one could explain why we had to purchase both or what the difference was, but my bargaining did get me a 1% discount and Georgie a marriage proposal. We headed up into the mountains with "Raju Daju" the taxi driver blaring the ever popular Hoeny Singh (the Indian Jay-Z) and found ourselves playing card games late into the night with two young brothers in the starting village of Phedi.
After a relatively small breakfast (our appetites increased exponentially from here on in) we started our first ascent: 500m straight up on unforgiving stairs. The rest of day 1 followed in a similar fashion interspersed with small children shouting "chocolate" at us and the odd piece of spectacular scenery. We finished the day by rolling into a small village called Landruk where again my bargaining got us a room for free with views over looking Annapurna. Total ascent: 1030m. Total Descent: 370m.
Day 2 followed a the same up-down path with a highlight being a stop at the hot springs of Jihnu Danda after lunch. Unlike most others bathing in the pools, we hadn't really earned our muscle soak so continued on after lunch taking in a gruelling 300m ascent in 45mins. Total ascent: 870m. Total Descent: 450m.
Day 3 saw a welcome change in scenery. The unforgiving infinite steps gave way to forest paths, still on an incline. (We were about to ascend 2000m in 2 days!) We took in beautiful Himalayan villages including Bamboo and Dovan, pushing through the miserable torrential rain to a village called Himilaya. In hindsight it was possibly one of our worst decisions as Himilaya was one of the uglier stops of the day, relatively, and during the night a local creature decided to pay a visit to our room. We think a rat is the one to blame for the numerous nibble holes in our snack packages. The same rat is likely to be the thing that caused Georgie to wake up screaming, waking everyone else in the lodge through the paper-thin walls. And the third strike against the rat would be the excrement it left in my wash bag which I only discovered 2 days later thanks to the foul stench and strange brown/white smears all over my soaps, toothbrush and moisturiser! Total ascent: 1040m. Total Descent: 510m.
Day 4 was the big push towards the top, taking a relatively short half day to MBC, Machhapuchhare Base Camp. We passed into snow fields within an hour of setting off, slowing the pace and making for some inpromptu skiing. We trekked over dodgy streams and avalanches, every so often hearing the worrying rumble of falling snow. We made it by lunch and set in for a relaxing afternoon anticipating a long day in the morning. Total ascent: 860m. Total Descent: 0m.
Day 5 was one of my best. We got up at 4:30am to summit to ABC, Annapurna Base Camp, climbing over snow through the darkness, illuminated only by the moon and the odd head torch. The views were incredibly clear but the clouds soon set in as we demolished a double breakfast at the top. Back down the mountain valley we headed, trying to over take and avoid the long snaking chains of Asian tourists, all on package tours which required them to just carry small day packs and wear the appropriately branded "Malaysaion Invasion" t-shirts. Skiing back down with a few hairy moments, including crossing two fresh huge avalanche dumps, we some how made it back down to little Bamboo with our newly formed international trekking group, encompassing Dutch, French, Canadian, German and of course English. Total ascent: 430m. Total Descent: 1390m.
Day 6 was a long hard push to the end. As we descended the temperature climbed and saw my pasty legs finally get some mountain air! Three steep ascents each followed a long, hard descents. During the daily afternoon rain, old church songs reared their forgotten heads and I managed to stay in fairly high spirits. Having set off at 9am, Ghandruk couldn't have come quick enough as we rolled in at 6pm Total ascent: 945m. Total Descent: 1070m.
Day 7 saw a huge final descent of 1000m almost all in one stint. Having had a long trek the day before, my knees were begging for the end. That, a hot shower, and some good food. Pokhara provided both, the latter in the form of some unidentified steak. The craziest evening followed where we met a man named Babu. Initially we presumed he was like all other Nepalese in Pokhara, out to make a small dollar out of the mountains
We quickly realised he wasn't just any Nepalese man. He's summited Everest, breaking a world record for the highest paragliding flight at 8865m. He then proceeded to kayak from there to the Bay of Bengal, winning a National Geographic prize and a Red Bull Award in the process. We chatted for a few hours over steak fascinated by his stories. And to finish it off he then gave us a free t-shirt from his newly formed company. What a guy!
The following days in Pokhara were much more relaxed, swimming and enjoying the lake and spending time with our newly formed international group of Germans, Dutch, French and English. We rode the world's longest zip wire, reaching 140 kmph, probably less exciting than it sounds. The view was insane though.
We soon found ourselves heading back into then polluted and congested Kathmandu, where the crammed lanes, street corner temples, and random stupas filled our remaining time in Nepal.
I've already decided I'm coming back. Good food and incredible mountains make for my ideal sort of world. From Nepal I head back to Kolkata for a short 24hour stopover. I'll have the painful task of saying my goodbyes before heading to Kerala with my mum and Ian for a final two week exploration of a country that already feels like a second home.
On arrival into Kathmandu international airport, which itself looked like a small 1960s red brick garage block, we were informed over 250 peaks in Nepal are over 6000m high! Unfortunately final approach into Kathmandu was cloudy so the spectacular scenery stayed hidden under cloud.
Kathmandu, apparently the second most polluted city in the world, greeted us with a huge thunder storm and rain, two things I haven't seen for a good few months. The streets around the tourist area of Thamel are jammed together creating a real maze of almost entirely fake northface clothing, foreign exchange and travel and tour company stores.
With time against us we headed to Pokhara the following morning, 7 hours away by bus. Running round like headless chickens, we got ourselves cereal bar supplies and the two mandatory permits each costing NRS 2000 (£12.50). No one could explain why we had to purchase both or what the difference was, but my bargaining did get me a 1% discount and Georgie a marriage proposal. We headed up into the mountains with "Raju Daju" the taxi driver blaring the ever popular Hoeny Singh (the Indian Jay-Z) and found ourselves playing card games late into the night with two young brothers in the starting village of Phedi.
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| Setting out from Phedi |
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| The start of the trail and our first of many steep climbs. |
Day 3 saw a welcome change in scenery. The unforgiving infinite steps gave way to forest paths, still on an incline. (We were about to ascend 2000m in 2 days!) We took in beautiful Himalayan villages including Bamboo and Dovan, pushing through the miserable torrential rain to a village called Himilaya. In hindsight it was possibly one of our worst decisions as Himilaya was one of the uglier stops of the day, relatively, and during the night a local creature decided to pay a visit to our room. We think a rat is the one to blame for the numerous nibble holes in our snack packages. The same rat is likely to be the thing that caused Georgie to wake up screaming, waking everyone else in the lodge through the paper-thin walls. And the third strike against the rat would be the excrement it left in my wash bag which I only discovered 2 days later thanks to the foul stench and strange brown/white smears all over my soaps, toothbrush and moisturiser! Total ascent: 1040m. Total Descent: 510m.
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| A change in terrain. |
Day 4 was the big push towards the top, taking a relatively short half day to MBC, Machhapuchhare Base Camp. We passed into snow fields within an hour of setting off, slowing the pace and making for some inpromptu skiing. We trekked over dodgy streams and avalanches, every so often hearing the worrying rumble of falling snow. We made it by lunch and set in for a relaxing afternoon anticipating a long day in the morning. Total ascent: 860m. Total Descent: 0m.
 |
| Snowy conditions |
Day 5 was one of my best. We got up at 4:30am to summit to ABC, Annapurna Base Camp, climbing over snow through the darkness, illuminated only by the moon and the odd head torch. The views were incredibly clear but the clouds soon set in as we demolished a double breakfast at the top. Back down the mountain valley we headed, trying to over take and avoid the long snaking chains of Asian tourists, all on package tours which required them to just carry small day packs and wear the appropriately branded "Malaysaion Invasion" t-shirts. Skiing back down with a few hairy moments, including crossing two fresh huge avalanche dumps, we some how made it back down to little Bamboo with our newly formed international trekking group, encompassing Dutch, French, Canadian, German and of course English. Total ascent: 430m. Total Descent: 1390m.
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| We made it! 6am in the morning. |
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| A slice of the Annapurna range |
We quickly realised he wasn't just any Nepalese man. He's summited Everest, breaking a world record for the highest paragliding flight at 8865m. He then proceeded to kayak from there to the Bay of Bengal, winning a National Geographic prize and a Red Bull Award in the process. We chatted for a few hours over steak fascinated by his stories. And to finish it off he then gave us a free t-shirt from his newly formed company. What a guy!
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| Babu and the steak house |
We soon found ourselves heading back into then polluted and congested Kathmandu, where the crammed lanes, street corner temples, and random stupas filled our remaining time in Nepal.
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| The chaos of the capital |
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