Nepal, with some of the tallest mountains in the world, is one of the most popular country among the hikers community. Every year, thousands of people flock this place with different goals in mind. Some want to reach the summit of Everest, some want to make it to a base camp and others just want to trek and enjoy nature.
Several years ago, my dad and I decided to spend a couple of weeks in Nepal. We didn't have any expectations, but there was one thing we wouldn't miss before leaving and that was to trek on the Himalaya range.
The first day after our arrival in Kathmandu, we found a tour company which provided us with a suggested itinerary for the whole length of our vacation.
The plan was to spend a few days visiting Kathmandu and its surroundings before heading to Chitwan National Park. The second week was the most interesting for us and the recommendation, based on our available time, was to do the 5 days Ghorepani Poon Hill Trek in the Annapurna mountain range. We arranged everything including a guide and a sherpa as neither my dad nor I was willing to carry a 15Kg backpack on the trail.
At the start of our trek, our guide took care of all the necessary permits and we were on our way for 5 days/4 nights on the trail of the Annapurna range.
We were there in November which is a good season for this trek and so we encountered a lot of fellow hikers. We had a sunny yet cold weather so kinda ideal to walk. However, we had to cover up at night because it got really cold.
The advantage of not having to carry and worry about our backpack is that we could just focus on the beauty around and take pictures, hundreds of them so the choice on which ones to show here was not easy. Here's my selection:
Here we had our first glimpse of Machapuchare also nicknamed the fish tail mountain because of the shape of its peak. It stands at 6,993m. It is however forbidden to climb it because it is sacred in the Hindu religion.
The Village of Birethanti is the start and end point of the Ghorepani Poon Hill loop.
Here is the main street crossing Birethanti
My Dad, our Sherpa (I'm sorry, I forgot his name) and Ram, our guide
We came across this scene quite a lot in Nepal where women walk together carrying heavy loads of mostly wood.
We encountered a lot of sherpas who are continuously going up and down the trail to carry the tourists' belongings but also all the goods necessary for the lodges and guesthouses. But you can also find a lot of donkeys used for the same reason . Here you can see them in Ulleri coming down with the garbage to be disposed of in the main town.
This is what most lodges or guesthouse look like from the outside. My dad and I spent one night in this one.
My dad and Ram taking their time. There are a lot of stairs along this trek, as in a LOT. I didn't count them but for sure my thighs were not very pleased with them.
This is the entrance of Ghorepani which is halfway through the trek. Most tourists spend the night there so they can wake up very early and go watch the sunrise over the Annapurna range at Poon Hill.
Family moment.
The view of some of the mountains of the Annapurna range from the top of Ghorepani
Sunset over some of the mountains of the Annapurna range
As I mentioned above it was really cold at night so people would usually try to keep warm and sit close to the heater in the middle of the main room. Every guesthouse or lodge would look the same and you would always have underwear, t-shirts, towels, etc... hanging above it. If I'm not mistaken and remember correctly, the heater is fueled by dry cow dungs.
That's it for now, the second part will be the return back to Birethanti with the main attraction being the sunrise from Poon Hill.