Ascending to the heavens!

Trekking! As we set out for the Himalayas Monday morning, expectations were high and there was a static feel of excitement in the taxi taking us and Akio, our Japanese friend, to our starting destination, Naya Pul. Our itinerary was the popular Ghorepani-Ghandruk trek. This five day route promised to lead us through serene mountain villages and enchanted forests, while offering staggering mountain views. Many of the peaks can be seen from Pokhara, but the real giants of Annapurna and Dhaulagiri (ranked 10th and 7th highest mountains in the world, both above 8000 m) were obscured by lesser mountains as we started at about 1000 m at Naya Pul. We bid farewell to Akio, who was undertaking the longer and more ambitious trek to Annapurna Base Camp - A.B.C. for short. As the two of us set off alone towards Thikedhunga (1540 m), it dawned on us: our Himalayan adventure had begun.

Indian-posing with Akio in Naya Pul . It's chilly before the sun comes through!

We started along a gravel road, but when we pass this kind of scenery, it's OK.

Due to the geography of the Himalayas, distances are mainly given in hours rather than kilometers. We soon found that the trekking times given on our map did not correspond to our speed. Thikedhunga, which we thought would be our stop for the day, was reached in a couple of hours, and we decided to go straight for the next days' goal, 1300 meters higher up at the top of the hill, Ghorepani. There proved to be many steps to conquer on the way to the top - too many for me. I almost broke down in exhaustion at Ulleri (2070 m), and my spirits were low. Luckily Thomas, with the strength of a yak-ox, offered to help me carry my load. With his encouragement and help, we managed to climb the remaining 800 meters to Ghorepani, putting us a day ahead of schedule. We also enjoyed praise and respect (and sometimes disbelief) from the locals when we said we'd done Naya Pul to Ghorepani in one day!

Approaching Thikedhunga before noon; sleeping here is for wusses!

Spirits still high!

Double-packing on mystical elven trails.

The mountain villages we passed consisted mainly of tourist lodges, which would be our accommodation for the journey. Though it is mid-winter and low season with few to no guests at the lodges, we had company in the popular Ghorepani: two wi-fi-loving girls from Hong Kong and their extravagant porter/guide. They were ecstatic to find wi-fi at the these altitudes, but we chose to abstain from such luxuries.

An early evening (can't remember the last time I went to bed before 9 pm), made waking up at 5:30 a breeze - just in time to catch the famous sunrise at Poon Hill. At 3210 m it would be called a mountain any other place, but dwarfed by the surrounding mountain ranges of Annapurna and Dhaulagiri, it could hardly be called more than a hill. We left our bags in Ghorepani and hiked the 45 minutes to the summit - we had to take it slow, as we could start to feel the effects of the altitude! At the top there was a viewing tower and a tea shop, and though we had to share the moment with hordes of Korean and Chinese tourists, watching the first rays of sun gradually illuminate the snow-covered peaks was truly amazing.

Annapurna I soaking up the day's first rays of sun.
Fishtail, 6997 m., to the far right, is dwarved in comparison.

Arriving in Ghorepani wasn't the worst feeling!

Along the trail on day 2 - checking the map at one of the many rest stops,
with Annapurna South just doing what she does best.

We went back down to our lodge, had breakfast, and set off over a spectacular ridge. The trail led us through beautiful and quickly changing forests of different types. 30 meter tall rhododendron trees towered above us, but the ever-present Annapurna range to our left brought towering to a whole new level! Up and down steep hills we went, though we did not get the huge inclines we had encountered the day before. Taking it slow due to photo-necessity, altitude and occasionally icy and slippery trails, we were doing much better than yesterday. Since we were ahead of schedule we chose to step off the tourist track and do an extra circuit northward towards Jhinu hot springs. We left the main path at Tadopani and stopped for the night in the quiet, tourist-free village of Ghurnung, at the foot of Annapurna herself. The mountain air dozing us beyond measure, we struggled intensely to stay awake until 8:30! We decided not to set an alarm, and barely stirred for the next 12 hours.

Indian-posing as we leave Ghorepani and enter more enchanted forest.

Passing one of the many walking stick-armed Koreans.

Stepping off the beaten track took us to this kind of forests.

Ghurnung: Not Annapurna views, but more Annapurna spirit.

Lowering our weary bodies into the warm water of the hot springs the following day was every bit as good as we had hoped. As I lay care free in the pool by the roaring river I had an epiphany. I am now a firm believer in reincarnation through hot springs. We continued our trip revitalized, and no doubt I owe my thanks to the springs for giving me the strength to climb the 500 meters of steep stone steps that got us to Ghandruk (2000 m) that afternoon. This largeish village-town inhabited by the Gurung tribe offered further breathtaking views of Annapurna and Macchapucchre, the characteristic Fishtail mountain. Though I will not describe in detail the symptoms of the illness that got me this day (must have been something I ate), I was beaming with excitement over the landscape in spite of it. I can only imagine Thomas' joy, which must have exceeded even mine, as he was not bothered by any affliction.

When the going gets tough...

...the tough get going!

The hot springs were at the bottom of this V-valley, so down we go. Bye bye, Fishtail!

The sun hasn't set on Annapurna quite yet...

The sunrises in the Himalayas are really something special and they never get boring. Though the extreme altitudes press the air up clouds inevitably hide the peaks through the day, the mornings are crisp and crystal-clear. We woke up early again and enjoyed every view Ghandruk had to offer, and after a long and pleasant morning with the locals we started off back down the 4175 stone steps (Thomas counted - an agonizing task!) that we had climbed exclusively for the sake of those views. We took our time heading towards our exit point, which we easily could have reached in one day if we had tried, but since we wanted an extra day in the mountains we stopped in Pothana, 1970 m. Along the way were lazy mountain villages, but as we moved away from the great mountains and towards civilization, we felt less and less in the wild. Following a jeep road, we were growing a bit bored, but things picked up again as a sign pointed us up more steep steps (now they are our friend!) to Pitam Deurali (2280 m). Here the forests again felt wild, Annapurna showed itself as a castle in the sky above the afternoon clouds, and we met a very friendly Nepali guide and Korean girl, who we decided to lodge up with in Pothana.

After a long night of card games and delicious food, we practically collapsed when we went to bed at 9:15. The next morning we again got up early for one last magical sunrise, before hiking the last two hours of village-flanked trails and steps down to Pokhara valley.

We don't seem to get tired of waking up to this.

Haze + sun + Himalayas = Lion King magic!

Back to civilization...

This kind of trekking in the Himalayas has become very easy for anyone, due to well-maintained trails, lodges with all facilities, and the possibility to hire guides and porters. We were very happy with our choice to go on our own, but it would be nice to get a little further away from the trails of the first-time trekkers and deeper in to the brilliant mountains themselves. I guess we'll just have to come back here, again!

Now we're headed to Chitwan National Park in southern Nepal. We've booked a three-day all-inclusive package trip, including rhino safari from elephant-back, crocodile-teasing from dug-out canoes, bird watching jungle walks with professional guides, and finally bus ride to the capital city of Kathmandu.