Hiking the Annapurna Mountains (I)

I finally got around to go through some of the pictures that I took on the trip to India and Nepal. One of the highlights was certainly our five day trek through the Annapurna mountains. And since these are some of the freshest and most vivid memories I'm going to start with this hike...

Foreword

We planned to do a five day trek but we had no idea where exactly we wanted to go until two days before the start. We decided that we want to see the Annapurna mountains, which have some of the world's highest peaks (not the Everest though). Back in Germany, we already heard two reports about this area and what is there to see. While we were first under the impression that we need to hire a guide, we eventually figured out that we can do this trek on our, equipped with a trekking guide book and a map of the area, both of which we bough in Kathmandu. The guide book was the Lonely Planet Trekking Guide Nepal, an excellent choice with loads of information for trekkers, from specific treks to moral aspects of trekking through the Himalayans. Highly recommendable. Thanks for the nice guy from Wales that motivated us to do it on our own!

A quick note about the pros and cons of having a guide (and potentially porters). Just one thing ahead: for many of the treks in this area you will not need to have a guide, especially the shorter ones. So if you feel adventurous, go ahead and do the trek by yourself (not alone, though!) You need to take care of some more things (TIMMS trekking permit and Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) permit, route planning, guesthouse search) but it gives you a higher degree of freedom (and potentially satisfaction). However, guides can certainly make your trek more comfortable and help you learn about the culture and customs in this area. We preferred the independence and adventure of planning and going on our own, though. The story might be totally different in remote areas where you have to rely on your guide, e.g., if English does not get you very far or you are inexperienced with going to high altitudes. A porter can be helpful if you cannot or do not want to carry all of your clothes and equipment on your own. You meet them a lot on the treks and they never failed to amaze me in how much they can carry (usually a big backpack plus their own stuff, without any problem). I guess my backpack weighed about 10kg, which was ok but more would have started to be become problematic. For a longer trek I certainly need to optimize for weight... If you feel bad for hiring someone to carry your stuff up the mountain, consider this advice that I read in the trekking guide mentioned above: People do not feel guilty for hiring a cab driver to drive them around because he knows how to drive and knows the way. So why not hire someone who is able to carry your load and trained in climbing mountains?

The first day

We started from Kathmandu to Pokhara by bus, which is cheaper than flying (20 USD as compared to >100 USD per person). It is also quite adventurous to ride the narrow roads for 200km and see what Nepali traffic looks like. Plus, you can catch gorgeous views of the nature on the way, provided that the fog lifts here and there.

After one night in Pokhara, we took yet another bus to Nayapul ("New Bridge", 1070m) where we started the actual hike. Our plan was to go to Ghorepani, from there to Ghandruk, and back to Nayapul. We ended up taking some detours though because we learned about interesting places during the hike.

Some of the typical things you spot around this area: long suspension bridges, terrace fields, and green forests surrounding the rivers going through the valleys.

A typical small village you come through: the blue roofs usually signal guesthouses or teahouses, which makes it easy to spot a overnight stays and lunch places even from the distance. Many of the villages seem to only consist of guesthouses, which is not surprising since this is a very busy trek.

Beautiful flowers you find everywhere in this area.

Again, going through villages, passing by guesthouses about every 500 meters. At least during low-season you do not need to be afraid to end up without a bed at night.

The first day brought us up by about 1000m to Ullerie (2020m), a small village which lies at the top of a steep ascent, which is said to have more than 3200 stairs (and no, I did not count them). Arriving uphill, we were quite exhausted and ready for tea so we took the first guesthouse we came across, which was quite decent. Looking back downhill made us realize where we came from.

Unfortunately, our first potential view of the Annapurna South was hidden by clouds...

The next morning look out of the window totally made up for it though. It was an amazing feeling, waking up looking at an 8k mountain. Impressive! It gave us a vague feeling of what was awaiting us at the end of the second day...