Pokhara & The Annapurna Sanctuary Trek

The Seti river - which the road between Kathmandu and P0khara follows.








Cycling in the rain - umbrella's come in handy here not only as it's the start of rainy season but they are good for sheltering out of the sun (I even took one on my trek!!)










Me at the start of the trek - when I still looked fresh and clean!!










Little boy fishing.

Pack mules are used to carry supplies into the villages.

Some of the many thousands of stairs I climbed!!

I've never actually seen an eggplant before but this is not what I expected.....

Alok and Dan (my guide and porter) drying off after a day trekking in the rain.

The sun finally decided to come out after we reached Ghorepani.

After a 400m climb uphill at 6am I was glad clouds lifted a little to see the views of the Annapurna range from Poon Hill - this is seemingly a brilliant spot for the sunrise but it was too cloudy earlier to make it worth getting out of bed at 4.30am (my excuse anyway!!)

The forrest paths through the valleys.

A babies cot in one of the Tea Houses we stopped at.

A traffic jam on the way - took some negotiating not to step on any of the sheep!

Taking a break after a steep walk uphill.

A good view from Tadapani.

I felt exhausted having walked down about 2,000 stairs knowing I had another 3,000 to climb straight back up the other side of the valley (and that I had to do this in reverse on way back). Then I met these kids who had to do it carrying these big baskets!! I don't know how the local people do it - not only do they carry the local products but you can get bottles of beer/coke etc all the way up the trekking route and don't forget the mattresses/chairs/gas bottles that also have to make it to the Tea Houses - the pack mules don't go this far!!

Clear views over the valley.

Me trying not to fall into the river (there was a steep drop down to my right) - most wider streams/rivers had bridges (some just a few pieces of wobbly wood) but this one had been washed away in last years monsoons and not yet replaced.

Just in case you fancy trying something new for Sunday dinner....

Getting near Annapuran Base Camp - there are some big mountains hiding behind that cloud somewhere.!

We reached Annapurna Base Camp and it was still cloudy so no mountains - we could see the glacier below though - which is seemingly ever retreating due to global warming which may eventually cause real problems for the river supplies to the mountains.

Just after we got to Base Camp it started to snow - didn't stop these crazy local boys playing volleyball.

It was that cold - I had on 4 layers of clothes including my thermals!! Even the toughened porters and guides were trying to keep warm - don't think I would like to be here in winter!

Well I woke the next morning just after 5am to find the clouds had lifted and that Base Camp was surrounded on all sides by snowy mountain peaks - it was stunning. This is the first glimpses of daylight on the mountain peaks.

The mountain dog - I was told that sometimes these dogs, which just roam the hills, have been known to assist trekkers and porters to reach the Base Camp when visibility gets poor.

Looking over base camp and Mount Machhauchre (also known as Fish Tail). No one has yet reached the summit of this mountain (which is only a baby at 6,997m) and due to the number of deaths from attempts no permits are granted to climb it. There are still climbers regularly die on the other mountains - in fact one died up here 5 days before I arrived. Think I'll stick to trekking and leave the peaks to the reall crazy people :-)

Annapurna 1 (there are about 6 peaks with name Annapurna - who is actually a female god)

Fish Tail from a different angle.

Leaving Base Camp to get back to lower (and warmer) heights.

The view back as we walked away from Annapurna Base Camp.

Ryan and I have a short break at Machhapuchare Base Camp on way down from Annapuran Base Camp. I suspect Alok and Dan thought I was crazy taking photo's of Ryan the Tiger!@

Dan in his portable rain shelter.

At Sinawu the local villagers were celebrating the collection of honey from some beehives that they had to climb down the side of the hills to reach - one poor guy didn't have on his bee hat and got stung in the eye which was really swollen!! I got offered a local delicacy of baby bees which has medicinal powers - having watched the guides and porters decline I decided this was the better option!!

Chhomrong - the last village we passed on the way up with a phone (2 days from Base Camp) and there were 2,000 stairs or so on way down from here and about 3,000 at the other side of the valley - no problem but on the way back we had to do it in reverse!!

The Hot Springs at Jinu Danda - a few hours here after 9 days walking was bliss - jumping into the cold river next to the Hot Spring was certainly refreshing!!

Loads of colourful bugs and butterflies - luckily for you guys most were camera shy!!

Me crossing one of the better bridges on the trek - although it was a little bouncy!!

Making clothes at one of the villages.

Believe it or not but this little girl (who must have been no older than three) was washing her socks at the water well!! Imagine getting most your kids to even put their socks in the washing basket??

School Playtime - I was quite impressed with the local kids in their immaculate school uniforms – though some families take there kids out of school when they are old enough to work on the farms as it’s the only way they can get enough crops to survive.

Landruk Village.

Lots of coulorful birds.

And another...

My final view of the Mountains on the last night of my trek as it was overcast the next morning. The nights the sky was clear there was also fantastic views of the stars.

The route of the trek - red dots show places we stayed on the way up and purple the way down - big black spot shows Annarpuna Base Camp.

The Padi fields just outside Pokhara.

So you would think after 10 days trekking I'd be fed up walking - no I decided that I would take the scenic route up to the World Peace Pagoda - 2 hours uphill in the heat (rather than bus or boat followed by short walk!!) and 11/4 hour back down then another 45 mins to get to the Mountain museum - least I am getting some exercise!

Pokhara sits beside Nepal's 2nd biggest lake - Phewa Tal - the built up area on the right of the photo is Lakeside which is the tourist area of the city, which to be honest could be a toursit area in any resort (with the exception of all the trekking shops!)

Me and the tiny lady I met on my walk to the Peace Pagoda - I don't think I've ever felt so tall before!! Though she couldn't speak any English she managed to tell me using signs that she only has one tooth left due to a stomach problem - didn't stop her enjoying the Chocolate Eclair I gave her :-)

Another downside about trekking in the rainy season - leeches!! I had two bites on my trek and this little blood sucker got me on my way back from the Peace Pagoda - as I had no salt or matches I just had to leave it till it was full and fell off - not a good idea to pull them off as they leave their teeth which can then get infected!!

The Toilet Signs at the International Mountain Museum.

Sunset at Lake Phewa Tal.

Well as you can see I survived my trek into the Annapurna Sanctuary. It was fantastic and I am really glad I did the longer trek which covered most of the route of the initial trek I had in mind and more. The first day was only a few hours walk up a steady path after we got dropped off. The second day started with a tough couple of hours climb up about 600m of stairs - just a sign of things to come!! The trek went through forests, valleys, followed rivers, over farms and into villages and of course there were lots and lots of stairs – the Nepalise people like the most direct route which means a lot of straight up and then straight back down!! If you ever decide to go trekking here the best training would be on a stairmaster

As it was the end of season the trekking route was not very busy – we could go hours, sometimes more and not meet any other trekkers – during peak season it is mobbed (at the main places for views you can have hundred’s of people there at one time!!) so I am glad my timing was off (not that it was planned - quite enjoying the see what happens attitude to life). Though, this did mean more clouds and rain, I was lucky though as it rained most days late afternoon by which time we had arrived at the accommodation. We did get caught a few times but won’t complain as the clouds lifted most mornings for the good views and a couple of times the rain and clouds were a blessing from the heat.

Other than one blister on my big toe I got through 10 days with no pain (even the leeches didn't hurt) – stretching exercises every night seemed to keep the legs from seizing up!! The route had loads of Tea Houses along the way – restaurant/lodges which were immaculate some even had hot showers and all offered a variety of food – though I generally stuck to pasta, noodles and rice as good energy food and easier to prepare given that a lot of the time I was the only guest in the place!! The Nepalise people’s staple diet is Daal Bhaat – a rice based dish which is served with a lentil soup and variety of Veg (depending on what is available) – they eat this normally twice a day. Quite a lot of the Tea Houses are owned by retired Gh

Alok and Dan (guide and porter) were good- they not only made sure I didn’t get lost or fall down the mountainside but they answered my numerous questions not only about the trek but about Nepal in general. They were also very funny and kept me entertained and did they like to gossip (not that I could follow it as they did this in Nepalise - very inconsiderate!!).

Although hard work living in the mountains I think compared to other rural communities those in the main trekking areas are relatively well off – in other places the kids can have up to 3 hours walk to school each way and in most rural areas there is no infrastructure – roads, medical help, electricity etc. Lots of people move to the cities for work, then it becomes too hard to get back to their villages as it can be 7/8 days walking if you can’t afford a flight to the nearest airport (which can still be a couple of days walk away!!).

Puts life at home into perspective when we complain about long hours etc!! Maybe it ain’t so bad ;-) Doesn’t mean I’m ready to come home yet though – still lots of places for me to visit.

Moving on from Pokhara this afternoon – I have a few stops at some smaller places planned en route back to Kathmandu so I’ll update again in a week or so for those who are not yet bored and still checking up on my travels.

Jack :-) xxx