Trekking in the Annapurnas
Friday, October 26th, 2007
Pete Writes: After 6 weeks of chilling and sight seeing we decided to put our bodies through 11 days of walking up and down the mountains of Nepal. Although we were walking an average of 10 miles a day, all the pain seemed to be cured by the rolling country side views. In the beginning of the trek we had quite a baron backdrop, with the snow caped mountains looming over us. Then once we started to descend the climate became more tropical, with waterfalls and paddy fields. It was really interesting on the walk up to Ghorepani (2750m) from Tatopani (1190m) as the crops being grown changed from Oranges to Apples within 2 hours (probably 700m in height). Shame we craved for fresh apples when we were near the bottom 
On the subject of apples, one thing I thought that I would struggle to find on this trip was cider. How wrong was I? Every menu in the higher lodges had it on offer (Shame it tasted more like vinegar) Roll on January, Gary :)There was a number of landslides along the route, with one memorable one consisting of a tight path with steep rock steps cutting into an almost vertical mound of shingle and slate. With the added pressure of a 20 meter drop into the fast flowing river below. SKETCHY!
I really enjoyed the whole experience of carrying all the kit you needed in between each village. Then once we got to the guest house we found a really welcoming family on hand to cook our filling carbohydrate dinner. Then there was the daily task of avoiding the convoy of donkeys bringing supplies to the villages to feed all of us hungry trekkers. The donkeys were not the only means of transporting goods. We saw numerous porters carrying everything from glass bottles to chickens on there back. Some were managing to carry in the excess of 80Kg, making us look like tortoises struggling with 7kg on our backs.
Once we had finished the 105 miles we had one more surprise install for us. The bus home. We reached the bus, only to be ushered up to the roof to join several others and 2 yaks! The ride was hair raising, rolling back and forth around bends at 30mph. We stopped for 15 mins, when I decided that it would be safer inside. We then realised why we were sent to the roof. It was like we had just entered into a record attempt of the most people in a 30 seater bus. I counted at least 60 with the extra 15 on top hanging onto the yaks.
Chloe Writes: We started our journey on a 15 seater light aircraft, which took 15 minutes to get to Jomsom the starting point of our trek at an altitude of 2,700 meters. The part of the circuit Pete and I walked is called the tea house trek as it sees and caters for more visitors per year than the other side and therefore you are never more than 3 hours away from a cup of hot sweet tea and a piece of apple pie. The other side of the circuit is only attempted by those who intend to go over the Throng La Pass which is the highest passable point of the Annapurna’s for a non-professional trekker, a total height of over 5,400 meters. Maybe next time!
The small villages were fantastic and all had there own little quirks. Kagbeni had a medieval feel about it whereas Marpha was quite modern. Tatopani had some hot springs and a dip is the perfect way to end a full day of walking (along with a glass of wine of course). Staying in a different lodge every night was good fun and the people were very friendly, it felt as though you were staying in someone’s house and were part of the family. It wasn’t all idyllic though as I did get a bout of fairly nasty food poisoning from some chicken and the next 2 days of walking were not easy, (I decided to be a veggie for the rest of the trip). Also the last place we stayed (an un-planned stop as we were too physically exhausted after a 16.5 mile walk to carry on) we were kept awake by the sound of a squeaking family of mice scurrying around (it was our flat in Old-Market all over again).
Getting used the temperature drop at the high altitudes after being in a 30 degree heat in Pokhora meant the purchasing of woolly hats, gloves and big woolen socks and at our highest point in Muktinath (3,800 meters) i slept in all my clothes, my woolly hat, 2 pairs of socks, gloves, a fleece sleeping bag liner and 2 blankets and i was still cold, i guess 5 weeks in India didn’t prepare us well.
It was physically one of the hardest things i have ever done, especially the 14 mile climb up 1600 meters from Tatopani to Ghorepani but the views were truly spectacular. Poon Hill another 400 meters up from Ghorepani (which we climbed before the sunrise), has panoramic views of the Himalayas with the 7th & 8th highest peaks in the world on either side of the Annapurnas.
Over-all we are truly cream crackered, but have had an amazing time in Nepal and are currently chilling out and enjoying the good-life before our mammoth 2-day journey overland to Bombay 
Page Gallery
Our Airplane
A view from Jomsom
View on Route to Kagbeni
About 20 minutes before the Sun Rose on Poon Hill
Sunrise on Poon Hill
Sunrise on Poon Hill2
More of the Sunrise, it was beautiful
Pete and I decided against the Yak Burger and Fries …..
…..Especially when we saw this little fella!
We were so proud of making it up our first steep ascent
While we were trekking, the biggest festival in Nepal lasting 10 days was in progress. Day 8 was the giving of the tika (on our foreheads)
Pete Writes: The initial feeling of arriving in a new country was really exciting. We managed to get our visa ok, ... 
Chloe Writes: Varanasi is a very spiritual place, Hindu's (around 60,000 a day) come here to wash away their sins in the Ganges. They also use it to ...