An Image of Nepal – Complete with Photos (5/13)

Nepal. The name brings so many wonderful, positive images. Most of these are a result of traveling there 33 years ago as a college student, but many simply come from its reputation as the rooftop of the world . We were there for 12 days, March 25-April 5. It was a great experience for all of us, but its wonderful image is showing some fraying at the margins. First off, its tourist industry is only now starting to recover after the country’s 10 year battle with Maoist rebels. They, and other forces, did manage to bring down its monarchy two years ago, but to the apparent chagrin of the Maoists, democracy replaced it. There are still some terrorist attacks, but they are mainly aimed at the locals, not the tourists. The other stain on its image, though, is the air pollution. It is bad enough that the Lonely Planet travel guide recommends bringing a mask to filter the air. At higher elevations, it is not a problem, but at lower elevations, the views are very much obscured. Like India, this is a result of all of the open burning, poor pollution control devices, and a rapidly growing population.

We spent our first few days in Kathmandu, in a tourist district called Thamel. There, food of all types from around the world is served, hotels are cheap and clean (and more upscale), and the stores are stocked with outdoor clothing from North Face, Marmot, and Mountain Hardware. Now that is my kind of shopping! With amazingly low prices, I suspect that they are not the genuine item, but they sure look the part. There we were also able to book our entire itinerary for Nepal. Normally we plan all of our own activities, but in Nepal we decided that since the prices were so good, and the hassles so great, that we would let someone set everything up. We merely had to show up and enjoy ourselves.

Our first leg of the journey was our trip to Chitwan National Park, near the Indian border, where a large game area has been set aside. With all of the tourists visiting, the locals now have a vested interest in seeing that the animals are protected. Surprisingly, though Nepal is a mountain nation with 8 of the 10 tallest mountains in the world, there are also low elevations where crocodiles, rhinos, monkeys, elephants, and tigers live. We spent 2 full days there, with the highlights being an elephant ride, watching a rhino with her young, as well as seeing a large crocodile, and fresh tiger tracks.

The next leg took us to Pokhara, a lake town west of Kathmandu that serves as the gateway for trekkers to the Annapurna circuit. The full circuit takes about 21 days, but we just did a four day loop on it, though a loop normally done over five days. Still, it was a wonderful trek, where we were able to get breath-taking views of the high Himalayas.

Enjoying a book and the view at first night's hotel

Trekking in Nepal is not like backpacking back home. At home, we carry all of our gear on our backs, while in Nepal, a porter does that, so you only carry some personal supplies. Also, a guide is there to lead the way, and tell you about what you are seeing. One can do it without a guide and porter, but given how affordable it is, and that it is a good way to support the locals and give them reason to preserve their beautiful open spaces, it was an easy decision to do it the Nepali way. All throughout Nepal, there are small mountain communities that were originally simply farming communities, linked only by small trails, with people eking out a living trying to farm on steeply terraced slopes. These slopes are so steep, that the terraced levels are often only about 5-10 feet wide. It creates a strange look to the mountain slope, making them appear wrinkled. Now, however, people mainly make their living off of the trekkers, providing them food and lodging. So instead of pitching a tent at night, and cooking up some freeze-dried food on a lightweight gas stove, you stay in a guesthouse and order your food from a menu. It is all done very effectively, with each area having a committee that establishes menus for the area with set prices. However, as all supplies must come up the trail on the back of a porter or donkey, everything becomes more expensive as you get farther in, expensive, though still being relative.

View from Poon Hill

Sunrise, Poon Hill

The highlight of our trek was the morning we hiked up Poon Hill, to watch the sunrise over the Annapurna Range. To accomplish this, we had to get up at 4:10, no mean feat in of itself for our crew. At that hour, the temperatures are still below freezing, so we all wore nearly every piece of clothing we had along. It is a hugely popular hike, and rightly so, with its 360 degree views of spectacular mountains. We were joined by several hundred other trekkers. Incongruously, we also found at the top, a small little stand doing land-office business selling hot chocolate and coffee. It was a slice of heaven, sitting on a bench with the steep, knife-edged, snowy Himalayas laid out in front of you with a cup of hot coffee while the colors slowly changed as the sun rose. The images themselves are ones I would long carry with me, but it is so well-documented with pictures, that I will never forget them. Another true highlight of the trip.
-Mitch

View of the Annapurna Range from breakfast at our hotel

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