So Heather has already started day one of our trek, but as she likes the more arty floaty style of writing, I feel its necessary to give some cold hard facts of our trek. The Ghorepani (Poon Hill) Trek is around 40 miles long, starting at Nayapul, which is already at 3,500ft, the usual stopping point for the first night is Tikkedhunga, a five hour walk away. However by 1pm we had already reached Tikkedhunga when the rain had started and both Heather and I were keen to push on to Ulleri (6,500ft) to get the dreaded stone steps out the way. In hindsight (the best form of vision) climbing the stone steps for 2 hours in pouring rain, probably wasn’t the greatest idea we ever had, especially as they lead 1500ft up the mountainside after an already long day. But when we fell through the door of our lodge / shed around 4pm, we were both exhausted, but happy to have got that particular part of the trek out of the way…. or so we thought.
DAY 2 – ULLERI TO GHOREPANI
So we rise early on day 2, you don’t really have a choice in this matter as the walls are made of plywood and you can hear every person in every room. A look out the window reveals the rain has stopped, but the valley is still shrouded with cloud so visibility is limited. As we eat breakfast however, the sun breaks through and we are treated to a close up view of Annapurna South (23,684ft) and a glorious deep blue sky.
As we leave the lodge at 8am, Tham tells us that there are some more stone steps to climb….. deep joy! after around an hour of torture, the steps abate and we enter an area of thick forest. The path continues to be a mix of rocky steps and steep up hill sections as the path winds its way upwards through the trees, passing over streams and waterfalls as we ascend. The forest is full of sound, along with the continuous sound of rushing water and crickets, there is a multitude of birdsong, coupled with the sound of monkeys calling to each other. Unfortunately for us the cloud has returned so our view of the valley is limited, but it gives our surroundings an almost mystical feel. We carry on ever upwards and we begin to notice our breathing becoming harder as our altitude increases, the constant climbing makes your muscles burn and your heart thump in your chest. As the morning passes, the efforts of the previous day’s 6.5 hour walk combined with the steep uphill pathways really begins to hit, but we turn down lunch at 11am, knowing that a further hour away is Ghorepani, our stopping point for day 2. The last hour before we get to Ghorepani is a bit of a blur, the cloud had thickened to a point where it was almost like a winter fog and more stone steps lead the way upwards. At noon we reached The Hungry Eye lodge in Ghorepani, 4 hours later and further 3,000 feet higher. Our resting point is much nicer than the previous nights affair and we both devour our respective lunches, all cooked with ingredients grown in their own vegetable patch. (the food at our lodge was probably the best we had in all of Nepal). The afternoon becomes chilly and the focal point of the lodge becomes the seats around the wood fire (oil drum with a chimney). The atmosphere feels very much like the alpine ski lodges I’ve stayed in as a kid, as everyone shares stories and drinks hot tea. An early night is in order as we need to get up at 4:20am the next morning to make sure we’re on the summit of Poon Hill for sunrise.
The Notorious Stone Step of Ulleri
Walking upwards through the forest
The clouds descend
DAY 3 – GHOREPANI TO ERM NOWHERE ACTUALLY
So 4:20am, Heather’s iPhone alarm sounds “give it away, give it away, give it away now” (I love the Chili’s just not at 4am). The second noise that we notice is the sound of rain….our previous evenings discussions had involved the possibility that the view from Poon Hill could still still be obscured by cloud, if indeed this was the case, we would stay an extra night and condense the last 3 days trekking into 2 long days. Taking all of this into account we turned over and went back to sleep. Tham, on the other hand, has different ideas and wakes us at 4:40am, telling us to get dressed because he can see the stars. I wake a not altogether happy Heather from her slumber and we dress warmly (in the dark as there is no electricity) and head downstairs. As soon as we get there Tham has a change of heart as the clouds have clearly returned with vigour. “I think better we sleep” is his revised opinion and Heather doesn’t need to be asked twice and is back in bed asleep within 2 minutes. I on the other hand, lay awake, disappointed that the chance to see the famous Poon Hill sunrise has been taken away from us, but relieved that we will get another chance tomorrow. Around 6am the sun streams into our room, as I look out of the window, across the valley, are the Himalaya’s, obscured by some clouds, but still visible.
The view from our guesthouse bedroom
We go down for an early breakfast, just as the other groups return from their Poon Hill trek, looking smug with their snatched pictures of occasional peaks in the clouds. Heather can sense that I’m disappointed that we didn’t make the trek that morning, but reassures me that it will be better the next morning.
Ghorepani is not a town designed to entertain a visitor for the day, mainly because its just a overnight stopping point for Poon Hill. We have a whole day to kill, so we decide to trek to the Poon Hill summit anyway (10,531ft), just to kill some time. The walk up takes around 45 mins (inclusive of some breath catching stops) and when we reach the summit, the clouds all but obscure most of the views. The best part however is that we have the whole place to ourselves, so we just sit on a bench for an hour, listening to the silence.
Cloudy view from Poon Hill
We spend the rest of the day either eating or resting (or a combination of the two). After dinner, Tham comes over to the table all excited telling us to come outside as the cloud has lifted (its pitch black outside), so we grab a fleece & head torch and follow our guide outside into the cold. The view outside is spectacular, the near full moon lights up the snow on the mountain tops and the long line of the Annapurna Range of the Himalayas glisten in the moonlight. The stars are so bright and numerous, it looks like a child has thrown glitter across the sky. Tham points out and names every mountain, just in case we don’t get to see them in the morning.
DAY 4 – GHOREPANI – POON HILL – GHANDRUK
It’s groundhog day, the sound of the Chili Pepper’s wakes us at 4:20am and we are up and waiting when Tham knocks on our door. We head into the dark morning and a quick look skywards shows bright stars in all their glory…. the Poon Hill sunrise is on!
We join a the trail up the hill, in front of us are a line of head torches, glowing like beacons in the dark surroundings. Heather holds her head torch by her side to light the way for both of us, the path is wet and slippery, but we are one of the first to reach the summit, so we secure a good spot and wait for the sun to rise.
The sun begins to rise
First thing to note is that it is freezing cold, we were quite warm after the climb up, but sitting still means that you get cold quite quickly, The sunrise from Poon Hill is truly beautiful, the dark night sky has an orange glow and the mountains slowly reveal themselves in all their glory, before the sun climbs the horizon and the first rays of sunlight make the peaks of the mountains shimmer. The two days of hard climbing were definitely worth it, as this sunrise will be something I will remember for the rest of my life, the only thing missing was the tranquility and silence of the previous day, due to the couple of hundred other trekkers sharing the experience with us.
Heather enjoying a cup of coffee on the Poon Hill Summit
Finally made it – 2 days walking and 7,000 feet higher
Because of the additional day in Ghorepani, it meant that we had to squeeze 3 relatively easy days trekking into 2 hard days of trekking. So by 7:45am we had returned from Poon Hill, eaten breakfast, packed and were on route to Ghandruk (Tham estimated a 9 hour walk). The first part of the day was another steep uphill section for an hour, clambering up a muddy path through the trees, again using the roots as steps. Fortunately this was the last big uphill section of our trek, and when we reached the last summit of our trek (back up to around 10,500ft) the view in the sunshine was equally as impressive as the Poon Hill vista. The mood was good as we started downwards through the increasingly denser jungle, Heather listening to Florence & The Machine on her iPod and Tham playing Hindi techno through his mobile phone. The first 3 hours are down some rocky steps and we find this easy going after all the uphill work.
We stop at Tadapani for an early lunch (11am) and we can see Ulleri in the distance across the valley, the resting point from our first night, it’s amazing to see just how far we’ve travelled in a few days. As we begin the afternoon section, the relentless steps downhill begin to take their toll on our legs, especially our knees and ankles, and our rest stops become more and more frequent. We pass a sign warning us of bandits, leopards, bears and crazy attack monkeys in the jungle (something our guide decided to omit from his notes) and carry on downwards. So far on the trek, Heather has done extremely well dealing with her phobia of heights, in particular the tiny suspension bridges that cross some of the valleys, however that afternoon, we come to a point where the pathway had all but disappeared due to a landslide, leaving a 12 inch wide ledge with a 150 feet or so drop into a ravine behind. With Tham in front, holding her hand, Heather pressed up against the rock face inching her way along and me behind holding onto the handle of her backpack, we made it across.
Another daredevil crossing by Heather Cleverly
I was surprised just how demanding the downhill section was physically. Walking uphill made your lungs and legs burn and your heart pound in your chest, but downhill was much more tiring. We make Ghandruk at just after 3pm, exhausted after a very long day. The first two guest houses we visit are full and the third is pretty disgusting, the sheets have dirt and blood stains and the communal bathroom is like a pub toilet after a heavy Saturday night…. not nice.
That night over dinner, we show Tham some pictures on Heather's iPhone, just pictures of both our home towns, then a couple of pictures of Rome and Paris, the look on his face says it all, these pictures are completely alien to him. Tham lives in a little more than a hut, with no electricity or running water and cooks all of his meals on a wood burning stove, yet despite having practically nothing, he spent the majority of our five days together smiling. It really makes you appreciate what you have.
The final day of our trek begins with possibly the worst porridge I’ve ever tasted (that includes the just add water freeze dried crap), although it matches the quality of the dinner the previous night. The steps begin again and we pass a group of American High School kids who decide that Maroon 5’s “She will be loved” is an appropriate ‘sing out loud’ song whilst hiking in the Himalayas, I obviously point out to them the error of their ways. We also pass a man carrying what I guess to be his elderly mother (circa 80) in a basket on his back, supported by a strap across his head. The guys that live in these mountains (including all the porters that we have passed) have truly unbelievable strength and stamina and no words can describe my admiration and respect for them.
How my roast chicken dinner ingredients reach the guest houses!!
Walking back down into the valley
At noon we reached Birethanti, this meant we had completed our circuit and we only had to retrace our steps the relatively short distance back to Nayapul & catch our taxi back to Pokhara. After a bite to eat, we head back to our taxi and then to our hostel, exhausted, aching, but feeling content that I had fulfilled a lifelong dream
- Mark ‘Aching Knees’ Cleverly
PS - For those of you who are not on Facebook, more pictures from Poon Hill can be seen here
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