Trekking in The Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal ~ Part 3

Day 3 on the trail starts early so that we can watch the sunrise from Poon Hill. Testament to the scale of our surroundings, Poon Hill is in fact 3,210 metres in height, more than double the height of Britain’s tallest mountain, Ben Nevis (1,344m).

Following the narrow path up to Poon Hill, we just put our heads down and walk and as Raj predicted we easily pass many other walkers to make it to the top in good time. Once at the top, Raj asks if we want tea. We obviously both do, so while we join the queue of tourists at the tea hut, Raj just walks in, pours two mugs, and brings them out to us. I knew having a good guide was a good idea!

Raj has been teaching me which mountain is which in both English and Nepalese as we have been trekking, and while I stare wide eyed at the incredible line-up before us, Raj tests me:

Annapurna South, 7,219m

Machapuchare, or Fishtail Mountain, 6,993m. This mountain has never been climbed to its summit because it so sacred.

Dhaulagiri, 8,167m. The 7th highest mountain in the world.

I ask for a photo, and very sweetly Raj is pleasantly surprised when I stop him from taking my camera as I want him in the picture too. He seemed very touched and stood proudly in front of us.

I can’t get enough of the views, I have read so much about the high mountains in general, and the Himalayan ones in particular, and just being here feels almost sacred to me. Raj politely shoos me on though, as we have a long day ahead of today.

Having collected our things from the Teahouse back at Ghorepani, the next stage of the day begins with a climb out of the little town to start the return leg of our loop. We hike on and up until we reach a shrine.

By now it is misty, and the mist makes it cold, so while others stop for a while we three carry on. We are all feeling good and we walk briskly, chatting and laughing. At one point Raj stops to chat with a guide coming the other way. Adam and I joke with him that they were competing: “my trekkers are better than your trekkers!”, “no my trekkers are better than your trekkers!”. Raj gives a cheeky chuckle though and said that we were close as they had been talking about us being good trekkers! My embarrassment is definitely compensated for by the fact that we are seen as strong and that Raj seems quite proud of us.

The mist has soon gone, and we are back in more wooded areas. We see our first water buffalo:

I see my first wild monkeys, langur monkeys, and I get very excited:

As we walk through the rhododendrons Raj tells us that we must come again during Spring, as when the flowers are blooming it is incredibly beautiful.

At one point we hear an ominous rumbling in the ground, as though a herd of water buffalo are running towards us. When the source of the noise runs past though it is not buffalo but young men carrying baskets of rocks.

Raj explains to us that all the young men want to become Gurkha Soldiers when they grow up. The physical tests for selection are arduous and fiercely competitive, and this is how they train.

Returning to stonier track we continue to descend, and despite feeling good earlier the large quantity of stone steps is taking its toll on my knees.

I am grateful when we finally stop for the night, our final stop on the trail in fact.

The next morning we have a leisurely breakfast with more fantastic views of snowy Himalayan mountains.

We also witness some unusual local life in the form of a travelling cabbage salesman.

Today’s walk is not so long, and it takes us down through farmland and rice terraces cut into the moutainsides.

We eventually reach the river which we follow again, it’s so warm down here now.

The river leads us back to the first lunch stop we had enjoyed when we began this trek a few days ago, and we stop there again for our final lunch.

As the three of us tuck in to daal bhat and hot sweet tea, we are provided by the entertainment (from our perspective) of the spectacle of several men trying to force a terrified water buffalo over the little wobbly bridge across the river. Buffalo are big and strong, add in some terrified determination and it was a long battle across that bridge!

Entertainment over and the bridge clear, it is time for us to cross the river again and return to the road to catch a bus back to Pokhara.

I was sad to end our time in the mountains, but I was also excited for the next part of our trip: another local bus to Chitwan to look for wild rhinos. And by the magic of technology, we are friends with Raj on Facebook and keep in touch, so hopefully our paths will cross again in the future.