[The following post is from the archives of my In Search Of Incredible blog, originally published on 14 January 2013. Minor edits have since been made from the original post to update some links and info.]
21 March 2012, Wednesday
Poon Hill Trek: 3 days, 2 nights (we did an abridged version; most people will do the Ghandruk Loop in 4 days, 3 nights, going to Ghandruk for the return journey instead of backtracking the same way)
Day 1 route: Naya Pul (1,060m) – Tikhedhunga (1,540m) – Ulleri (1,960m)
Elevation gain: 900m
Trekking time: 7 hours
Morning Call: 6:30am
This morning, we set off at 7:30am. Manish, our trekking guide, arrived at North Face Inn with a driver and helped us load our backpacks onto the taxi. We then drove from Pokhara to Naya Pul (elevation 1,060m), the starting point for our trek, arriving at 8:44am. At 9am, our trek officially began!
We walked past a small village and crossed a short suspension bridge before reaching the first check point at 9:15am, the Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) check point. From there, we walked for another 25 minutes and reached Birethanti, where the second check point, the TIMS (Trekkers’ Information Management System) check post, is located. You will need to get your permits checked at these two check posts, so be sure to look out for them, especially the TIMS one. It is quite small and located within a row of shops, so you could easily miss it if you’re not attentive. But if you’re trekking with a guide, he will know what to do.
It was a beautiful morning for trekking, with the temperatures cool and the weather sunny. Along the way, we passed by rice fields and farms, saw several animals like goats, horses, cows and chickens. The path consists mainly of gravel and stone steps, which are mercifully less steep and more uniform in height than the ones at Adam’s Peak in Sri Lanka. In fact, the path is very well maintained and it is very friendly for beginners like me.
The climb here was definitely easier than what the one at Adam’s Peak, maybe because we did this in the day, where there’s beautiful scenery to keep me occupied and interested, whereas the Adam’s Peak climb was attempted at night where I couldn’t see any scenery except for the stone steps ahead, making it extra arduous. Maybe the pair of walking sticks also helped to support some of the weight and provide some stability. Or maybe it was because the incline here is spread over a longer distance so it’s generally not so steep. In any case, it was a much more enjoyable trek here.
As we walked on, the sun became stronger and it got hotter, so I removed the leg sleeves of my trekking pants, which thus became a pair of bermuda shorts. Very useful to have removable leg sleeves! We stopped a few times along the way for five or ten minute breaks, just to drink some water and to allow Manish get some rest, since he was helping to carry our backpack (XY and I had combined our stuff into one backpack), together with his own. I think the total load was about 15kg for him. Despite his small frame, he was very strong and didn’t seem tired, or even more amazingly, not as tired as us. Well, after all, it’s what he does for a living!
Along the way, we also passed by many other trekkers and porters. The porters were mostly carrying two backpacks each, sometimes even three. And I’m talking about the hardcore trekkers, whose expeditions are probably seven days at least (unlike our mini 3-day, 2-night trek), so their backpacks are really huge. Sometimes the backpacks would be loaded into a big basket and the porters would support the weight using a strap across their forehead. I think their load must be at least 25kg or more. And these porters are not young – I estimate that should be at least 35 years or older. It’s really a tough job, much respect to them.
After three hours of trekking, we arrived Tikhedhunga (elevation 1,577m) at 12:10pm. We stopped at Indra Guest House & Restaurant for lunch. Like all the other tea houses we saw along the way, it is painted in the same colour scheme of bright blue, brown and white, with nice fonts for the signboards. It also has the distinctive multi-coloured Nepali flags hanging across the building. In fact, the prices of rooms and food menu in all the tea houses are standardised by the Tourism Management Sub-Committee, so it’s really uniform across the board. You’ll get the same deal anywhere.
The first thing I asked for when we settled down in the restaurant was a bottle of Coke. Seriously, it had never tasted better. There’s nothing like a bottle of ice-cold Coca Cola to quench your thirst after three hours of climbing!
As our meals were all paid for in our package, we were free to order anything we liked from the menu. In any case, food at the tea houses is really cheap. I can’t remember the prices, but as a general guide, a meal for two persons will definitely not cost more than S$10. Maybe S$5 will be a better estimate. We ordered boiled potatoes (eight of them!), an omelette and a plate of fried rice each. We were famished by then, so we gobbled down our lunch greedily.
After the sumptuous lunch, we set off from Tikhedhunga at 1:30pm for the next stretch to Ulleri, which is the tough part of the climb. After crossing another suspension bridge, it was one continuous flight of stone steps rising all the way, just step after step, with no flat stretch in between. Coupled with the blazing afternoon sun and less vegetation cover, it was a challenging climb indeed. We also took a lot more rest breaks to catch our breaths and munch on our “hamster food” of raisins and nuts, our fuel.
After climbing for what felt like hours, we finally arrived Ulleri (elevation 1,960m) at 3:50pm (was it only 2 hours 20 min??). Our accommodation for the night was Super View Guest House & Restaurant. By default, with the Annapurna mountain range as your backdrop, every tea house there has a super view! I find it amusing how all the tea houses have names like “Super View” and “See You”, very cute.
Our room is small but very cosy and clean. As always, we quickly took our showers while the sun was still up, before it got too cold. After a relaxing hot shower, it was nice and comfortable, and we settled on our beds to rest our aching limbs and write our journals. It had been a physically tiring but very fulfilling day.
At 6:00pm, we went down to the restaurant for dinner. We ordered egg fried rice, chicken momo (dumplings, like our Chinese jiao zi), onion soup and masala tea. While waiting for our food to arrive, we chatted with some of the other trekkers who had also gathered at the restaurant, huddling around the heater to gather some warmth. Turned out our Super View Guest House was quite a popular choice, with many trekkers putting up for the night there, resulting in the entire dining hall being filled up at dinnertime.
Sitting next to our table were three ladies from China. They were very friendly and nice to talk to. They praised XY and I for being equally fluent in English and Mandarin (actually it’s XY’s Mandarin that is “powerderful”, not mine!). They were a bunch of good friends travelling together, and it was nice to see that. I hope I can continue to do so in the future too, travelling and exploring the world with my good friends for company.
A young Swedish lady also joined our table. She was travelling solo and she was way cool. After graduation, she worked for two years before coming on this trip, where she had previously spent three months in India before coming to Nepal for a month. After this trip, she would be going to Norway to start her Nursing degree.
She was a true backpacker. She brought her own instant noodles (she requested for hot water from the restaurant), she purified her own water and lived at the cheapest guest houses. And she really took the time to explore each city and immerse in the culture. In India, she took a one-day cooking class to learn how to make naan, chapatti, briyani and paratha. So cool!
It’s really interesting to meet fellow travellers from all over the world and to hear their stories and find out what brought them to a certain place in the world. The world is so big, yet you can always find other people who have decided to pick the same time to visit the same place as you, really amazing.
The world is too big and it is a shame if we don’t venture out to see it. As I looked out of the window that night, everything was pitch black outside and there were only small smatterings of light from the various guesthouses around the area. Here I was, high up in the Himalayan mountains, living life to the fullest. I’m so glad I made the trip.