Trekking Nepal

Posted on May 23, 2009 in Exploring The World| 1 comment

Tweet

Email

Trekking the highest mountains on earth with their glittering snowy peaks surrounded by green forests and wild rivers always captured my imagination so I made sure Nepal is on my itinerary this time.

Only few roads extend into the mountains, keeping Nepal’s culture and scenery untouched so the only way to truly see Nepal and the Himalaya is by walking, lots of walking. It might be harder and slower but definitely worth it, making it more intimate and enjoyable.

I was excited.

Annapurna Base Camp Trek – An amphitheatre of nature

My new Porter and I haven’t wasted time and the next day after my arrival to Nepal we started our journey from the lake city of Pokhara. Annapurna base camp (ABC) trek is a ~10 days trek into the heart of outstanding Himalayan mountains. It is relatively easier than Everest base camp trek – A good test for the legs (and lungs!)

From first day, The landscape was absolutely exquisite: stunning Subtropical lush forests, rivers and wildlife with breathtaking views of snow covered peaks.

The most rewording experience, however, was going through traditional farming villages, seeing so many smiles and happy faces along the way. Mountain Kids are just adorable. Like their parents, they work around the clock in impossible terrain and with the most basic tools, but their eyes radiate with happiness.Keeping life simple is definitely a pathway to happiness.

I was fortunate to share Annapurna experience with a french couple who made the trekking so much Fun. They were excited like me with every new encounter. Butterflies, flowers, Lambs – It didn’t matter. Everything was exciting.We visited natural hot springs, crossed wild rivers, walked on snow and couldn’t stop keep being distracted by the amazing views of the mountains.

The last day of climb was icing on the cake! After a stormy night of heavy rain and snow at Machhapuchhare base camp, we woke up early on a clear, most perfect morning, in order to climb to Annapurna base camp at 4100m. Every ridge around us yielded a 360-degree panorama of the surrounding snowy mountains. It was just…PERFECT.

Words (and even pics) can hardly describe how beautiful Nepal’s mountains area is. All I can say is that being there was the best moment of my trip and a lifetime memory.

Everest Base Camp Trek – The Top of the world

Everest base camp (EBC) trek, a ~2 weeks trek which brings you as close as you can get to Everest and which also follows the footsteps of legendary climbers has been chosen to be my main destination when I planned travelling in Nepal.

We stayed only one night in Kathmandu, Nepal’s capital, and took a short flight to Lukla, a small mountain town which is built around an airstrip. It is the starting point of our trek.

After few days of magnificent forest trekking, river crossings and steep rocky ridges climbs I got into the main administrative town of Everest region, Namche Bazzar at 3400 meters. A beautiful Sherpa town surrounded by beautiful mountain views.

At this height, there is high like hood of Altitude sickness – Climbing too quickly & this deadly disease can literally kill you. Taking a helicopter ride from Kathmandu directly to Everest base camp, for example, will immediately cause fluids to be stored in your brain, leaving you dead in a matter of hours. Anyone who wants to get to these heights, even if he is an experienced climber, must acclimatize and the recommended rate is ~300-500 meters a day, making this trek a bit more complicated than other climbs.

Namche Bazzar was only one day away from my first clear look of the Everest so I was excited. Little did I know that the universe had different plans for me, That same night I got so sick that even climbing the stairs of my lodge was an impossible task.

I decided to try my luck after 2 days of vomiting but on my arrival in the next town, I fainted and fell asleep immediately. I simply couldn’t move out of my bed and was so weak from vomiting. I woke up the next day and tried climbing again. I got to the next town without a breath of air but with one improvement: No vomiting this time.

We’ve lost close to 4 days and I couldn’t get them back with faster trekking as I needed to acclimatize slowly. With a sickening (literally) realization, I knew my dream was gone. I told my porter that we’re done with this trek and we will have to get back so we don’t miss my flight.

I was lying in bed, going to sleep and then it stroke me, What would happen if I climb all the way to base camp at 5500 meters and then go down back to 3900 in the same day. It will be at least 15 hours of constant climbing still recovering from my sickness and I will have to start in the dark and finish in the dark. Crazy, but possible….Possible, I love this word!

And so we did… We woke up at 4am climbing on huge rocks in total darkness with flashlights. The temperature was below zero and even with two pairs of gloves I couldn’t move my fingers. My breathing got heavy as we got higher due to the lack of oxygen in the air; I just kept drinking water, trying to focus on Enjoying Nature.

I was once told that desert is like beer, On first taste you just wonder what all the fuss is about but every time you revisit it, it reveals another facet. Everest’s base camp landscape was not different for me. It looked like the moon’s surface with huge shaped rocks, craters and without any green (Nothing really grows above 4000m)

At noon time we hit EBC. I was so tired, my legs were aching, head was dizzy, but I felt a strong sense of satisfaction. Everest Base Camp itself looks like a vast refugee camp with tents everywhere in an unorganized fashion. I had the most expensive apple pie and started to trek down almost immediately.

It probably wasn’t the most enjoying day of my life but that night I experienced the most wonderful hot shower I have ever had.It was worth climbing to Everest base camp just for that…

Nepal, Not only mountains.

After more than 3 weeks of trekking I decided to spend few days in one of Nepal’s southern Jungles, Chitwan. Apparently Nepal offers more than just mountains and I was excited to explore a flat land after so many hilly climbs. I didn’t think it will happen so fast, however, at this point of my trip, I was sick of seeing mountains!It was exciting to see so many buffalos, Rhinos, crocodiles, elephants and other wild animals, but to be honest, I was more excited to just laying on a hammock, reading.

Last words – Practice in patience

Getting from one city to another in Nepal is not an easy task. Kathmandu and Pokhara are Nepal’s two main cities, however the “Highway” between them which is only ~150 KM in length takes around 6 hours at best and often even more. Reason is: This extremely narrow road is blocked by local people on regular basis. On my first day in Nepal, I had to wait half a day in the middle of nowhere to continue my trip because one local man wasn’t happy with the authorities. If you plan to take a bus in Nepal, Carry enough food with you!

If I thought long waits can only happen on Nepal’s roads, I had to go through it again. When flights are cancelled (Something very common in Nepal) those who planned to fly must wait and they’re put last in the line. I’ve spent around 10 hours in Lukla’s airport to be notified that my flight has been cancelled. We then had to spend another night, not knowing if we’ll have a spot the next day. On the positive side, it provides a great opportunity to develop patience, A must have attribute for my next destination – India… : )

With Love,Tal