4th - 13th November, Annapurna Base Camp

Distance walked: 80km round trek
Max. elevation: 4130m
Min. temperature: -10 degrees C
Rickety bamboo bridges: around 15
Rare animal seen: 1 Himalayan Tahr (Mountain Goat)
Yaks seen: 0!

Route:
Day 1: Naya Pul (1070m) to Ghandruk (1940m) 6 ½ hours trek
Day 2: Ghandruk (1940m) to Chhomrong (2170m) 6 hours
Day 3: Chhomrong (2170m) to Bamboo (2310m) 4 hours
Day 4: Bamboo (2310m) to Deorali (3200m) 4 ½ hours
Day 5: Deorali (3200m) to Machhapuchhare Base Camp (3700m) 3 hours
Day 6: Machhapuchhare Base Camp (3700m) to Annapurna Base Camp (4130m) 3 ½ hours
Day 7: Annapurna Base Camp (4130m) to Chhomrong (2170m) 10 hours
Day 8: Chhomrong (2170m) to Pothana (1890m) 7 ½ hours
Day 9: Pothana (1890m) to Phedi (1130m) 3 ½ hours

We started the trek even though the weather still hadn't cleared - it was very cloudy and we still hadn't seen the mountains any more than the smallest glance through a cloud. Regardless, we had to start sometime, so got our hotel to arrange for a taxi to take us to the start point (one of a few) which was about an hour and half away, so we made it an early start - 6am.

The start was very pleasant and we basically followed the (white water) river through some medieval-looking villages in the valley, not really gaining much height. Passed a Maoist check-point after a while and had to pay a 'donation' of 100 rupees a day. Bit cheeky now as they don't even bother with guns and hold-ups any more, just have a few flags and a desk outside a hut on the main path and politely ask for your donations. In hindsight we should have haggled them down a bit, but some Canadians ahead of us were just paying up so we kinda just joined the queue. We had prepared and some money because we had read in the newspapers and in the guide to expect this.

The first day we arrived at Ghandruk which is a very quaint village with houses huddled together perched on the hillside. The cobbled streets have farm animals wandering free and the houses are of traditional Gurung style - slate tiled roofs with verandas where they dry corn and seeds.

We met a nice Nepali lady gave us Masala tea and we sat and talked about England. She'd spent 4 years staying with her sister in Derbyshire, so we think she missed the place a little.

The first three days were up and down and around valleys and because the weather was still bad and it wasn't too dissimilar to walking in Wales. In fact, it rained for days and we had problems with wet, sweaty stuff - just couldn't dry anything. We should have been able to see some spectacular mountains over the foothills, but the clouds were very low and we could only guess at their height.

We were taking things pretty slowly because we didn't want gain too much height in one day. That usually meant we were done by about 2pm ish and so sat in the communal dining rooms trying to warm up, drinking tea and playing cards etc. All the lodges were pretty similar and consisted of some very basic rooms (very airy) with nothing in apart from two small beds - the lower lodges had electricity for a dim light, but never any heating. The top two lodges didn't even have any electricity. So as a result everybody sat in the dining rooms and made the most of the heater which was basically a kerosene cooker stove placed under a big table with rugs hanging around the edges. You sat on the bench seat, hoisted the rug and placed as much under the table as possible to keep warm.

By day five we arrived at Deorali, we were at 3200m and things were getting cold - we think about -2 deg C in the evening. Unfortunately, there are no showers in lodges after Bamboo, so Vik ordered a hot bucket of water from the menu. Bathing in freezing cold conditions with a hot bucket of water is a tricky task. First you have to strip (leaving on the all important woolly hat), stand in the bucket to keep your feet warm then wash the top half first, dry and put on jumper, then do the same with the bottom half.

At sunrise (the normal time everybody got up) we saw for the first time that the sky was clear so we ran up above Deorali to see the first proper view of the mountains. We quickly realised that altitude was having an effect. Directly in front of us was Mt Machhapuchhre (Mt Fish Tail) which dominates the horizon from everywhere South including Pokhara. It's not the highest in the Annapurnas by any means as it's only 6993m, but as it's the closest, and has such a distinctive shape, that it has an awesome presence.

We reached Machhapuchhre Base Camp at 3700m and by now it was bloody freezing! We were up into the glacial area and the rain was now snow. We got there quickly, but it seemed that all the lodges were full and we thought we would be spending the night in a tent! Luckily we did find a room, and after a hot drink and soup, we decided to head on up to Annapurna Base Camp at 4130m. It's always a good idea to walk higher than you sleep to help avoid attitude sickness so we thought "may as well" even though we had climbed quite a bit already that day. As we set off it was snowing quite heavily so we were in full waterproofs and wearing just about everything we had! After a couple of hours we started to see the lodges at the base camp through the snow and then the cloud started to thin... Within 5 mins everything had cleared and we were left standing mouths open at the view of the whole Annapurna Range in a massive amphitheatre. The highest, Annapurna 1 stands at 8091m and apparently the number of people who have conquered it is almost the same that have died trying... which is nice.

We walked around taking a few pictures and after having another hot drink to warm up we then set off back down to Machhapuchhre Base Camp. We just made it back in time to see a spectacular sunset before the clouds came rushing up the valley like a sea fret and everything was gone, and then it started snowing again. The temperature that night was about -6 deg C in our room. Carl had bought a compass / thermometer in Pokhara and it was showing correctly, but still we checked with the owner the next morning. It wasn't that we didn't believe it (even though it was cheap), in fact, it was like the wet cold that chills you to the bone that you get in the UK, we just wanted to know for sure. Think we could have done with more than our lightweight sleeping bags! In fact, we were travelling really light compared to other people with porters. Think we were slightly under-equipped for the cold. Nevermind eh!

Next morning, despite knowing that it would be colder further up but we set off again to Annapurna Base Camp - well, you have to, don't you? It was a beautiful clear morning again, so we slowly made our way up taking pictures and looking at the view. The altitude was now really taking effect and every step was hard work. When we arrived Vik had another one of her insane bucket baths because she hadn't washed since Deorali. (Carl hadn't washed since Bamboo!!!)

By the afternoon the cloud came in again and it started snowing, so we spent most of the day in the dining room with a large party of Germans. Fun. We went to bed early, we were exhausted due to the lack of sleep. It's really difficult at high altitude because of the lack of oxygen you can't fall into a deep sleep, so you end up waking up every five minutes. Also, you can't hide your head in the sleeping bag from the freezing cold because it feels like you're suffocating. We wore just about all our clothes and even borrowed some blankets - good job as the temp went below -10 deg C during the night. Not quite sure how cold, but it was still -10 at sunrise. During the night Carl woke up needing a pee. This meant getting out of his lovely warm bag and going outside to the end of the lodge and peeing in a freezing dark toilet shed. This was actually Carl's birthday now as well! Luckily Carl was well rewarded with the most spectacular sky - thousands and thousands of stars in the amphitheatre of mountains in what the guide book says are the world's clearest skies. Certainly took his breath away... or maybe that was the lack of oxygen and the freezing temperature, not sure?

Next morning we got up early to see the sunrise over the mountains which was stunning so we took more pictures at the view point before heading back down as we had a long day ahead of us. Our problem being that we were running out of money! We had taken quite a lot, but had underestimated the cost of food up in the higher lodges. Understandable as everything has to carried up and it takes about 5-6 days to make it. The last 3 days are even unsuitable for mules so porters do the lot. Basically Carl had enough for two more days and Vik had slightly more yet we were still at the top and many days from Pokhara! So on Carl's birthday we had to change our agenda and make it down in two days. Once we'd seen the sunrise we practically ran down to Chhomrong! We made it just before sunset and were totally knackered - just had enough energy for a beer (our first) with food before collapsing.

The next morning we were rewarded with a spectacular mountain backdrop which we didn't get to see on the way up. Unfortunately it was going to be a long day again. We headed down a different route on the way down which took us to the other side of the valley over a very long rope bridge with holes in the planks! The scenery had changed and the flora was lush and tropical and sounds of parrots. Even though we were descending, we had to climb up many, many steps to nearly 2000m again, which at this stage killed our tired legs, but we made it to Pothana.

Next day was relatively easy as we only had a couple of hours trek to Phedi (the end of the trek). When we reached Dhampus we came across the Maoists again. They asked to see our receipt, so we demanded some money back because we hadn't been as long as we expected. We think that's probably the first time the "United Revolutionary People's Council of Nepal" has ever been asked for a refund! They laughed and thought it was a joke, oh well, worth a try.

Our last final steps were hard core! They were extremely steep and never ending and our knees were begging for rest. Luckily a Pokhara bus pulled up as we completed our last couple of steps of the trek.

So we arrived back to Pokhara with colds and feeling a bit stiff! But it was well worth it.

The weather was now clear in Pokhara and we were blessed with superb views of the Annapurnas for the last few days in Pokhara. So to make the most of this we went trekking again! We hauled ourselves up to the World Peace Pagoda to take pictures of Pokhara with the snowcapped mountain backdrop. So we hope you appreciate our hard slog and like the pictures we have placed on the website. ;)