Trip report! An overload of pictures (and videos!) plus the details of how everything went on my first ever trip to Nepal.
I was asked by All Women All Trails to host a hiking trip of 10 ladies into the Himalayas in Nepal, so of course I said YES. This is the same group I also traveled to Iceland and Costa Rica with last year (different people). The trip was booked from April 24 to May 2 with 6 days of actual trekking. We partnered with the local company Discovery World Trekking for the guides and porters.
My trip started on April 21 leaving from Rochester airport in the afternoon. First thing upon getting past security I found out my flight to Chicago was delayed, which would make me miss my international connection. After MUCH haggling with the counter agent, they were able to reroute me with a different airline through JFK then on to Doha, Qatar for my next connection. Yay! Success.
The flight to JFK was a short one, and layover was a tight one but I made it just in time to board my international flight and we took off at 9:30pm for a 12.5hr flight to Qatar.
Dinner was served around 11pm and was pretty impressive considering it was airplane food. I chose BBQ chicken with sides and dessert.
I watched "A Man Named Otto" (tear jerker!) as well as "Alice, Darling" (lame psychological thriller). The rest of the long flight I busied myself with reading ("Annapurna: A Woman's Place") and trying to snooze. They served a snackaround 4am which was a "ratatouille stromboli" (basically a veggie hotpocket) and ice cream. Breakfast was served around 9am and was also impressive. I chose scrambled eggs with sausage/potatoes and coffee.
We began our descent at 10:30am, however now with the impending touch down also came a 7hr time difference so I actually landed in Qatar around 6pm. Just in time to see the sunset!
This was my very first time in the Middle East so it was a big culture shock to see all of the Arabic language and different nationalities at the huge airport. This airport was amazingly big--there was even a park inside of it! My layover was about 8hr so I had plenty of time to walk around. I actually ended up meeting another lady Bonnie from the group who also had a long layover with me. We ended up killing about 6hr together talking, walking, eating, and resting in the women's "quiet" area.
A strange art sculpture
Sexy!
We spent a lot of time walking through this beautiful area. I'm sure during the day the sun lights up the whole place through the sun roof. They even had artificial bird sounds!
We headed to our gate around 12:45am to wait for the flight, and finally got to board our last flight at 2am. I didn't know if they would serve breakfast on the 5hr flight. They did not serve breakfast, but they did serve a delicious dinner! I chose lamb with rice and sides.
Our arrival in Kathmandu airport in Nepal was uneventful but did come with another time change so I was now officially 9hr45min ahead of my home time (and fully jet lagged!). My approx 36hrs of travel time was over! It was now the morning of April 23, 2080 (Nepal uses a different calendar). I landed at about 9:45am and was able to get thru customs, security, and get my visa without trouble. However I did stay longer to wait for my new friend Bonnie to complete all of her paperwork.
She had her own arrangement to be picked up, so I continued on to be picked up by our trekking company. They greeted me with a beautiful flower necklace and a picture! What a warm welcome to Nepal. The two gentlemen accompanying me were our lead guide and one of the porters.
We arrived to our hotel in Kathmandu, the International Guest House. It had a beautiful garden and they brought me hot tea upon my arrival. I met two more ladies from the group (several had gotten there early to sight see) so I walked around the town with them while we waited for our rooms to be ready.
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The city was just as I had pictured--chaotic, loud, and the air was thick with car exhaust. But the many shops crammed into every nook were so interesting to see, and the people were very nice! I went ahead and exchanged some currency for Nepali Rupees to have for the week, then headed back to the hotel. I was assigned room #505 and was very happy to finally get cleaned up and change for the evening.
I enjoyed some more peaceful quiet time in the garden before meeting the head of the trekking company Paul at his office at 5pm. We discussed the upcoming itinerary and concerns. I returned to the hotel and around 7pm met up with another group member Cathy for a light dinner in the hotel restaurant. I was introduced to momos which are delicious steamed dumplings! I had them multiple times on this trip, but honestly I thought the hotel ones were the best.
I got some much needed rest that night, but woke up early thanks to my new sleep schedule. I made my way down to the garden and found the rest of the group there enjoying coffee and making plans. This was now Monday, April 24 and the official 1st day of the group trip! I had a very light breakfast from the hotel while they all left to eat out. Paul wanted to meet with me again that morning at 8am so we further discussed concerns and alternatives to the current itinerary.
Paul and I met again at 10:30am with the rest of the group (minus one lady who was not there yet) to discuss trail options and do our official trip briefing early since we were all together. We ended up sticking with the original trip plan and all questions were answered the best they could be. There were a few ladies who chose to fly on their own from Kathmandu to Pokhara the next day to skip the long van ride that was in store, so those arrangements were discussed and planned.
Plans were to leave early in the morning, so the rest of this day was busy getting our gear in order and bags packed to have ready for the porters to transport them in the morning on the way to our next destination to begin the trek. Our luggage and unneeded items would stay in storage in Kathmandu, and the rest of our trekking gear would come with us.
The remaining 11th person in our group arrived that afternoon, so I updated her on the trip briefing details. We all met Paul again at 5:30pm and followed him through the city to enjoy our welcome dinner at the Muktinath Thakali Kitchen for authentic dal bhat (rice with lentil soup and toppings).
We each recieved a hat and shirt with the trekking company logo on it as well. After the dinner we returned to the hotel for our last night in Kathmandu.
Day 2 of the group trip started at 4:30am. We all met down in the lobby with our gear packed in duffels and day bags. The hotel graciously provided each of us a breakfast to go, and the 7 of us not flying left in the van with a few porters by 5am. I also started my Diamox this day to help ward off any altitude sickness since we were going to be ascending pretty quickly.
Our first rest stop was around 7am as the sun was rising above the mountains. We stopped at a roadside "store" and while everyone else was having hot tea and such, I decided to try the hard cider! It was delicious.
The remainder of the van ride was along windy mountain rides with very hazy views of the valley and mountains. We stopped for lunch at a roadside restaurant around 11am and had dal bhat once again. There were beautiful flowers all around there.
We arrived to our first destination in Pokhara around 1pm (8hr of driving) where we met up with the other 4 ladies who flew. From there we filled 2 Jeeps which we took for the remainder of the driving as it was mostly off road.
More beautiful flowers in Pokahara. I have never seen geraniums or impatiens this big!!!
We took more windy roads and were able to grab some nice views of the lake and mountains.
We reached our first check point for trekkers, so we stopped here to rest while the guides took care of paperwork.
Around 3:45pm we finally arrived to our destination in Kimche where we gathered up our gear and hit the trail to begin our trek! Our section for this day was very short but very steep so we got warmed up quickly. We immediately had many different animals pass us on the trail. These trails are the only way to reach villages further on. All supplies have to be carried or flown.
Total driving time: 10hr 45 min
My first of many water buffalo.
We arrived to our first guesthouse in Ghandruk called Hotel Breeze around 4:30pm which concluded our hiking for the day. We enjoyed a restful evening as we had MUCH more to come the next day! We had amazing views of the Himalayas all around us.
I had momos again for dinner. The rest of the evening I rested on the patio and enjoyed the scenery. I also discovered this evening as I went to refill my water for the next day that BOTH of my water purification methods had failed. The tap water is not safe to drink, so we were required to either thoroughly purify our water, or to purchase boiled or bottled water. I had brought my Sawyer water filter (it was clogged and useless), and had brought bleach to kill viruses (the bottle broke and leaked all in the ziploc bag). So for the remainder of the trip I had to drink boiled water (more on that later!)
Direction: Kimche to Ghandruk
Miles hiked this day: 0.9 miles
Approx elevation gain: 850ft
Current altitude: 6600ft
Day 3 Wednesday began at 6am for breakfast, then we hit the trail once again at 7am. This would be our morning routine for the rest of the trek. For this day, we knew we had a LOT of mileage and a lot of elevation gain to do. It was going to be a hard day.
Thankfully it started out clear and sunny. It was very warm, especially with the effort we were putting in so I donned my sunhat and sunglasses for the hike.
One of many suspension bridges to cross.
Seeing the trail ahead that we were aiming for.
Confirmation we are going the right way!
A couple of the ladies ended up requiring horses to carry them up and down the trail for the remainder of the day, so they actually passed us.
We all met up for lunch at a guesthouse around 2pm. It was a much needed break! I ate veggie and egg fried rice.
As the afternoon went on, the clouds moved in so we eventually got caught in a thunderstorm and hail. We actually had to stop at one point and take cover in someone's store before we could go on.
We continued the rest of the day in the rain, but it lightened up toward the end and gave us a break.
Our assistant guide Umess
This section was through beautiful bamboo forests and rhododendron forests.
Our lead guide Dol.
So. Many. Stairs.
We finally arrived after a long hard day into Upper Sinuwa to the Sinuwa GuestHouse at 6:45pm. I ate veg fried noodles that night and we all went to bed early. More hiking to come!
Direction: Ghandruk to Chhomrong to Upper Sinuwa
Miles Hiked this day: 9.3 miles
Approx elevation gain: 4,300ft
Current Altitude: 7700ft
Day 4 of the trip we were all feeling the burn I think. We started out early again and hit the trail at 7am. Today would be a bit shorter and "easier"they said. Nothing is easy on tired legs!
We stopped for a tea break around 10am in Dovan, then lunch around 1pm in Himalaya. For lunch I just had noodle soup. My stomach was starting to not be happy and I had definitely lost my appetite. I'm not typically very hungry when I'm doing a strenuous hike, but I wanted to play it safe and have something bland for lunch.
Towards the end of our hike this day, I was feeling the strain and my muscles were at their limit. My legs were so sore I was using my hiking poles to basically pull myself up the stairs. My porter graciously offered to carry my daybag which helped a bit, but I think I was too far gone by then.
We arrived to our destination for the night in Deurali at the ShangriLa Guesthouse around 3pm thankfully just before thunderstorms moved in for the evening. Unfortunately this also significantly dropped the temperature, so we all had to bundle up the rest of the evening and night to stay warm.
We had dinner around 6pm and I order veggie fried noodles despite my lack of appetite and partial nausea. I only ate a few bites as my nausea got worse. For the rest of the evening I was debating on if I was physically up for the demanding hike the next day to Annapurna Base Camp. There was talk of snow and slippery conditions on the trail, and I honestly did not think my legs could hold out. My decision was made for me later that evening when my gastric upset worsened and had me running tot he bathroom several times through the night. I let our lead guide Dol know that I would have to stay in Deurali the next day unfortunately and would catch up with the rest of the group on their way back down. Thankfully I had brought a round of antibiotics just for traveler's diarrhea and I started these immediately. I also stopped taking the Diamox since I would no longer be ascending in altitude.
Me struggling through dinner and trying to stay warm with Hot Hands.
The squat toilet I got very familiar with
The others in the group were also having their own issues with continuing on, and ultimately 4 ladies decided to take a helicopter down due to fatigue. They had originally planned to hike up to base camp, then take the helicopter back down to Pokhara and meet us. However due to flight issues and weather, the usual helicopter was not available the following day for that. They ended up scheduling a helicopter to pick them up from our hotel in Deurali, stop at base camp for photos, then continue down to Pokhara.
Direction: Upper Sinuwa to Deurali
Miles hiked this day: 6.75 miles
Approx elevation gain: 4100ft
Current altitude: 10,499ft
Day 5 of the trek was a bit different. Only 6 of the group left at 7am bound for the goal of Annapurna base camp. I stayed back due to illness, and the other 4 stayed back for the scheduled helicopter at 10am. My porter stayed with me and was very helpful with checking on me and offering meals. I did end up skipping breakfast and lunch. Just the smell of other peoples food made my stomach turn, and I was taking nausea meds all day.
The helicopter did not come at the scheduled time, but we did see it fly over us a couple of times. Many phone calls were made by the porters, and we eventually established a new time of around noon. Until then we enjoyed the sunshine on the patio and warmed up a bit.
The helicopter came around 12:30pm and landed right behind our hotel on a patch of land. They unloaded supplies first, then the 4 ladies and a porter loaded all their belongings onto it and they flew away. It was quite a show!
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It was perfect timing because shortly after that some clouds moved in, and the rain started up. I went back to my room to stay warm and rest, then around 2pm I got a knock on my door. It was our lead guide Dol! He had accompanied Cathy who had developed severe altitude sickness at around 12,000ft. She did not improve with rest, and a medical helicopter was not available due to weather. So he hiked with her back down to Deurali after he met the helicopter at base camp before the weather turned. She roomed with me the rest of the night and started feeling better soon. Dol stayed there as well for much needed rest after his very long day.
Direction: I remained in Deurali due to illness
Miles hiked: Zero day
Elevation gain: Zero
Altitude: 10,499ft
Day 6 I felt much improved and attempted to eat some breakfast despite still not having much of an appetite. The plan was for Cathy and I to leave with our porters at 8am and take our time hiking down. We would meet the rest of our group after they descended for the day. They had a long day of hiking down after a long hard day of hiking up, so I felt very sympathetic for them. I knew they would be exhausted.
The day was cloudy and chilly. We stopped for a tea break in Upper Dovan and rain moved in shortly after that, so we had to put on our rain gear the rest of the hike. We stopped for lunch in Bamboo just before our destination. I ordered pasta and it tasted very good, but ended up upsetting my stomach again later on.
Can we just take a moment of awe and appreciation for the Nepali? They are cut from a different fabric. Zoom in and check out the load this older man is carrying. It's bigger than he is! Again, this is the only way they can get supplies, everything must be carried.
We got to take our time and appreciate nature a bit more on this section.
We arrived to Upper Sinuwa around 2pm that afternoon in the rain, and got our rooms at the same Sinuwa Guesthouse as on our way up. I had this guy keep me company the whole night. He refused to be killed.
The rest of our group who had successfully made it to base camp arrived around 5:30pm. They were very tired, very sore, and very wet. Everyone was in much need of a warm meal and some rest. Unfortunately about the time for dinner the power went out. However they still managed to cook dinner for all of us and we enjoyed our meal. I ate a few bites of noodle soup.
The power did come back on after dinner, however several lightbulbs had blown and a few of our rooms did not have light. It made for an interesting night! I was happy to not wake up with my spider friend on my face or in my sleeping bag.
Direction: I started in Deurali to Upper Sinuwa
Miles Hiked this day: 6.75 miles
Elevation gain: 1350ft
Current altitude: 7700ft
The next morning for Day 7 of the trip I think we were all ready to finish up the trek. The weather was still cloudy and drizzling, but my stomach was feeling better with some return of my appetite. We hit the trail at 7am and had the pleasure of literally thousands of stairs up and down on our way to finish the trek.
Our first tea break was in Chhomrong where everyone was in high spirits. From there we split to a different trail to head down the valley to Jhinu Danda.
The end was in sight and we were all catching a bit of a second wind. We stopped for lunch at a beautiful guesthouse in Jhinu Danda. We took a long rest there and some people decided to have a pushup contest. It was quite entertaining!
I had momos again! These were a bit spicy.
After lunch the guides had us all dance with the hotel owners as we geared up for the last stretch of our hike. ( think they were killing time to meet the Jeeps, but we had fun)
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It remained cloudy, but thankfully from here on the rain held off. We hiked down more stairs to get to this long suspension bridge we had to cross over a river. 287 meters long!
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We ran into this guy on the trail....he didn't want to move. I thought it was a yak, but it may have just been an huge buffalo. The others I had seen before this were much smaller. I had to walk right in front of his face!
Hiking down the valley further we had beautiful views of the lower clouds moving along.
Around 12:30pm we arrived to the Jeeps! It was a sight for sore eyes (and legs) to finally see our chariots waiting for us. We loaded up everyone with their gear and left for the 2hr ride (mostly off road) up and down the mountains to our destination in Pokhara.
Direction: Upper Sinuwa to Chhomrong to Jhinu Danda, drive to Pokhara
Miles hiked this day: 4.6 miles
Approx elevation gain: 1500ft
Current altitude (Pokhara): 2697ft
We arrived back into civilization to our hotel for the night in Pokhara, the beautiful Bar Peepal Resort. Everything here was modern and such a nice way to end the trek. Here we met the other 4 from the group that had taken the helicopter. They had been enjoying the town! I had a beautiful room with a balcony and a very comfy bed. I took an hour long shower and scrubbed everything twice!
We were on our own for dinner that night, so the majority of us just hung in the hotel restaurant and enjoyed a long evening of food and hookah! This was my first time ever to try it, so the waiter did a demonstration of how to do it. We tried the mint and the apple, but the apple was more of an anise flavor. The mint was delicious! As was my dinner. I had grilled chicken with gravy and fries.
I ended my day with an amazing massage in the hotel spa. It was booked as a "foot and calf massage" but honestly she rubbed my head, my back, and my legs from toes to hips! She even put some menthol rub on on my sore parts. I pretty much floated back to my room after that.
Day 8 and our final day of the group trip, we left early for the Pokhara airport to catch a short flight to Kathmandu. The airport was beautiful and very modern, but small. However it was bigger than the Kathmandu airport! And so much nicer, haha! 1 traveler stayed in Pokhara to continue her travels from there, so 10 of us plus our guide Dol took the flight. The other porters had left the day before to drive back.
Unfortunately the weather was much too cloudy to have any sort of views, which is such a shame to miss!
On our drive from the Kathmandu airport back to our hotel, I caught sight of this delicious and I'm sure very sanitary roadside meat stand with several fresh chickens waiting to be cooked up...
We returned to the International Guesthouse for our last night in Nepal. I had a different room that was very nice and had lovely views of the gardens.
I was requested to get some specific souvenirs for a friend, so after a short walk I found a shop that had exactly what I needed! One of them was a singing bowl. I had never actually heard of this, but he demonstrated it beautifully and I bought this exact one.
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The rest of the day we all just did our own things around the city. A few of us came together at a cafe right across the street for lunch. I ordered the vegetable biryani. It was delicious! It's a south Asian/Indian rice dish.
I met with Paul around 1:30pm to help him figure out the departure times for the next day to get everyone to the airport on time.
For my last afternoon there, I made the purely spontaneous and bold decision to get a Nepali tattoo! A quick google search showed several places that were close with great reviews. Another lady from the group went with me to get one as well, but she ended up not doing it and just stayed with me for support. I was very happy with how mine turned out!! I went to Jads Tattoo and my artist was Sunil. He drew it up with my help and designed it just for me. It is Nepali for "enjoy the journey". Sunil was very trusting with me! I told him at the beginning I would need to exchange more money for rupees to pay him. He said "no worries, you can do that after the tattoo." So he did the tattoo and wrapped it up, then sent me on my way to find some money! The exchange place ended up being closed due to a holiday I didn't know about, so I had to borrow a bit from another lady to have enough to pay him. I returned to his shop and he was happy to get payment and tip! A job well done.
That evening was our farewell dinner with Paul. We followed him to the Gokarna House where we enjoyed a 2hr long dinner and show of native dancers and music.
It was a multi course dinner with first pea and lentil soup. After that was momos and potatoes. Then the main course was dal bhat. We also received a nice 8x10 group photo along with a congratulation on our trek.
At the end of the show there was a yak that came around demanding we feed him tips! That was a hoot.
After dinner we returned to the hotel and a few of us went back the cafe for one last round of Nepali hookah. It was a fun last night in Nepal!
Tuesday May 2 was my final morning in Nepal. I met my taxi at 7:30am to get to the airport 3 hours early for my international flight. It took off just after 11am, and I was served lunch around 1pm. I had chicken biryani with sides and red wine. It was very tasty!
This little cutie stared at me for awhile.
With the time change I landed in Doha, Qatar once again at their local time of 1:30pm. I barely had enough time to get thru security then onto my next flight. That flight left at 3:15pm and it was very full which is not the most comfortable for a 13hr flight.
Dinner was served around 5:30pm and I had beef with mashed potatoes and sides and red wine. It was delicious. I watched a couple movies and read my book ("The Life of Pi") and tried to snooze for the remainder of the flight.
A snack was served around 1:30am but I skipped it. That is totally not like me to skip food, but honestly I was so full! I think my stomach had shrunk from the vegetarian meals on the trek. Around 7am they served breakfast/dinner (who knows at this point) and I chose a fritatta with sides. We chased the sunset flying west the whole time!
The plane landed at JFK at 10:15pm local time so now I was thoroughly jetlagged once again. We were delayed getting off the plane due to border patrol removing a family, not sure why. I'm guessing maybe a paperwork issue?
This next part was not my favorite. I got my luggage quickly and went thru customs quickly. I enjoyed a long phone call to Nick before he went to bed. As I made it to my next gate to wait for a few hours to be able to check my bag, I discovered that there were zero chairs to wait in. I had to sit on the floor until 2:30am which was the soonest I could print a luggage tag and check my bag before going thru security. At least after that I was able to go to my actual gate and sit in a chair until my next and LAST flight left at 8am. I finally arrived back in Rochester, NY around 9:15am after another long 36hr journey of travel.
Trip Summary
Total miles hiked: 28.3
Total elevation gain: 12,100ft
*All numbers are approximate from combination of GPS tracking and online mapping*
Are you as exhausted as I was after reading that?? If you made it to the end, thank you for pulling thru and taking this journey with me. And remember, always enjoy the journey!
