Annapurna – Break shackles

Tranquil Sarangkot

It had been almost ten hours since we’ve been on the roads and it hadn’t been fun always, despite the greeneries on display en-route. The ride was bumpy and dusty to say the least, thanks to the ongoing road widening activity. We started off from the distant village of Nagarkot, that lies about 25 kms from Kathmandu, lying on the border of the valley. After a descent to Kathmandu, we took the road going west, out of the Kathmandu valley, towards the town of Pokhara. Along the route, we were greeted with pleasant scenes of terraced paddy fields of rural Nepal, by the side of the Trishuli river which gushed down the valley. After a small stopover at a roadside hamlet for some tea, the journey resumed. After sometime, the traffic stalled for almost an hour as the road was blocked from one side due to a landslide and the local police were controlling the flow of traffic through a bottleneck. Then came the junction town of Mugling. It is a place where three roads divert (or meet, depending on the way you look at it). One coming from Kathmandu, the second heading to Pokhara and a third, going towards NarayanGarh, Chitwan and Birganj. After this junction, it was all dust and bumps and the speed came almost to a grinding halt.

Noon gave way to afternoon and the sun’s rays acquired a familiar slant and I started to keep a watch on time. It was already 5 PM and we were running against time to reach our destination, Sarnagkot, which was about 10 kms uphill from the town of Pokhara, which was itself about 35 kms way. That’s when we reached another junction and a local lad suggested taking an alternate route going through the upper reaches of the hills. According to him, though the route was longer, it should allow us to reach half an hour earlier, thanks to the clear roads. Hence, we left the main highway and went along the serpentine road along the slopes. Dust and bump gave way to serene fields that were stretched to the horizon where hills formed the boundary. The cool breeze came rushing through the windows while the sun poured gold on the forests lining the slopes.

The leaves glistened in the afternoon sun. The road went through the rural areas of Nepal, devoid of the crowd & traffic that one faces along the main Kathmandu-Pokhara highway. Lush green fields were interspersed with village houses. If I could stay in such a house, surrounded by fields on all sides. A walk of a few kilometers could lead me to a valley with a roaring stream making it’s way through it. A look through the V-shaped opening of the valley would reveal the snow capped Himalayan peaks on the northern horizon, just as they were visible at the moment, bathing in gold amidst the fading solar rays.

A quick look at the time made me realize that our hopes of witnessing a glorious sunset from Pokhara (let alone Sarangkot) would not materialize. Why not spend sometime en-route to make the most of this afternoon? The same thought must have struck with the travellers in the other vehicle as we saw it slowing down & coming to a halt by the roadside. All of us came out of our vehicles, climbed up a small hill to allow us a clear view of the northern horizon where the nature was at it’s best with it’s canvas & brush.

A huge range of mountains spanned the view where numerous peaks of the Himalayas of central Nepal were lined up one after another. Their snow covered slopes & crowns were put on fire by a brush of crimson. It was to be cherished uninterrupted but we tried to ensure that cameras captured them as best as they could before the opportunity fades away. We all knew that the window was slim as this splendour was short-lived.

Our journey resumed and as soon as the sun went down, darkness engulfed us and then the entire focus was on Pokhara, our immediate milestone. Roads became bumpier, speed slowed down but Pokhara still eluded us. The drivers asked a few locals about the way as we were travelling an off beaten route. I was trying to look for the familiar signs of the Fewa lake that greets one on entering Pokhara. While Fewa lake didn’t oblige, but we finally found ourselves riding through the highway from Prithwi Chowk towards lakeside area. That gave some relief. After sometime, we found ourselves moving up the slopes towards Sarangkot. The gradient of the slopes & the frequent switchbacks told that we were gaining altitude briskly. Even in the dark, the glimpses of the Annapurna Himalayas kept growing in stature, thanks to the moonlight. Their evergrowing stature added to our excitement as prospects of sunrise views for the next day grew proportionally.

We enquired about the “Sherpa Lodge”, our place of halt on our way up. After we reached the site, we found the place to be desolate with only one family staying on rent at the ground floor with no one else to be found. We heard that the owners shut the place down to head for Kathmandu. Their phones were silent too. With a large group at hand, the problem stared right at our face. We went around the place scouting for an alternative. At this remote place, out in the dark, it seemed daunting, but the drivers of our vehicles supported a lot, going door to door of the other available hotels scouting for rooms. Finally, they landed us with “Hotel Brisha”, we got smitten by its appearance immediately and to their credit, they didn’t capitalize on our situation to charge more. After settling in our rooms, we sat for a cup of tea at the dining please place while our dinner was getting prepared. The famous Sarangkot watch tower was at a walking distance from the place but the hotel owner cautioned to get started early to get a favorable place for the sunrise views. We retired in our rooms for the night with high expectations for the next morning.

Sleep was comfortable in the rooms under the cosy blankets, but the alarm went off at 4 AM. We saw the undulating reflection of a few distant night lights from the balcony. That revealed the location of the famed Fewa lake of the Pokhara valley. A small walk from the hotel led to the watch tower. Crowds already started assembling there. We hurried along the stairs to reach the viewpoint before sunrise. There was a wide balcony at the base of the tower, which had many stories. Contrary to my assumption, the views from higher stories were rather restricted. We lost more on the horizontal frame than we gained in closeness of the views from higher stories. Hence, we stuck to the balcony. Darkness started fading away as a soft light started gracing the northern horizon. The Himalayan peaks still formed a dark silhouette. The first solar rays started to make their way through the sharp edges of the mountains to grace the crowns of some of the distant peaks. Some of them started to wear a crimson-gold crown while others remained in the dark.

Hundreds assembled at the place with all of their lenses & devices trained on the mountains. As the crowns became prominent, the tops bathed in gold, I recognized the unmistakable Dhaulagiri. Was it so near to us? Such an imposing structure which inspires awe in the viewers.

The vista continued to the right to the Nilgiri mountains and then emerged the Annapurna range, starting with the main peak, followed by Annapurna II, III, South, IV, Mt Hiunchuli, Mt Gangapurna. To their right, there was the revered structure of Mt Machhapuchare (or Fishtail, as called by some).

*Mt Annapurna South and Hiunchuli, Sarangkot*

The mountains ran uninterrupted to the east towards the Manaslu ranges and further beyond. I kept thinking about them, as swathes of gold came down their slopes. These were the same mountains which we cherished from their other sides, their rain shadow areas from the remote villages of Pissang, Ngawal or Manang. The valleys on their Southern slopes are so green & lush in comparison to the barren & desolate slopes in Manang. Somewhere amidst these ranges, deep in their valleys, there would be the southern base camp of Annapurna. In one of the wedges between the Annapurna & Dhaulagiri ranges, would lie the Thorong la, the famed gateway into Mustang from Manang. It’s so amazing that there are three mountains reaching above 8000 m and many above 7000 m among the Himalayan range in front of us! No other region in the world except Nepal can offer such proximity to the high mountains.

By the time my gaze shifted from the mountains to my fellow travellers, the mountains appeared in their full morning glow of blazing silver. I regretted that we couldn’t stay another couple of days at this wonderful place nestled in the high slopes surrounding the Fewa lake.

As we travelled down the slopes towards Pokhara, Sarangkot receded behind us, creating an indelible imprint on my mind & a strong desire to be back there in the future.

The solitude of Khopra ridge – Ghodepani-Poonhill

Valley

1st May, 2025

Unlike other days, on this occasion, we woke up with leisure. Our target was to hike to Ghodepani, a wonderful viewpoint in it’s own right, but also famous for acting as the base for one of the famed viewpoints in the Annapurna region, known for its panoramic Himalayan views. Yes, I’m talking about the Poonhill top. To reach Ghodepani (2874 m) from Swanta (2270 m), it’s a hike for approximately 600 m. Our trek was reaching it’s culmination and this day was supposed to be the last day of trekking. The following day also involved a walk of approximately 2 hours but after that, a jeep ride would take us back to the Pokhara town. We took our time to get ready as the day’s hike was likely to last for a maximum of 4 hours and we were expecting to have lunch at Ghodepani.

After breakfast, we exited the premises of the lodge and hit a dusty trail that moved down. After a switchback, the trail turned even narrower & somewhat steeper to reach a suspension bridge which transported us over a gushing stream. After that, the trail moved up and traversed through abandoned cultivation fields. There was also an abandoned house. For a moment, I lost the trail as there wasn’t any clear path. However, after sometime, I did find a feeble line of human steps, which I followed to reach a place where a muddy but wide & unpaved road greeted us. For those who’ve been in Nepal, would know that it was a road where jeeps plied. With ever increasing road reach in the Annapurna area, such unpaved roads make the first “in-roads” with vehicles already plying, while pavements catch-up with these later. We went ahead along the road. Cultivated fields lined both sides of it where a sea of yellow flowers of innumerable mustard plants stretched till the base of the distant hills which formed the boundary.

The flowers looked contrastingly bright in the backdrop of overcast skies with breeze creating waves among them. A few buffaloes were roaming around with their bells tinkling around their necks. It turned out that Ranjan da left his water bottle at the lodge at Swanta and was now adjusting with a temporary alternative. Hence, I waited for him just in case he needed some from mine. After he sipped some water, we resumed our hike and soon I found myself alone on the trail. After walking on the Jeep road, there was a detour that moved left the main road to move up among the forests.

That gave some relief. I took the detour while the Jeep road went up gradually along the serpentine slopes. Clouds started hovering again and the winds dashed against my face. That prompted me to put on my jacket. After plodding ahead, we crossed the Jeep road once more at a place called Chitre. Chitre is an important junction on this route. One road went down towards Tatopani, while another joined it from Swanta. The combined road then moved towards Ghodepani. Tatopani is an important town where this road joined the Muktinath highway which came down from the Mustang region and went towards the town of Pokhara. Hence, to reach Ghodepani by road, one could reach Tatopani from Pokhara, switch vehicles to board another for Ghodepani. A milestone declared that Ghodepani was another 4 km away, which took me back. Yugal corrected by saying that it was for the Jeep road, the alternative walking trails should be just about 2 km from Chitre. That sounded more sane & I started off on the trail.

En-route Ghodepani, ground flowers — *En-route Ghodepani*

The hike was gradual but went through staircases which weren’t kind on our feet & knees. There are alternate tracks available besides the stairs (often created by herds of mules) & I was always on the lookout for them as they offered a more gentle slope. Such staircases could be overwhelming, especially when they span long distances. A glance at them from lower stages make them seemingly unending. Hence, I didn’t bother to look at the top, just focused on the stairs, which eventually would run out. I recalled our long hikes over stair cases during the Annapurna base camp trail, especially on our way from Jhinu danda to Chomrong. My daughter was traveling with me on that occasion and after sometime she gave up and started crying incessantly. Amidst hovering clouds, I was keen for her to go ahead but she became resistant. Finally, one of the porters carried her on his back for the last few steps. These people offer such valuable support but often turn out to be unsung heroes. Back to the present, profuse sweating prompted me to remove my jacket only to put it back on due to the cold breeze. This dilemma never seems to leave me. I felt the need to give a fresh look at my trekking gears. It always appeared to me that I was either over or under clothed reeling or shivering under severe sweat or cold respectively. I always seem to fringe on the extremes. But that’s for later. For now, after sometime, I saw the entrance gate welcoming us to the Ghodepani-Poonhill area. Ghodepani is a terminal village in the Myagdi district of Nepal, beyond which, the areas come under another district, Kaski. I waited at the gate for Yugal & Ramesh to catch up. We had some further steps to cover before reaching the tea house. This last hike was steep but the hope of proximity kept us going. We gradually entered the main tourist area of Ghodepani which was filled with lodges on both sides. Traveling through the alleys, we noticed a direction towards Poonhill. We moved in that direction and after a small hike, reached our tea house. That implied that we’d have to hike a little less for the next day while going towards Poonhill.

We were alloted a room at the third floor. That was an ask after a tiring hike, but it meant better views, potentially, though it was all cloudy at the moment. A sumptuous lunch with rice & chicken curry was well worth eating in a large empty dining space, almost devoid of tourists. The owner & staff also kept themselves busy by watching movies or playing games. With all it’s fame, Ghodepani appeared too empty. We were to be proven wrong in the afternoon when there was a sudden spike in trekkers which set the place abuzz. Actually, it’s a pattern where most of the trekkers reach in the afternoon, it just happened that we reached a bit earlier. After lunch, Ranjan da went for a nap, while I remained in the dining room. A slight drizzle was already going on, which now turned into intense rain. Heavy rains in the mountains cause tensions of potential land slides or road blocks but it also offered a chance for the clouds to clear up. Hoping for the latter, I kept gazing through the windows. Trekkers kept coming and the buzz increased, the hotel staff too, got going on their toes. Suddenly, the chit chat turned into a collective applause. Prompted by that elation, I looked through the window to find the clouds receding, making way for the mountains to appear. The silhouette was still monochrome but it looked like a water color canvas where a painter washed out the previous scene to make way for another.

Clouds still graced the tree tops but they were dispersing. The likes of Gurja Himal, Tukuche and the main imposing Dhaulagiri massif started to reveal their structures while their bases and the tops were still shielded by a horizontal line of clouds. As if they were floating atop the clouds.

On our right, the Annapurna ranges also started to may their way through. The forests in the valley below looked refreshing & freshly bathed by the recent rains. Ranjan da declared that the forecast was to have an all clear sky by 9 PM. That raised our hopes for the famous Poonhill panorama for the next day. For now, we headed out, training our lenses on the Himalayan vista, making it’s way piercing through the dispersing clouds.

Dhaulagiri range 2, Ghodepani — *Ghodepani*

As the veil lifted, the mountains revealed their full physical structure. With the clouds still forming the background, the monochrome display appeared surreal. The Dhaulagiri massif appeared as an imposing structure inspiring awe among the viewers.

As evening wore on, weather cleared up further and stars appeared in the sky. Dinner was served at 7.30 PM. The dining space was full by this time with ever busy hotel staff catering to the needs of the people. We kept gossipping with Yugal about our previous experiences in Nepal. Reminiscing about previously visited areas made us feel as locals. We discussed our ordeals and unique experiences in the routes of Everest, Manaslu & Annapurna regions. Time flied past and it was time to call it a day. After we reclined to our room, sleep eluded me as I kept glancing through the window towards the mountains. A partial moon cast it’s light over the mountains which made their outlines visible. The sky was still glittering with stars. We went to sleep with high hopes for the morning. We were sleeping at 2874 m.

2nd May, 2025

I woke up in the wee hours of the night. A quick glance through the window revealed a disappointment. Stars were not visible anymore and the mountain tops were covered again by the clouds. We couldn’t do much about it, but to sleep again till the alarm went off at 5 AM. We could hear people already moving towards Poonhill with head torches lit to light their way. When we started our journey, darkness started giving way for the dawn to break. Clouds maintained a strict veil but we plodded towards Poonhill hoping against hope. The track went up the slopes through stairs. Despite the cloud cover, people kept moving up. After sometime, we saw some of the early hikers coming down, giving up their hopes. Earlier known as the Lung Tung danda, this viewpoint was famous for panoramic Himalayan views. It was renamed to Poonhill to honor the Pun tribe who were the local people tied to the land of this area. After about 45 minutes, we reached the top, which was a flat space with a watch tower. The place was crowded with people jostling around to get a space at the front row to have better views, but these efforts were futile as clouds maintained their veil in front of the mountains. The streaming rays of the sun making their way through the cracks in the cloud armour gave an indication that the sun was already high up in the sky.

Hoping for them to disperse, we stated there for sometime, drinking tea from the local stall. The spot has lost some of it’s glory, thanks to the local crowd, many of whom were more interested in selfies than nature. This turned it into a picnic spot rather than a viewpoint. After sometime, we started our descent. On our way down, we were treated with a wonderful flute rendition by a local person who was on his way up. After we came down to Ghodepani, got ready and had our breakfast, clouds started clearing. Nature bathed in bright sunshine as cloud lifted their veil. The Dhaulagiri and Annapurna Himalayas appeared in their full grandeur. After a photographic session for about an hour we started on our way down. As if the Himalayas bid adieu with a marvellous display.

Mt Annapurna South, Ghodepani — *Mt Annapurna South*, Ghodepani

We made our way down through the alleys of Ghodepani amidst the numerous lodges. We exited Ghodepani through another gate, out into the forests as the trail moved down the slopes. We descended all the way down to Ulleri, which is a big town in the area. The trail continued further down through the woods. We crossed a landslide area and after a descent of about two and a half hours, reached Banthanti. Local jeeps waited for passengers. We boarded one of them and headed down towards the town of Pokhara. Another Himalayan journey came to an end. Though clouds held their sway, prohibiting the views at times, but they were kind enough to offer a grand sunrise at Khopra danda, added to the beauty of the mountains at Ghodepani. At someday we may come back to the region once again amidst the tranquility of the Annapurna sanctuary. Till then, au revoir.

Valley

The solitude of Khopra ridge – from the ridge to the valley floor

Khopra. Ghodepani

30th April, 2025

Sleep eluded me for initial part of the previous night and I kept tossing around. I wasn’t sure of the reason, but it wasn’t due to cold as the bed and blanket (along with the warm wears) kept me comfortable. It was these aspects that always made me thank the infrastructure that is available in Nepal. Nevertheless, I had a comfortable sleep during the latter part. Hopes went high in the previous evening. The guide promised to check on the clouds and wake me up if they stayed clear off the mountains. For my part, I set an alarm anyways and when it went off, I left the comfort of the bed. It was 5 AM. A quick glance out of the sole window of the room revealed a dark silhouette of the moiuntains against a feeble background of emerging sunlight. Their tops were devoid of any cloud and there was no mist or fog. Finally, nature did choose to reward our perseverance of hiking up to the ridge amidst clouds! I still had about an hour at my disposal before the first sun rays of the morning started acting out the drama of color shades on the mountains’ canvas. I chose to utilize this to prepare myself for the day’s travel and packed my things into the bag carried by Yugal. I then hung the camera around my neck and ventured out to the open space behind the tea house. Some people already stationed themselves at the helipad, which was at an elevated place, near the lodge, some others made their start towards Khayar lake. I chose the helipad (as there wasn’t enough time left for Khayar lake). I had to hurry as this is the time of the day when the intensity and color of the solar rays change drastically and every minute counts. After reaching the helipad, I turned a glance towards the distant Dhaulagiri range and there it was, the first rays of sun started gracing their tops. The dark silhouette started acquiring golden borders along the sharp edges. The Annapurna ranges still lay in darkness while the sky lit up behind them, indicating the sun would emerge from behind them.

Mt Dhaulagiri, Khopra danda, early sun rays — *Mt Dhaulagiri, Khopra danda*

The cold was biting and I couldn’t move my fingers freely. I had to expose them bare off and on to handle my camera, which proved tough, but I didn’t care. Everytime I panned the lens across the vista, the colors seemed to change and that resulted in many snaps for the same subject. It’s normall to err on the side of caution as there’s always the option to retain the prefered set after examining their quality at leisure. A quick glance to the left revealed that the valley below was still covered with thick dense clouds. For someone down in the valley, it’d be difficult to imagine the vista at display up here at the ridge.

Mt Dhaulagiri, Khopra danda, solar rays spread — *Mt Dhaulagiri, Khopra danda*

I kept thanking my luck and nature’s kindness to have displayed its grandeur. Who would have thought about this, under the conditions that prevailed the afternoon before? The decision to hike yesterday, has paid off. Even if clouds engulf the views with the progress of the day, I’d have nothing to complain. These are the views for which one can hike for hours! Himalayan vultures kept flying around, a few crows kept screaming amidst this otherwise silent backdrop, which kept changing the canvas.

We’ve seen the Annapurna ranges from multiple angles, but it was the Dhaulagiri massif, which inspired the awe! Such a huge and imposing architecture. Mt Dhaulagiri (8167 m) is the highest mountain that is fully within the territories of Nepal. It is the seventh highest mountain in the world, just behind Mt Cho Oyu (which sits on the Nepal-Tibet border) in the race for height. The other big-wigs (e.g. the likes of Mt Everest, Mt Lhotse or Mt Kanchenjunga) are shared either with Tibet or India.

Our tea house, along with its associated supplementary structures, lay sprawling amidst the ridge, which expaned into a somewhat flat area. A deep valley lay beyond it and at the edge of it, hills rose above the horizon, gradually merging into the snow line of the Dhaulagiri range that ran from Gurja Himal in the west to Mt Tukuche in the east, now all bathing in the morning sun.

The main and supplementary structure of the lodge appeared like matchboxes amidst this huge amphitheatre. Everything, including us, seemed belittled amongst the wide panorama of nature. The mountains and the sun were the major actors in this play and we were mute spectators. The only act we could take up was to train our lenses and roll the shutters on. As morning wore on, the brightness and intensity of the solar rays increased and the mountain peaks dazzled in their silver crowns.

Mt Dhaulagiri, Khopra danda, silver crown — *Mt Dhaulagiri, Khopra danda*

Sharp rays of sun emanated amidst the ridges around the Annapurna range, which still lay in the dark and going by the indications, would remain so.

By this time, Yugal made his appearance. He came to knock at my door, only to find it locked and hence, he concluded that I was already awake and out in the open. As the sun came up from behind the Annapurna range, the rays fully illuminated the mountains. We made our way down the slopes towrds the tea house. Breakfast got served with hot tea and after paying our dues, I and Yugal, started our journey down the slopes we hiked up yesterday. The valley too, was now cleared up and we could see deep down into it, even the distant homes along the slopes of the hills. Pointing at a red roof top, almost at the valley floor, Yugal mentioned that was Swanta, our destination for the day.

Mt Annapurna South, khopra danda, down the slopes — *Mt Annapurna South, khopra danda*

We gradually moved along the flat trail to reach the place marked by Chortens (Tibetan flags) and then started our descent along the same switchbacks we traversed on our way up, the afternoon before. By this time, the Annapurna ranges too, were illuminated. As we lost altitude, the ridge walls rose above us and mountains went away from our views. The same tract, that appeared gloomy on our way up, now was shining bright with flowers and colors at display in the bright norning sun. Birds too, were more chirpy than they were the day before.

On the way down from Khopra danda — *On the way down from Khopra* danda

On our way down, we covered the same slopes much faster and with clear visibility, it felt all the more safe. The feeling of loneliness which accompanied me on the way up, was now absent. After a few more switchbacks, we could see the roofs of the tea houses at Chishtibung. They kept increasing in magnitude as we went further down the slopes. We met the Swiss group, on their way up to Khopra danda. They stopped at Chishtibung yesterday. It took one and half hours for us to be at the dining space of the lodge at Chishtibung once again. We reunited with Ranjan da and Ramesh. They were excited to know about our luck at the morning. The sun was still shining bright. As the luggage was being merged and re-sorted, we suddenly saw a rodent, which though appeared like a rat in its color and appearance, but resembled a rabbit in terms of its physical structure. It moved swiftly along the cracks and gullies of the tracks, tipping along at the small plants that came its way. As we tried to move a bit closer for a better snap, it hid away, only to reappear to resume its activities. After some trade off, we settled at a distance that gave us descent snaps of the animal.

After a small halt at Chishtibung, we resumed our descent from that tri-junction where the trail from Bailey kharka joined from the left. We now moved along the other one heading down towards Swanta. The trail now entered the tree line and once again we found ourselves amidst the dense forests. Given the cold during the morning at the heights of Khopra danda, I had my jacket on till Chishtibung, which I now transferred into my back pack. Though it increased its load, but walking was much lighter. At this time of the day, clouds started hovering again. Nature’s window of liberalism started to down its shutters. Yugal informed us that we’d have lunch at Bhainsi kharka one our way down. We kept descending through the woods and after about another couple of hours, we came across a solitary tea house amidst the surrounding forests. It had an open space around the dining room with chairs and tables. Terraced fields surrounded the main area of the lodge where cultivations were being carried out. I asked the owner of the lodge about the name of the place. It was “Al kharka”. Initially, I thought of moving further down, but then I thought of asking him again whether Bhainsi kharka was further down. According to him, there was no Bhainsi kharka along the route. That put me in a dilemma. Since there was only one trail coming down the slopes, there wasn’t any question of veering away, but the information from the lodge owner was contrary to that of Yugal. So, I prefered to wait for them to catchup. The place was quiet and tranquil. The greenery around was soothing to the eyes.

I kept my trekking gear on the table and sat to soak in the surroundings. Sound of a flowing stream kept murmuring, birds kept chriping in the woods, clouds acquired a darker shade, a cool breeze brushed my face. I casted regular glances at the higher slopes to look out for the rest of the group. They finally appeared on the slopes, made their way down to join me at the lodge. This was indeed, the slated place for our lunch. Yugal got the name wrong. We ordered sandwiches and french fries along with ginger lemon tea, while Yugal and Ramesh opted for standard “dal-bhat” meals. While we finished our lunch, their lunches were still being prepared and after waiting a while, they suggested us to move ahead and they would catch up along the way.

After the lodge, we moved down the slopes till we reached at a small hydo-electric power generation center where a gushing stream moved a few turbines which generated some electric power. After crossing the stream, the trail moved up for a few distance and then became adulating. We were once again amidst dense forests. The trunks of the large trees (many of them were Rhododendrons) were covered by green mosses. I also saw bushes of thin bamboo plants. We saw something similar at the place called “Bamboo” on the Annapurna base camp trail. Lush green vegetation looked freshly bathed in the rains falling for the last few days.

En-route Swanta, vegetation — *En-route Swanta*

En-route Swanta, small flowers — *En-route Swanta*

Small flowers dotted the bushes that lined the trail. Rhodododendrons too, re-appeared in their dark pink shades. This was to our surprise as we thought their blooms were over at these lower altitudes.

En-route Swanta, Rhododendrons — *En-route Swanta*

With the slopes either adulating or moving down, my speed increased and I kept going down fast, at times, almost running. But, after a while, I thought to wait for Ranjan da as the woods were deep and there could be chances of veering away, especially, there were still no signs of our guide and porter. I waited at a bend where two distinct paths diverged. Though I had a sense of taking one of them, but thought of waiting at least for Ranjan da. After waiting for a considerable time, he apeeared around the bend. We chatted for a while, gulped down a few sips of water and contemplated waiting for our guide and porter. However, we both thought that the choice was clear enough and kept moving ahead. After sometime, we saw a suspension bridge deep down in the valley and a few houses dotted the hill slopes on the other side. That made us think, we somehow had to reach the bridge as we were confident that that homes on the other side, belonged to Swanta. However, despite looking around, we couldn’t find a way down towards the bridge. We thought it better to wait for Yugal and Ramesh. It seemed ages before we finally heard their sounds and they appeared around the corner. Their lunches were served much later than we thought, but they came down swiftly to catch up with us. They assured us that we were still on the right path and Swanta was not on the other side (as we thought), but round the corner of the hill that we were travelling down. After sometime, fences started to appear, bellows of buffaloes were heard and a wide valley opened up with terraced fields.

A few houses made their appearance and more appeared nestled between the fields, as we moved into the valley. We could also spot a monastery. This was the place we looked down upon from the Khopra ridge, in the morning. I tried looking upwards to see if Khopra ridge was visible, but in vain. Our path went through the fields and reached the gates of Hotel Candle Inn, our place of stay for the night. The lodge was charming. We reclined to the open space outside its dining room where some chairs and tables were placed. We had our tea served there but clouds started looking ominous and it started drizzling. Our rooms were at the first floor with balconies opening into the wide valley. Sights of terraced fields greeted us and almost immediately, hails started pounding the roofs. We were just in time to reach our destination. For the first time in the trail, we had chicken and egg curries at dinner, which we enjoyed immensely. After drying our clothes and shoes at the fire place, we reclined to our room and slid under the blankets. Rain and hail storm was still on. We were sleeping at 2270 m.

Khopra. Ghodepani

The solitude of Khopra ridge – Khopra danda

Dobato Swanta

29th April, 2025

Yugal (our guide) took the responsibility of checking on the weather early in the morning & letting us know about the feasibility of hiking to the Muldai viewpoint. My own interest prompted me to check myself & that revealed that the effort was to go futile. Similar to the morning before, every object was hidden behind fog & mist, which simply refused to let go of the hold. One famed viewpoint got eliminated from our list without any alternative. Nevertheless, we focused on what remained. Today was supposed to be the longest. From Dobato, an adulating trail over the ridge should take us to the Bailey kharka, beyond which the trail would take us down into the river gorge. A crossover there would be followed by an uphill hike to Chishtibung, our place of lunch. This whole trail would lead us 400 m downhill. After lunch, we’d have to hike 600 m to reach the top of a ridge. A leisurely walk of about 500 m along the ridge should take us to Khopra danda, the second famed viewpoint of the trek. Looking at the gloomy weather, Ranjan da contemplated stopping at Chishtibung unless there was significant improvement justifying the contrary. I deferred the decision till I reached Chishtibung and a hunch in my mind told me not to stop there as that’d at least give me a chance with the views, which, otherwise stood to be forfeited. Even if views can’t be obtained, why should I give away the chance to hike, which was another goal of this trek? How frequently do you get a chance to walk on pristine forest trails in the mountains?

After regular preparation, we started. After the teahouse premises, one trail moved up towards the Muldai viewpoint. We took a right turn to take the other one. It moved a little down to cross a small landslide area. The trail was slightly wet, thanks to a small stream of water that crossed over it. We circumvented it carefully & after a small hike, we reached the top of a ridge with slopes sliding down from both sides of it. The ridge had a considerable cover of Rhododendron trees which were in their full bloom.

En-route Bailey kharka, rhododendrons — *En-route Bailey kharka*

Since the previous day, the bloom was on the rise. We could realize what a marvellous walk it would have been, in absence of the prevailing fog. Though not fully, the Rhododendron blooms somewhat compensated for the lack of views of the Himalayan peaks. Apart from the flowers, we also saw some unique vegetation.

En-route Bailey Kharka, vegetation — *En-route Bailey kharka*

While I walked, I felt warm, but whenever I stopped (either to take snaps or to gulp down sips of water), the wind swept my face. As during every morning, I kept my jacket on, despite the sweat it generated inside. We heard some tinkle of bells that told us that mules were approaching us from the other side. One always needs to be careful to give passage to these animals at suitable places, else they could pose challenges as trails aren’t wide enough at every place. We saw a mule being chased down by its owner as it attempted to stray away from the established route. As we went past it, there were three more standing around a bend. That told us that the mule we encountered earlier, had turned rogue, giving it’s owner, a run for his money. The shades of Rhododendron flowers turned lighter.

En-route Bailey kharka, pink rhododendrons — *En-route Bailey kharka*

After a while, we reached a point where there was a board with arrows pointing to three directions. One pointed towards Dobato (from where we were coming), another towards the hidden lake & the third towards Bailey kharka. I looked towards the arrow that pointed towards hidden lake, thinking about the two unfortunate laborers who lost their lives to lighting strikes, day before yesterday. I then moved ahead towards Bailey kharka. After a while, the trail entered into the woods and we were surrounded by Rhododendrons & we found ourselves walking under a canopy of branches with blooming flowers. Patches of snow lay by the way side.

En-route Bailey kharka, purple rhododendrons — *En-route Bailey kharka*

After walking through these for half an hour, we entered an open amphitheatre. It was an open pasture where yaks grazed around and the horizons were lined by blooming Rhododendron trees. The ground below our feet were covered with small yellow flowers, so many in their numbers that it was difficult walking without trampling them. The mist played hide & seek with the distant Rhododendron bushes while yaks grazed around in leisure. This was the famed Bailey pastures (or Bailey kharka, as they’re known in Nepal).

I roamed around the pastures, taking snaps while the rest of the group caught up with me. I could imagine what a backdrop it would have constituted, had the Himalayan peaks been on their displays. Nevertheless, we thanked nature for whatever was placed by it at our disposal.

Bailey kharka, baby yak — *Bailey kharka*

After some rest, we resumed our journey, which now headed downhill, first through the woods, then along an exposed trail along a ridge. Yellow grasses filled the slopes and the trail, though narrow, was safe enough. There were places with just enough space for one pair of legs, which made one conscious, but by & large it was okay. After sometime, I saw our porter Ramesh signalling me to stop from behind. I heeded to his signals & stopped at a site which had a small temple. Apparently, our guide asked to stop and move together from hereon. After the rest of the group caught up with me, we headed downhill, along the open grassy slopes.

En-route Chishtibung, red trees — *En-route Chishtibung*

After sometime, woods reappeared on both sides. Presence of trees along both sides has a psychological effect of safety (as opposed to open ridges or slopes) though slip ups are unlikely to be arrested from such heights. After winding down through the woods, we reached a junction where we saw the Swiss team (they stayed at Dobato, the precious night), taking rest amidst a meadow where there were arrows pointing to two opposite directions. The left one pointed downhill towards the village of Swanta, while the right, again downhill, pointed towards Chishtibung. We knew that the downhill was till a waterfall, after which, it was a steady uphill towards Chishtibung. I headed down towards the right, traversing some steep switchbacks, heading towards the waterfall. The more I headed down, the more I felt acquiring some debt as I thought, we had to traverse all this way up, the following day, to reach the junction at the meadow, to take the other route towards the Swanta village. After walking for quite a while, I thought of waiting for the group, just to ensure I wasn’t straying away from the trail. The reason to think so was that there wasn’t any marked trail to follow (just some stray paintings on tree trunks to mark the way). While waiting, my eyes went towards the lush green trunks of the trees covered with mosses. The ground too, was covered with small but strange vegetation. Ferns & mosses with unique features dotted the ground.

After I saw Ranjan da emerging from a corner, I went further down towards the gushing stream, crossed over it via a wooden bridge & started the uphill hike towards Chishtibung. It was considerably steep, going by the switchbacks we had to traverse. I kept an eye towards the top of the hill and it seemed we were being dragged towards the top. But that was misleading. As soon as we reached the point which seemed like the top, the trail opened up beyond that point only to lead further up. After many such traversals, the trees started decreasing and once again we moved beyond the tree line. I now found myself walking through the terraced cultivation fields. A glance above the slopes led me to the place yet further up, where I saw a lodge. I then set it as a milestone & started advancing towards it, in small installments (to give enough rest & strength to my lungs) and finally reached there. Profuse sweating prompted me to remove my jacket while I was waiting for the group to catch up, but the gushing winds forced me not just to put it back on, but also to rush to the covered dining space to take refuge. The place was called Isharu.

The entire trail up to this place from the woods below, was visible & I coul watch other members of my group making their way up. I tried waving my hands but their eyes were firmly focused on the trail. I waited till they reached the tea house, took some time to rest after the uphill hike and then resumed our hike once again. The trails kept moving upwards in the form of switchbacks and now it was exposed on on side, given that we were treading above the tree line. Our strides became ever smaller as we gained altitude, with ever increasing stress on our lungs. As every ordeal comes to an end, so did this and finally, we reached a junction from where three routes met (or emanated, depending on how you saw it). One pointed down towards the village of Swanta, the other towards Bailey kharka (the one which we traveled) and the third pointed upwards towards Khopra danda. We had to opt the third to hike some more distance till we reached a tea house by the way side. Finally, Chishtibung was there.

En-route Chishtibung, Fern — *En-route Chishtibung*

As we settled in the dining space, Ranjan da declared that his hike was to halt at this place. I decided to continue to Khopra danda after lunch. We had to make some adjustments accordingly as there was no point carrying all the luggage up for just one night. I split the luggage to retain ust enough for a night and stuffed in a small packet which Yugal was generous enough to carry. Ramesh was to stay behind with Ranjan da at Chishtibung and so was to be the case with rest of the luggage. As usual, “dal-bhat” was being prepared while we took some rest. We were hungry and did justice to the hot food that got served after sometime. After lunch, we filled out bottles, Yugal and I strapped our respective backpacks (admittedly, his was much heavier, given that he was carrying some of my luggage) and both of us resumed our hike towards Khopra danda after bidding a temporary good bye to Ranjan da and Ramesh.

There were some trees scattered around the trail for some distance, but they disappeared very soon as soon as we moved up. After hiking for some time, we came to a resting place where some tibetan flags (chortens, as they’re called) docorated the area. We rested for sometime as walking proved a bit more difficult right after lunch. But we were careful not to waste much time as clouds started closing in on us. The trail was marked by a narow strip of stones laid by the side, which went through some bushes and trees with very sparse foliage. Their colors too, started to take a yellowish tinge, giving an indication that we were approaching the ridge, hence, lower levels of Oxygen. Gradually, trees gave way to yellow grasses and the trail became steeper lining the bare slopes. As we moved up, we could see that the valley below us, was covered entirely by dense white clouds. A slight drizzle also fell on us, but it was still not a downpour. The width of the trail became narrower. We could see other hikers treading the path way above us, amidst the prevailing mist. It have us an idea of how far we still had to cover before reaching the top of the ridge, beyond which, as promised by Yugal, the path was supposed to be flat along the top for about 500 m. I kept trodding ahead till I reached the next bend, rest for a while, only to move up to the next bend. This pattern repeated till we reached the top, which was adorned by chortens. They flapped through the strong winds that dashed the place. Despite being cold, we sat there for sometime to soak in the surroundings. Thanks to the mist and clouds, there wasn’t much to view. The trail indeed, as promised by Yugal, ran through flat terrain and the roof of the tea house appeared before us. Khopra danda, at last!.

We moved down a few stairs to reach the compound and entered the dining space, which was buzzing with other hikers. It was a community lodge. The alloted room was descent. After changing the clothes, I informed Ranjan da & our homes, about our arrival through WhatsApp calls. That’s when, as I looked through the window panes, I was greeted with the appearance of the mountains amidst the hovering clouds! Their enormity overwhelmed us. They were so near as if at a stone’s throw distance. Right there, in front of us, though somewhat shielded by the engulfing mist, was Mt Annapurna South and Annapurna Main.

Mt Annapurna South, Khopra danda — *Mt Annapurna South*, *Khopra danda*

To their left, stood Mt Nilgiri and as one turned their eyes to the left, there was Tukuche, followed by the mighty Dhaulagiri massif. Though it’s top was cut off from our views by the ensuing clouds, it inspired awe! Yet to it’s left, there were other peaks of the Dhaulagiri range, with the vista ending finally at Gurja Himal. The Annapurna peaks were clear enough but the Dhaulagiri ranges were faintly visible though the veil of the clouds. More then their actual views, their presence and a possibility of their appearance in full glow, stirred us and we kept training our lenses to capture as many snaps as possible, despite the clouds. One never knows if this was to be the best or even better was in store for the morrow. Given the day’s view, our hopes were up for the next day. Would nature reward us for our toil to reach this place, despite the clouds (as they say, would patience and perseverance pay off)? Well, we hoped so. At least it doesn’t take money to hope for the best. After all, we descended 400 m to Chishtibung, only to hike up 600 m to reach Khopra danda, all in one day. Would that all be in vain? As we slept at 3640 m, we certainly hoped not.

Dobato Swanta

The solitude of Khopra ridge – Tadapani

Khopra ridge. Dobato

27th April, 2025

It was unsually warm at Pokhara during the previous night. The hotel room didn’t have a fan, so we had to turn on the air conditioner to escape the heat and humidity. It gave me a sense of guilt (bordering to criminality) to turn on an air conditioner at a hill station like Pokhara. I’ve never faced it before. To limit the sense of guilt, I turned the air conditioner off after a couple of hours and opened the windows. Morning rituals took some time and after a fresh bath (the last occasion to do so before the trek ends), we headed downstairs for breakfast. We’d already transferred our luggage into the duffel bag. Yugal and Ramesh appeared at the doorstep while we were still at the breakfast table. After some delay, we boarded a Scorpio to embark on our journey towards the village of Ghandruk which was about 58 kms away. It was cloudy and none of the members of the Annapurna family were visible, which was a shame. It didn’t bode well for the rest of the day.

The vehicle made its way through reasonably corwded but disciplined roads of the Pokhara town and after approximately half an hour, it hit the highway. We were told that this highway led all the way to upper Mustang via the towns of Tatopani, Beni, Marpha, Jomsom, Muktinath & others. My mind sprinted through these towns along the highway and I recalled the reverse journey on this highway in the year 2022 on our way back from the Annapurna Circuit trail. This journey in itself is an experience. The lower reaches of it goes through lush green areas with the hills covered with dense forests. Gradually, these make way for dry and barren landsacpes of Mustang with mountain peaks keeping company all through. I still remembered the marvellous sight of the Jomsom airstrip with Mt Nilgiri rising beyond it’s limits. Marpha was famous for it’s apples and related products. Kagbeni, which is further ahead towards Muktinath, is a quiet abode where people prefer to spend a day or two for the natural beauty of the valley to sink in. The entire route travels along the famous Kali Gandaki river, which forms the world’s deepest gorge (reaching up to a depth of 1 km) up above in the upper Mustang region.

While I was engaged deep in these thoughts, our jeep took an exit from the highway to head down towards Nayapul where we saw a signboard indicating directions towards the places like Ghandruk, Ghodepani, Chomrong, Jhinudanda and others which dotted the different routes traversing through what is called the Annapurna sanctuary area (which covers the southern slopes & valleys of the Annapurna range). The sanctuary area is a subset of a much larger Annapurna Conservation Area Project (or ACAP, as the acronym goes) which also covers the Annapurna circuit trail and possibly, parts of lower and upper Mustang regions. After the turn, the road sloped down towards an old metallic bridge which led to some houses, shops & some govt offices. It was a busy place with a lot of people bustling around. This was where our ACAP permits got checked for the first time. The place is called Birethanti. I recognized it. It forms a gateway to the Annapurna sanctuary area and all routes emanate from here. We visited it for the first time during our visit to the Annapurna base camp. We had to halt to allow our permits to be examined and allow the govt authorities to register our entry into the area. Such entries are supposed to be matched during the exit to ensure whoever has entered, has also exited the area safely and no one gets lost in the trails. A similar exercise also happens at different checkpoints of other trekking routes of Nepal. We tasted the delicacy of local samosas. They tasted very different, probably due to the fresh vegetables (sourced from the local aggricultural fields) used in the curry that was stuffed inside. After the brief halt, the vehicle resumed it’s journey through the villages and forests of the sanctuary area. The road was still paved, but turned into a bumpy stretch after sometime as the jeep started to navigate through the curved hill sides. After sometime, we reached a junction from where one route moved further up towards Ghodepani through the villages of Ulleri and Banthanti, while we took the right diversion to climb up towards Ghandruk. The skies turned darker and after significant struggle to maintain its center of gravity, the jeep finally halted at a place, beyond which, walking trails awaited us. We disembarked and started our long awaited trek through the woods of the Annapurna region of Nepal. There was a very light breeze that caressed our faces, while we started the hike. We could see the Rhododendron trees, but they were devoid of flowers. What would have been a full bloom, had we reached here even about a fortnight earlier, was now absent. But there was no reason to complain as thick forests provided a canopy over the trail, which not only provided protection from sun (though it was absent for the day), but a cool breeze and more importantly, the much needed Oxygen which prevents one from tiring while walking on these trails. After about an hour of hiking, we reached the tea house where we were supposed to have our lunch. It was a resonably large place with wonderfully crafted and maintained gardens with lots of flowers.

The flowers shone even brighter amidst the looming darkness of the skies, which sent down sounds of distant thunders. As our lunch started getting prepared, we spent sometime to capture some snaps of the blooming flowers.

We enjoyed our first “dal-bhat” meal in Nepal after about a year. With hunger accentuated after hiking up from the starting point, the meal tasted even more delicious which was served with hot rice, lentils, vegetables, pickles and other delicacies of rural Nepal. After lunch, as I moved out to the open terrace, I felt a few drops of water on my body. Looking up at the sky, I saw the dark clouds hovering above. We still had at least two and a half hours of hike left for the day and chances were there that we may need to walk in the rain. We put on our raincoats and resumed our hike.

I could now see a few Rhododendron trees with a few flowers which were remnants of the full bloom that might have perished about a week ago. Colors of these flowers vary according to the altitude. The trees we saw now, had red flowers, but other colors make their appearances at the higher altitudes. The height of these trees also keep decreasing with altitude. The trees dotting the higher ridges are called “Dwarf Rhododendrons”. Rain droplets increased in their size and frequency as we moved up and after a point, we reached a place called Bhainsi Kharka, a conglomerate of lodges. That’s when rain came down hard and we had no option but to take shelter. I thought this was good in a way as it might clear up the clouds which could pave the way for a clear evening or even clearer weather for the coming days (or so we thought). I came up earlier while the porter, guide and Ranjan da were still behind. After a while, they emerged from the woods down below and made their way up to the dining hall of the tea house, which gave some warmth. After a a heavy downpour that lasted almost half an hour, the rain eased, but clouds still held their sway in the mountains. We took advantage of this let up and resumed our hike. After leaving the premises of Bhainsi Kharka, the trail moved up amidst a narrow alley. It was thickly forested and we had no trouble whatsoever while moving up. We kept our raincoats on, though they weighed heavily on us, causing a lot of sweat, but there was no choice as there were enough clouds to resume a downpour at anytime. While we were waiting at the dining room for the rain to subside, we saw a few lightning strikes with resounding thunder at distant places. Little did we know then, that these strikes would result in grief for someone.

When we finally reached Tadapani, it was still cloudy but the rain turned into a drizzle. The compound of the tea house was spacious with a dining hall taking the centerstage. A rear door at the end of the dining hall led to a corridor which had rooms on both sides. We settled into one of these, changed our clothing and headed for the dining space, which everyone vies to reach after a day of hike. It’s a place for socialization, gossip, reflecting on the day’s proceedings and making plans for the next day, while sipping away at hot tea. All through our way up, we kept hearing about marvellous mountain views which would have been at our disposal, had weather been kind to us, but such statements sounded more like fairy tales, given the current state of affairs at nature’s department. As we spent our time at the dining space, we saw the veil of darkness getting removed and gradually, light became brighter. The chorus of the trekkers outside gathered some energy, which prompted me to look out through the glass panes and wow, there it was, Mt Annapurna South and Mt Fishtail (Machhapuchare, as they call it in Nepal) made their appearance, still shielded somewhat by the clouds, bt their outlines were visible. The sheer size of these mountains gave an indication of the altitude of the place!

The sky cleared up further and immediately it lifted the spirits of the people around. Most of them ventured out of the dining place to train the lenses of the mobiles and cameras to the awe-inspiring display of the mountains. We were no exception and our shutters kept rolling in the fading afternoon sun, which started playing its color tricks on the snowy slopes of the Annapurna Himalayas. The emerging sunlight through the still powerful shields of clouds made the birds chirpy too and their sounds were all around us. We got so excited, that we made video calls to our homes to show this view to our family members back there. While I was at that, Ranjanda quickly reminded that this luck might not run long as clouds were still hovering and making advances towards the mountain tops. That prompted me to abandon the call and resume photography to snap up as many as possible till the luck lasts.

From the left to right, Annapurna South, Hiunchuli, many others in between (the guide told us their names, but I don’t recall) and finally the vista ended at the top of Mt Fishtail.

We couldn’t shift our attention from the mountains as the scenes kept changing continuously in the stage act played out by nature. On some ocassion, a mountain top was brightly visible, only to be shielded by emerging clouds, while others made their appearances and this kept on changing amidst the hide and seek between the sun and the clouds.

The most striking view was that of Mt Machhapuchare, which keeps inspiring awe, despite looking at it on multiple occassions from different places. We’ve seen it from different angles from Pokhara, the entire Annapurna base camp route, where it’s angles kept changing at every place, Mardi Himal trail and now on this trail.

Mt Annapurna South 2, Tadapani — *Mt Annapurna South, Tadapani*

Time flied by as we kept our lenses trained on the Annapurna Himalayas and they didn’t disappoint us, but after sometime, clouds gained their strength and made steady advances and eventually shielded them altogether. That prompted us to recline to the dining space. We had our dinner at 7 PM with sandwiches and soup and then moved to our room. The next day would take us to Dobato. We were sleeping at 2630 m.

Khopra ridge. Dobato

The solitude of Khopra ridge

Tadapani

Nowadays trekkers often complain about lack of tranquil forests or experience of authentic village life and tribal culture in the popular trails like Annapurna base camp or Everest base camp in Nepal. For that matter, they say the same even for the longer Annapurna circuit trail as well. For Manaslu circuit, though one gets to experience the local village life along the route (more so, than other trails), the complain there is about the ever shrinking trail, thanks to aggressive road construction in Nepal which is eating up the trails gradually. That’s true for any other route. With every passing year, the trails get gobbled up with local jeeps plying higher up in the mountains. In some cases, there are altenrative trails available that lets you escape the mud and dust of the jeep roads, but mostly, that’s not an option, especially, in the Annapurna sanctuary area, which is where I was headed for the third time after Annapurna base camp and Mardi Himal.

I was looking for a week long escapade from the depressing & taxing corporate life to an area which could offer some solace. Given the time constraint, I had to look for the Annapurna region as anything towards the eastern part of Nepal would have required more time, a scarce commodity at hand. Initially it appeared to be a tough ask, given the ever shrinking trails of the region, but after some search (especially, on the website of Nepal Alternative treks & expeditions), I came across the Khopra ridge (or danda, as they call in Nepal) trek. My enquiries with Tej Bahadur Gurung (the proprietor of Nepal Alternative treks & expeditions), confirmed the fact that it was a less trodden trail. The time of the year (late April) also offered chances of witnessing Rhododendron blooms (though to a lesser extent than what we found at Mardi Himal about a year before). We were about a fortnight late than the year before as far as Rhododendron blooms were concerned. Nevertheless, I looked forward to my visit to the area. As usual, the description of the trail along with some youtube videos, provided enough excitement to look forward to it. Expectations ran high with two view points on the trail, Muldai and the Khopra ridge itself, offering almost a 180-270 degree view of the Nepal himalayas ranging from the Dhaulagiri to the Annapurna ranges. To top it off, our trek was to include a visit to the famed Poonhill top, an icing on the cake.

Most of my mates from earlier treks were either occupied during the period or had plans to visit other places. Hence, I decided to embark alone if need be (such was the desperation). Nevertheless, I floated my idea in the WhatsApp group and Ranjan da responded. Hence, we booked our tickets to and from Gorakhpur Junction, a town close to the Nepal border in eastern part of the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. This was followed by our hotel bookings at Pokhara for our stays on our way up and down. Conversations with Tej Bahadur Gurung settled the questions about porter and guide. After all these initial proceedings, I got immersed in my professional work as the slated date of travel was still about a couple of months away. About a fortnight after this, an SMS from Indian railways informed me that our train to Gorakhpur on 25th April got cancelled due to some “pre-planned” work at the railway station and any inconvinience was “regretted”. Well, that’s Indian Railways for you. All they can do is to unilaterally cancel trains and regret the inconvinience. That has always been the case and continues to be (despite their claims of advancement with introduction of “high-end” trains like Vande Bharat). Accidents continue unabated, so do delays and abrupt cancellations with “regrets”. After scrambling for other options, the only option remained to start on 24th April, reach Lucknow and take another train in the following night from there. That’s what we opted for. As they say, every cloud (well, almost) has a silver lining, this gave me an opportunity to meet my friend Dhananjoy De (a constant company for me for all treks done in the past), who was a professor at IIIT.

26th April, 2025

After a day’s break at Lucknow and hanging out with Dhananjoy, we reached Gorakhpur junction at 2:40 AM. The only option was to stick around in the waiting room for the dawn to break. The idea was to get going as early as 5 AM to reach Pokhara with the entire afternoon at our disposal to hang around it’s famous lakeside area. However, our driver had other ideas and he only showed up at 6 AM. His reasoning was that the border officials (which included currency convertors) only started their operations by 8:30 AM. We had no other option but to comply. As the vehicle started off towards the border, I closed my eyes as there wasn’t much to cheer about the passing landscape of this dusty town or its suburbs. After about two and half hours of travel, we crossed over the border at Tutibari. This was much less crowded than the conventional Sunauli border. The gate on the Indian side thanked us while the Nepalese counterpart welcomed us for our visit. Soon after crossing it, we stopped near a police station where the cab driver went in for collecting his permit, while we exchanged Indian for Nepalese currency. Our journey started once again as we moved through the Terai plains of Nepal. The landscape wasn’t any different from the plains of India where cultivation fields extended to the horizon. The only difference could have been the views of distant hills, but they weren’t visible due to dust and smoke (some of it coming from burning of crop residues in nearby fields). As we traveled through the highways towards Bhairahawa, Ranjan da shared the weather forecast for the upcoming week. This turned out to be abysmal as everyday was supposed to be cloudy with light or strong rains in the afternoon. The later part of the week was slated to have rains for entire days. As depressing as it may sound, I decided not to delve much into it and leave it to nature’s discretion. It’s not new in the mountains to have unpredicted rains. Our route converged into the highway coming from the Sunauli border and we gradually crossed Butwal. Hills made their appearance after that and we suddenly found ourselves embarking along the serpentine mountain roads towards Pokhara.

This is a familiar trail as I’ve traveled through it multiple times (the most recent being a year ago on our way to Mardi Himal). After about four hours, we stopped at a place called Ramdi. It had a few shops offering the famous “Dal bhat” meals of Nepal. But we headed towards a fruit vendor who was selling cucumbers and a mountainous fruit from the nearby forests called Karphal. These were sweet and sour and tasted beautiful. After eating some, we purchased some more to have on our way up. After Rambi, we reached a road junction with an iron bridge over the famous Kali Gandaki river coming down from the distant and rugged Upper Mustang area of Nepal. I recalled having dinner at this place durnig our trip to Mardi Himal. After crossing that place, I waited somewhat impatiently to reach Pokhara, which was still about a couple of hours away. As the sun settled towards the west, my impatience increased as if time was running out.

After a few bends, we entered the wide roads of the Pokhara town and a few more turns took us to the famous lakeside area. Our hotel Himalayan Vacation was situated almost on the banks of the Fewa lake with just the road separating it from its banks. We disembarked from our vehicle and headed to our alloted room at the third floor. The balcony opened right in front of the lake and a bird’s eye view of the lake surrounded by thickly wooded hills, greeted us.

We got some much needed bath and headed towards Gaurighat, which was on the banks of the Fewa lake right across the road in front of the hotel. Tourists flocked the area with cameras and mobiles in their hands to capture the shots amidst the fading sunlight. The weather was pleasant with cool breeze from the lake soothing our souls. As the sun prepared to bid goodbye, the lake waters gilttered in gold.

The tourist boats floated in the tranquil waters, splashing their way through it. The sun acquired a crimson tinge as it prepared to hide behind the clouds which also hid the distant Annapurna ranges.

Despite many tourists flocking the area, Pokhara never loses its tranquility, thanks to the wide roads and spaces near the lake area. After capturing many more snaps, we finally headed back to our hotel as we awaited the arrival of our porter and guide. Ramesh (the porter) and Yugal (the guide) finally arrived from Kathmandu and we sat in our room for a conversation. We made some enquiries about the upcoming trek and associated altitudes. Weather formed an important part of it. Both of them were soft spoken and sounded friendly, a welcome sign for a trek. Our bags didn’t quite fit into the duffel bag they had brought over from Kathmandu. So, we decided to transfer the luggage from our individual bags into the duffel bag and leave the unnecessary items at the hotel to recollect them on our way back. It was decided to start at 8:00 AM, the next morning. We were to travel by a jeep to Ghandruk, followed by an hour of walk to have lunch. Another couple of hours of walk after lunch should take us to Tadapani, our halt for the first day. Subsequent days should take us to Dobato, Khopra danda, Swanta, Ghodepani and finally to Banthanti, which is where our trek was to end, culminating in a jeep ride back to Pokhara.

After they went away, we went out for an evening walk. After a stroll, we had our dinners and ice creams and headed back to our room, made calls to our homes to inform our arrival and our plans for the morrow. Given the tiredness of the day, it took no time to close our eyes. We were sleeping at 822 m.

Tadapani

Mardi Himal – the zenith

Launching pad

2nd April, 2024

Every trek in Nepal has one or two days, which could be called “the day” – the day which yields the best of what nature has to offer, but also the toughest in the itinerary and at times, risky too. A literal expression of the term “no risk, no gain“. The Everest Base camp trip had two, the day when we scaled Kalapathhar to get the closest view of Mt Everest and the crossing of Cho La to get to the Gokyo valley from the Khumbu valley. For Manaslu, it was the day when we crossed the Larkya La. In our last trip to the Annapurna Circuit, the first was our hike to the Tilicho Lake and then the crossing of the Thorong La to get to the Mustang region from Manang. On this occasion, it wasn’t that big, but nevertheless, it was to take us to the highest point that we could reach, the Mardi Himal base camp, almost at the toe of Mt Fishtail (aka Machapuchhare). Before that, the hike should take us to the Mardi viewpoint, which is no less beautiful.

Even before 2.30 AM, when the alarm declared the inevitable, my eyes opened and I could hear movements outside our room. People have already started to make their way up. A quick peek outside the room in the dark showed me a moving array of head torches lacing the upper slopes. My other two room mates were still in bed, though awake. Contrary to my expectations, the toilets were vacant. The cold was significantly higher than the earlier days. As we started getting ready, we contemplated about our warm wears. The cold outside prompted us to use as many of them, but we also knew they’d weigh down upon us as the sun would gain power. After some adjustments, it seemed to be a reasonable tradeoff and we started. The entire group started at about 3.45 AM, so did the entire support staff (guides as well as porters). It was a deliberate decision taken by our main guide Kumar, which was to have at least one person to support every two. There was a slight debate the day before about the hour of start. Some members of the group insisted starting much earlier (to give the slow movers enough time to reach the viewpoint before sunrise), but the guides didn’t agree (to be fair, it would have been tough on them, especially for the porters). Though me and Dhananjoy started at the rear, we gradually moved ahead of others, first through the dark alleys of the other tea houses, then to the actual trail, which had stair cases very early on and started moving up briskly. Having stair cases right at the start, throws you off a bit, but it was expected since we had to reach 4250 m for Mardi viewpoint and in just about two hours to give us a chance with the sunrise. Dhananjoy led the way but I kept close on his heels. I was actually following him, not in terms of deciphering the trail, which was clearly visible in the light cast from our head torches, but it was mainly to take the breaks at places where he did. The stairs increased their steepness. Whenever we stopped, invariably our eyes moved up where we could see trails of torches moving up the slopes like an army of glowing ants. We tried to see the last of the glows to get a sense of the hike and it seemed never ending. After a few switchbacks, we could see patches of snow lying by the side. It was pitch dark all around with only our torches showing the way. After hiking for an hour, we could see a hut at the highest visible top. Some lights already reached there. One of our porters said, it was the lower viewpoint. I was aware of only a single viewpoint, but if the porter was to be believed, the “higher” viewpoint was a hike of another hour from there. The basecamp was a further two hours ahead. Whatever may be the case, we had to continue. The staircases now had guardrails on the side of the steep drops. They also reduced in width and increased in steepness as time went on, causing us to stop more frequently and on a couple of occasions, to sip water. Breaths became heavier, mouths drier, steps slower. A soft light started to spread through the eastern horizon exposing the dark silhouettes of the mountains. As we scaled the stairs, we made the junction points between the switchbacks as our milestones. Every such point seemed to be the last only to reveal another one, on reaching there. But everything ends, so did this hike and we finally reached a flat top with only a single hut dwelled by a few locals who were busy serving tea and noodles to the passers by. There were a few tables and chairs laid out in the open where we rested our bags and walking poles (for me, the camera as well). It was 5.45 AM. Me and Dhananjoy were the first in our group to reach the viewpoint. Others were still down below at different points on the trail. By this time, the sky was clear with initial rays of the sun penetrating through the rough edges of the mountains to spray crimson over the low hanging puffs of cloud that hovered over the mountain tops.

Annapurna South, Hiunchuli, Gangapurna and others were clearly visible and so was Mt Fishtail, but they were yet to strike gold. The biting cold prevented us to remove our gloves, but I couldn’t operate my camera with them on. My naked fingers pained in the cold air but that’s a small price to pay to capture the views at our disposal.

Nature acquired its brush and the canvas was painted first with crimson and then gold, which started gracing the crowns of Annapurna South and very soon, it spread like fire to its neighbors. Annapurna Main (one of the coveted 8000-er for the climbers) was behind the wall of Hiunchuli and could not be seen. The south base camp of Annapurna (where we were in 2018), was right behind the wall that spanned between Annapurna South and Hiunchuli.

People fortunate to be there, must be having a treat to their eyes. By this time, other members started making their appearances in batches of two or three. The next to arrive was Niladri, Mishti and Sagor. They now joined the party of photo shoots. Every passing moment unfolded new shades of color and we couldn’t take off our fingers from our cameras and phones. Mugs of tea were served to us from the hut, which helped reducing the shivers. As more members were awaited, I moved into the hut momentarily. The burning stove and the closed walls provided some shelter against the biting cold, but I couldn’t stay long inside due to the smoke. By this time, the display of snow was in full glory. Plumes of snow were forced into the sky above from the mountain peaks appearing like silk scarfs surrounding them. They looked innocent from distance, but were actually caused by strong gales of wind that dashed the summits.

Breakfast was served in the form of noodle soups. I never had breakfast at a better ambience. We sat in an amphitheater surrounded by towering mountain peaks of the Annapurna Himalayas. All of them basking in their full glory in the morning sun. The trail towards the Mardi basecamp was clearly visible along the top of the ridge. It was gradual, but exposed with steep drops on both sides. Groups of people plodded along it.

After sometime, we joined the trail. The initial part was almost level but it gradually moved up. The walking path was devoid of snow, till we reached a rocky area where we had to make our way through narrow alleys between boulders strewn with snow. I treaded on with care but the trail was still fairly easy. The snow that initially lay by the side, started to close in and after sometime, covered the trail.

We kept closing in towards the mountains which grew in stature and revealed their interiors. The glacial trails along their slopes were becoming clearer.

The mountain that got magnified the most was Mt Fishtail. A plume of cloud held its sway above its crown acting like an umbrella.

The trail by this time was fully covered with snow and at a point, I pulled out the micro spikes from my backpack and Kumar helped me to put them on. The layer thickened and there were patches of black hard ice in between. Even with micro spikes on, my steps were circumspect and at places where the trail moved along steep slopes covered with snow, I had to take support from our porters or Kumar.

*En-route Mardi basecamp, picture courtesy, Dhananjoy De*

While treading on the trail, one of our porters pointed out a fade hint of a tinned shade along the slopes of the distant hill and shouted “MBC” (Machapuchhare Base Camp), the famed place along the Annapurna base camp trail. We already knew that the ABC trail ran parallelly through the valley on the left of the ridge that we were walking along. With that statement, our minds went back six years when we treaded that trail. Focusing back on the trail at hand, we could now see chortens at a distance hanging off a pile of stones. A typical sign of a high mountain pass. That was our destination, the Mardi Himal base camp (4500 m). We dragged along and finally reached there.

*Mardi Himal basecamp, picture courtesy, Dhananjoy De*

To me, it gave a sense of satisfaction, but others were ecstatic. Some of them have never ventured into such close corridors of the inner Himalayas and their excitement was palpable. Photoshoots ensued at the basecamp with different groups and subgroups with varying poses. While this was going on, a part of my mind kept saying that we had to depart as a look at the sky revealed hovering clouds. We had to descend the snowy slopes, a task more risky than plodding up. We had to trace our way back to Mardi viewpoint, move down the slopes to the lodges of high camp, pack our bags, have lunch and then head down to Badaldanda. That seemed a long way ahead. So we headed back down the same trail and by the time we reached viewpoint again, none of the mountains were visible anymore. Without wasting any time, I headed down the staircases. This time I was alone as Dhananjoy was ahead of me, while the rest followed behind. The stair cases seemed never ending and while climbing them down, it put a pressure on my knees. The switchbacks seemed infinite and after seemingly a very long time, I could see a bird’s eye view of the tea houses of the High camp.

*High camp, picture courtesy, Dhananjoy De*

I reunited with Dhananjoy at the dining room. We had to change our clothes, getting rid of the extra warm wears. Some re-adjustments had to be done to our luggage. We had to hurry up as it was already 2 PM and the lodge owners were hurrying us to vacate the rooms as the tourists on their way up, had to occupy them after a strenuous hike from Badaldanda. We obliged them, had our lunch and hit the trail once more towards Badaldanda, our destination for the day. I walked down the trail, that was familiar to me. Since I was on my way down, it took less time. Also, I was aware of the detours which shortened the distance and by 4 PM, I reached the dining room of the tea house. By that time, a strong gale of wind swept the place as was evident by the violent flapping of a Nepalese flag planted outside in the lawn of the tea house. Clouds hung all around the place and nothing was visible, lending credence to the name Badaldanda.

3rd April, 2024

We woke up to a bright sunny morning and the great mountains of the Annapurna Himalayas basked in the bright sun.

Blooming rhododendrons laughed all around the place. The sky was crystal clear and it was difficult to believe it was the same place that was blanketed by the clouds the day before. The scarlet displays of rhododendrons provided a wonderful frame through which one could view the splendid mountain peaks in their full glory.

After breakfast, we started on our long way down from Badaldanda through the rhododendron forests and retraced our trail through the places of Low Camp, Rest camp to reach at Forest camp. We were treated with ample display of rhododendrons once more as we headed down the slopes.

After lunch at the forest camp, we reached the junction from where the steep staircases commenced which led us all the way down to the village of Landruk.

We settled in the tea house at Landruk with tired legs. The evening was vibrant with cans of beer. The members of the support staff also joined the party.

4th April, 2024

The next morning, we left Landruk for the village of Jhinudanda, a familiar place to us, which we visited on our way down from the Annapurna base camp, six years ago. The aim was to bathe at its famous hot spring. The trail was level and went along the banks of the river Modi khola.

Local village life unfolded before our eyes as we moved through the villages. We came across an old woman who was cleaning sheep wool. We saw a flour mill driven by water power of a running torrent. A serene laid back life that one wishes to live amidst these beautiful mountainous landscapes.

The trail moved down to a place where we crossed the river via a suspension bridge, our first encounter with one on this trail. On the other side, the trail moved up the dusty slopes steeply from the river bank and another half an hour took us to the second suspension bridge before Jhinudanda.

Along our way we went through lush green fields of barley which were on the cusp of harvesting. Green terraced fields laced the mountain slopes that went down towards the river. Quiet village hamlets were nestled amidst the green fields.

The village hamlets, the suspension bridge, terraced fields, all were so familiar to us from our earlier visit to the ABC trail, it felt almost like homecoming to me. I crossed the bridge to reach the other side and started moving up the slopes towards Jhinudanda. After reaching the place, we kept our luggage, put on our shorts and headed down towards the hot spring. A full hour was spent there bathing in the comfort of the warm water. The tiredness was swept away. After lunch at the tea house, we proceeded to the jeep stand.

By that time, the sun had started its journey towards the western horizon. That added the evening glow to the fading solar rays which sprayed its colors on the terraced fields and the village hamlets nestled among them. The trekking trails of the Annapurna region bade us goodbye as we boarded the jeep towards Pokhara. As it traversed the slopes, I looked at the trails we left behind for the last time and kept thinking “Shall we come back again in the future?”. May be, who knows?

Launching pad

Mardi Himal – the launching pad

Rest camp

The zenith

1st April, 2024

Reaching the rest camp was the first full day hike for us on this trip. This caused some muscular fatigue to some of the first timers. I had to dispense a few pain killers for them. Some of them raised doubts whether they could sustain the long hikes for subsequent days, but I assured them. Once the ball gets rolling, the rest happens automatically. The body gets in tune. It was really a very good morning, crisp & clear.

The outline of Machhapuchare was prominent & it was nearer to us than what was at the Australian camp, the day before.

Dhananjoy had his second hot shower last evening after the hike, but I couldn’t muster enough energy for it. Warm water wasn’t available in the morning, neither was Wi-Fi. Power wasn’t available, neither was fresh water for us to fill our bottles. These areas being driven mainly by solar power, this wasn’t unexpected. The rest camp is a stop gap halt between the more prominent forest camp below and low camp, lying above. Both these places had more tea houses and are more common places of halt in this route. We were told that we could fill our bottles at a place which lay about half an hour above the rest camp on our way up. The breakfast with bread toasts, egg & tea/coffee added the fuel, probably enough to carry us up till Badaldanda where we were supposed to have our lunch. It was followed by a group photo shoot along with our support staff and then the caravan hit the trail once again. An initial set of stairs went beneath the shades of rhododendrons.

The fresh morning dew added to the glaze of sunlight that slipped along the surface of the green leaves. Walking can be a charm with no pain or hurry whatsoever in such circumstances. As promised, we reached a tea house after a hike of about half an hour. That gave us an opportunity for an early rest as we filled our bottles from a tap nearby. The crown of Mt Fishtail was getting bigger & drew nearer as we gained height. Here too, it prodded it’s head above & amidst the blooming rhododendrons.

After the brief halt, we resumed our hike along the serpentine trail winding up through the entrenched roots of rhododendron trees. Many such hikes offered short detours which attempted to shorten the distance, branching from & joining to the main trail at different points. I took some of them but avoided the steeper ones. The sun was still prominent, the sky still clear and mountains revealing their full glory. Within our mortal reach, the green forest canopy was interspersed with blooming rhododendron flowers.

The shades of color ranged from dark red (lesser in numbers than the day before), dark pink & mix of light pink & white. Many of the trees, especially in the higher altitudes, displayed buds expecting to bloom in a few days. By this time, it was expected to be a full bloom, but it hasn’t yet arrived, thanks to the late winters & snowfalls.

A year earlier, in the Uttarakhand Himalayan region, I saw them bloom much earlier towards the end of February. It’s way erratic these years caused by rising global temperatures. But whatever was at our disposal, we lapped it up. Our hike was interrupted frequently by sounds of camera shutters. People posed in front or under the shades of blooming rhododendrons for their “perfect” shots which were to make their way to social media at the earliest available opportunity. These interspersed hikes through the bends, switchbacks & occasional stairs led us to a point from where we could see the tin shades of a few tea houses. A board beside declared it as Badaldanda. I got ecstatic about reaching it so early. While I reached there, which was an elevated flat area, I could see the slopes rising above, covered with forests, but beyond the canopy, at the top of a hill, lay a few more tea houses and I came to know, a bit to my disappointment, that too, was Badaldanda & was our destination for lunch. By this time, clouds started making their way through the sky & started to shield some of the mountains (going true by the name Badaldanda, which means “hill of the clouds” in Nepali language). Mt Fishtail was trying hard to stay afloat with most of it engulfed by the clouds, while Annapurna South still held its sway.

The hike looked daunting, but once we resumed, the forest subsumed our thoughts. The trail moved up gradually, once again aided by stairs. We first had to descend a few to reach a flat ground, then regained height once more though another set of stairs which finally gave way to a winding trail through the forest.

After sometime, the forests started depleting with trees getting scantier. That told us, we were about to leave the tree line, though there were still patches of forests, but their continuous cover was ceasing. After sometime, we were at the base of the final set of staircases which would take us to our destination for lunch, a tea house named “Hotel 360”. This would also be our resting place on our way down from Mardi High camp (the next day). Once we reached there, clouds covered the entire place with gale of winds blasting the place. Regardless of the tiredness, we quickly made our way to the dining space to avoid the onslaught of the chilly afternoon winds. A quick look at the rooms gave us satisfaction of comfort. Moreover, there was free Wi-Fi. That allowed us to announce our safe arrival to our respective homes. As we waited for our lunch to get served, I started feeling the cold and rued not having my jacket in my backpack. Nevertheless, I scouted for the upper half of the raincoat and kept it handy for the walk after lunch.

Once I resumed my walk after lunch, it proved to be a wise decision as the raincoat provided shield from the chilly winds and walking, more or less, proved comfortable. An initial hike through an exposed ridge took us to another tea house at the top of a nearby hill. As I was ascending it, another group took a side detour, which offered a more gradual rise. But by that time, I had ventured much ahead along the stairs and hence, I stayed on that path. While I was descending on the other side of the hill, I saw the side detour merging ahead. So, obviously, I took the path that actually led to the tea house rather than the normal trail. It was a lesson learnt well and I applied to subsequent sections, most of which had steep as well as gradual trails branching and merging at different points. I took the latter in most of the sections to avoid the unnecessary hikes. While rhododendron trees were still dotting the trail, their numbers reduced and we realized that we were now walking over the top of a ridge exposed on both sides. Steep declines into the gorges graced both of its sides, but the trail was wide enough and comfortable to tread on. It was all cloudy around and nothing was visible on the distant horizon except for sections of the trail we were on. After sometime, we arrived at a junction where our porters took sometime to rest their backs. We joined them too to gulp down some water through our throats. A word with the porters revealed that another half an hour should take us to the high camp, our place of stay for the day. With the depletion of forest cover, dust and stones increased on the trail, which was now gradual. After some steps, I tried taking another detour, but it seemed to circumvent around the tea houses I could see on the slopes above. So, I stopped and turned around to reach at the junction from where I started off to wait for Shishir to arrive. After he arrived, as I already guessed, he signaled to take the other direction where a set of stairs moved up towards a tea house called “Fishtal hotel”. We arrived at about 3 PM, while the rear of the group was still being brought up by Kumar.

Once again, I shared my room with Dhananjoy, but also with Kunal. Such rearrangements are often necessary in these trails where room sizes don’t often match the privacy needs. We should be thankful for presence of tea houses and dining rooms in such remote areas (which are not common in the Indian Himalayas). After settling in our rooms, we headed for the dining place to have tea. People assembled there for the normal evening routine of gossip and card play. While we were engrossed in those activities, I suddenly noticed that a section of the clouds gave way, revealing the afternoon sun’s glory on a section of Mt Fishtail. Fading rays of sun sprayed their colors over it’s crown as well as on the floating clouds over its head.

By the time I took out my camera to train my lenses, the scene was already gone. But moving clouds gave me hope that it would repeat again and I wasn’t disappointed. In the next half an hour, there were multiple opportunities where Mt Fishtail revealed itself amidst the clouds only to get covered again. As evening wore on, we continued our assembly at the dining place and finally, dinner got served. As we settled in our rooms, we segregated our warm wears for the morrow. At 3.30 AM, we’d have to venture out just to be in time to be at the Mardi View point when the sun was about the grace the skies. It would be a steep hike along stairs till viewpoint, beyond which an exposed trail on the top of a ridge should carry us to the Mardi base camp after approximately two hours. The latter sections of the trail are likely to have snow, though a local person allayed the fears that snow lay on the sides, not on the trail, which was apparently clear. For the moment, I swept those thoughts away to cross the bridge once we reach the river. We had to wake up early enough to have access to the shared toilets as almost all of the travelers would be venturing out early. I set the alarm at 2.30 AM to allow me enough time and went for sleep. As usual for the other places on this trail, sleep kept eluding me before finally drooping my eyes in. We were sleeping at 3550 m.

Rest camp

The zenith

Mardi Himal – Rest camp

Australian camp

Launching pad

31st March, 2024

Woken up by the alarm, as I ventured out of our room, the first thing I watched was the state of the sky. Darkness was gradually fading out with a soothing light spreading throughout the skyline. Dark silhouettes of the distant mountains appeared prominently. There wasn’t any trace of clouds near them. I could identify Annapurna South, Hiunchuli and Fishtail on the northern horizon, though all dark at the moment. The cold was intense, though not unbearable. Placing fingers on the camera shutters was proving a bit difficult. The dining place was active with the staffers getting on with preparing the kitchen to serve breakfasts. Sounds of cocks and hens in our lodge (saw a few of them the day before) and nearby localities formed the typical welcome for the upcoming sun, which was now spreading its golden tentacles though the rough edges of the distant hills. The bigwigs of the Annapurna Himalayas still stayed clear of the golden solar rays, but their tops started revealing the snow.

We were all at the lawn with our respective cameras and phones, eager to capture the display of colors on the Himalayan peaks. Our years of experience in such areas have told us to be vigilant as colors change in splits of seconds as the sun makes its journey upwards. On the other side of the theatre, the moon was about to leave, handing over the baton to the upcoming sun.

The peaks of the Annapurna Himalayas became increasingly prominent. From a faint white outline amidst a predominantly dark silhouette, they started to acquire silver crowns, whose dazzling beauty inspired awe from every onlooker in the sprawling lawn. People started asking the guides and porters about their identities. Some even tried to identify Mardi Himal summit amidst the range of snow peaks. While many of them claimed to have found it, I had my doubts.

We had a round of tea while marveling at the morning display of sunshine over the Himalayan peaks. After sometime, breakfast got served. Almost at the same time, we got a disturbing news from one of our members. The sole of Projnesh’s son’s shoes came off and was threatening to separate from the main body. Kunal had a similar experience, but thankfully at Pokhara. So he got a chance to replace it with a new pair there itself. But up here, on the trail, spare shoes weren’t available. I could feel for Projnesh as I’ve faced it before. He did a brave act by tying it with multiple ropes. It wasn’t perfect, but hopefully, should sustain today’s hike. The breakfast was filling and delicious with bread toasts, honey, omelets, tea/coffee and mashed potatoes (a common item in these areas). People stuffed in as much as they could, strapped their backpacks and hit the trail.

Today’s hike would take us to Rest camp, a destination which is half an hour beyond the Forest camp (which is a more common halt on the way up). We found the idea to be good as it’d advance us a bit more for the next day’s hike towards the High camp. The trail was similar as the day before, to start with. It wound up the slopes amidst dense rhododendron forests, the density of these trees increasing by the height.

However, as we moved up, phases of tracts with stairs increased. This was going to be the first day with full trekking and going by the estimates, it was supposed to be a normal day (not as easy as the day before) as far as hiking goes. It should take us to at least 2520 m (the Forest camp), but more than that. After exiting Australian camp, we continued gradually upwards till a village called Pothana. This place is a junction and one could change tracks to switch to the Annapurna base camp (ABC) route which ran in parallel to this trail. Rather most of the trekkers use this junction to hatch on to the Mardi Himal route from the ABC route. We passed through many local villages and lodges that dotted the trail amidst dense forests. The group, though started together initially, split into smaller sub groups, each walking with their own speed. I found myself alone after sometime (which I always do), inhaling the freshness of the forest dew and air. After passing through the premises of Pothana, we came across a point from where a trail moved steeply upwards. An arrow at that junction pointed to Pitam Deurali and Samjay Deurali – two villages that awaited us in the higher slopes. Nepal has many villages with same or similar names across different trails (at times, also on the same trail). Deurali is one of such names. There’s a Deurali on the ABC trail (just before Machhapuchare Base Camp) and here, there seem to be two more. Other such repeated names are Jagat and Tatopani. The latter indicating the presence of a hot spring nearby. The Annapurna Himalayas played hide and seek with the forest canopy, revealing or hiding themselves depending on the tree cover.

Other members of the group waited at the junction for the rear to come up, going by the instructions of Shishir, the guide who was with the group at front. Some of the members were carrying their own luggage (and were not using the services of porters). Dhananjoy was one of them. It’s obvious, they’d need to give their backs some much needed rest at regular intervals. As they waited for the rear group to catch up and gulped down water, I kept moving up the slopes towards the “elusive” Samjay Deurali. After plodding up for sometime, I came across a few tea houses with a board displaying the name “Pitam Deurali”. I seemed to have crossed the first part, the next awaited village should logically be “Samjay Deurali”. Rhododendrons kept company as I moved up towards that “elusive” village.

After leaving the tea houses of Pitam Deurali, I hiked for quite a long time to reach a second set of tea houses and another board displaying the name of the place. On reaching near it, to my dismay, I found it to be again as “Pitam Deurali”. How can it be? Places aren’t that far apart in these areas and I’ve walked for at least 20 minutes since my initial encounter with “Pitam Deurali”. Nevertheless, it is what it is. There was a shade and I entered under its shade for some rest. As I waited there, other members caught up and joined me. Some took the opportunities to freshen up themselves by visiting the washrooms of the nearby tea houses. On asking Shishir, I came to know that our destination for lunch was “Lovely viewpoint” – somewhat unique name, one has to say, though what’s unique about it, is something we can only decipher once we reach there.

After some rest, we resumed our hike. The trail once again moved inside the forest, but the hike was gradual and comfortable. The presence of canopy also helped with ample oxygen. The same hike through an exposed ridge would have been more tiring. The sequence continued with more patches of tea houses interspersed with canopy walks till I reached a village which finally displayed the label of “Samjay Deurali”. It was a milestone of sorts, given the numerous “Pitams” that I came through. The stairs started reappearing, giving an indication that we were gaining height quickly. The trail also started to have switchbacks. After traversing a few of them, I was able to see a few tin shades of some tea houses placed on the slopes high above. That must be the “lovely view” point. A slow hike, ultimately led me to that point and I made myself comfortable in its dining place. The small lawn bathed in sunshine, but the atmosphere was cool, thanks to the forests around the place. It was 11.30 AM. To save sometime and with the hope of leaving the place after an hour, I asked Shishir to order lunch for the entire group. I asked him to confer with Kumar for the preferences of the rear group over the walkie talkie. All of that initiative was to save time. However, it turned out that the tea house staff was busy preparing lunch for another group and only after that, they’d resume taking further orders. A quick view around the place, revealed Mt Dhaulagiri, while other members of the Himalayas were behind clouds. This was the first point (and may be the only one) which provided a view of Mt Dhaulagiri (which may be one of the factors for it’s name “Lovely”). Our guide Kumar showed us villages along the slopes of distant hills. He pointed out Chomrong as one of them. It’s an important junction on the ABC trail. We could also see the motorable roads leading down the slopes towards Pokhara. They are the ones which we’d ply on during our return. With the help of Wi-Fi, we called to our homes.

It took us almost two hours to resume the hike after lunch, most of the time going towards waiting for our lunch to arrive. Nevertheless, the lunch was fresh and filling and after it, I resumed the hike along the other slope of the ridge which we hiked to reach “Lovely view”. This time, I had the company of Niladri, Sagor and Mishti. The trail went deep inside the forest and walking was comfortable under the shade. Much to our pleasant surprise, we suddenly noticed that the shades of rhododendrons have changed. From dark red in the lower reaches, it now acquired a blend of light pink and white. May be altitudes have a factor to play in the shades of color.

The trail moved along taking us up the stairs, only to bring us down after sometime, but we enjoyed the canopy cover & the rhododendron blooms. The density of the forest increased (which was expected, as we were approaching the Forest camp). With that, the trail too diversified into multiple branches going through the gaps of the firmly rooted trunks. For a moment, it confused us, but Niladri was quick to spot a blue and white paint (which he termed “Messi” due to its resemblance to the Argentinian flag) on the trunks of the trees showing the way through the maze. After spotting that mark (which was consistent till up to Badaldanda), it was easy to spot the route. We kept talking with each other and kept plodding ahead.

On our way, we reached a junction, from where the straight route led to many tea houses at a distance, the Forest camp. The other route winded down the other side of the slope in a series of switchbacks, with each dropping down more steeply than the one above. That route led to Landruk. We’d have to take that trail on our way down from Mardi Himal. Forest camp is probably the first big halt on the way to Mardi Himal. It has many tea houses and we found it to be a bustling place. Actually, not many people halt at Australian camp as it’s not really a part of this hike.

The forests around the “Forest camp” were full of rhododendrons with many shades. This was unique. So far, we’ve been seeing a single variety in an area, but may be Forest camp was a blending point where one variety gives way to another.

From the premises of Forest camp, a set of stairs went up the slopes and we started climbing them. Our legs were tiring and it showed at the speed with which we moved up. Every set of ten steps (which was down to two/three for some other members) forced us to stop and breathe before taking on the next. But we knew, every ground gained today will be an advantage for the next day, which was supposed to be a steeper hike. The long winding and seemingly never-ending stair cases finally came to an end at the lawn of the Rest camp. By that time, the clouds held the sway over the mountains. After settling in our respective rooms, we relaxed at the lawn as remaining members of the group were yet to arrive. They finally showed up in groups of one or two as we sipped hot tea. Discussing the proceedings of the day with tiring legs, sipping smoking tea, took away most of the fatigue. We looked at the hike for the next day, but that was still an evening away. An evening, that we’d be spending in the dining hall, with snacks, tea & cards. We were to sleep at more than 2520 m.

Australian camp

Launching pad

Mardi Himal – the Australian camp

Mardi Himal

Rest camp

The history

Mardi Himal is a peak beneath the more famed Fishtail (Machhapuchare) peak. It is of 5587m in height. It was first climbed in 1961 by Basil Goodfellow. The trek to Mardi Himal was opened in 2012. There are tea houses through the entire trail offering flexible schedule for trekkers. The highest place with a tea house is the High camp situated at an altitude of 3550m. From thereon, one could hike up to Mardi View point (4250m) and beyond that, a trail running on the top of a ridge takes one to Mardi base camp (4500m). The trail for Mardi Himal runs almost parallel to the famed Annapurna base camp (ABC) trail & from the top of the Mardi ridge, one can also get bird’s eye views of Deurali & Machhapuchare base camp. The Mardi trail offers an off beaten track with lesser crowds than its more famous counterparts like ABC. It is also a less riskier option suitable for beginners.

*The trail, picture courtesy, Dhananjoy De*

The Australian camp

“Thulo Kharka” used to be a special pasture used by the locals of Dhampus village & other lower areas as a grazing ground for their buffaloes & cows. The pasture also provided panoramic mountain views of the surrounding Annapurna Himalayas. In the late 1980s, this prompted many Austrian travelers to camp there. The frequent visits of Austrian travelers gave the pasture it’s initial name “Austrian camp”. However, over a period, that evolved into “Australian camp” mainly because it was easier for locals to pronounce. A perfect blend of local culture, natural beauty & panoramic mountain views makes it a hidden gem in the Himalayas of North-Central Nepal. It’s also an impressive day hike destination from Pokhara.

When I started planning for Mardi Himal trek, I always had Australian camp in mind. The lure of walking for just an hour & a half to reach there & relax for an entire day was unavoidable. It could also provide a much needed short start for many first timers in our group.

30th March, 2024

I woke up to a cloudy morning in Pokhara with none of the Annapurna family members visible except for a faint outline of Fishtail. I already had the luggage segregated last night. After completing my morning rituals, I went out for a walk beside the Fewa lake with Niladri, Mishti & Dhananjoy. It was a quiet & cool morning with the boats lined up along the banks, forming a pattern. Though the mountains weren’t visible, the lake didn’t disappoint. The slight ripples on the water surface caused the shadows of the boats to oscillate. Distant sounds of tolls from the bells of the Tal Barahi temple added to the calm atmosphere. After strolling around for about half an hour, we returned to our hotel to have breakfast.

*Fewa lake, picture courtesy, Dhananjoy De*

By that time most of the group members had assembled at the breakfast table. Jokes, banters & leg pulling went on as we enjoyed our breakfast. Our guide Kumar arrived with his team of support staff (which comprised of another guide Shishir & six porters). The vehicle which was to carry us to the trek starting point also arrived on time. Our bags got stacked overhead and we made our way into the vehicle, which started it’s journey through the streets of Pokhara. We switched streets from one to another and finally boarded the highway to move out of the town. By this time, the sun made its appearance but the mountains didn’t oblige. As we exited Pokhara, lush green fields greeted us, which bathed in the bright sunshine. Plants were ripe with seeds of barley waiting to be harvested. The morning breeze created ripples through them. As the vehicle meandered through the serpentine mountain roads, we suddenly got a glimpse of Mt Fishtail. Though it was a faint outline against the morning sky, people were excited nevertheless. It is a familiar structure to many of us who’ve visited the Annapurna region earlier. The vehicle stopped briefly at a market to pickup fresh apples but we didn’t know who they were for. Finally, we reached Khande, the starting point. We disembarked there, strapped our backpacks & got ready for a group photo shoot before starting the trek. Kumar handed a walkie talkie set to us (one of three siblings), the other two were to be carried by the guides at the front & rear of the group. Shishir was to lead the group, while Kumar was to bring up the rear (a pattern that was followed throughout the trek).

The initial part of the trail moved through narrow alleys between village houses and then moved higher up to enter the forests of rhododendron trees, some of which bloomed with red flowers. It was an appropriate start to a trek from which we had high expectations of natural beauty on display. The path still bathed in bright sunshine as we gradually moved up the trail. Shutters kept rolling on as members got going.

As we moved up, the number of rhododendron flowers increased causing more photographic interruptions, but we had ample time at our disposal. The fact that the walk was to take just about an hour, added to the relaxed mood. Some parts of the trail had staircases (to accelerate the hike) interspersed with gradual hikes. People didn’t complain at first, but they had a very different opinion about sections of the trail that came up for later days where stairs increased drastically.

After plodding up for sometime, from a bend, we got a glimpse of a flag stuttering in wind that swept through a pasture lying high up on the slopes. We also saw a few tents scattered around the flag. Someone from the support staff pointed at the place saying “Australian camp”. That sounded like music to our ears. It was only an hour since we started the hike and we were almost at our destination. There won’t be any further walking for the day & we’d have the entire afternoon at our disposal to relax & enjoy the place. That doesn’t happen frequently & it certainly won’t happen on any other day of this trail. We settled in our respective rooms, which were scattered along the boundary of a huge lawn with one side of the lawn opening towards the mountains which were behind the clouds. The sun disappeared & clouds held the sway. A cold breeze swept through the lawn and we entered the dining place to have our much awaited tea. After tea, lunch was ordered and the sun came out again as a part of a hide & seek game that was to continue for rest of the afternoon. People made themselves comfortable on the chairs spread out in the lawn. Some others brought out cards & started playing. It was leisure written all around.

As the afternoon bore on, the clouds darkened. A few drops started falling. I hoped for a spell of rain or snow to have the clouds cleared for at least the next morning. Without such a spell, it was impossible to be treated with the famous mountain views of Australian camp. Ever darkening clouds forced us into the dining place once more where we assembled for snacks, tea, gossip & cards. Dining rooms are the hubs of these tea houses. Travelers spend most of their time there because of the warmth & coziness. Rooms are just used to sleep at night. It was no exception here too. As we chatted around sipping tea, we suddenly heard a tattering sound on the roofs of the dining place. It was a hail storm. Hail stones of considerable size kept pouring down throughout the place. People went crazy and some went outside to capture the stones. The storm’s intensity prompted them to retreat quickly. The storm raged for about half an hour and then subsided. It also depleted some intensity of the cloud and suddenly a colorful rainbow popped up in the sky. People went ecstatic as they scouted for their mobile phones & cameras to capture the moment, which they knew was momentary.

*Australian camp*, *picture courtesy – Dhananjoy De*

As soon as the storm subsided, clouds started clearing up and Annapurna South, Fishtail & Hiunchuli made their appearance on the northern horizon. As if it was a desperate attempt from the mountains to make their presence felt while the clouds still held their ground.

As the sun embarked on its journey below the horizon, clouds lit up with its fading rays & the mountains played a perfect backdrop. After the sun went down, the mountains opened up in their full glory of dazzling white. Finally darkness set in & we moved inside once again. After sometime dinner got served & as we ventured towards our respective rooms, a quick glance at the sky revealed numerous stars. Apart from the star studded display at night, it also raised our hopes of having a clear morning view for the next day. We subsided into our respective rooms. I was staying with Dhananjoy (a pattern that’d repeat for the entire trek). Sleep eluded me for a larger part of the night (probably due to excitement) & I kept switching sides. I also ventured out into the lawn at night to keep an eye on the sky, which still stayed clear. Finally sleep crept in. We were sleeping at 2065 m.

Mardi Himal

Rest camp