The couple with the Annapurna mountain range in the background. — Photos: COLIN CHAN
My wife and I recently travelled to Nepal to visit some of the best ancient temple sites in Asia and to trek to the Annapurna Base Camp. Nepal is uniquely special and magical, a place where there is an abundance of natural wonders, like the amazing mountain ranges and deep valleys.
The Annapurna Base Camp trek or more popularly known as the ABC trek involves high altitude trekking for several days across mountain ranges in Annapurna. It is categorised as a medium-to-difficult trail.
The ABC is situated at an altitude of 4,130m. From here, hikers get to see some of the most spectacular – and tallest – mountains in the world, including Annapurna I (8,091m), Annapurna II (7,937m), Annapurna III (7,555m), Annapurna IV (7,525m), and Annapurna South (7,219m).
We began our journey with a trip to Kathmandu, where we met our guide, before going on a road trip to Pokhara city, 200km away. Pokhara is one of the gateways to the mountain trails. I must say the drive to Pokhara was challenging and not for the faint of heart. It took us almost nine hours to reach our destination and we had to go through gravel roads, muddy stretches and bumpy asphalt roads.
The writer and his wife at Poon Hill rest area.
From Pokhara, we changed our vehicle and rented a 4WD to take us to the village of Birethanti through very rugged mountain terrains, before hitting the hiking trails. The first day was quite challenging as we needed to climb to the village of Ulleri (2,070m) – which included 3,300 flights of stairs.
During the next five days of trekking, we passed through many mountainous villages including Tadapani, Sinuwa and Deurali. We also passed through various farmlands, a myriad of misty forests, and many stunning waterfalls.
We came across an interesting stop on the third day, while hiking to the famous Poon Hill in Ghorepani at an altitude of 3,210m. There, we had a great view of the sunrise coming up from the majestic snow-capped Annapurna massif. All the hikers, ourselves included, couldn’t stop “ooh-ing” and “aah-ing” at the sight.
We met various hikers from around the world along the trail. There were several other Malaysians, too, which was a nice surprise because we were in such a remote place. We greeted each other with “namaste” and everyone had only encouraging words for one another.
We also got to try typical Nepalese food at the guesthouses, like momo, thukpa, gurung bread and of course dal bhat or rice with lentils, which is a Nepali staple at every meal.
Trekking the Annapurna Base Camp is on many avid hiker’s bucket list.
The trail took us through the mountains and valleys, which was not easy for some of us. As we ascended higher, we noticed the topography changes, too. The earlier lush forests turned into arid areas with just small bushes and shrubs; eventually, we came across an alpine-like grass meadow.
Of course, the temperatures drastically changed too.
On the sixth day, we finally reached the ABC at around noon. We were really tired by then, but as soon as we saw the camp our fatigue and pain magically went away.
Visibility was poor throughout our final ascend to the ABC and areas surrounding our campsites were covered in thick mist.
We were a bit disappointed because we could not see much of anything, but we stayed positive and kept hoping that the weather will get better. Our guide told us, “This is ‘mountain weather’, where no one can predict how things will be.”
The next day, we got up in the wee hours of the morning expecting the worst, but lo and behold, the weather conditions had vastly improved, and we were so happy to see so many snowy peaks around us.
We quickly got ready for sunrise at 5.30am. The viewing area was just a short walk away, and by the time we got there it was already full. But it was fine because we could still get a good view of everything.
Words really cannot express just how magnificent it was to see the sun beaming on the peaks.
After about an hour, we began our descent, using the same trail and passing by the same villages and rest areas. It took us three days to finally reach the Jhinu Danda village, where our 4WD was waiting to take us back to Pokhara.
The trek really pushed my wife and me physically, mentally and even spiritually, but we are both happy that we made it through. Our time in Nepal was certainly a memorable one.
The views expressed are entirely the writer’s own.
