Trek to Poon Hill (Day 1): Pokhara to Tikhedhunga

We left Hotel Himalayan Inn in Pokhara at 9.00am and headed to Nayapul, which is about 1.5 hours away by car.

Rooms at Hotel Himalayan Inn were clean and comfortable. Each room has ensuite bathroom with hot water.

Along the way to Nayapul, I was excited to see the Annapurna Range that loomed in the distance:

The peak sticking out on the right is called Machhapuchhre (6,998m) or Fish Tail mountain. It's a sacred mountain and not open to trekkers. You will see more beautiful pics of it in my next posts.

Upon arrival at Nayapul (1,070m), we immediately began our trek.   

I was excited and worried at the same time - excited to see what lies ahead and worried I may not make it to the top of Poon Hill, despite training on Bukit Gasing.

The trek began by passing muddy roads lined with little houses and shops.

Soon we passed the Birethani checkpoint where Kapil our guide produced our trekking permits to the officer there. 

All trekkers need to be get a permit to trek in the main regions in Nepal. Your hostel or guesthouse would be able to help you apply for it. 

 Costs 2,000 Nepalese Rupee to apply for a trekking permit. Apparently the permit to climb Mount Everest is a whopping USD 15,000 for 10 people!

We continued our journey, and along the way we saw valleys like this:

... and rushing rivers like this:

Soon the weather became so hot that we stopped at one of the streams to soak our face towel and cover our faces with it. The cool mountain water was refreshing indeed!

At approximately 12.30pm, we stopped for lunch at this teahouse in Sudame:

This was my lunch:

A simple lunch of instant noodles and fried egg. Some of you may say, "What?! No rice? Especially after all that trek?" :-)

As we were eating, we saw a herd of mountain goats approaching:

These goats were on their way to Pokhara to be sold for the upcoming Dashain festival. Apparently the goats could fetch about 18,000 Nepalese Rupee each. 

I rushed out to see the herd and couldn't help it but inched my way to the middle to see whether any goat would bump into me :-)

 View from my camera as I stood in the middle of the herd. For the record, no goat bumped into me :-) But little did I know that these goats would be the highlight of our trek the next day.

Soon we reached Tikhedhunga Hile (1,500m) and put up the night at Laxmi Lodge & Restaurant.

This was our room in Laxmi Lodge. It was so small we had to be careful not to bump into each other.

 Don't expect luxurious rooms and amenities when trekking in Nepal. 

Laxmi Lodge had only one bathroom with no hot water and no lights. So we had to take turns to shower in the freezing water and in the daytime. It's not a wonder some trekkers and guide choose not to shower at all!

Since it was only 4.00pm and too early for bed, Kapil and Siva our porter brought us to a river nearby to soak our tired feet in the freezing waters.

Kapil trying to outdo Angie's smaller pile of rocks. 

When we arrived back at Laxmi Lodge, one of the girls rushed out to inform that one of the cows had just given birth.

We went to the stable to see this wonder of nature and I managed to snap a photo of the newborn calf:

 Welcome to the world, little calf. I know you're shy, that's why you're hiding behind mummy who is being protective of you. 

After all that trekking, playing in the river and witnessing the birth of a calf (well, technically we were not there when the little fella came into the world), it was time to retire for the day.


Next Post - Trek to Poon Hill (Day 2): Tikhedhunga - Ulleri - Ghorepani