Nepal, Gods hangout

Written and Photography by Deepak Deshpande

have been hiking in Hong Kong for a few Himalayas have always fascinated me to no limits. The Indian inside of me always hit those rummy nerves as I creed to go to the places which are mentioned in most of the mythical and apocryphal Hindu scriptures. They are related to me through bedtime stories of the epics Ramayana and Mahabharata that my Grandma narrated when I was just a little. Its not easy to make arrangements if you are a lone hiker and you should then be prepared for a big hole to your pocket. A trek to the Annapurna mountain ranges, Nepal, was announced on the meetup group and I grabbed the opportunity without wasting a minute. Nine of us confirmed and after a brief meeting with the group leaders who had organized the same route last year things got easy. Daniel took the

years now. The mountains and the landscapes here always fascinated the photographer inside me. They provoke me to hike to the places which are unexplored to pickup raw and virgin bits of nature. It is always a bit risky to hike alone, no matter how experienced hiker you are, especially on trails that are sparsely used by hikers or unmarked. The best way was to find a bunch of like minded people and hike together. The experiences and adventures shared by each one on various terrains and local cultures of the countries they have hiked are invaluable. I found the Hong Kong Hiking Meetup group back in 2010 and in no time realized that it was the most organized group of crazy hikers like myself.

initiative and contacted the hiking company in Nepal called Mountain Monarch. Flight tickets were booked, with me having a special itinerary as I planned to continue to India after the trek to meet my parents. Date of departure was decided as on 22nd Dec and we were all set for a 2 week journey through one of the most exotic places, the home of Mount Everest, Nepal. A total trip of 12 days and 6 of which were on the trail were enough to fill me with excitement and my camera bag with lenses. That afternoon of 22nd December I packed my back pack and was off to the airport post lunch. After the briefing over a cup of coffee, we finished our security checks and boarded the flight as we took off at 1745.Landed in Katmandu airport around 2330, very small venue considering thousands of hikers come here each year for expeditions and treks and most of them not being from Nepal. We were greeted at the airport by a smiling face full of excitement, that was our lead Sherpa Mr. Sunil Gurung; he was the one we were going to spend most of our time with on and off the trail during our stay in Nepal. A van took us to Hotel Shanker which was very warm and welcoming place amidst the dead cold night. That night we just got into the rooms, took a hot shower and crashed. An early breakfast awaited us at 7am.

If you are an Indian, you dont have to pay any entrance fee for the temple. It was not long when we reached the bank of the Bagmati River over which the enigmatic structure of Pashupati resides.

We then walked around the premises of the grand Pashupati. Vatsleshwari temple was the one that grabbed my attention. A small temple very well placed at the entrance of the Pashupati, rich in erotic carvings and wooden carved flying horses on the brim of the roof named it the flying temple. I then entered the Pashupatinath temple, which is only a privilege for the Hindus. There are only four such temples of the Mahadev (God of the Gods), three of which reside in India.

Katmandu, a city, a hermitage

Woke up and went for a run, it was chilling at around 2C. A heavy and a nice English breakfast was really something I was overjoyed to see on the buffet. We then left for a city tour with our city guide Ram. Pashupatinath temple was the first stop and it lies in the heart of the Katmandu city. In the name Pashupati, pashu means animal and pati means God, so he is known as the God of the animals.

Next on our itinerary was the biggest stupa in Asia, the Baudhanath. The megalithic structure is a relic of the Kashya Buddha, the predecessor of Gautam Buddha. There are five colored flags, yellow, green, blue, green and red surrounding

the stupa representing the five elements of nature, fire, sky, water, earth, and space respectively. There is a saying written and genuinely followed by the Buddhist around the Nepal and Tibet Thinking positive keeps you happy, happiness keeps you healthy, and good health keeps you handsome so always think positive. After enjoying some local Nepalese food we were back to the hotel and greeted by Pradeep Da, the owner of the Mountain monarch company. We were then briefed about the circuit terrain, weather conditions, clothing precautions, medical aids etc. that we should expect during our journey to the Poon hill. We were handed duffle bags, sleeping bags, down jackets and liners.

You see the ice capped summits of the Annapurna, the holy Macchapuchre (Fish tail), Mt. Nilgiri, Mt. Dhaulagiri and many at one glimpse around your own self.

If you are in Pokhara, Feva Lake is something you will never want to miss out on. The best place to view the lake is from the lake itself. You can hire a paddle boat to take a tour around the place. After spending the evening around the Feva lake taking pictures and sipping some ginger tea we headed back for an exquisite Christmas night dinner to a Barbeque restaurant where we enjoyed some roasted pork, meat quiche, pizzas, tortillas and some local beer (Everest).

That night we had a cultural program over dinner and off we went into the mythical stories of the Alien Gods. Slept early that night and ready for the big day when we would begin our trek to 3200m Poon hill summit.

Nayapul- Shaoli BazaarGhandruk-Kharepani-GhorepaniTadapani-Poon Hill-Nayapul

The trek began from Nayapul, a 90 mins bus ride from our hotel in Pokhara. We were 9 hikers, 1 Lead Sherpa Sunil, 3 Assistant Sherpas Yam, Diwas, Vijay, and 5 Porters who carried our duffle bags. The trail was beautiful and so were the villages round it. Six days suddenly started to sound too short to absorb the beauty of these spectacular landscapes. The sight of the

A day at the Feva lake and off to the trail head

Morning we left to Pokhara, a 6 hrs drive by road. Although at a lower altitude (1100m) than Katmandu (1800m), Pokhara is cooler. The ambience of the city situated right in the valley that is surrounded by the Annapurna mountain ranges will definitely make you feel enchanted.

villagers doing their daily chores is something that you would never miss a chance to glimpse upon.

Villagers carrying 25 kilos gunny bags on their backs and tied with loops on their foreheads, unguided packs of mules carrying groceries, LPG bottles and even injured hikers are some of the common sites around you.

headed to Kharepani (15km from where we were). This evening we reached Ghandruk, a warm and cozy tea house called Trekkers Inn welcomed us. It had now started to get chilly and the whistling of the wind God was intensifying, as if He was saying Welcome to my hangout buddy and how do you like it. The tea house was facing into the valley that we crossed from Nayapul. It was Christmas and we were surprised by one of our porters who baked a delicious chocolate cake for us, the whole group was extremely overwhelmed and we celebrated Christmas with the big fellas 2000m above sea level. Morning was really chilly, but we were still able to survive with our down jackets. The dew on the plants and the tables had transformed into snowflakes. Left Ghandruk at 9am and our next stop was Kharepani for lunch as well as a stopover. So today was a short hike of around 4 hrs would get us to the other side. The trek was easy today and the tea house called Panorama Retreat was really a treat as we see a panoramic view of the Fish tail, Annapurna south, Dhaulagiri, Nilgiri and Himichuli. Our lunch consisted of daal, baked potatoes, rice and Tibetan bread. After the lunch we went on an excursion with our lead Sherpa Sunil and other Sherpas Yam, Diwas and Vijay. The climb was nasty with a lot of bushwhacking, finally we came to the place which made all our efforts worth as we were face to face for the first time with the titans themselves. A spectacular view of Machpuchare, Dhaulagiri, Annapurna south and the first view of the Annapurna 1 was what we were

Terrace farming being a common practice in the Annapurna regions, the sight of the flat cut mountain beds is spectacular to watch. The first stopover for lunch was at Shaoli bazaar, and small village located about 7km from Naya Pool where we enjoyed the local daal bhat (lentil with rice) with some chicken curry. Post lunch was a steep climb with steps worth 690m distributed over 6kms of trail length. Passed by a pack of mules carrying groceries of 50 kilos each

looking at. Back from the excursion we placed our orders for dinner to Diwas. Dinner was nice and simple; the dining table had a heater under it and a blanket on our laps which trapped the heat inside. Next destination was Ghorepani which was going to mark our 30 km trek and we left early. It soon got warm with the sun coming up and I was sweating. I changed into hiking shorts for the first time on the trail as we moved over a long uphill climb. This section of the trail was fascinating, frozen rivers and springs. Waterfalls frozen into sharp ice daggers, the dew looked like pearl shaped diamonds and glittering with every ray of sunshine.

symptoms. Two caps of cognac, morning and evening kept me out of any discomfort (I think). The common room had a very nice central fireplace and an old lady kept supplying coal to keep the heat going. That night we slept early and we had an early wake up call next day around 5am to go up to the Poon Hill to see the sun rise. This is what we came all the way for and it was tomorrow. We left at 0530 next morning and hit the Poon Hill which is around 400m from our lodge by around 0630. When I saw the sun rise, I knew it was all worth walking for the past 4 days, over 16 hrs walking, 50 km trekking to come here and see what I was looking at.

Lunch at Ghorepani was veggies and then we had another ascend to hit the 3215 mark until we descend back to around 2800m to reach Ghorepani. We reached by around 5pm but it was freezing in there. The room temperature was showing 0C on my watch and outside went to -11C. Some of our co-hikers started feeling the effects of the altitude sickness. Head ache, loss of appetite, dizziness were the common

Surrounded by the mighty Himalayas on all the four sides, with the snow capped giants like Annapurna 1-3, Annapurna South, Machapuchre, Mount Dhaulagiri , Nilgiri bowing down to the big Lord. We then descended back to the lodge and after breakfast we started our way back towards Nayapul and we had to now descend over a 1000m down from Ulleri to reach Birethanti. This was where we spent our last i.e. 4th night, fairly warm as we were back into the comfortable oxygen zone and things were getting back to normal.

Ears popped out, no more low pressure around us and the cold was much bearable now. This was where we also tipped our Porters who did a great job of carrying our duffle bags all our way through and the Sherpas which took good care of us on the trails. Next morning was only a 2 hrs walk back to Naya Pul where we started from and then back to Pokhara. A twitter plane dropped us from Pokhara to Katmandu the next day.

stories of lone hikers who suffered badly due to late arrival of aid. 3. Prefer to hike in group of over 2 (We met a Tibetan siblings on our way back and the boy had badly hurt his knee and had to be carried by his sister all the way).

4. Very careful with handling your passport, HK ID and credit cards. (you can drop them off at the safety locker of the hotel and not carry them on trails). 5. Carry hiking food that you like and are used to, like dry fruits, granolas,nuts, fruits etc. 6. Advise to stick to the staple Nepalese food i.e. lentil and rice, its fresh and tastes not bad with some pickle or some chicken curry. Dont try pizzas and pastas, they are disappointing and in every right way. And dont miss the Tibetan bread. 7. Take care of your own personal belongings and lock the rooms when you go out even for some tea or snacks. 8. Carry enough warm clothing; tiger balm might also help to keep a bit warm at nights. I also used my secret potion of cognac to help me keep warm and cozy. 9. Always pair up with someone of a similar pace as you than walking alone, it is for the safety on the trails from thugs.(we did not encounter any but the Sherpa advised us on this point).

I was going to fly into Mumbai to visit my parents while the rest of the group would leave for Hong Kong. We took leave from Sunil and other Sherpas with a promise, a promise to come back. My first encounter with the Titans from the North and do I believe in love at first sight? NO! I need to come back To the kingdom of mother nature .To the kingdom of the Gods . Top 10 Tips for hiking in Nepal: 1. Make sure you travel in the hiking season (weather conditions are very important for Nepal as a emergency chopper rescue may take over 24hrs to arrive). Hike with a reputed hiking company. It is very important to have good Sherpa leaders and medical aid. Heard a lot of

2.

10. Always drink bottled water and of renowned brands, else you can also carry your own water purifier.

Distance and time check points: Naya PulShaoli Bazaar(7kms, 2 hrs 30 mins, 10051140m) Ghandruk (6kms, 4 hrs, 1140-1990m)Kharepani (6kms 2 hrs 30 mins, 1990-2650m)Ghorepani (10kms, 6hrs 30 mins, 2650-2800m)Poon Hill(2-3kms, 2 hrs, 2800-3200m)Birethanti(10kms, 5 hrs, 3200-1065m)-NayaPul (8km, 4 hrs, 1065-1055m ) Total Elevation gained ~2200m (3200m 1005m) Total distance ~60km including the excursions Total moving time ~20-24 hrs depending on the pace Flight Cost: 7500 HKD (Roundtrip) Trekking Company (including stay,permits, most meals): 700 USD Tips: ~25 USD (optional) Hiking group is HK : Hongkong Hiking Meetup Group http://www.meetup.com/hongkonghikinggroup / Trekking Monarch Company in Nepal: Mountain

www.mountainmonarch.com/