What a rude awakening, at 4am we stumbled out of our airport hotel and found a taxi to the airport. Air India had brought forward our flight by 30min and advised us to be there 4 hours before hand. As it turned out (and as we expected) it only took us 15min to do the checkin and security formalities so we had a long wait. Can’t complain about the inflight service though, a great breakfast, so good that Nick requested an extra and on time too. So Nepal our 49th country on this amazing round the world journey. After obtaining our visa and bags we battled in vain with ATMs so hopped on a local bus and paid in Indian rupees. It was a slow old trip down the dusty streets to the Thamel tourist district where we met our local hero Raj. Thamel is chocker full of outdoor stores selling puffer jackets and packs and brightly coloured woollen garments. Thanks to a tip off from a friend we met Raj who happily sorted out all our trekking permits and flights and provided us with essential maps and emergency logistical support should we need it as we were going trekking on our own without guides or porters.
Our two days in Kathmandu the capital flew by as we whipped around town sorting footwear, a small pack and stocking up on plenty of snack food for our expedition. With full packs and permits we excitedly boarded one of the countless buses heading for the tourist capital, Pokhara (not before a quick late night hospital trip for Tom to get a rabies jab). The bus journey must have been one of the slowest we have ever taken. Our first stop for breakfast came after three hours though we had only gone 28km. It took a further 7hours to do the remaining 160 odd kms. Considering it is the busiest road in Nepal it was in terrible condition, full of huge potholes and a base course like a dried riverbed full of huge googly rocks. Thankfully the scenery was more pleasant with rice terraces and forested hills dwarfed by towering snow capped peaks.
Pokhara is the tourist Mecca of Nepal and you can see why. Situated on the Fewa Lakeside, surrounded by forested hills with a backdrop of the huge towering Annapurna mountain range and Fishtail mountain. We had two nights here to sort out our bags for rafting and trekking and meet our fellow rafters and crew. The weather was perfect with clear skies and warm sunshine. We took a walk up to the peace pagoda which occupies a forested hill top overlooking the lake and mountains which was the perfect place for a picnic lunch. Walking back down through some ripe rice paddies we even came across the outlet of the lake which was full of kids swimming and jumping off the cliff so we joined them. It was festive season with the Diwali holiday in full swing. This meant all the kids were out singing and dancing in return for an offering (think a more traditional trick or treat) and every shop door step had a brightly coloured, hand drawn picture. There was some great artworks and some really good dancing performances which kept us entertained all night.
We had to meet at 6am sharp to board the bus bound for the Far West Development Region of Nepal. There was an excited buzz on the bus as we all got to know each other and discuss where and for how long everyone was going trekking. We picked up a couple of passengers along the way as we drove through a hairy gorge along a very potholed road that you would struggle to get a car down (it was the main east/west highway). The festive mood continued with plenty of animals meeting there sacrificial end, fairy lights were strung up everywhere and huge bamboo swings erected in roadside verges. Eventually we dropped down from the foothills and out onto the hot dusty flat plains which surround Nepalgunj, the third biggest city where we spent the night.
Another early 5am start saw us once again climb from the flat plains up over some big steep hills and down some very tight windy roads. We stopped for breakfast and were treated to some exceptionally sweet festive bakery items which came in all different colours and sizes. Finally we made it to the rivers edge where we were joined by a dozen or so raucous fighting local kids. It was all hands to the pump as we unloaded heaps of food and camping gear and somehow found a home for it all between the two guest rafts and the gear raft. We had been informed that it was a get along 30minute float down to the first camp but somewhere along the line this must have changed as after about 20min we found ourselves upside down and swimming having flipped our raft in a not so menacing hole. Luckily the water wasn’t too cold and the sun hot and everyone could have a laugh over some popcorn once we struck camp on a nice sandy beach. Tom was laying low with an upset stomach which plagued him most of the trip so wasn’t keen to join Nick for a spot of cliff jumping. It was great to be back sitting around a camp fire, sleeping in a tent and away from civilisation again.
Having covered a little more distance the day before than anticipated we had a lazy morning complete with a huge cooked breakfast. Being in a pretty steep gorge it took a while for the sun to reach us but once it did it proved to be very hot, perfect for scrawny wee things like us who get cold easily when wet. After packing down our camp we paddled across the other side of the river and jumped off the cliff to get ourselves in the mood for some big whitewater. There wasn’t anything too technical today just some nice big wave trains and we stopped after an hour or so on the river for lunch before all clambering up to a side waterfall which nicely massaged our shoulders. We camped once again on a nice sandy beach and also jumped in a kayak for a spot of eddy turns and playing around. Our very relaxing day in the sun and on river took its toll on everyone and we had all crawled into bed by about 8:30 ready for the more serious action tomorrow would bring.
We were up early and straight into it. The first two rapids of the morning consisted of huge waves which had us all soaking wet and smiling from ear to ear. Next up was Jail House Rapid. We got out and scouted the line as there were a couple of big holes we needed to avoid. From high on the rocks it all looked fairly straight forward but once down at river level the size and force of the water grew and made it much more scary. We styled it, everyone in our raft were pretty good at keeping in time with each other though Nick struggled at times (he can’t even clap in time) as he was used to being in a kayak and doing as he pleases (or so he said). Having survived the first big one we then scouted another rapid with a nasty wee kink and drop. Plenty of friendly local kids came to join us looking at the line and we heard many more screaming “namaste” from the hillsides. Our camp for the night was just down from a small village on a huge beach littered with old shoes and heaps of firewood. We had a monster bonfire after spending a relaxing afternoon surfing in kayaks in a sweet little playwave. Being surrounded by thick jungle meant plenty of insects. Although some were slightly menacing most were just huge brightly coloured bugs in all shapes and sizes. We saw so many different species, way more than on the continent of Africa including at least a dozen different butterfly species. At this camp there were also heaps of tiny frogs that could walk on water when alarmed and proved a good challenge to try and photograph as they were so fast.
We didn’t have too far to paddle today but what we lacked in distance we made up for in volume. It was full on rapids. We scouted three of them with the first, court house had us take the chickenline around a pretty big nasty hole. One of the kayakers portaged the rapid while the other took a beating at the top and eventually swam which meant that although there was an inkling from our raft guides to run middle they decided to take the safer right line. We made it easily and then had to jump out and rope the gear raft down as it was much heavier and more cumbersome to steer being loaded with gear and rowed like a boat. Our lunch spot ended up being our camp for the night and the only other visitors this beach had seen recently were leopards and tigers both of which had left there huge paw prints everywhere. To cool off we created a crude waterslide by running full speed at a upturned, soaped up raft which saw us fly off the end into the refreshing river. The scenery as we moved downriver was stunning. Any slightly flat bend in the river saw one or two families eeking out a living and we came across many huge swing bridges and the odd dug out canoe. We also got a first hand visual on the incredible forces of nature which have created the highest mountains in the world. Some of the geology was so twisted and folded it looked crumpled up….
We were into the routine of the river. Having ate another great breakfast and packed up our things we jumped back in the rafts for some nice rapids. Things were starting to flatten out and the valleys became wider as more rivers joined us for our downstream journey. After lunch another major tributary merged with us as Nick, Lucy and Tom got to jump in kayaks for the afternoon. It was great to be able to play around in the countless small surf waves and the odd bigger wave train kept things interesting and we also got some much needed practise on our rolls. Being day 5 on the river fresh it was impossible to have brought fresh meat with us so a couple of the crew set off into the local village in search of some. They ended up with 5 chickens and paid the locals fairly handsomely for them too. It was great to know that these very remote communities were benefitting too from us being there. Most of these small villages were at least a day often two walk from the nearest road and we always made sure to give any left over food we had to the kids who always came to check us out. As we descended further down stream the number of people also increased.
Day six and we had an epic creamed rice for breakfast and with a cool breeze accompanying the three of us in the kayaks for what we were told was another easy float. We were pleasantly surprised by the number of nice playful rapids and we were largely left to pick our own lines down and look after ourselves. None of us tipped unless fooling around as the steep hills gave way to small rounded hills and larger cultivated river terraces. Plenty of people came to wave and shout greetings at us as we floated by and we saw a huge tree being expertly shaped into a new dugout canoe. We had plenty of people keep us company at camp with the locals all coming across from the other side of the river to see what was going on. A 3 course meal was what was happening. The whole trip the food had been great with plenty of variety and the only complaint from the group was that there was too much smooth peanut butter and no crunchy! Our 3 course meal consisted of a nice spicy soup to begin with before freshly fried fish which had been purchased earlier from some local fisherman. The real highlight though was our guide Robbie and his handy work with a knife creating the most artistic salad I have ever seen. It had layers of carrots, cucumber, tomato cabbage and onion and was topped with a lotus flower carved from a tomato and these amazing carrot butterflies. He even had time to whip up a fresh steamed apple pie for desert.
We woke to a valley full of mist which made the river seem even more mysterious especially when dugout canoes kept appearing out of it. It was so good to be back in kayaks and with the safety boaters keen to relax on the rafts we paddled down the now huge wide river for the morning. The rapids had all but petered out except for the odd small ruffle. People were now everywhere and huge swing bridges connected each side of the river. We stopped at a nobly old cliff for a bit of excitement and a cool off before lunch. After lunch Nick took charge of a raft and had a to choose between a couple of braids as to the best flow and give commands down a couple of cool wee bendy rapids. Our final night’s camp was on a bend in the river opposite a village which was connected to the outside world. We weren’t sure if we were ready to leave the tranquil remote forested valley for the hot dry inhabited plains just yet. We made a huge fire and were once again treated to a 3 course meal complete with an icing covered cake. The locals happily sold us a few beers and we sat around solving stick riddles before crashing under a big tent fly.
It was only a one hour float downstream to the get out on our final day and the boys were in a hurry to get off the river and on the road back home. Things were made even easier as we had a tail wind down the deep slow moving river and we followed the newly built winding road high above us which isn’t going to last more than a wet season or two. We rounded a corner in the river and met a huge bridge which marked our get out. We quickly packed up our things and had a celebratory Dhal Bat lunch before boarding the bus. The three of us were only going a couple of hours down the road, back to the sweaty dusty town of Nepalgunj. We were sad to leave behind such a great crew of people both our fellow rafters and the awesome crew of guides, cooks and support staff. It was an epic adventure through some really remote, stunning scenery and I can highly recommend Paddle Nepal as a very professional slick organisation full of good river vibes.
Nepalgunj is an unattractive dusty city right on the border with India and it was here we had to spend 3 nights before our flight up to Juphal and the Dolpo area. Unfortunately we couldn’t change our flight to any earlier so had to hang out. Luckily we found a nice enough cheap place right beside the airport with a cricket mad host and a good Dhal Bat for dinner. The power in this city is terribly patchy and we had constant power cuts which made watching the Blackcaps run chase even more stressful and we got so close to pulling it off! We had a bit of gear to sort out so spent a morning with stuff spread near and far over our room. Our last minute tent we ordered online had luckily arrived on the Paddle Nepal bus so we set that up and were satisfied that the three of us could squeeze in.
With the termites constantly chewing away at the legs of the beds (one bed collapsed when we sat on it) we had worked up an appetite so headed to the local samosa shop where for $1NZD you could buy 8 tasty samosas before taking a walk out into the rice fields which were so full of butterflies. Lucy and Nick had to extend their visa but unfortunately they couldn’t do this in Nepalgunj like they had been informed but we all took the bus into the city anyway to have a walk around. There wasn’t any tarmac to be seen, even in this large city the roads were impossible to drive down. We happily walked around rather than take a tuk tuk and purchased a few necessary supplies for our hike like milk powder, bananas and peanut butter. We also needed a bit of cash for our trek which proved near on impossible to withdraw. We must have tried over 30 ATMs before one finally let us withdraw cash, I think they were upgrading their systems to accept cards with a chip but it was terribly frustrating.
5am and we could finally leave this city bound for the mountains. We made sure we were first into the plane and each got a window seat for what would be a very scenic flight. We got a first hand experience of how quickly the landscape rises from flat plains to towering mountains. We flew between huge mountain peaks and more or less landed at our cruising altitude. The runway was awesome, we rounded into a narrow valley and there in front of us on a cliff was a short steep uphill landing strip just long enough for us to touch down on. The plane pulled quickly off to the dusty side, killed its engines dumped us off and took off again all in about 5minutes. We were left standing on the side of the runway in the sudden quiet to take in the magnificent view of the early morning sun on the surrounding mountain peaks. We quickly fobbed off the police who checked our permits and inquired about our lack of guide (he had trouble with the plane and is coming later, wink, wink) and then grabbing our bags set off through the town to the river way below.
We only had a 12km or so walk to the main town in the area Dunai and along the way we passed through a small village humming with activity as everyone was busy getting ready for the fast approaching winter. The flat roofs of the houses were piled high with fire wood, huge piles of hay, pumpkins and drying chillies while yaks, buffalo, cows, chickens and goats made their homes on the lower levels. It was so good to be in the clear mountain air and free of from the hustle of cars, electricity and throngs of people. Instead it was long lines of stocky horses carting goods further up into the mountains who we shared the trails with. Tom had to get another rabies shot at the local hospital and the one inhouse surgeon provided some interesting insight into how the local area operates. We also needed to get some gas for our cooker which proved much harder than we thought, eventually we tracked down a guy who sold us a couple of very expensive canisters even with Nick doing his uttermost best to bargain. After a lunch of chow mien and mo mos and some samosas to go we opted to walk on a couple of extra kms and freedom camp on a nice spot overlooking the river and main path below. The pleasant daytime temperature quickly dropped once the sun left us and the wind was particularly cold and we found ourselves curled up in our tent playing cards at 7:30pm.
We started slowly this morning as we waited for the sun to provide us with its instant warmth. Tarakot was our destination about 16km up river. Our path was fairly flat with a few small undulations and nice and wide so we could walk three abreast. We passed many small settlements with each having terraced small areas of the steep hillside to grow wheat and barley for their livestock and beer. We ate the last of our bread rolls for lunch beside the very cold clear river before crossing a large swing bridge near the settlement of Tarakot. We were hoping to find a friendly local to stay with so climbed up the very steep path to the village where we were met with curious stares and the odd wave but shakes of the head for a place to stay. There was also very little in the way of fresh food supplies to purchase so it was back down the hill and along to a tiny guesthouse beside the main path. The friendly owner allowed us to camp for free in amongst his recently harvested murunja plantation in return for us buying Dahl Baht off him for dinner. Dahl Baht is the local staple meal which consists of rice, watery lentil stew and veggies, normally potatoes and spinach and if your lucky cauliflower. The best thing about it is you are served as much as you can eat and seconds and thirds are included in the price. We even got freshly made cloudy beer which was pretty tasty and the use of a huge blanket which kept us toasty warm for the night.
We set off after breakfast of porridge, squished bananas and salty tea made with yak butter that is much tastier than it sounds and quickly began to climb. The path narrowed to a pack track size as we entered a steep gorge with huge snowy mountain peaks towering above us. We passed many caravans of horses that were brightly decorated and wearing jingling bells as the trade shore footed along at times perilous cliffs. We also passed a Swiss couple who had flown in on the same plane as us with their entourage of porters and guides. In total they had 5 donkeys, three guides and 4 porters while the three of us each had about 13kgs. We purchased a big stack of roti from a wee tent stall which did us for lunch and got us up the big hill we had to climb. We climbed nearly 800 verticals meters for the day and when we saw a tent teahouse sat in an idillic spot next to the river we dumped our packs and went for a chat. Mia was the host as she said of course we could stay and have Dahl Baht at just 250 rupees each (about $3). She was a great host who spoke good english and lived there for 7 months of the year while her young children lived in a village some walk away. A couple of local teachers from a school 2 days walk away stopped in for the night on their way to Kathmandu and were really interesting to talk to. We sat around in the smoky tent drinking countless cups of tea and teaching Mia’s young brother some english until eventually retiring to bed with the loan of another blanket.
Day four started with a brutally steep climb that we were glad we didn’t attempt the night before. We zig zagged up the dusty trail that at times was cantilevered over the edge with long drops down to the river below. Some of the rock walls and stone staircases were amazingly built and I’m not sure how they achieve it. Also mind boggling was the way the old nags managed to carry the big loads up these perilous trails. Eventually we reached the top of our big climb and the path flattened off as we rejoined the river and crossed it a couple of times on rickety old wooden bridges. We had roti with cucumber and egg fried noodles for lunch which we whipped up in a nice sunny spot beside the icy cold river. Our camp for the night was a nice big cave where we built a rock wall around our wee tent and had a small fire which kept the cold at bay. We knew it must be cold but the area is so dry and dusty that there was never any indication of frost in the morning however this night we experienced a few passing snow flurries coming from the huge cumulonimbus clouds created by the warm afternoon thermals. Some stupid local decided that he would watch us for two hours before trying to claim it was his campsite and demanded money. We got a little short with him with Tom at one stage telling him that no one would be his friend while Nick decided to run up the river to the next camp which had the man in all sorts of worry so he quickly scurried off.
We slept soundly in our tent for about 11 hours only waking a few times when the cold snuck into our thin down sleeping bags. We had a big day of walking and left just after 8am which was a record for us. The gorge was getting particularly tight and the river much smaller as we made our way upstream. Every twist and turn in the river provided a new equally beautiful view and we made good time today as the gradient was much nicer. We stopped in for a tea at a tent and were surprised to find the host watching Chinese tv in the middle of nowhere. We finished off the last of our kilo packet of chow mien noodles for lunch and arrived in the small town of Dho Tarap around 4pm. There was a biting wind which quickly saw us put on all our layers of clothing as we searched around town for a place to stay. The owner of the hotel wasn’t particularly friendly and wanted to charge us stupid money so we asked a couple of locals if they would put us up and eventually found a nice man who agreed to cook us dinner and let us camp in his backyard. We were very thankful for the solid walls and roof as we sat around the fire and drunk cups of salty tea all afternoon. Although our host and his wife spoke no English and we spoke no Tibetan (the people had changed from Nepalese to Tibetan along the way) we got by. They had a beautiful house made of stone and these massive timber beams which must have been carried from very far away as we were well above treeline now. The dal Baht they served for dinner was great and they lent us a blanket for the night which with the help of the local school teacher who stopped in to see us we purchased for our onwards journey. We were also going to have to be self sufficient for a couple of days so we ordered a huge stack of roti from our kind host to see us over the pass. One of their daughters was at boarding school in Kathmandu so we wrote her a letter thanking her parents for their hospitality only to find out from the teacher that it may be two years or more before she returns home to read it.
Day six was our rest day so we packed our things up slowly and climbed up a hill to a temple which also provided commanding views back down on the wee town. We then walked slowly up to the Crystal Mountain School which had a satellite phone we could use to get a message to our tour agent and family that we were alive and well. We played a bit of cricket with the kids and chatted to them, most of them bordered at the school and spoke very good English and had high aspirations. We then walked a couple more kms to Tokyu which is a small village at the junction of a couple of valleys. The friendly local paramedic walked with us for some of the way and showed us a local guest house who just so happened to be the local chief as well. He offered us a free room if we ate dinner and breakfast and of course plenty of tea. We took a walk around the village and marvelled at the yaks and cool rock and wood houses. The local kids all wanted to talk with us while the women were busy picking up yak dung for their winter fires. It burns so well, really hot and with very little smoke but you it doesn’t last long so you need a lot of it. Every house had a really cool greenhouse too. The walls were made of rock then plastered in dirt and cow dung and had a clear plastic roof. Inside was very warm and allowed them to grow tomatoes and spinach, they also slept in there when it was really cold. The locals make all their money by harvesting yarsagumba (vegetable caterpillar) which is a funny fungus infected wooden caterpillar that can only be found for a month a year high in the mountains. It is sold to china as a traditional medicine where it fetches the absurd amount of between 1500 and 2000 rupees a piece ($15-20USD).
We ended up having an extra night in the warmth of the guesthouse instead of walking 5km up to the Numala base camp. Having a spare day in Tokyu was cool as it allowed us to watch most of the villages yaks leave as the men were taking them over into the next valley for a month of grazing. The yaks and horses were all loaded up with tents and fire places and sacks of food and slowly plodded off up the pass. We followed one lot for a bit before climbing high on a ridge to eat our lunch and gain a bit of altitude to acclimatise. We were staying at about 4200m and still had another 1100m to climb up to Numala Pass. The harsh climate made for stunning scenery and we must have taken hundreds of photos. The crystal clear blue sky was in stark contrast to the ample golds of the dry crunchy grass stubble. We were in for a treat for dinner, our host had killed a sheep and was busy stuffing the intestines with a rather gory mixture of blood, rice, wheat, spices and fat when we arrived back and said we were welcome to eat it for dinner. The meat made a nice change from potatoes and although the intestine was a bit tough to bite through it tasted really good and gave us some needed proteins for our big pass in the morning.
We were also lucky to have fresh yak yoghurt and ground buckwheat for breakfast both mornings which is a local delicacy and pretty hard to come by. Our host was still fast asleep when we awoke so we politely woke him (we had informed him of our departure time) and scoffed down our tea and breakfast and set off just as the sun was hitting the hilltops at 7:30am. We made good time up past the Swiss entourage and quickly shed layers of clothing as we climbed. We tried to take it easy and stop regularly for breaks but we quickly climbed to within site of the summit as huge vultures joined us circling in the early morning thermals. The last 150m of vertical became very steep and the lack of oxygen took its toll as our pace dwindled to snail pace. Lucy felt the affects of the altitude the most and needed a good rest in the lee at the summit while the boys raced around taking silly photos and trying to avoid being blown over by the freezing wind on the other side of the pass. We quickly dropped down the other side of the pass as the path was very steep and rough and it slowly got warmer too until we hit the shadows of the huge towering peaks which surrounded us. Just as we were starting to get a bit weary we rounded a bend in the river and were greeted with a long gradual uphill. It took us half an hour to reach the top and we then sidled around for another 30minutes until eventually arriving at our camp. We were still at 4500m and the temperatures were well below freezing with a stiff breeze descending down from the glaciated mountains above. We opted to squeeze our tent into an old half crumbled stone hut most recently home to a heard of goats which offered some respite from the cold. We quickly chowed down on our rice curry we had heated up and took refuse in the tent. An hour after dark we heard voices and found three other very fit guys had just arrived. We had a good chat while hopping around to keep warm and found that one was a British ghurka, one a famous Nepali photographer and the other the winner of the Trans-Himalayan race who we also had a friend in common with, talk about small world.
We survived another cold night and day 10 dawned the same as every other day on the trek very cold but not a cloud in the sky. We endeavoured to get moving as fast as possible but things took a long time due to the freezing conditions. Baga La Pass was our goal for the day and there was no warm up, it was straight across the river and up, up up. We were all a bit grouchy as we plodded on up but did climb quickly and made good progress. After a energy boosting snack of peanut butter covered roti we crested the pass at 5200m. Once again the wind was bitter but the views more than made up for it and we could see for miles. Way in the distant the peaks rose to well over 6000m and probably much higher though we struggled to place them on our map. Again we didn’t linger too long on the top and set off downhill. We had to drop over 1000m and we didn’t waste any time. The path had deteriorated into a few dusty rocky goat tracks but was easy enough to follow. Around 3pm we decided we had covered enough for the day and found a sunny spot amongst the rocks to camp. We polished off the last of our roti accompanied with a good paneer curry heated out of a packet and after a spot of cards called it a night.
The waterfalls beside us had nearly frozen completely overnight and we didn’t wait around for the sun to arrive. Instead we set off down hill towards Shey Phoksundo Lake. We passed a nice wee tea house situated in amongst forest which was much more abundant in this valley than on our way up. The forest density increased as we descended and we found ourselves high above the river gorge below. Just before lunch we were back down to shorts and tshirt as the wind had gone and we basked in the sun only to find a long steep uphill in our way. As we skirted around cliff faces high above small terraced fields below we had great views and eventually spied the amazing blue waters of the Shey Phoksundo Lake. We weren’t really sure what to expect by the town at the lakeside but had all dreamed of a warm fire and fresh samosas, instead we found a bitter wind and weather which was quickly deteriorating. Asking around for a place to stay proved we had entered a different world as plenty of trekkers only come up to the lake and back pushing the prices sky high. Eventually we took refuge in a tent tea house where Sonam our host looked after us well. She was sent to a Tibetan boarding school in India for 12 years without returning home and was a pleasure to chat to. We arrived just in time really because as we sat down to fresh roti and potato curry the sun disappeared and snowflakes took its place. We were so glad that we had epic weather for the passes as it would have been particularly cold and miserable trying to get over them in the current weather conditions. Nick and Tom went and explored the local town and what reputed to be a very important temple though it was all locked up while Lucy drank cups of tea and chatted to Sonam. We stayed the night inside this drafty tent and huddled under our own blanket for warmth.
The weather dawned fine and clear again and none of the snow had settled but after a cold night in Sonam’s tent we decided to move on. We left our packs with her and headed up the lake on the path made famous by the movie Caravan. We climbed high above the lake which gave us spectacular views down over the crazy blue colour before heading back to a nice wee beach for a lunch of soup. Out of the wind it was just warm enough to buck up enough courage and take a very brief plunge to rid ourselves of some of the dust and grime we had accumulated over the past 11 days. We picked up our packs and set off towards home. It involved a very steep decent where we lost another 400m of elevation and almost instantly noticed the difference in temperate. We camped under the front veranda of one of the small stone winter houses which the townsfolk of Phoksundo use when the snow becomes too great.
And then we only had two final days of walking down the Phoksundo Valley until we once again joined the trail we started on nearly two weeks ago. The river we followed was a beautiful icy clear colour and the forest was beginning to leave behind its winter appearance and look more and more like autumn. We had a long day of walking through the picturesque gorge and we stopped frequently at the tea camps and tried to sell our lifesaving Chinese blanket. Most people were interested but didn’t want to fork out the cash for it so we kept it for another night. We stayed in Chepka where 6 families etch out a living. We were expecting to meet some national park officials and have to show our trekking permits and pay the national park fee but it seems that they had already packed up and left for the winter. We had a good Dahl Baht with a few extra veggies now that we were lower down but our hosts weren’t very friendly even though they did give us a good price. Tom taught us how to play up and down the river (card game) which Nick proceeded to loose miserably at.
We paid and left quickly as our hosts didn’t offer us any tea though we did manage to get our tupperware container filled with rice and a little hot water. Using up the last of our raisins, milk powder and honey we had a delicious breakfast of creamed rice which unfortunately for Tom he couldn’t eat as his Delhi belly had returned. We set off unsure if we would run into anyone checking our permits and headed for Dunai. We estimated it to be about a 10km downstream but it turned into a much longer morning as we had many small ups and downs to navigate. The further we got down the more open it became and the more abundant villages and small terraces became. We were fast eating up all the last of our snacks with the chocolate and fantastic buja mix lasting to the second to last day. Upon reaching the foot of the valley Dunai seemed too far out of our way so instead we turned towards Juphal and the airport in search of some lunch. Wow we weren’t ready for the inhospitable locals. We asked for Dahl Baht at a number of wee places and were rudely denied but luckily we ran into a couple of other tourists we had met in Phoksundo who informed us about a hot spring. Nick had searched the map high and low for any signs of hot springs so this sounded too good to believe. They assured us we could camp beside the hot spring and that it was only 45min up a side valley so we grabbed a few packets of 2min noodles and set forth. Their description of how to get there was spot on though it did take us just over an hour on our wary legs to reach it with Tom unwell and dragging the chain. But all the effort was so worth it as the pool was delightful. The temperature was perfect and we plunged in and soaked in the blissful warmth. Layers upon layers of dust, grime and skin were soaked off and we slept soundly.
With only a couple of hours walk uphill to the airport to do for the day we awoke and headed straight back into the pool for a morning soak. After our relaxing soak we headed back down to the main valley which only took us 45min on fresh legs before a quick bite to eat to get us up the final 400m of elevation to Juphal. We took it very slowly and took in the mountains and small villages one last time and it was hot work. We found a hotel for our final night which we managed to get for free in exchange for our unused gas bottle and Lucy and Nick enjoyed one last Dahl Baht while Tom still not well took an early night. Standing out on the roof we admired the view for the last time and watched as the distant suns rays slowly disappeared from the mountain tops. What an incredible trip. We were still all talking to each other after 14 days of trekking, we climbed back to back passes of 5300 and 5200m and walked in total just over 160km in some truly amazing landscapes. This would have to be one of the most interesting places we have visited and the culture was so primitive yet so interesting and peaceful. With the roaring networks fast approaching from both the Indian and Chinese side I really hope that they can maintain this unique lifestyle and the wild beauty of this place though for some reason I’m sceptical.
Up early we joined the organised chaos at the airport terminal and had to make sure we pushed our way through the gates and to the front of the line as we had heard some planes are overbooked and with just 15 seats we needed to get on this plane. You can hear the planes coming before you see them and we had to duck our heads as the wings of the Twin Otter pivoted around us. The props barely stopped spinning long enough for the passengers to disembark and for us to board, taking the front window seats. We chatted to the pilot before they had us hurtling downhill and off the edge of the cliff (the runway was only 340m long) and away between the high peaks. We just skimmed the tops of a couple of passes on our way to Surkhet. This wasn’t our intended destination but our flight had been changed so we then had a long wait with multiple phone calls backward and forth to work out how we would get to Nepalgunj 3 hours drive away. In the end we got a private jeep who had us there and reunited with our left luggage. As usual the power was out so we tucked into a heap of samosas and rearranged our stuff. Tom, still with a dicky belly was headed across the boarder to India while we had to wait until 5pm for a night bus to take us back to Pokhara. After some great mo mos and a chow mien we hopped on the bus for our mammoth trip. It took nearly two hours to make it 20km down the road and then proceeded to stop every hour or so for a toilet break (it was like being back on our Africa truck). We got a bit of sleep but as you know the roads were atrocious and the ride incredibly bumpy but we made it in one piece which is the main thing.
Opting to spend a couple more nights in a salubrious tent we found a hotel with a nice back garden and enjoyed the morning sunshine with a fresh pastry. We had to extend our visa as we were 6 days over and thankfully it went fairly smoothly after we had the boys behind the desk laughing and they sorted the computer glitch plaguing us. Luckily for us they didn’t mention we were a day late applying and therefore didn’t charge us the extra $18USD late fee! In the afternoon we enjoyed a lakeside icecream and booked in for a days whitewater paddling on our way back to Kathmandu. We had a nice veggie thali at our hotel and caught up on a few not very exciting emails before an early night.
Our long awaited sleep in failed miserably as we were both wide awake by 6am having slept soundly. We decided to grab a loaf of bread and jar of peanut butter and head to the top of Sarangkot Hill and watch the paragliders take off. It was a nice steep walk up through the forest in the morning sun and the views from the top were great. It was especially cool to watch the paragliders thermal up accompanied by some huge vultures making everything look so effortless. We took an alternative route back down through some small farms and forest and eventually found our way back to our starting point.
Even a clap of thunder and very brief shower of rain couldn’t dampen our excitement for a days whitewater paddling. We were up before 6am packing our camping gear and hauling our ladened packs down to Paddle Nepal. It was about a 4 hour bus ride to the get in and we gorged ourselves on a hearty buffet breakfast enroute. The river started off nicely with some cool wave-train rapids to get us in the mood. Things took a turn after lunch with the first big rapid, called lady’s delight, it was a monster long rapid with some meaty holes to avoid and big waves. Lucy took a capsize and experienced most of the rapid upside down but managed to T rescue and avoid the last couple of holes one of which Nick ended upside down in. The second to last rapid called upset was the biggest by far, it had three separate holes pretty much taking up the whole river width. Nick was the third kayak down and had to watch as first the guide got smashed in the far left hole then Lucy didn’t fair any better in the right one so he tried to punch the middle hole and got looped over to his left. Everything was flushing nicely and we all rolled up laughing at the carnage that had just occurred. The mix of adrenaline, cold water and physical exertion meant we were all pretty stuffed at the end of the run and ready to sit on a bus for the remainder of the trip to Kathmandu. Unfortunately after 2.5 years of constant companionship our beloved metal drink bottle failed to make it off the bus so will hopefully live out a safe and happy life with someone at Paddle Nepal.
The bus ride sucked. We new the road and how rough it was but we hoped we would avoid the Kathmandu traffic, not so. We had made really good time until we got to the final hurdle, the big hill down into the city. Basically there is nothing more than a stony riverbed down into the city and at the bottom 4 lanes of trucks and buses departing the city meet 3 lanes entering the city. We stood dead still for 2 and a half hours and the one chance we got to go our bus stalled and with no starter motor we had to wait until traffic had cleared behind us so we could crash start it in reverse. Eventually with the loss of a wing mirror we made it close enough to the city centre for us to hop off and walk to a nice third story hostel with a good view.
We had two days in Kathmandu to put our feet up and relax before once again taking on the hustle and bustle of India. We slept in to 6:15am! And then ate curd, bananas and porridge for breakfast…. There was blogs to write, photos to upload, hair to cut, hotels and tiger safaris in India to book and the big bill for our trekking permits and flights to pay off. We also took a walk across to the Monkey Temple that wasn’t very exciting to be honest though it seemed to be on everyone’s to do list. Lucy also had a craving for a big piece of chocolate cake and a good coffee so dragged Nick along to a swanky café where he sat with a forced smile. After one last Dahl Baht (they really are the best food option in Nepal, cheap, healthy and free seconds) and a celebratory beer with another couple who had rafted with us down the Karnarli and had likewise just returned from trekking, it was time to sign off from Nepal, country number 49.
