We drove from Pokharain Nepal to the start of the trek with the most stunning views of the snow-capped mountains. The weather was so clear that we could easily see the plumes of snow blowing off the higher mountains – over 8,000 metres. We started the trek, passing through mountain villages, getting to see the typical village life, which is a very tough one. No mod cons here – people live off the land which fortunately is very fertile. Some children have as long as a 2 hour walk to school. The villagers live in small houses made of clay and cow dung. All cooking is done on a fire inside the house, but none of the houses have chimneys. The smoke preserves the wood they use for the beams and inside is very dark, smoky and oppressive, but it keeps cool in summer and maintains the heat in winter so is very efficient. Most villagers will also have a couple of cows and a buffalo. They use the buffalo milk to make clarified butter and we were fortunate enough to see one of the village women making it using a churn – very labour intensive. Our guide got stuck into the butter milk – no good for us though as the process uses untreated water. Everywhere we go we see haystacks and very intricate wood piles – wood, of course is used for cooking. In one of the villages we also got to see one of the women making the local hooch, rashki. The thing that struck us most was that the big copper containers she was using were spotless, but the flies on the finished product were a bit off- putting.
Last night our lodge was the Sanctuary Lodge and that’s exactly what it was. We were the only 2 guests staying so we had the whole place to ourselves. It’s in the most beautiful riverside setting and the food they rustle up is delicious. It has wonderful gardens and a lovely gazebo overlooking the river – a great pace to sit and read. We both had the best night’s sleep we’ve had all holiday. At 6 pm they have happy hour! Gin and tonic for me and beer, of course, for Paul along with lovely nibbles, then it’s more food. All the weight we must be losing walking is being piled back on again. The lodges are basic but have everything we need, so no complaints there.
We’re now in our next lodge after an uphill walk in the heat. Tough for me, but I got there in the end. Again we’re passing through mountain villages and getting to see the locals going about their daily lives. I can’t believe how much they’re able to carry in their wicker baskets carried on their backs and supported by a strap round the forehead. Sometimes the loads are so enormous you can barely see the person under them. Our lodge here is called Gurung Lodge after the local tribe and it’s in the most stunning peaceful location with amazing views. Gurung is one of the villages where the Gurkhas come from the other I believe is Poon which is just over the hill.
From Gurung Lodge we started trekking to our last lodge, Basanta. A very interesting trek, part of it through leech-infested terrain! It had rained the night before and they were out in force. Fortunately our trusty porter, Emby, carried a small muslin bag filled with salt which was very handy to zap the nasty little blighters as they were crawling up our trainers. We also perfected a marvellous little flicking action with the tip of our walking poles which did the trick too. We mentioned to our guide, Mani, that it may have been a good idea to wear thicker, longer socks, but he told us very cheerily that it wouldn’t have made a difference as they would have burrowed through the socks and sucked our blood anyway – niiiccce! Onwards we trekked up the mountainside again passing through small villages. We had to stop at Pothana to get our trekking permits stamped – better than getting our cards marked, I suppose! Pothana was a lovely surprise – a small village with tea houses and restaurants for the ABC Trekkers. Our guide then told us that as we got higher the leeches would fall from the trees onto our heads – had we ever seen that before he asked us cheerily! Finally arrived at Basanta unscathed and later in the afternoon walked into the local village and visited the community school – 4 tiny classrooms with the usual clay and cow dung floor, no heating and absolutely nothing in the way of facilities, but I have never seen such a happy bunch of kids – primary school age. They sang a song of welcome to us thanking us for climbing the mountain to visit their little school – we were absolutely enchanted by them. I got to help the young teacher out with an English lesson which was great fun.
This morning it was quite literally all downhill back to Pokhara. We passed a lot of local schoolchildren doing the long trek up to school. They all want to say hello to you and try out their English. We’re now back in Pokhara after the most amazing trek which we both absolutely loved. Tomorrow is a free day in Pokhara to catch up and unwind and then it’s off to Bandipur for one night en route to Chitwan for the next leg of our trip.