"There are three religions in Nepal - Hiduism, Buddhism and Tourism. Thank you for coming and keeping us alive." Ram Krishna - our Nepalese guide. A place full of contradictions with beautiful scenery, wonderful people yet full of political unrest. A place with something for the adventurer in all of us.
I did the Annapurna Sanctuary walk in Nepal from Pokhara around the inside of the Annapurna mountains for 8 days with my sister and another NZ / Aussie we met on the plane. We went in March when the weather was good, it wasn't too over crowded and the beautiful flowers were starting to bloom. We hired a guide in Kathmandu named Guru (or Ram Krishna) from the First Environmental Trekking Company who was fantastic and spoke English which many didn't. Three of us just hired his services and not the whole camping and bag carrier which some people get, so it wasn't that expensive. His brother came along who sometimes offered to carry our bags when we had a long day walk but mainly we did it ourselves which was fine. We went by bus on a long, tedious trip to Pokhara where we stayed a few days and then the tour guide met us there with a van to take us to the walking start point. The walk is spectacular. You stop on the way along all the villages for lunch then settle down in the lodges each evening with the other travelers. The first day of our walk was on my birthday which was spent with a friendly family next to a waterfall complete with a parade of donkeys with red headress carrying supplies going past. Some villages are very small, low lying and rural places, tucked away in the mountains with grain crops supplying them with food, so you feel quite isolated. Other days you walk through snow and feel like you are totally alone but for the small humble house and family who invite you in for tea. But then, getting closer to the Annapurna base camp, you hit what they call the "Apple Pie Trail" as you can stop at some huts for pizza, spring rolls and apple pie and even solar powered hot showers, to suit all the European travelers. It is much more crowded with people, but everyone we met was lovely. You can brave the altitude and steep descent and walk up to Poon Hill from Ghorepani for hot chocolate higher in the mountains like we did or if you are braver and better equiped go to Annapurna Base Camp. The way back took us through the larger village of Ghandruk where we spent time meeting the locals and chilling out. Overall, I really got a feeling all the the locals we met rely on tourist trade and with all the visitors they get, they still live a simple, rural existence without wanting to change, which humbles you. The rest of our trip around Nepal consited of staying in Kathmandu and doing plenty of shopping, getting lost walking around the narrow streets, visiting Tibetan refugee camps, eating great meals and drinking sweet tea. Pokhara is a must for a few days - lazing on the lake in a row boat, watching movies with dinner, sipping tea or coctails at sunset and generally hanging out with many people who seem to be stuck there - unable to get up and leave - perhaps since the 60's! We also went to Chitwan National Park for a safari-style stay. You can see the elephants and take a ride on them to the rehabilitation centre and go for a walk in the park where we saw wild rhino and got a fright running from one (who also happened to run the other way too - but that is a whole other story). Interesting seeing another side of Nepal, but not an essential reccomended visit. I hear things are a bit harder now with many Maoist rebels approaching walkers for money and valuables but we had no trouble in the whole month we traveled around Nepal and I can recommend it to anyone.
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