Sheri and I both fell in love with Nepal on day 1. Each day, we liked it a little more. Clearly our favorite country we've been to, and definitely the most beautiful.
We flew from Bangkok to Kathmandu and immediately hopped a flight to Pokhara. We quickly realized that Nepal was a different world than the rest of our trip (and everywhere else too). Really enjoyed Pokhara, which was kind of our base for 2+ weeks of our time in Nepal.
Sheri and I had met a spanish couple in Vietnam that had lived in Nepal for almost a year and they recommended a family-owned hotel for us. 3 Nepali brothers own 2 hotels and a travel agency. They basically took us in, treated us like family, and made sure we had an amazing time.
Based on their recommendation, we decided on the Mardi Himal trek. 6 days of hiking, leaving from Astam (their hometown), and following a mountain ridge trail that had only been open for 2-3 years. Views of Annapurna on the left, and Machapuchre (fishtail) on the right. Both over 8,000 meters (@26,000 feet). The trail is new to tourists (only about 1,000 tourists a year climb it), and it is mostly Nepali goat, cow, and yak herding trails. We only saw 2 other groups on our trail in 6 days and a handful of Nepali locals. Our trek consisted of over 50 miles of hiking, ascending over 11,500 feet (above the tree and snow line).
Luckily - it was also spring in Nepal, so all the wild rhodedendrons were blooming, along with tons of other flowers.
We opted for a guide (1 of the 3 brothers) and a porter to carry our large pack based on their recommendations. Both good decisions, because we would have easily gotten lost, and there was no way we would have been able to carry the pack the entire way. More importantly - these two guys - Bed Nidhi and Jagan - were awesome. Felt like part of their family and they made the trek even more amazing than it already was. Next step was grabbing all the gear. $24 matching "North Fake" jackets, some hats, Sheri "hired" (not rented) a pair of hiking boots, and a few other things.
Our journey started in Astam - their hometown. The first day we hiked through small Nepali villages, through rice terraces, and enjoyed the amazing views on all sides. Each day we woke up between 5-6am, ate some muesli or porridge, then started our 5-6 hrs of hiking stopping for lunch in a village along the way.
Accommodation - We slept the first night in Deurali, which was the most populated and nicest "lodge" of our trek. We took a "bucket shower", bundled up in most of our clothes and sleeping bags, and went to sleep in our room, which was seriously just a wooden bed frame with small mattress on top. Bucket shower is exactly what it sounds like... they heat up a bucket of water and you go in a concrete room and pour it over your head. We had 2 of these in 6 days. The other lodges weren't this fancy and didn't have any shower option at all. Also the higher in altitude the accommodation, the colder and more basic they became. At low camp and high camp, we spent our afternoon and nights warming next to a fire built by our guides in a little wooden room. Picture 5 Nepali men, Sheri and I, and a room full of smoke playing rummy.
Food - We ate vegetarian for the trek, with the exception of some buffalo jerky one night. Mostly dhal bhat - the local staple. It's lentil soup, with rice and few other vegetables. Each person adds their own twists to it, based on what is available. Bed Nidhi (our guide) also made us some other meals using jungle herbs and vegetables, including nettle soup, and his own version of spaghetti. Most everything we ate was grown on the mountain. It was actually pretty delicious too. We drank the mountain spring water every day, adding some purification drops to avoid sickness.
The scenery - I hope the pictures remotely do it justice. We started out in rural, hillside villages, hiked through some unbelievable moss-covered jungles, and then hiked along a "lolli" grass and rhodedendron lined ridge above the treeline. We had the backdrop of the snow capped mountains the whole time. Literally took hundreds of pictures and videos and we'll post a link to our Kodak gallery once it's ready.
Our Canadian friends at high camp told us about a local hot spring that we could hike to. Bed Nidhi recommended we take a quicker descent (2 days) and then spend the last day of our trek walking to the hot spring. We drew quite a crowd, as very few tourist visit the hot springs. It's also possible that a crowd gathered to figured out what the smell was that just invaded their little town. Regardless - it was a fun way to end the trek, relaxing in the various pools for a few hours and then taking a local bus back to Pokhara.
I know we've said this too many times now, but... it was our favorite and most memorable part of the trip.
Our starting point - Annapurna Eco-Village in Astam
Day 1
Jungles
Machapuchre (Fishtail)
High Camp
High camp with Bed Nidhi and Jagan
