Brett and Bernii

Welcome to my write-up of the second annual Gorkha Trail. This event took place in the Annapurna region of Nepal, and was officially called the Intrepid Annapurna Circuit Trek.

I arrived in Kathmandu around 12:30pm on the 25th of March. The seat that I had reserved for the flight from Colombo was changed at the last minute. Fortunately, it was to a Business Class seat. Thank you Sri Lanka Airlines, you are the best! Other carriers, please take note…

I checked into my hotel, the Hotel Vistara (AU$49.24 per night) where I have previously stayed, and went out for a few warm-up beers in Thamel.

The following day I moved to the Hotel Marshyangdi where I met the tour group with members from Australia, America, England and Scotland. We had our welcome meeting and then went out to buy or rent any last minute gear that we needed. I picked up a trekking pole, some microspikes and hired a sleeping bag.

In the evening we went to K-Too! Beer & Steakhouse for our first group dinner, then a few of us went out for beers at Fat Monk’s Bar, a cool rooftop bar which has been a regular hangout since Bernii and I first visited Nepal.

The next morning, we took a private bus from Kathmandu to Ngadi, where we spent the night at Namaste Holiday Trekker’s Lodge (930m).

We started our trek the following morning with a 19.4km trek to the village of Chamje, where we stayed at Annapurna Guest House (1430m). A lot of the trek was along a road, which would unfortunately be the standard for the next few days, until we reached Manang.

The next morning we departed for Dharapani and the Lower Gyaisomdo Hotel (1860m). The trekking distance was 14.7km.

From Dharapani, we trekked 16km to the village of Chame where we stayed at the Hotel New Shangri-La (2760m). It was here that I had my last beer before crossing the Thorong La pass, as drinking alcohol at altitude can increase the likelihood of Acute Mountain Sickness.

The next morning we trekked 17.3km to Hotel Alobar in Upper Pisang (3300m). During the day it started raining on and off, and the temperature dropped. It was nice to finally arrive at the teahouse and dry off. In the afternoon we walked to a nearby monastery. As we were leaving, I walked past a dog and then heard a commotion behind me. It had bitten the person behind me on the leg. Although it didn’t appear to have bitten through his pants, the decision was made to arrange for a rabies shot as it had drawn blood. He was taken on the back of a motorbike to the next village to receive the shot and returned later that evening.

The following day was our longest by distance travelled. Fortunately the weather was much better for our 21.9km trek to the village of Manang. We spent the night at Tilicho Hotel (3540m). During this section we started to encounter many other trekkers on the trail.

We stayed at Manang for two nights. On our second day there we did an acclimatisation hike to a monastery. However, when we neared the monastery, the guides noticed mountain goats on the cliffs above and they were causing rock falls. The decision was made to avoid the area due to safety concerns and we instead spent some time at an open area about 300m above Manang. The total distance trekked that day was 7.6km, and was an easy walk.

From Manang, we trekked an easy 10.5km to the village of Yak Kharka and stayed at the Thorung Peak Hotel (4020m). Finally we got away from the roads and saw some snow in the evening.

Our last stop before crossing the Thorong La pass was Thorung Phedi where we stayed at Hotel New Phedi (4525m). The trekking distance was 8km and it involved crossing the 350m Thorung Phedi Suspension Bridge. This was the first day that I experienced any symptoms from the altitude with a moderate headache for a few hours in the afternoon. Fortunately it eased by dinner time.

We set off at around 4:10am to make the trek to Thorung La pass. It snowed on and off the entire way up, and we reached the top of the pass (5416m) around 9:10am. We took a few photos and rested a bit before commencing the downhill section. We stopped for lunch before the final push to Muktinath (3800m), arriving around 3:00pm with it still snowing. On the way into the village, my right knee started to hurt from a bad case of hiker’s knee. I applied a knee strap that I really should have had on from the pass down. Our total distance for the day was 17.8km and taking around 11 hours. Our accommodation was at Hotel Grand Shambala and we celebrated with a few beers.

The next day we trekked 13.6km along a road to the village of Kagbeni and the conclusion or our Annapurna Circuit trek. We had lunch with the porters and guides before saying our farewells and climbing into jeeps for the drive to Kalopani. We spent the night at the Kalopani Guest House (2526m). By this time I was starting to grow a grey beard that was making me look dishevelled rather than distinguished. It would be one more night before I was finally able to shave again.

In the morning, we got our first clear view of Annapurna I. We took the jeeps again to Pokhara where we spent the last two nights of the tour at the Dahlia Boutique Hotel. On the way back, we stopped at the Gandaki Golden Bridge, a 567m suspension bridge.

The afternoons in Pokhara were spent at lakeside bars and restaurants before heading out to the evening group dinners at Chilly Bar & Restaurant and Moondance Restaurant & Bar. It rained on and off while in Pokhara, mostly in the afternoons.

After the conclusion of the tour, I stayed an extra night in Pokhara at Hotel Chino (AU$66.15 per night). It was perfectly located near the lakeside area. The next morning I caught a taxi to the airport for my flight back to Kathmandu.

In Kathmandu I checked back into the Hotel Vistara for two more nights. I returned the sleeping bag and Intrepid duffel bag before heading to Fat Monk’s Bar for dinner and a few beers.

The next day I caught a taxi to the Buddha Stupa, where I met up with the guide from our first Nepal trek of Everest Base Camp and Gokyo Lakes. We had lunch together at his aunt and uncle’s restaurant before saying our goodbyes and I made my way back to Thamel for some final beers at Fat Monk’s Bar.

The next morning I headed back to the airport for my flight to Thailand to reunite with Bernii. Thank you Nepal for the amazing memories!