Itinerary for our Nepal trip
Friends within and without of ClubSNAP have asked me, what is our itinerary like?
And is it going to be siong?
Well, siong or not, I don't know. Not until I have completed the trek. But certainly it is not as siong as those going to Annapurna Circuit, Annapurna Base Camp or Everest Base Camp.
Before we continue, please don't go away with the idea that a family of seven are going to any of these Base Camps, for we aren't.
We are just going to take a trek of moderate (subjective) difficulty suitable for first time trekking children.
Day 1 - Kathmandu
Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. At 1300m altitude.
Visit Pashupatinath, the holiest Hindu temple in Nepal, and hopefully able to view a real live cremation(s).
Day 2 - Pokhara
Domestic flight to Pokhara (800m altitude), the gateway city to many of the trekking towns in Western Nepal.
Famous for her Fewa lake and lovely warm weather.
Day 3 - Nayapul to Ulleri (trekking)
An hour and a half minibus ride to Nayapul (1000m altitude), the starting point of our trek.
We have been discussing this time and time again with Adrian (SgTrekker) and Mahesh, our guide.
Our plan is to trek from Nayapul at 1000m up to Ulleri, a small Margar village at 2070m.
The toughest part will come after the small village of Tikhedhunga (1570m), which will see a steep non-stop stretch of ascend of 500m.
If we can, we will push the whole family up to Ulleri for the night there.
If we fail to do so, we will stay put in Tikhedhunga for the night. (which I do not hope for)
This day will be an important testing ground for the whole family, for it would probably take about 5-6 hours of trekking.
Day 4 - Ulleri to Ghorepani (trekking)
From Ulleri at 2070m to Ghorepani at 2870m will see us trekking up another 800m of ups and downs.
A pretty undulating terrain will bring us closer to the lovely mountains.
But will also test our endurance and knees.
Day 5 - Poon Hill to view sunrise, thereafter back to Ghorepani and onwards to Tadapani (trekking)
This, is going to be the toughest day of the trek in terms of distance and duration and for the first part, rapidity of ascend.
Poon Hill at 3210m, is the highlight of the trek, for up there, we have unobstructed view of all the mountains of the Annapurna range.
And make the ascend in total darkness in the early hours of the morning to await sunrise over the ranges, that would be quite an experience.
The trek from Ghorepani to Tadapani (2660m) is fraught with ice-frozen permafrost tracks, and another steeper ascend at the last part.
Day 6 - Tadapani to Ghandruk (trekking)
This is the most relaxing day of the trek.
Ghandruk is just at about 2010m. So it would be a day of descend.
And a short trek it is going to be, Mahesh said, around 3 hours.
Ghandruk is the largest Gurung village in the area.
Day 7 - Ghandruk back down to Nayapul (trekking), and thence back to Pokhara.
This last day of trek will see us descending back to 1000m at Nayapul, on a relatively gentler terrain, but a slightly longer horizontal distance.
And at Nayapul, we will be mini-bussed back to Pokhara.
Day 8 - Kathmandu
A morning domestic flight back to Kathmandu.
And a eagerly looked-forward visit to Baktapur, the medieval city of Bhagaul.
Day 9 - Home!
A last visit to Boudanath Stupa, the largest Buddhist Stupa in the world, before we fly back home.
Well... sounds easy enough to me.
