Sandesh and Bhagteshwar's ABC challenge - Days One & Two
/Day 1 - Nayapul to Ghandruk
We left our hotel in Pokhara early in the morning via taxi to our starting point for the trek at Nayapul.
As we started our trek we got our first view of Machapuchare, the famous Fishtail Mountain, although Annapurna was hidden from view behind hill for the whole day.
The trail was mainly a slow uphill trek with the occasional steep section and a steep climb when near Ghandruk. We were all holding up well apart from needing to stay well hydrated due to the heat during the middle of the day.
Distance covered: 13.4km
Net ascent: 870m
Day 2 - Ghandruk to Chhomrong
Waking up the next day we got our first view of Annapurna from the Gurung village of Ghandruk. It was nice to see a living a breathing village with many people going about their daily business. It was also nice to see a small glimpse of the local ethos and community spirit. We were walking past an area of the path where a paving stone had been dislodged. A local lady walking past stopped and put the paving stone back in place and gave the area a general clean before continuing on with her day.
We also had our first major descent and then ascent for the trek. We had to go to the hilltop near Ghandruk only to decend 450m down to the river and climb another 500m on the other side to get to Chhomrong. Although I had felt the heaviness of my bag the day before the ups and downs of this day really brought it to the fore that I should probably have packed lighter!
Distance: 12.2km
Net ascent: 230m