A Journey To Annapurna Sanctuary

The rich, mellow sounds of the bansuri, or Nepalese flute, drift with the breeze as we await our breakfast at Landruk, a Gurung village with unobstructed views of Annapurna South. It’s about 9am and we’ve already walked for about 3 hours, having risen before the sun and set off from Pothana where we’d spent the night. After an initial ascent, the walk was mostly downhill through forests and jungle, and villages complete with cows and chickens, all accompanied with sweeping views of river valleys, suspension bridges and the Annapurna range itself. What a change to yesterday, when we’d woken up on Pokhara’s Lakeside, taken a taxi to the bus station, then an hour long bus ride to Phedi, from where we ascend about 800m on foot to Pothana for our overnight stay. The 3 hours walking we’d already completed was a pleasant stroll in comparison. We’ve only got another 2-3 hours to go to reach Shiuli our planned stop for the night, which we reach early afternoon. A shower and short nap, followed by a lunch of soup and coffee, leads into a lazy afternoon reading and chilling, as we listen to the sounds of the nearby waterfall. A few trekkers slowly arrive, before a dinner of dal bhat, a couple of shared spliffs and sleep.

Annapurnas

It had begun as these things often do, with a note on the wall. I’d ventured into the Kathmandu Guest House about 10 days earlier for a pot of coffee and some postcard writing. George Harrison had once stayed there so I figured if a Beatle had been there, it’d be rude not to at least pop my head in. The only table left was up against the wall in the courtyard, where notes were stuck on for people selling things, looking for trekking partners, or trying to meet up with friends. Back in the pre-email days, that’s how we did it. I didn’t pay much attention at first but one note kept appearing in the corner of my eye. It was on yellow paper, a contrast to all the others which were white. I eventually got up to take a look at it to find it was a note from an Aussie looking for a trekking partner to do the same trek I’d been thinking of. After an afternoon of message tag at our respective guesthouses, I eventually met Julie. We had dinner with a couple of other people, and decided to trek together. I woke up the next morning to a knock on the door and the discovery that she’d moved into the room next to me at my guesthouse. A few days exploring Kathmandu together, a trip up to Nagorkot for sunrise and a half day trek down to Banepa. I’ve since been back to Nagorkot a couple of times but I’ve never had as great a sunrise as we did that morning. From then on, Julie and I became inseparable for the next month or so, together 24/7 until we went our separate ways in India as she headed off to a yoga retreat and I continued travelling in India. We’d made loose plans to meet up again but it wasn’t until the following year back in Australia that we actually did.

Julie on the yet another ascent

Me crossing another suspension bridge.

Day three started much the same as day two, although they’d just boiled a kettle in the lodge, so we had some mint tea before setting off. The trail follows the Modi Khola river for awhile before the first climb of the day. Just as we reach a decent high that gives more spectacular views of the mountains, it plunges back down to the river once more. In time, the trail ascends again up to Jhinu at almost 1800m above sea level. We consider a side track down to the hot springs but as we haven’t had breakfast yet we opt to keep climbing to Chomrong for some food. The higher we get the better the views are, and the trail into Chomrong is lined with ganja plants. In fact, as we arrive at our breakfast stop, we see a table full of them, harvested and drying in the morning sun.

Refreshed and recharged, we struggle back into our hiking boots, grab our packs and continue on. The path winds down from the 2000m altitude of Chomrong, and continues down for an hour. Of course, these are mountains, and our destination for the night is at an elevation of 2350m, so all this downhill walking means a lot more uphill is yet to come. And come it does. A hot, sweaty, one and a half hour climb greets us as we make our way up to Sinewa, although the weather feels a bit chillier as we arrive. We’re welcomed at the Sinewa Guesthouse Restaurant and not a moment too soon as a hail storm hits just after arriving. A very long hailstorm as I note in my journal, one of the longest I’ve experienced. Being from Sydney, I’m used to summer hailstorms after a hot day, so to have one in autumn in the mountains with the temperature in the teens is a bit surprising. We shelter with the warmth of a kerosene heater, eat dal baht and go to bed early.

A cup of hot lemon to kick things off and we’re walking again. A fairly level hour or so brings us to an Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) checkpoint where our permits are checked. Getting the permits in Pokhara before we left, while fairly straightforward, turned into a bit of an ordeal. We’d got up early and hired a couple of mountain bikes to get to the immigration office to get them, and as we neared the front of the line, Julie realised she didn’t have enough cash for hers. I only had enough to cover mine, so we let everyone else in line go first while she changes money. Then I discover I’ve left my passport in the hotel, so it’s back there to get that. Finally we get to the front of the line, leave our stuff and ride off again for a bit of exploring and shopping. We return at the agreed time to pick up our permits, and then promptly bump into Gip, a Thai woman we both separately knew from Koh Pha-Ngan.

Permits checked, we descend through bamboo forests for a couple of hundred metres until we come to the fittingly named Bamboo Lodge. We rest for a few minutes but it’s a very cold morning and we’re soon back on our feet and moving to keep warm. We aren’t quite high enough for snow yet but we can see it all around us on the higher peaks. We keep climbing to the village of Dovan at 2505m which is to be our breakfast stop. The trail gives us great views of Machupuchare, the almost 7000m high fishtail mountain that is believed to be an abode of Shiva and is off limits to climbers.

We’re welcomed at Dovan with hot garlic soup, chapatis and a hot lemon drink, and as we’re about to leave they tell us that it’s an easy 3 hour walk to Deurali, which is where we’re going to aim for as an overnight stay. A mostly flat or gentle uphill hour and a half brings us to the village of Himalaya, although there is a short steep climb at the end. At 2900m altitude, we sit down and relax over a coffee with an English couple that we’d met the previous night. Soon enough, it’s onwards and upwards as we follow a very steep path leading up to Deurali, a walk that takes about 75 minutes. We get a room at the first lodge we come to, and they promise to bring us extra blankets which is welcome as it’s a lot colder now. At 3100m, we’ve long since left the jungles and forests behind and are confronted with rocky, snowy mountaintops. The base camps are only a couple of hours away, and we decide to keep our room at Deurali and visit the base camps as a day trip rather than staying at them. If it’s this cold at 3100m, I can’t imagine what a night at 4100m in an unheated room with outdoor bathrooms would be like. We settle into the dining room for the evening, writing in our journals and chatting with the other couple staying there. Oddly enough, out of the four of us who are there, Julie is the only one who isn’t left-handed. I think it’s the first and only time in my life that I’ve been in the majority as a leftie.

Day five and we’re up with the sun again, although we don’t get moving for about 45 minutes or so. The next stop is Machupuchare Base Camp, which we expect to take about 2 hours. The steep climb to the 3750m MBC is surprisingly quick though, only taking a bit over an hour. We do have the advantage of not having packs to carry, as we’ve left them at Deurali and are just taking day packs with cameras, snacks and water. Every step though is colder, and there’s frost in places on the ground, and patchy ice of the roofs at base camp. The coffee that awaits us at MBC is very welcome.

It’s only another 3-4km, with 400m altitude gain to get to Annapurna Base Camp. It’s a strange walk though. We’re really beginning to feel the altitude now, with mild headaches, nausea and dizziness. We take it slow and constantly check on each other. The views are incredible, as we’re surrounded by mountains on all sides. What a place! We make it to ABC, take a few photos and eat some chocolate, before clouds start to drift over. We’re both freezing so decide not to linger and begin making our way back down to MBC then Deurali. At some point on the walk down, I realise that I must have left my sunglasses at the base camp.

We made It! Annapurna Base Camp

Last steps before ABC

Down we headed as light flurries of snow started falling. For me, it was the first time I remember snow. There are photos of me when I was about 1-2 years old playing in the snow in Australia but I don’t have any memory of it. We practically flew back to MBC. I’m not sure where we got the energy, perhaps it was the extra blankets waiting for us at the guest house in Deurali that spurred us on. The pace continued until we came upon a large and very slow group of French trekkers about halfway between MBC and Deurali. We eventually passed them, although it took us half an hour to do so. Continuing on, we only stopped to watch some mountain sheep doing their thing before we made it back to the guesthouse for some very welcome food. We considered pushing on for another couple of hours but then it started to rain so we made do. A third member seems to have joined us, with a cute black dog following us from ABC back down to Deurali that then proceeded to sleep outside our door all night.

After a decent night’s sleep, it was an effort to get going and we weren’t on the way until close to 7am. It was a day for backtracking, first to Dovan for breakfast, then Sinewa for more food and a long rest. Our new dog friend, who we hadn’t seen all morning put in an appearance here as well. We were exhausted and tempted to stay but against the will of our bodies, we got going again. Down at first, taking shelter on an uncomfortable rock under a tree as it started to rain, and finally a long, long flight of stone stairs up to Chomrong. Slow going but we made it to the Midnight Lodge where a hot shower awaited.

Day 7 was meant to be easy. Our initial plan was to walk to Ghandruk, and then finish the trek the next day. We lingered in bed and had breakfast first, and because of that, all our plans changed. Chatting to someone over breakfast, we found out that if we followed the river, we could make it to Naya Pul in 6-7 hours and from there, board a bus back to Pokhara. That would mean we’d be back in the comfort of our Lakeside guesthouse by night. Sounds good.

I titled my journal entry for this, “One Crazy Fucking Day” and that’s what it was. Down first of all, a very steep descent to the river. The steepness made me wonder how we’d made it up in the first place. Instead of crossing the river and backtracking along the route we’d come up by, we headed along it. Birethanti was 5 hours along, and although it was long, it was fairly level going. Every hour or so, we’d stop for a rest before pushing on. It got tiring quickly. About two thirds of the way, a charming little cafe in Sauli Bazaar offered a chance to eat and have a proper rest but not for long. Birenthanti was still two hours away.

Pushing our bodies to the limits of exhaustion, each step was an effort. At some point it got too much for Julie who had to stop and throw up. After a rest and some water, we dug deep and made it into Birethanti where there was a final permit check. We were now only 1.5km from the bus stop. It was flat but we still moved at a snail’s pace. Just as we thought we were there, we were confronted with the last thing we wanted to see - more stairs leading up to the road. Somehow, we made our way up them. At the top waiting was a taxi. We thought about it. It should have been 600 rupees to Pokhara. He wouldn’t take anything less than 2000. While we were negotiating, 2 Pokhara bound buses went by, both packed. We still refused to pay the 2000 rupees, the driver still refused to accept less. A bus for 2 hours it would have to be. I recently looked up what 2000 rupees was worth in 1997. AU$18. I have no idea why we didn’t just take it.

The next bus came and we flagged it down. It was full. More than full in fact, people were jammed into every possible space. So the roof it was. We climbed up, found a space to sit and made sure to hang on. A couple of times the bus slowed down to almost a stop and everyone on the roof ducked as low as possible as we passed under power lines. At one point, while motoring along at a decent speed, the bus conductor climbed out of a window and pulled himself up to the roof to collect fares from everyone. It got colder as it got later in the day. We were both wearing shorts by the time we got to the bus stop having stripped layers as we left the mountains and felt the heat. Now we were getting cold. Finally, the two hour bus ride came to an end. Our day however, had one more twist for us.

Mountain bus at Pokhara bus station

There were plenty of cabs waiting at the bus station, and they wanted double what we’d paid a week earlier for the same trip. So we decided to walk the 40 minutes to Lakeside. We quickly began regretting that decision, and after about 10 minutes we got lucky. A ute drove past and offered us a ride for 100 rupees. We didn’t need to be asked twice. Arriving at our hotel, we found it was full but the manager called his brother, who had a place nearby and arranged a room there for us. We got our stuff out of storage while he got us a cab ride there which was good because I don’t think we could have walked another step. At the new place, we got shown to a nice looking room with a big comfy bed and hot shower. Washed and changed, and feeling more human, we pulled out Ganesh. Ganesh was the chillum we’d bought, so named because of the carving of Ganesh on it. We got good and mashed, planning to have a nice, long sleep-in. Or not. It turned out we had the noisiest room in Pokhara, and we were awakened at 6am. We lazed around, Julie went and got us some breakfast from the bakery next door while I ordered a pot of coffee which turned out to be undrinkable. We repacked, checked out and got a taxi to another guesthouse, with a false start as he took us to one with the same name but Hotel instead of Lodge and about three times the price. We eventually found a place we liked that would do us for the next week until we set off for India. Normal sensible people would relax and have an early night. Not us. We got told about a full moon party that night, on a beach at the other side of Phewa Lake. It wasn’t meant to start until midnight so of course we decided to go. After an afternoon nap, and some late night coffee, we made our way to it. As far as raves go, it was pretty basic. Still, dancing as the run rises over the Annapurna Range which is reflected in the mirrorlike surface of Phewa Lake is a pretty special way to start the day. There was a rush for the first boats back, and we had to wait an hour, but the ride back was incredible. Spliffs going round and total silence as we all basked in the beauty of the Himalayas being reflected in the water. While I kind of wish I had some photos of it, I’m glad neither of us had a camera with us. It was a perfect moment on its own.

Almost thirty years on, I reflect on the experience with immense gratitude and awe. Having the perfect partner to experience it with, overcoming the physical and even mental challenges of the ascents and descents. As I write this, there’s undoubtedly a couple of young backpackers setting out on this same trek. It’s different today but also the same. Most of the tea houses and lodges have wifi now, and today’s trekkers probably take hundreds of photos a day on their phones that get posted from the trek, whereas we just had a couple of rolls of film and a journal. Are today’s trekkers as present in the moments? But the walking is still the same, the experiences are just as treasured, and the views haven’t changed. I’ve been back to Nepal 3 times since but have never done another trek. Some things are best left as they are.

It was Julie’s birthday a couple of weeks ago and she’s had some good news recently. We’ve spent time together in 6 different cities over 3 different countries. It means a lot to me that we’re still in touch all these years later, even if it’s mostly via social media updates and comments.

The Annapurna Sanctuary trek is not just a sanctuary in the mountains. It’s a sanctuary of thoughts, memories, experience, moments, friendship, adventure and emotions.