Singalila Ridge Trek

My first trek in India! After trekking in Nepal I was interested to see what trekking in India would be like.

The trekking industry in India is much less developed than Nepal and the main routes are much quieter, despite India's huge population.

The Singalila Ridge trek is about an hour from Darjeeling, in the North Indian foothills of the Himalayas. Guides are mandatory on the trip, so we met our very friendly guide Mane Bhahjang, where the trek starts. Normally the trek is completed over 5 days, but we only had four. So on the fret day we took a jeep up to Tomlung, where most people walk to and spend their first night. It turned out to be a good move since it's a very steep climb, from Mane Bhajhang at 2100m up to 3200m! It's also mostly a 4wd track so bit particularly pleasant. The jeep only took us about an hour! It was very misty on the drive up but upon arriving at Tomlung, the clouds parted for a bit and we got a peak at Katchendonzga, the third highest mountain in the world!

Start of the walk, in Tomlung

A misty day 1

We walked through farms and small villages down to a military checkpoint, since the walk is right along the India/Nepal border. After a cup of tea, we started a steep, relentless slog up to a small village where we had lunch (in Nepal!). The whole walk was shrouded in thick mist and I started to wonder what I'd dragged my sister into, spending almost a third of her two weeks in India doing this thing! Finally, after 19km and 6hrs of walking, we arrived at Sandakphu (3636m). The clouds again parted here and we got some brief views of the surrounding mountains. Sandakphu was very windy and cold so we quickly retreated to the lodge. Although a bit smaller and more basic, the lodge was similar to those found on the Annapurna Circuit and comfortable enough.

There were only two lodges in town and there were maybe 12 people staying in the village all up, so a lot less people than on the Nepal treks. Dinner was the infamous Dal Bhat, the bland Tibetan staple of lentil soup, copious amounts of rice and a small amount of pickle and vegetable curry. It's not all that bad and quite filling but after a month in Nepal, I was throughly sick of it!

The next morning, we rose at dawn to see the sunrise over the surrounding mountains. The morning was clear and the view one of the best I have ever seen. From one spot, you could see 5 of the world's  top ten highway mountains, including Mt Everest and Kathendonga. It was very windy and cold though, so we didnt longer too long and went back to he lodge for breakfast.

Kanchendzonga from Sandapkphu

One of those peaks on the right is Mt Everest!

The same view continued throughout the day, as we walked along the gently undulating ridge to Phalut. The day was sunny but the wind still cold and the ridge is quite exposed. You can see down into Nepal on one side of the ridge, with India on the other side. The walk was about 6.5hrs, and there is nothing along the way except for a border check post and a tin she selling tea and two minute noodles.

The mist started rolling in as we neared Phalut, a two lodge settlement. We chose the nicer of the two, but it was still a vast, soulless place and incredibly cold. We were all wearing all of our clothes inside and still felt the cold! We drunk copious cups of tea to try keep warm. Dinner was again Dal Bhat and we scoffed it down quickly so we could snuggle into our sleeping bags.

The room in Phalut

There was another dawn viewing scheduled and the thick fog that had engulfed the lodge the previous night was well and truly gone. The view this morning was even more spectacular than the last.

Disgusting squat toilets

Lodge in Rimbik

After breakfast we began the 20km trip down to Rimbick, greatful for the lower altitude and warmer temperatures. The lodge in Rimbick was very nice and cosy and the food good, a pleasant change from Phalut.

The next morning we had an undulating 13km to walk to Rimbick, where a jeep would take us back to Darjeeling. The walk is mostly through towns and villages and isn't particularly scenic. The jeep back to Darjeeling took 4hrs and was mostly (though very roughly) sealed the whole way.

We booked everything through our hotel after struggling to find good information on the walk and how to book guides. We paid $200 NZ each, which included the entry fees, food, water, guide, jeeps and accommodation. Our guide was very good and the price paid represents good value. The jeeps would have made up most of this cost and you could save a bit on these by taking shared jeeps, though these tend to be incredibly cramped!

Poon Hill, Nepal

With a couple of spare, my mate Matt and I decided to do a walk to Poon Hill, near the end of the Annapurna Circuit, after hearing that the views were really good.

We got a taxi to Nayapul, from Pokhara, which cost about 2000 Nepalese Rupees or $25. The trip took an hour. If you've done the Annapurna circuit, you can re use your passes here, otherwise you will have to pay a hefty $60 for the various permits.

The track from Nayapul to Hille takes about 2-2.5 hrs and is on a
4wd track. It is quite steep in parts and hard going in the hot sun. We stopped for a short break in the pleasant village of Hille. Lunch was to be in Ulleri, but first we has to climb a horid 4500
Steps to get there. It was a relentless and unforgiving task in the hot sun, taking an hour and a half with no stop in the steps. We finally reached Ulleri and promptly went to the first guesthouse we could find and ordered two cold juices and lots of food!

Pleasant pathways

The endless steps!

Thankfully, the next part of the trip was a little more forgiving and was actually very pleasant, with cool bush and pretty streams and waterfalls. This took another 2.5 hrs.

Pleasant villages on the way

We reached Gorepani (3470m) and stayed in a very nice lodge, with cosy wood lined rooms and great food. While we were eating dinner, a storm came in with loud thunder and lightening and heavy hail. It didn't ease up by the time we went to bed and I was a bit worried, as we were due to get up at 4.30am to walk to Poon Hill. I was also concerned about the possibility of snow, as it was quite cold and this was the exact same weather that had arrived before it started snowing when I was on the Annapurna circuit!

We woke up at 4.30 anyway and the morning was as clear and calm as anything!

It was still a solid 45 minute climb up to Poon Hill, gaining 500m in altitude with a lot of steps to climb!

There were throngs of tourists walking up the hill, it was quite unbelievable. There was even a man collecting 50 rupee entry fees at the gate!

The view was well worth it (though the view and atmosphere on the Singalila Ridge trek was much better), with a 270 degree panorama of the Himalayas. The atmosphere was taken away a bit by the sheer amount of people there - I'd never seen anything like it!

Views from Poon Hill:

After walking back down, we had a delicious breakfast back at the lodge and walked back down to Nayapul, which took about 5hrs. We were certainly grateful that we were walking down all those stairs today!

Annapurna Circuit

It's been a while since I did a post! I've been travelling in India and Nepal but have still managed to get the tramping boots on while here.

One of main trips I did over there was the Annapurna Circuit. This is a very well known trek and the second most popular in Nepal after the Everest Base Camp trek.

Nepal is very famous for its multi day treks and the more popular routes are very well set up for this, with many lodges in small villages along the way, providing accommodation, food, electricity and even hot showers and wifi!

Me at the start of the walk

The full Annapurna circuit is meant to be 21 days, but this is a really long time to be walking in the same area so I opted for a 12 day adventure, starting at Besi Sahar and finishing at Jomsom.

I'd originally planned to do the whole thing on my own, but the day before I was due to start I chickened out and hired a guide ($15 US a day, plus his return bus fares). I'd read a lot of stuff beforehand about doing the walk solo and most said it was fine, but I wasn't sure how many people I would come across on the trail (even though it was in October, peak season). Getting lost, sick or succumbing to altitude sickness were all on my mind and dealing with these is much easier when someone else is with you!

So I packed my bags, met my guide and headed to Besi Sahar on the bus (5hrs from Kathmandu). From here, we took a jeep to Syange (1000 Rs), to skip the boring part of the trip.

The jeep ride was quite an experience, with about 10 people crammed into a little Mahindra and the track being a very rough 4wd drive route, complete with 1000m drops 1m to the left of the jeep. I think I would rather have walked.

Donkeys on the way to Tal

Day 1: After a night in Syange (1100m alt) I was glad to be able to put the tramping boots on. Today's destination was Tal, (1700m alt, 4hrs). The first few days of the walk is within a gorge with 2600m peaks crowding the river. It was really nice walking along looking at the villages constructed on impossibly steep cliffs and the rice terraces surrounding them.

My room in Tal

Much of the Annapurna circuit is actually walking along a 4wd track, to my disappointment. While it means that the walking is quite easy and there are much better views, it does leave you a lot more exposed to the hot sun and means that you have to share the track with the odd honking jeep. It also means you're a lot more disconnected from the bush, and the vegetation that surrounds the track ia scrubby and rough.

Day two: Off to Danaque, another 4hrs walking up to 2100m. We start getting some good views of the Annapurnas and Manaslu, all big peaks in the area. We grab some early lunch on the way and arrive in Danaque around 1pm. One thing with walking with a Nepalese guide is that they usually want to stop for lunch at around 10.30-11! The Nepalese are early risers, have a small breakfast, a large early lunch and early dinner and are off to bed by 9 or so. I'm rarely ready for lunch by the time so just have something small to eat and some more food later.

While arriving at our destination at around 12 or 1 means plenty of time I relax (we start walking around 7.30 or 8am), it is just a bit too much time to kill. I usually find walking 6-7hrs a day on a multi day walk is optimal, as it is long enough not to be bored in the afternoons but short enough that you can still relax and recover and you're not stuffed for the next day.

Day 3: Chame (2600m), 4hrs walking. A very similar day to day 3.

Mountain views near Chame

Day 4: Upper Pisang (3300m). We can see the surrounding peaks pretty clearly now and it's spectacular! We go over a saddle down to the Pisang Valley, which is quite dry and arid. Upper Pisang is smaller than Lower Pisang below but is much prettier, with some great views. The village itself is like stepping back in time 500 years ago. Most of the buildings are about 500-600 years old and there's little to show for the modern era. Although walking during the past few days in the sun during the day is warm enough for shorts and t-shirts to be worn, over 2,500m the nights are a bit chilly and require a few more layers!

Rubbish is dumped regularly along the trail. Most of this is plastic bottles 

Chicken backpacks!

Day 5:Woke up to snow! Totally unexpected. There was about 20cm and it kept falling all day long so we couldn't go out and walk. Luckily, there was a cool bunch of people in the lodge, so we passed the time away by reading and playing cards.

Upper Pisang

Pisang sans snow

Woke up to this the next morning!

Day 6: The day dawned fine and clear! Finally we could get moving again. Unfortunately, due to the heavy snow, we couldn't take the more scenic upper route, as planned. So we took the flatter, easier route along the valley floor. 

It was just fantastic, and so much more scenic walking along the valley in the snow. It completely changed the look of everything. We walked to Braka (3,500m), a scenic village at the upper end of  the valley. There were loads of people walking back down the valley, and we soon found out why. 43 people lost their lives in the area due to the snowstorm that hit the previous day. We were very fortunate to have not been in the areas higher up when the storm hit. 

The food and accommodation quality deteriorates the higher up we went, but I was still spending around $20 NZD a day for food and accommodation. Pretty good! The lodges are very basic and cold, with little in the way of heating. But they do the job and you're never there for very long. 

Day 7: We decided to go up to the Ice Lakes (4,600m) as planned. It was a bit of a mission, as it is a 1,100m climb and in deep snow it was very hard to find the way. It turned out the lakes really were ice lakes, and frozen over, but the views from the lakes were just fantastic!

View from the Ice Lakes

Near Braka

After chatting to other walkers heading back down, we discovered that the pass was closed and impassable and was likely to be that way for another week. Combined with more bad weather forecast and the need to let everyone back home know that I was ok, meant that we decided to turn back and head back the way we came. 

We retraced our steps over the next 3 days, then onto Pokhara and good food, warm weather and a hot shower!

While I was disappointed not to be able to cross the pass, it was still a worthwhile experience.