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!
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.
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!
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!
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