{"id":7835,"date":"2020-07-02T12:37:32","date_gmt":"2020-07-02T11:37:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=7835"},"modified":"2020-07-02T12:39:06","modified_gmt":"2020-07-02T11:39:06","slug":"7835","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=7835","title":{"rendered":"Trekking in the Himalayas"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"After my adventures in Kenya, and particularly, on Mt Kenya and Mt Kilimanjaro, it was time to leave Africa. Before leaving I received a phone call from BBC Radio Wales: my dad had rung in to tell them I was embarking on a trip to Everest. The interviewer tried to hide his disappointment when I said I was going trekking in the Himalayas, and would more than likely see Everest, but the intention was to bypass it rather than ascend the highest mountain in the world!<\/p>\n

The plan was for myself and Jayne, a school friend from Wenvoe, to travel to India and Nepal and trek independently for 4-5 weeks through the Himalayas. Since the first ascent of Mt Everest, over 60 years ago, the Himalayas have become far more accessible to walkers. Hindu scriptures say that in \u201ca hundred ages of the gods\u201d, you could not do justice to the Himalayas. Choosing where to trek in this vast area (10 times the size of France) was difficult. We wanted to experience some of the highest mountains, gorges, forests, flowers, orchards, wild rivers, snow and sunshine that this region offers, as well as gain an insight into the different religions and cultures of the people who live in this area. We decided to start from Pokhara.<\/p>\n

We flew into the bustling city of Delhi, where ear muffs to drown out the constant noise of horns, would have been a useful accessory. We arranged our bus transfer from Delhi to Kathmandu, then Pokhara. A crowded bus, with no air conditioning, but numerous live chickens, was our first challenge; the second was constantly saying \u201cNO\u201d to the insistent hands and pleading eyes of \u00a0villagers trying to sell us snacks through the bus windows at every stop.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Travel Route<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Pokhara is a city on Phewa Lake and a gateway to many treks. The start of our trek was delayed by the onslaught of \u201cDelhi belly\u201d, something that my usual walkers at Cosmeston or Barry Island do not need to worry about!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Pokhara<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Fully recovered and with rucksacks packed, we loaded ourselves onto the back of an open truck and were transported through the hills to start our trek. We knew there was a network of basic lodges to stay in, which provided local food so carried clothes and essential toiletries to get us through the next weeks. Lunch provisions had been brought from Wales: packets of crackers and jars of peanut butter! I am not sure Edmund Hillary had similar nutritional ideas when he made his final ascent but we thought instant energy would be important! The Nepalese children were intrigued by the peanut butter and were delighted to be offered a jar.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Trek Locations<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

We had deliberately chosen to do our trekking in April as there is no monsoon, the skies tend to be clearer and the hillsides are full of the most spectacular displays of bright red rhododendrons. Our trek was to take us through many small settlements and as we passed the villages of Landruk and Ghandruk we had stunning views of the Annapurna range. Ghandruk is a typical village of Gurungs with idyllic rural scenes, forests and a diversity of birds in the oak forests. At Tatopani, we had the luxury of immersing ourselves in hot springs. Tatopani means hot water in Nepali and the village gets its name from the hot springs that emanate from the rocks below the Kali Gandaki \u00a0river. The majority of people here are of ethnic Sherpa and Tamang. In Ghorepani( 3210m), \u00a0we got up early to climb Poon Hill and watch the sun rise over the colossal peak of Dhaulagiri, the 7th<\/sup> highest peak in the world. It was not a huge effort to get ourselves up as we had spent the night on straw beds in the kitchen in our lodging! The walking itself was not too difficult: there were trails to follow, friendly locals to point us in the right direction(always greeting us with a \u201cNamaste\u201d), rope bridges across gorges to navigate, the Kali Kandaki river to follow and narrow wooden beds in home stays or a mattress in a lodge, to rest up in between the walking.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Muktinath Vishnu Temple<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Muktinath was the highest point on the trail (3710m).Muktinath is a Vishnu Temple, sacred to both Hindus and Buddhists. It is located at the foot of the Thorong La mountain pass and is one of the world\u2019s highest temples.\u00a0 It is an impressive sight and is visited by thousands of Hindu and Buddhist pilgrims every year. We were fortunate to have the place almost to ourselves. The peace and tranquillity of the temple, the awe inspiring snow covered mountains that surrounded us and the bright blue skies above us combined together to ensure this was the highlight of the trip.<\/p>\n

AT Jomson there is a local airport, where many trekkers return by small planes to Pokhara.\u00a0 Not us, we were walking back. The highlight on the return journey was Birethanti (1100m), a small village set at the foot of the Modi Khola valley. Mule trains set off from here to deliver goods to less well connected villages. Final stop was Nayapul, where a friendly truck driver picked us up and returned us to the relative comfort of a Pokhara hotel. After 30 days walking we could remove our walking boots!<\/p>\n

In Nepal, the scenery, people and walking on our trek was special. But Cosmeston and Barry Island are special too:\u00a0 you will be offered great scenery, a warm welcome, fresh air and time to reflect…… looking forward to meeting up again soon.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Namaste!<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After my adventures in Kenya, and particularly, on Mt Kenya and Mt Kilimanjaro, it was time to leave Africa. Before leaving I received a phone call from BBC Radio Wales: my dad had rung in to tell them I was embarking on a trip to Everest. The interviewer tried to hide his disappointment when I said I was going trekking […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[334,125],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/s6cWjO-7835","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8064,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=8064","url_meta":{"origin":7835,"position":0},"title":"Walk Leader\u2019s Adventures","author":"Alan Williams","date":"14th August 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Walk Leader\u2019s Adventures Boris and Mark urged and encouraged people to \u201cStay Local\u201d in the early days of the lockdown due to the Coronavirus. As the lockdown is eased and people are actively being persuaded to have a staycation, it seems appropriate to leave Mt Kenya, Mt Kilimanjaro and the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General Interest Articles"","block_context":{"text":"General Interest Articles","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=334"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Llanberis.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Llanberis.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Llanberis.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Llanberis.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7689,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=7689","url_meta":{"origin":7835,"position":1},"title":"A Walk Leader’s Adventures","author":"Alan Williams","date":"6th June 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"WALK LEADER\u2019S ADVENTURES Returning from a Kenyan safari in 1932, Ernest Hemingway had many trophies including buffalo hides and rhino horns. Four years later, in \u2018The Snows of Kilimanjaro\u2019, Hemingway described the summit of Kilimanjaro as \u2018wide as all the world, great, high and unbelievably white in the sun\u2019. \u00a0\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General Interest Articles"","block_context":{"text":"General Interest Articles","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=334"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Group.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8028,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=8028","url_meta":{"origin":7835,"position":2},"title":"How Not To Climb A Mountain In Africa","author":"Alan Williams","date":"14th August 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"How Not To Climb A Mountain In Africa I\u2019ve so enjoyed reading about Lynne\u2019s successful mountaineering exploits in recent editions of \u2018What\u2019s On\u2019 that I\u2019ve decided to (figuratively) put pen to paper to tell you about a spectacular failure. I have to take you, dear reader, back to East Africa\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reader's Travel Tales"","block_context":{"text":"Reader's Travel Tales","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=125"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Mt-Meru-3.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Mt-Meru-3.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Mt-Meru-3.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Mt-Meru-3.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4526,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=4526","url_meta":{"origin":7835,"position":3},"title":"John Sheen and Farming in Cameroon","author":"Alan Williams","date":"28th April 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0A talk by John Sheen Our meetings continued with a talk by John Sheen with the very intriguing title \u201cFive Boys and a Pasty\u201d. It was even more puzzling when John produced several gift bags which were obviously going to play a part in his talk. For most of his\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Tuesday Group"","block_context":{"text":"Tuesday Group","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=43"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7544,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=7544","url_meta":{"origin":7835,"position":4},"title":"A School Group Up Mount Kenya","author":"Alan Williams","date":"3rd May 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"A School Group Up Mount Kenya As a Valeways walk leader, I have had the privilege and pleasure of leading coastal and countryside walks for the past 2 years. As there are no Living with Cancer Strollers or Carers Walk this month, due to the coronavirus, I thought I would\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Living With Cancer Strollers"","block_context":{"text":"Living With Cancer Strollers","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=307"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/mountain-8.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/mountain-8.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/mountain-8.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15831,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=15831","url_meta":{"origin":7835,"position":5},"title":"Walking In Kyrgyzstan (Part 1 Of 2)","author":"Alan Williams","date":"29th July 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"WALKING IN KYRGYZSTAN (Part 1 of 2) Three of us, all no longer of working age, recently joined a group of 12 in total to trek in the Tian Shan mountains in Kyrgyzstan. 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