Day 3 – Ghorepani to Tadapani
Day 3 – Ghorepani to Tadapani
8.3 miles in 6h44
Total climb: 2686 feet, 819m
Total descent: 3544 feet, 1080m
Minimum Elevation: 8194 feet, 2497m
Maximum Elevation: 10505 feet, 3201m
Climbing Poon Hill for dawn
At 4am our alarms woke us from our slumber. Wrapped up warm in coats, gloves and hats, we began to make the climb to Poon Hill for dawn. I searched the skies for stars, hoping to see constellations, which would point to good views – the sky was black as black. Up the 1 mile ascent we climbed – we were the first through the morning ticket barrier – 50Rs each. Up and up we slogged, head torches illuminating the steps. Near the top we were joined by Fred and Felix, the German medics, they too were up here, to be the first, to nab the seats and to hopefully see a spectacular mountain view.
Poon Hill is the best viewpoint for many of the trails; Annapurna circuit, base camp, sanctuary; the panoramic scene from Poon Hill is meant to be the best. But as the morning grew lighter we found ourselves under thick grey cloud. Not a view in any direction. At the top Big D found us some yoga mats, which made the metal seats more comfy, and from here we waited – again.
There’s a cafe up here, so we waited with hot chocolate and tea, and we wished away the clouds. Soon the hill was busy, group after group arrived. Like a little re-union with all the trekkers we’d met on route. Tourists took selfies against the cloud, others pulled yoga poses. We waited them all out. By 8am the sun was up, the day was here and the mountains still hid from us. Time to have breakfast and press on with our walk to Tadapani.
I made a point of having runny fried eggs for breakfast; the eggs from the free roaming chickens here taste fantastic. 1x “Poon hill breakfast”, like an English with porridge on the side, plus 1x light breakfast with omelette. Big D filled up our water bottles.
Ghorepani to Deurali
After an hour’s rest and a shower we started our morning hike at 10am – a late start for a long journey. Today’s hike would be a lot more ‘up n down, up n down’ than days 1 and 2. With the added catch of having climbed Poon Hill already, and being awake at stupid o’clock. Before we left Sam picked out her souvenirs; a Poon Hill beanie, and a “Dal bhat power 24: hour” t-shirt.
We set off along the Deurali Pass – from Ghorepani it’s a climb to the same altitude as Poon Hill, and would normally offer spectacular views of the Annapurna range. Our clouds hung over us. I didn’t feel great; perhaps it was altitude, or lack of sleep, or lack of energy – but I resorted to an emergency apple and some headphones to complete this part. Once your muscles are warm it’s easy enough to just keep going. It was cold this morning, but I continued on in my short-sleeved shirt – the hike was enough to warm me.
The pass runs along the ridge line of the hillside, catching the gusts of wind as they come over the top. The occasional rhododendron tree gave us cover. Down below, a yak farm – the hairy beasts all sleeping on an outcrop. What was hail yesterday was snow today, snowfall from last week hadn’t melted, and at various corners we discovered small white carpets, snow rugs, if you like. The trail wrapped around gnarly old rhododendrons and tree trunks obliterated by lightning strikes. The rhododendron blooms were all the more red. Bamboo nestled beneath them. Sam spotted a beautiful black-faced laughing thrush foraging in the undergrowth.
It was around here that we both grew desperate for a loo break, and at the re-emergence of buildings and lodges, we found the first loo we could. It was this loo that led us to begin rating them; it was a small wooden shed with a hole in the floor, it was putrid and filled with flies, I held my breath. 1/10, “do your best not to touch anything,” I warned Samantha, taking her bag from her. Sticking to a secluded natural spot would have been preferable. While the loos weren’t great, Sam did find herself a perfect turquoise poncho.
Deurali to Tadapani
Still 2 hours until lunch, we began the long descent from Deurali down to Ban Thanti. The trail goes deep into the valley where the rhododendrons give way to towering pines and waterfalls. Moss and grass hang from cliff faces, and white-capped river chats sing by the riverside. There must be 1,000 steps to the bottom, which we took slow and steadily, not wanting to slip. It was warmer and greener here and wherever you look it could be a painting. The overcast skies brought out the luscious greens.
For a while we followed the river, until some engineering filtered it into a little hydro-works and the rest of the valley was bone dry. Soon enough we were in the little village of Ban Thanti and we could stop for lunch, it was now 2pm and we were the last customers of the day. The skies felt like they might open at any minute, so we ate quickly. Sam, in her dal bhat shirt, had to order exactly that, while I stuck with veg fried rice, washed down with fresh hot lemon.
From lunch it was a further 2 hour trek to our overnight stop in Tadapani. The forest valley gave way to open views along a new valley, where the river we followed joins up with Bhurungdi river. Another valley to climb down, down to the river to cross, then all the way back up again to Tadapani. But the views, again, are astounding.
The rhododendrons returned, and in the late afternoon the birds filled them with song. Little blue and orange songbirds flitted between the branches, others whistled from power lines, we caught a rufous turtle dove by surprise and it flew away in shock. A gaggle of blue finches argued near a stream while a small green bird wrestled with the moth it had caught, dust flying everywhere.
The trek down to the valley was hard on our already bruised knees – I was thankful to be going uphill again once we’d crossed the river. Just. one. more. climb. The steps at Ulleri were the hardest part of the trek, but day 3 was the hardest overall – just pulling yourself through it with little sleep and aching muscles was hard enough. I stormed ahead, up the hill, looking for birds. Sam and Big D followed slowly behind.
We saw precious little wildlife during our time in Nepal (we didn’t make it south to any of the safari parks), so at the top of the hill, not 20 minutes from our lodge, I was delighted to spot a small group of grey langurs. They were, however, camera shy. I lined up the camera for a shot, but they reacted as though it were a weapon and scarpered.
Big D had been warning us about tonight’s lodge for a few days – it has an outdoor toilet, he kept reminding us, our expectations were low, so we were pleasantly surprised to find a western loo and comfortable beds. “Hotel Super View Top & Restaurant”, would be the most basic lodge we stayed in. It was also filled with the most backpackers – the evening discussions with Nepalis were replaced with rowdy groups of young trekkers. But, as usual, Big D got us the best room (room 1) – a little wooden thing with plasterboard walls and rickety old window frames, but with views out to the mountains from our bed. As we arrived, the top of Machapuchare was poking out from above the cloud.
In the warm dining room beneath us we joined the card-playing french-speaking backpackers for dinner; noodle soup and fried potatoes were followed with a “snickers roll”, which can best be described as a snickers in a pasty-like pastry – tasting a little like a chocolate pop tart. Yummy.