Day 3 was our longest day by far, and it was all about mountains, mountains and mountains. We got out of bed at 4:45am to climb to the summit of Poon Hill (only in Nepal would a 3210m mountain be referred to as a “hill”).
Why so early? It was alleged that the sunrise over a panoramic view of the Annapurna and Dhaugiri ranges is quite something to behold.
And it was.
Apparently hundreds of other trekkers thought the same. We had two head torches among the three of us for trekking in the dark, but it turned out to be wholly unnecessary: the way up to the top of Poon Hill was lit up with tiny moving head lamps, eager to get to the top before sun rise.
By the time we got to the top after a 45 minute climb, there was already some light, although the sun was still lurking behind one of the mountains to the east. In total, we stayed at the top of Poon Hill for about half an hour, just taking it all in.
It was a surreal feeling, to be so high up that you stood over a sea of clouds, surrounded by some of the highest masses of land on this planet. Often when you’re in a plane, you’re told that the aircraft is flying however many thousands of feet above sea level. Those numbers don’t mean anything, they are just a series of zeros that separate you and solid Earth. Yet being up on top of Poon Hill meant something, because I had made it there step by step myself .
If Poon Hill was the high point of the day, then all the rest of Day 3 was one long, frustrating low. We spent an hour or so in the morning literally walking at cloud level along a ridge, seeing nothing but a dense white.
Around noon, we started to descend … and descend … and descend … a neverending descent through the forrest, down wet, slippery stoney stairs, with our knees wobbling, and our clothes wet from the sweat and the damp permeating cold.
Finally at around 4:30pm in the afternoon, after almost 12 hours of trekking, we got to our destination for the night - Ghandruk, a sizeable village with a sizeable tourist presence, as it happens to be located both on the Poon Hill circuit and the Annapurna Base Camp route.
Unfortunately, one of downsides to having a sizeable tourist population meant that the children in the village gathered around anyone who looked foreign, demanded lollies, often sticking their hands openly into your pockets. As someone who has been travelling more and more in the past two years, it has been important to me to tread lightly and leave as little trace of my passing by as possible. Seems like other tourists could do with a bit of the same philosophy: don’t give local children lollies or money and encourage a begging mentality in the future generation of a developing country.
Ghorepani in the morning
Our accommodation in Ghandruk
Why so early? It was alleged that the sunrise over a panoramic view of the Annapurna and Dhaugiri ranges is quite something to behold.
And it was.
Apparently hundreds of other trekkers thought the same. We had two head torches among the three of us for trekking in the dark, but it turned out to be wholly unnecessary: the way up to the top of Poon Hill was lit up with tiny moving head lamps, eager to get to the top before sun rise.
By the time we got to the top after a 45 minute climb, there was already some light, although the sun was still lurking behind one of the mountains to the east. In total, we stayed at the top of Poon Hill for about half an hour, just taking it all in.
It was a surreal feeling, to be so high up that you stood over a sea of clouds, surrounded by some of the highest masses of land on this planet. Often when you’re in a plane, you’re told that the aircraft is flying however many thousands of feet above sea level. Those numbers don’t mean anything, they are just a series of zeros that separate you and solid Earth. Yet being up on top of Poon Hill meant something, because I had made it there step by step myself .
If Poon Hill was the high point of the day, then all the rest of Day 3 was one long, frustrating low. We spent an hour or so in the morning literally walking at cloud level along a ridge, seeing nothing but a dense white.
Around noon, we started to descend … and descend … and descend … a neverending descent through the forrest, down wet, slippery stoney stairs, with our knees wobbling, and our clothes wet from the sweat and the damp permeating cold.
Finally at around 4:30pm in the afternoon, after almost 12 hours of trekking, we got to our destination for the night - Ghandruk, a sizeable village with a sizeable tourist presence, as it happens to be located both on the Poon Hill circuit and the Annapurna Base Camp route.
Unfortunately, one of downsides to having a sizeable tourist population meant that the children in the village gathered around anyone who looked foreign, demanded lollies, often sticking their hands openly into your pockets. As someone who has been travelling more and more in the past two years, it has been important to me to tread lightly and leave as little trace of my passing by as possible. Seems like other tourists could do with a bit of the same philosophy: don’t give local children lollies or money and encourage a begging mentality in the future generation of a developing country.
Ghorepani in the morning
Our accommodation in Ghandruk
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