November | 2010 | Geoff Jones

After my last independent trek here in Nepal, I decided to try a trek with a guide especially one who I had just created a website for

We took of from Pokhara in Buddhi’s brothers taxi to Naudader to start walking the Panchasse Circuit. Buddhi had planned it would take 2 nights and three days.

We set of downhill to start with but soon started our 2500 feet climb to the village at Panchasse village. It was interesting talking to Buddhi especially to contrast relationships At 25 his parents decided he should be married. So a young lady was found in another village. Buddhi played no role in this ! He met his future wife only a few days before the wedding and then only for a hour or so. Buddhi in turn was shocked that I had been married and divorced twice !!! What a contrast.

We then started talking about the caste system over here in Nepal, which IMHO cripples mobility and stigmatises people I was appalled that your caste is shown on your government ID so basically its state approved racism. Also if you marry a person of lower caste, then you and your children assume that castes lower status, also certain jobs are reserved for certain castes. What a way to cripple a persons chance in life!

We eventually reached Panchasse after many more discussions on starting & running businesses etc etc all very interesting given the huge difference in costs and rewards eg they pay £25 a month for each childs education. Quite a lot here but nothing compared to The Perse’s £1,000a month!

The ‘Happy Heart hotel’ in Panchasse was truly amazing! Red mud flloors in the bedroom (swept daily so they shine) and a kitchen out of date by a few hundred years (the village has no electric)! All the cooking (and we had a delicious Dal Bhat) is cooked on an open wood fire with no chimney! It was very interesting to see the sisters control the temperature by pulling the sticks in and out of the fire plus an occasional puff down a pipe to get it to flare again. Even more interesting was watching the sisters clean the pans by mixing the wood ash with a little water to make a paste to wipe the pans with!

The next day we were up at 5am to do the trek to see the sunrise on top of Panchasse Hill a nice brisk 1500 foot climb before breakfast. After breakfast we descended steeply down to catch the rickety old bus from Pame back to Pokhara.

A memorable trip (especially meeting one of the founders of Auroville, which is top of my list of places to visit in India -after 40 years in Auroville he has now married one of the sisters) and many thanks to Buddhi my ace Nepalese guide!

PS: We only took 2 days as we are both quite quick walkers It’s OK he can go slower he was telling me about a customer he guided for 60days as the guy could only walk an hour or two each day!

The post header is THe Annapurna Range from Panchasse Hill

Here is the walk on Everytrail:-
Panchasse trek at EveryTrail
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Having just returned from my mini 5 day trek in the Annapurna foothills it has to be said that Nepal is a fantastic trekking place! especially for Sally with strategically placed tea houses every hour or so of walking

I decided to do the trek without a guide (1500 rupee a day with his food & board) or porter (will carry upto 30kg). You can also hire a combined guide/porter if your backpack is less than 12kg.

To do solo trekking you have to get an additional “Registration card for individual trekkers” for 1500 Rupee on top of the 2000Rupee Annapurna Conservation Area (ACA) Entry Permit. Both can be obtained in Pokhara, you will also need 4 passport photographs. The office opens at 10am plus buy a map from the local shops. I had to check in at Nayapul then again across the bridge at Birethanti, finally checking out at Dhampus.

I took a taxi to Nayapul (1500 rupee), this will be the last wheeled vehicle you will see until you leave the ACA! lugged up the mountain From then on every item you see (including the rock used in the tracks) has been lugged up by porters!

The first night, Wednesday, I stopped at Sudame a modest 300metre climb, it was a hot day and I managed a couple of dips in the crystal clear rushing river Accomodation is cheap 100 Rupees a night typically but you are obliged to have dinner and breakfast too, these prices are fixed by the mountain mafia Lodge Management Commitee in Ghandruk so the night cost 1300 Rupee. All the lodges have duvets (blankets) and clean white sheets. All the ones I stayed in where very clean, if somewhat structurally unsound (not surprising when everything has been carried up on some poor sods back!

Thursday was a straight 1600metre (vertical 1 mile) climb up a steep stone staircase to Ghorepani. A tough day indeed especially carrying my 9Kg backpack, how the porters do it with 30+Kg is amazing. This accomodation worked out at 2050 Rupee. Next morning was a 4am start to get to Poon Hill for the sunrise, a nice 400metre climb before brekkie, after brekkie it was another straight 400m climb to Deurali then down a lovely gorge into Tadapani.

I set of early on Friday from Tadapani to go to Ghandruk, seeing a whole pack of monkeys en route arriving early I decided to go up to Jhinudanda and go swimming in the hot springs, fab except for the 200m climb back to the lodge after the swim!

Saturday was another down and up plus I lost my gorgeous titanium framed specs that I bought in Beijing in the morning followed by a very steep 400m climb then short downhill into Pothana and my final night.

Sunday was a steep downhill to Dhampus and back to seeing cars!

The walking is very tough lots of steep up and downs, mainly on stone steps plus quite a few rickety looking narrow wobbly suspension bridges. I met several people walking to Annapurna base camp (ABC) without guides and getting on fine. However, everyone I met doing the Annapurna circuit (20+ days) had a guide and porter. My favourite guide & porter were Goma (a girl guide!) and Thakur. They were very friendly and helpful towards me. The German lady who had employed them via Lang Tang Ri was very complementary about them too! and she had been walking with them for 27 days!!

In Pokhara you may be told that a guide is essential to get accomodation in peak season, this is a ruse, all the lodges I stopped at said that they would always find space even if it meant you sleeping in the dining hall! I was going to sleep before 8pm and getting up at 6am typically so sleeping in the dining room would be fine (the guides & porters do anyway!)

Oh and the really great thing for all us vegetarians is that ALL the food in the higher lodges is veggie!!!! The meat doesn’t keep apparently so trekking in Nepal is the perfect vegetarian holiday