Hiking To ABC Part 1: Up To Poon Hill
The first three days of my trek involved a hike up to Ghorepani for the view from Poon Hill.
Day 1: Birethanti to Ulleri
The first day started out with an easy 2 1/2 hour walk up a valley to Tikhe Dunga.
After Tikhe Dunga, I received my reintroduction to what hiking in Nepal is all about. The trail up to Ulleri is a stone staircase that climbs 400 meters in tight switchbacks straight up the side of the valley. It turned out that this was probably the toughest 2 hours of my entire hike up to ABC.
Ulleri i perched on the side of a valley at 1960 meters and has a nice view up to Annapurna South and Hiunchuli.
Day 2: Ulleri to Ghorepani
The second day of the hike was a mostly gentle and very pleasant uphill walk to the pass (Deorali) above Ghorepani where I stayed for the night for an easy climb up to Poon Hill the next morning.
The views from Ghorepani Deorali itself were absolutely stunning, with two 8000+ meter peaks (Annapurna 1 and Dhaulagiri) and a good part of their ranges in view. I got in early and spent 3 or 4 hours on the terrace of my lodge trying to read but kept continuously distracted by the view and probably finished less than 5 pages in my book.
Day 3: Sunrise at Poon Hill
The next morning I got an early start for the 45 minute climb up to Poon Hill (3210 meters) for sunrise. Poon Hill is supposed to be one of the best views in the area and I can believe. I think these are some of the best pictures I took the whole trek.
Day 3 (cont): Ghorepani to Tadapani
When I set out I had originally expected to spend the day relaxing in Ghorepani but was enjoying the hiking so much that I continued on instead. By this time I had made the decision to do the full Annapurna Base Camp trek so it was off to Tadapani, a town on a high pass about midway between Ghorepani and Chomrong, where I would pick up the trail up to the Annapura Sanctuary and ABC.
This day and the following were probably my two favorite days of hiking the whole trip. The morning was a mostly gentle walk up above the tree line to a pass that had views that were at least the equal of those from Poon Hill.
Then, the afternoon was a steep hike down through a dramatic gorge and valley followed by a climb up a ridge to Tadapani.
Tadapani is quite a bit closer to the sanctuary and again had spectacular views of the now much closer Annapurna South and Machhapuchhre.
That's it for this post. I'll post the next part in a day or two. I'm headed back to Kathmandu tomorrow and I'm not sure if I'll get to the next part tomorrow afternoon after I get in.
Day 1: Birethanti to Ulleri
The first day started out with an easy 2 1/2 hour walk up a valley to Tikhe Dunga.
After Tikhe Dunga, I received my reintroduction to what hiking in Nepal is all about. The trail up to Ulleri is a stone staircase that climbs 400 meters in tight switchbacks straight up the side of the valley. It turned out that this was probably the toughest 2 hours of my entire hike up to ABC.
Ulleri i perched on the side of a valley at 1960 meters and has a nice view up to Annapurna South and Hiunchuli.
Day 2: Ulleri to Ghorepani
The second day of the hike was a mostly gentle and very pleasant uphill walk to the pass (Deorali) above Ghorepani where I stayed for the night for an easy climb up to Poon Hill the next morning.
The views from Ghorepani Deorali itself were absolutely stunning, with two 8000+ meter peaks (Annapurna 1 and Dhaulagiri) and a good part of their ranges in view. I got in early and spent 3 or 4 hours on the terrace of my lodge trying to read but kept continuously distracted by the view and probably finished less than 5 pages in my book.
Day 3: Sunrise at Poon Hill
The next morning I got an early start for the 45 minute climb up to Poon Hill (3210 meters) for sunrise. Poon Hill is supposed to be one of the best views in the area and I can believe. I think these are some of the best pictures I took the whole trek.
Day 3 (cont): Ghorepani to Tadapani
When I set out I had originally expected to spend the day relaxing in Ghorepani but was enjoying the hiking so much that I continued on instead. By this time I had made the decision to do the full Annapurna Base Camp trek so it was off to Tadapani, a town on a high pass about midway between Ghorepani and Chomrong, where I would pick up the trail up to the Annapura Sanctuary and ABC.
This day and the following were probably my two favorite days of hiking the whole trip. The morning was a mostly gentle walk up above the tree line to a pass that had views that were at least the equal of those from Poon Hill.
Then, the afternoon was a steep hike down through a dramatic gorge and valley followed by a climb up a ridge to Tadapani.
Tadapani is quite a bit closer to the sanctuary and again had spectacular views of the now much closer Annapurna South and Machhapuchhre.
That's it for this post. I'll post the next part in a day or two. I'm headed back to Kathmandu tomorrow and I'm not sure if I'll get to the next part tomorrow afternoon after I get in.
1 Comments:
I have read your experience, it was fantastic. Thanks for your time to being with .......
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Thanks
Damodar
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