Poonhill trek

April 05, 2023

Poonhill trek

The intrepid traveler on her first trek

Poonhill trek is a popular 4 day, low altitude, moderate difficulty trek in Nepal. It is famous for the amazing views of the snowcapped Annapurna mountain range. I did this trek in Sept-2022. Trekking along with me is the 7 year old. It’s her first full trek. She has been to Dzokou valley before, but I guess that doesn’t count (Click here for Dzokou valley). Wish me luck!!

A permit is mandatory for the trek. Even though a guide is not compulsory, I hired one from Pokhara. The daily charge for a guide is Nrs. 2000 or 20 USD. A porter costs a bit less. I am not hiring a porter, I’m lugging all the stuff.

Met this local couple near Nayapool
Day 1: Pokhara – Nayapool – Ulleri

September is the tail end of the monsoon. This year, the rains have lasted longer than usual. It’s raining heavily today morning. The forecast predicts better weather later in the day. My guide picked us up from Yeti Hotel (Near #16 street). We take a cab to the bus station on the outskirts of town. Then it’s on to the 0800 bus to Nayapool. At approx. 10 am when we alighted at Nayapool. The rains have reduced; but not stopped completely. The trail follows the dirt road for most of the way. At many places, water is flowing across the road. Leaches are a constant menace. However, the trail is very scenic.

To Ghorepani and Beyond!

Stopped for lunch (Rs 450/-) at a small wooden hotel at Ramghai. Took a brief halt and started walking again by 1 PM. After a while, the kid told me that she is tired. I ask the guide if we can find a jeep to take us ahead. The dirt road to Ulleri opened up only about 5 years ago. But part of the path has been blocked by a landslide. Even if the road were open, finding a jeep now is almost impossible. After walking about 45 min, we pass by a small shop beside the road. We took a break beside this small shop. I speak to the shopkeeper. He knows a local jeep owner and he calls a jeep for me. The jeep arrived in about 15 minutes and took us until the village of Tikedunga. The road beyond Tikedunga has been blocked by a landslide.

Three are numerous waterfalls along the trail

After getting down from the jeep at Tikedunga, we use a narrow walking trail. Initially, the path descends to the river below. Then it’s over a small suspension bridge. The view from this bridge is very scenic. After this, the trail ascends steeply. It’s a brutal climb. The trail from Tikedunga to Ulleri is the hardest part of the entire trek. It’s 5 PM when I reached Ulleri. By now, the 7 year old is tired, but in a happy mood. There are many buildings in Ulleri catering to the needs of the trekkers. In peak season, most of the rooms get booked out. Today, we are alone in our hotel.

View from my room at Ghorepani

Day 2: Ulleri – Ghorepani

It’s a clear day. The snow-capped mountains are clearly visible from my room. After breakfast, we start walking by 8. The trail ascends gradually until Ghorepani. There are numerous waterfalls along the path. It makes for a very beautiful walk.

By 12 PM, the sun has disappeared behind the rain clouds. It has become very foggy. Leeches are a constant menace. We reached the ‘Moonlight Hotel’ at Upper Ghorepani by 1400 Hrs. In about 15 min, it began raining heavily. We managed to arrive just in the nick of time.

The trail is muddy

Ghorepani also has many tourist lodges. Jeeps ply from Beni or Tatopani to Ghorepani. The road to Ghorepani was also blocked due to landslides when I got here. When the dirt road to Ghorepan re-opens, the only section that has to be hiked is the short distance from Ghorepani to Poonhill!

Day 3: Ghorepani – Deurali – Banthati – Tadapani

Poonhill is a 45-60 min uphill hike from Ghorepani. The incredible views of Annapurna Range from Poonhill are supposed to be the highlight of this trek. Sadly, it’s foggy and raining heavily. The visibility is only about 50 M. Trekking to Poonhill is out of the question. It’s very disappointing. The weather is so bad that I’m not sure if I can depart from the hotel today!

It was a trek indeed!

By 0900, the rains reduce and I decide to move on. One of the advantages of trekking in off-peak season is that there are very few trekkers on the trail. In peak season, the hotels get filled up. Today I have the mountains to myself. The terrain is wet and marshy due to the heavy rains. Many places the trail has transformed into a small brook! The kids shoes are not waterproof. I am carrying her over these wet areas. Even today, leaches are biting us. In short, it’s a horrible day to be out trekking!

We pass Deurali and Banthati, but we do not halt there. By 1600 we are at Tadapni. The entire trek today was in the cold miserable rain. The treks is taking a lot more time than normal. I’m impressed with the kids stamina and walking pace. It’s the self-propelled heavy artillery that’s slowing us down.

Carrying the intrepid traveler over 'brooks' on the road

Like most trekking lodges, the dining room is the social hub of the ‘Himalaya Tourist Guest House’. There are a few other people in the dining room. Among them was a Dutch couple I had met while having lunch on the first day of the trek. Another trekker told me that they had arrived in Nepal to do the Everest base camp trek. But the flights to Lukla, the jumping off point for Everest trek, kept getting cancelled for many days due to bad weather. As they were short of time, they decided to do the 4 day Poonhill trek instead. I had carried along a pack of Uno playing cards. Me and the kid were playing Uno in the dining room. We are quickly joined by other people. Nepalese, Saudis, Dutch, Spanish, Swedes, British and Indians are represented at the Uno table. The kid is in the thick of it and even winning games. It was a roaring night.

Day 4: Tadapani – Gandruk – Kimche Bazaar – Chowli Bazar – Nayapool - Pokhara

As usual, another horrible day. Its raining heavily. Thick fog is obscuring everything. We wait for a window of opportunity to start the trail. As we wait, a couple of trekkers came over and congratulated the 7 year old. After all, she’s the only kid doing the trek! At 0830 the rains ease-off and I decided to leave. Waiting here would be a waste of time. After all, there is no guarantee of better weather tomorrow. Today’s plan is to walk to up to Gandruk and get a bus from there to Pokhara.

Now that's a house with a view!

The trail is quite beautiful. Most of the time, it follows the beautiful stream flowing down. The trail is also thickly wooded. There are innumerable beautiful waterfalls all around. By noon we reach Gandruk. It’s a big town with a lot of hotels catering to tourists. But the bus service from Gandruk has been suspended due to landslides (How predictable!). So, I decided to walk further down and catch a bus from beyond the landslide area.

Fog and mist are ever constant companions

We use the shorter walking trail rather than the tarmac road. The descent is quite steep. After Gandruk, the wooded areas have been replaced by neatly terraced paddy fields. We stopped at a small village called Kimche Bazar for lunch. 1ts’s 1545 when we reached the Chowli Bazar. It’s from here that we plan to get the bus to Pokhara.

As we decent, neat rows of paddy fields appear

Chowli Bazar is nothing more than a collection of a few scattered houses. There is a small shop beside the road. We enquire about the local bus schedule. The shopkeeper replied that the last bus had already departed at 1500. But there is a possibility of another bus departing today. The shopkeeper asked us to keep walking ahead and find this bus. We waste no and quickly start walking to find this elusive bus. After about 15 Min, we saw a bus waiting beside the road. We are elated. It’s only when we got closer that we realized what was happening. There is ‘river’ flowing across the road. The bus driver and conductor are washing the bus on the road in this deluge. The bus will depart only tomorrow morning.

Corn is hung on the roof of a house to dry.

There are no hotels at Chowli Bazar. There is no option but to keep moving ahead. But first, we have to cross this river that’s on the road! There is a small bridge made of 3 wooden poles in the middle of this ‘river’. Under this bridge, the water flow is particularly strong. I removed my shoes and carried my backpack across the fast flowing water. In many places, the water is knee-deep water. Then I came back and to pick up the kid. I carried her to the bridge. Even though she was scared, the kid walked on the wooden poles that acted as a bridge. After the bridge, I carried her again to the opposite bank. When it was all over, I put my shoes back on! It’s a pity that I didn’t take a picture of this location. My guide told me the bridge built across this section was washed away by heavy rains a few years ago.

After walking about 30 min we found a jeep beside the road. That jeep had a few passengers but the driver agreed to drop us at Nayapool (Nrs 200 per head). Buses ply frequently between Pokhara and Nayapool. Its night when I get back to Pokhara. I am back at the Yeti Hotel.

Hopefully the first among many treks for the intrepid traveler

It would have been an ‘ordinary’ Poonhill Trek if the weather was good. My trip turned out to be quite an adventure. The innumerable waterfalls that added a unique charm to the trail would be missing in summer. And without tourists, we had the mountains to ourselves. On the flip side, I missed the views from Poonhill. The kid was not happy about the leech bites. But the heavy rains and cold weather have not dented her spirit. She is playing around as if the 4 days trek was nothing more than child’s play! I hope this will be the first among many trails. Wishing her the best!