The trip is now over, with several articles to come on the blog (detailed logbook, tips for traveling in Nepal, good addresses...) and I'm also preparing a video.
En attendant vous pouvez retrouver toutes les photos ici: https://portfolio.studio-horatio.fr/Voyages/N%C3%A9pal-2022
April 23, 4pmI arrived safely in Montreal and found the cats at home.
In Doha I finally broke down and paid for one of their "sleeping pods". It was expensive, but it allowed me to sleep peacefully for 5 hours.
The flight to Montreal went well. I went home to drop off my stuff and now I'm off to vote in the French elections.
Meanwhile, Marie is on the plane to Doha, where she has a stopover before heading to Bali.
This concludes this live report from Nepal. Thank you for following us. Detailed articles from our logbook and others will be coming in the next few weeks, along with photos and videos. Feel free to follow the blog directly here or on Facebook.
I'll let you know if Marie continues to fly direct from Indonesia.
April 22 22hI've arrived safely in Doha and am waiting for my flight to Montreal (at 8 a.m. tomorrow... It's going to be a long night...).
Especially as this morning we got up at 4.30am to catch a flight to see Everest.
The flight lasted 1 hour and allowed us to see part of the Himalayas, including Everest. It was truly magnificent.
Then it was rest and packing for me before departure. And at lunchtime we finished the trip as we'd started it, with a meal at the Modern café (this time the manager wasn't totally drunk yet).
For her part, Marie was due to visit a spa in Kathmandu and take a pcr test before flying to Indonesia tomorrow.
April 21, 4 p.m.Last real day for me. I leave tomorrow afternoon for Montreal. Marie leaves for Indonesia the day after tomorrow. So it's a pretty quiet day. We prepare for departure and buy souvenirs.
Nevertheless, this lunchtime our host, Rishi, who was a chef before opening his agency, offered us a cooking class on how to make momos. It was great! And our paneer momos were good. We'll see if we can reproduce this in Montreal.
Then I went for a beard trim (which turned into a facial and massage... Nepalese barbers are multi-functional).
We head off to read and write in a café, the Northfield café, before having an early supper. Tomorrow we're up at 4.30 a.m. for a flight over the Himalayas (about an hour). We hope to see the Everest... To be continued.
April 20, 4:30 p.m.Back to our room. This morning we set off for the Bhote Kosi, a river ideal for rafting.
We wanted to do a group descent, but unfortunately we were on our own for the day. So it was a private descent with 2 guides and an assistant (who ended up acting as cameraman).
It was great fun. The water was cold and we avoided falling. The descent took just over 2 hours. Then we had a meal on offer, the classic dal bhat, before heading back to Kathmandu.
Tonight we're going out to Thamel to eat. I don't know if we'll do any better than yesterday. We ate at a pizzeria called Fire and Ice. It was like Italy all over again. There was even real Italian soft ice cream!
April 19, 5pmWe've just returned from our day's walk in Kathmandu.
This morning we went to visit Durbar Square, the one in Kathmandu and not in Patan as when we arrived.
We were treated to a very brief appearance by the kumari, it's a rather special traditionwho gave us his blessing from his window.
We continued our tour around the square's various temples and statues. Then we headed for the "Garden of Dreams", where we hoped to eat at a café highly rated in our guidebook.
The garden is very beautiful and quiet compared to the heavy traffic around it. Unfortunately, the café has been closed since the covid. So it's no longer possible to have lunch there.
So we went to eat at Momo Hut. It was good, with quite original momos, including potato and cheese. And even dessert momos, with chocolate and peanuts.
Then we settled down to read and write for a while at the Himalayan Java café. A coffee chain originally from Nepal, a bit like the local Starbucks, which makes very good drinks.
April 18, 8pmAfter a long day, we're back at our hotel in Kathmandu. We spent 9 hours between cab and bus to get from Pokhara to Kathmandu.
We've just had supper and we'll certainly be sleeping in no time.
Yesterday was more of a rest day. We went for a boat ride on Lake Phewa.
Then we ate at the boomerang restaurant. There was a traditional Nepalese dance and music show. Very nice.
Tomorrow will probably be a walking tour of Kathmandu or a rest day, depending on our condition.
April 16, 3pmWe've just returned to the hotel after eating at a great vegetarian restaurant, OR2k.
This morning we set off on an adventurous mountain bike ride, with a guide, around Pokhara Lake and up to the Peace Pagoda.
It was our first experience of mountain biking and the 30° climbs.... We walked more than we pedaled. But it was great fun.
It was a lot more cardio than we thought on the uphill. The descent was easier, but we were picking up speed very quickly, so we were on the brakes a lot.
We narrowly escaped a huge storm that hit the city about 1 hour after the end of our bike tour. Very strong winds and torrential rain.
We've earned ourselves a little nap.
April 15, 1 p.m.Yesterday we went back to eat at the crêperie métro. It was again very good.
We didn't do much in the afternoon. A bit of rest and a walk by the lake. There were still a lot of people there for New Year's Eve.
In the evening we ate at a pizzeria, café concerto, and felt like we were in Italy. The pizza was perfect.
This morning we went to the International Mountain Museum. It was fun, with lots of information about the climbs, the 14 8000m peaks, the different ethnic groups in Nepal, the flora and fauna...
Now we're back in town and eating at the Maya Pub.
April 14, 12:00 noonIn Nepal: we celebrated the Nepalese New Year yesterday. There was a lot of activity in the bars and on the streets.
We met up with our fellow trekkers from Quebec and France. With them, we watched the various street shows. It was all very enjoyable. We returned to the hotel around 11pm.
This morning we had booked a one-hour paragliding tour. We were very lucky with the weather. Visibility had been very poor for 3 weeks, and we couldn't see the mountains in the distance. But during the night, everything changed and we've got great weather.
The paragliding flight was quite an experience. We both threw up (but nothing serious, it was just like seasickness). Apart from that, the scenery over the Anapurna range was magnificent. We even flew side by side with eagles. It was crazy.
We're back at the hotel to recover from our emotions before going to eat a little later.
April 13, 3:00 p.m.A relaxed day today. We slept for a long time. The hotel breakfast was good.
We've just had a massage and now we're going to eat pancakes.
Yesterday we celebrated the end of our trek with mojitos and a good restaurant, moondance.
Today we have to plan the rest of our trip and tonight we celebrate the Nepalese New Year. We enter the year 2079 tonight according to their calendar. There's a lot going on in town. We saw a parade earlier.
April 12, 4:30 p.m.FINISHED! We've completed the last leg of our trek. We've arrived safely in Pokhara.
This morning we set off at 5am to climb Poon Hill. It's one of the most beautiful viewpoints in the Anapurna range. As you can see from the photo.
Can't you see anything? That's normal, the weather was disgusting and we didn't see a thing. I've heard that you can find beautiful views from Pokhara. To be continued.
So we quickly headed back down to the hotel for breakfast before taking the road to Naya Pul.
We were expecting a short day of downhill walking. But it turned out to be a long way.
In the end we took an earlier cab to Birethanti instead of Naya Pul (which saved us 30 minutes).
We still hiked for 1h30 this morning and 6h afterwards. It was far from a quiet day.
We arrived safely at our hotel in Pokhara after an hour's cab ride. The agency has chosen well, we feel in the lap of luxury! Time for a wash and we're off to find out where to eat this evening.
April 11, 4:00 p.m.We arrived in Ghorepani after a 7-hour walk and 1,800m of ascent.
It was a long day. But fortunately the last one uphill.
Tomorrow is our last day on the trail.
We've had a good shower and are going downstairs for cookies and tea.
Oh yes, I forgot, the hot springs yesterday were very disappointing. Too hot, too many people (who forgot to shower first).
April 10, 10:30 a.m.As expected, we couldn't find a jeep. So we took a bus from Marpha at 7:30 this morning and have just arrived in Tatopani.
It's a quiet day today before a big day of climbing tomorrow (+1600 ascent, I think).
In the meantime, we're enjoying the courtyard and the Wi-Fi. Marie had a real coffee! A rare commodity here.
This afternoon we're going to take a dip in a hot spring. A little more and we'd be at the spa!
April 9, 4:30 p.m.Today was another intense day. We hiked for 6 hours 40 minutes. Fortunately, Marie is feeling much better and we had a good night's sleep.
The road between Muktinath and Marpha is largely shared with cars. It's quite unpleasant as it raises a lot of dust. There's also a continuous and very strong wind, so we didn't let go of our windbreaker.
The landscape is very desert-like, with a few small crop oases in places. It's really different from what we've seen so far.
We also catch occasional glimpses of snow-capped peaks, notably Dhaulagiri and Nilgiri.
Tomorrow should be a rest day by jeep on the way to Tatopani. We're waiting for confirmation as there are many Indians on pilgrimage to Muktinath and it's difficult to find free jeeps. Otherwise, we'll have to take the bus.
In the meantime, it's time for cookies and tea.
April 8, 1 p.m. We've just arrived in Muktinath. After several days in the "high mountains", above 4000m, we're back at 3700m.
At the same time, we're back on the Wi-Fi, which will allow me to give you some news.
Manang to Yakkharka Letdar on April 6
We resumed our walk towards Yakkharka (yak pasture in Nepalese), as per the itinerary, which was to be our resting place for the night. But the guide told us that if we pushed on a little and went as far as Letdar, 1 hour further on, it would make the next day easier and even allow us to reach the high camp instead of Thorung base camp the day after. The aim would be to make the day of the pass easier.
We pushed on to Letdar and slept there, even though Marie wasn't feeling at her best. She had probably caught the same bacteria as me, and had been ill since the day before.
Letdar to Thorung Phedi Thorung High Camp on April 7
Marie has slept better, but she's still not doing too well, and is still taking her medication. Fortunately, the walk is fairly short, about two hours to Thorung Phedi.
In the end, we got there fairly quickly despite the shortness of breath, which meant we had to take a lot of breaks.
It's now 10:30 a.m. We expect to eat at Thorung Phedi around 11:30. Then around 12:30 we'll decide if Marie is ok to push on to high camp to make it easier for the next day's pass crossing, which is our biggest day.
A little nap before eating.
We're still enjoying pasta, which has become our lunchtime classic.
A quick nap before setting off again.
We finally decide to climb up to the high camp. It takes about 150m of ascent, in 1h30.
We take our time, as the slope is steep and we're always short of breath.
Close to the end, our porter, who had beaten us to it, comes to help us and takes one of our bags to free us a little weight. Very kind of him.
We'll be sleeping at an altitude of 4850m. We've lost the few comforts we had, the toilets are outside, the room is poorly insulated... But hey, it could be worse, we could sleep in a tent we put up ourselves and eat dehydrated food on a portable gas stove... We won't complain too much.
Usual routine, nap, then tea and cookies, then nap, then evening meal (dhal bat and spaghetti with cheese and tomato sauce), then bed.
We go to bed around 7 p.m.
Thorung High Camp in Muktinath on April 8
The alarm goes off at 4am. But in the end, we're up pretty quickly. We still slept around 8am. It's good to get to bed (very) early.
We have breakfast at 4:30 (I'll let you guess the menu). Then we leave at 5.10am. We've given Nyma a little extra bag as the day is going to be very long and we need to carry as little as possible. Especially as Marie is still a little short of energy.
Departure is by headlamp. The trail is a mixture of sand/earth/rock and snow, depending on location.
The climb is slow and difficult. We're still gaining altitude and there are plenty of breaks to catch our breath.
Eventually, the sun comes out, which is great because it will warm us up a bit. Despite everything, between the altitude and the icy wind, we keep our 4 layers of clothing (windbreaker, down jacket, fleece and t-shirt, we also have two pairs of pants or tights and a pair of pants and ski gloves).
After 3 hours we reached the top of the pass! Tired but happy, we've done the hard part, reaching 5400m. There's now "only" 1700m to go.
We take a few souvenir photos and set off on a long descent that lasts almost 4 hours.
We discover the landscape on the other side of the pass, more deserted (with the Mustang desert in the distance) and we see other mountains including Dhaulagiri, another Nepalese 8000.
We arrive in Muktinath, a pilgrimage town for Hindus.
We'll be able to rest a bit, take a hot shower and enjoy the Wi-Fi!
We're scheduled to visit the town's Buddhist and Hindu temples during the day with the guide.
April 05, 1:30 p.m.The night was pretty bad. The altitude is quite detrimental to peaceful sleep, but we're making the best of it.
Fortunately, this is our first day of "rest". We're allowed to sleep in until 8am. Then the only program of the day is a 2-hour walk up 300m of ascent and descent.
Despite our fatigue, the climb goes well and we're treated to a superb panorama once we reach the top. We can see Pisang Peak, Manaslu, Anapurna II, Anapurna IV, Ganggapurna...
Once back at the hotel we go out to buy a few things we missed and then have lunch at the hotel (veggie pizza and chow mein). We've just had a free hot shower (thanks to the solar panels) and are about to take a nap to try and catch up on the night's sleep.
The Wi-Fi hasn't been working since last night, so you may be reading this message late...
April 04, 5:30 p.m.We had a very, very big day. It was difficult, the weather was beautiful but also very hot. And with the altitude, the climbs were very demanding. It was also our longest day, with 7 hours on the road (including many more breaks).
We are rewarded, however, with the most beautiful views since the start of the trek. We are surrounded by snow-capped mountains.
We'll be sleeping in Manang, at 3500m, tonight and tomorrow. Tomorrow will be dedicated to acclimatization. We'll just climb about 300m and then descend, for about a 3-hour hike.
Now a little nap before dinner.
April 04, 6:50 a.m.We wake up to a magnificent view of Anapurna II. I'm feeling better, and we hope it lasts.
Today is going to be a longer day than yesterday, taking us all the way to Manang, where we slept for two nights to better acclimatize to the altitude.
April 03, 3pmtea time! It's become our little ritual after each stage.
The day was a little shorter, just 5 hours of walking. But still with a lot of ascent. We sleep in Upper Pisang at 3200m. The altitude is starting to make itself felt, and our breath is a little shorter.
My sunstroke has subsided considerably, but since this morning I've had the famous traveller's diarrhoea... I've had one after another. Fortunately, Marie takes good care of me and prepares some magic potions based on electrolytes. We're off for a well-deserved nap before dinner.
April 02, 6pmWe arrived at the lodge around 2pm. But I had a bit of sunstroke, so I took a nap after tea to try and get better.
Apart from that, it was a beautiful day. This morning we walked for about 3 hours to our lunch break. We saw our first mountains, including Manaslu and a bit of Anapurna. It's really beautiful. After a delicious lunch, we headed back to Chame, where we slept for the night.
There we wait for our meal, pizza, soup and momos. We're no longer the only tourists, and we make friends with other groups who are also touring the Anapurnas.
We'll be going to bed early again tonight.
April 02 6:45 a.m.We got up again just before the alarm went off. We've put everything away and are now waiting for breakfast. In the meantime, we're going out to look at the landscape, which is much clearer than yesterday.
April 01, 3pmWe arrived in Dharapani at around 2:30 pm. We collected our room, had tea and cookies and a shower. It was still an intense day. On the agenda until supper: rest and stretching.
We walked along the Marsyangdy River, sometimes on a trail, sometimes on the same road as the jeeps. We came across many goats and a few cows. The scenery is impressive! The valley is deep and the cliffs around us look gigantic.
April 01 5:40 a.m.Early wake-up call after going to bed at 8pm. Breakfast is at 7am. Today's program is to reach Dharapani on foot.
March 31, 4:45 p.m.We finally arrived in Jagat. After a 7-hour bus ride, then an hour's wait in Besi Sahar for our jeep, followed by another two hours in a very, very chaotic jeep. It was long and tiring to sit still for so long.
We've got our room back in the lodge and will be having tea before dinner at around 6.30pm.
March 31 4:15 a.m.In the end, we didn't go out to dinner yesterday. Between the fatigue, the rain and the early start this morning, we preferred to have a snack and go to bed early. By 8pm we were already asleep.
This morning we leave the hotel at 5:30 to catch the bus to the start of the trek. Our guide will be with us for the 7-hour journey.
From now on, the news is likely to be more random, as I don't know when we'll be able to get Wi-Fi again. In theory, the lodges will have paid Wi-Fi on the trek.
March 30, 4pmWe've just returned from a day's sightseeing in Kathmandu and nearby towns. We visited Patan's Durbar Square, a magnificent place with numerous temples to the various Buddhist deities. We also entered the Hindu "Golden Temple" (Kwa Bahal). Probably the most beautiful temple we've seen so far. We also visit the Patan Museum, where we learn more about the Buddhist religion.
We then took a lunch break, at the Drishya with a superb view of Durbar Square, before driving off to two villages (Bungmati and Khokana) around Kathmandu. Unfortunately, these visits were rather quick. Since the covid, 3/4 of the stores and tourist attractions have been closed. What's more, these poorer neighborhoods are still being rebuilt following the 2015 earthquake, which destroyed many of Kathmandu's buildings.
Instead, we end the day with a short visit to Thamel, Kathmandu's tourist district, where Richi gives us several good addresses to try. We stop off at one, Mitra, for a well-deserved beer with him.
We finally return to the hotel where we meet our trekking guide, Puspal, who answers our questions. It's time to organize our bags for the trek, which starts early tomorrow, leaving the hotel at 5.30am. We'll probably be eating out in Thamel later this evening.
March 30 7:30 a.m.Another good night's sleep. Time for breakfast, with pancakes on the menu (tea and fruit). Then we get ready to set off again on a tour of Kathmandu.
March 29, 8pm Richi and Rabina very kindly invited us to dinner at their place to celebrate my belated birthday. Here we are, immersed in 100%. On the menu was the traditional dhal bat and a cake.
The meal was very, very good and I even got a message in French and candles! Thanks again to Richi and Rabina from sunshine trekking for their great welcome.
March 29 3:30 p.m. : We're back from our visit to Kathmandu. A complete change of scenery. We visited several Buddhist and Hindu temples (Swayambhunath, Pashupatinath, Boudhanath). After the ever-present stray dogs, we saw other city animals, monkeys and pigeons (LOTS of them). We also discovered that Indians really liked to take photos with us (we were asked several times in several places ^^).
March 29 5amI'm not really able to sleep any more, so I take the opportunity to write while Marie is still asleep. The night was really pleasant, my body was more than tired. We should have breakfast around 7:30 and then set off with Richi for the day's sightseeing in Kathmandu.
March 28, 6pmI'm a bit tired: fatigue has taken over and the nap was longer than expected. The brain is still a bit lost. We're not hungry at all, as the lunch dishes were very hearty. We decide to continue into the night to try and get back into the swing of things.
March 28, 3pmBack to the room. We withdrew some Nepalese money and bought some bottled water. Our missions for the day are completed. Time for a nap
March 28, 1pmWe go out to eat at the modern café. There we discovered momos (a bit like dumpling) and a vegetarian curry (we'd apparently ordered a Paneer, but never mind). All very good. The owner of the restaurant was a bit drunk, however, and insisted that we order meat, but we had only ordered vegetarian. Then he tried to talk to us about all sorts of things, but it was very, very difficult to understand him. In the end, he insisted on taking a photo with me. A great introduction to this discovery of Nepal.
March 28 11 a.m.We discovered Kathmandu's frenzied traffic all the way to the hotel. Rishi made us feel very welcome with little cakes and tea while we collected our rooms.
March 28 8:30 a.m.We've landed in Nepal! We went through immigration and picked up our luggage. It was a bit stressful because we couldn't find the agency that was supposed to pick us up. But we finally found it, along with another traveler (Sébastien) from Reunion Island.
March 27, 8pmWe're waiting for our flight to Kathmandu. Time for the "airport feast".
Fatigue sets in, and you may well need a nap before boarding. Fortunately, the airport has several "quiet zones" with chairs that allow you to lie flat. We'll see if we decide to try them out.
March 27, 5pm: Landing in Doha, the next flight to Kathmandu is at 00:30. We'll have plenty of time to visit the airport.
March 26, 9pm: we're on the plane, the end of boarding is near. Ready for take-off. Next stop: Doha, Qatar.
March 26, 8pm: we're at the airport. Going through security was quick. Time for dinner at the Archibald brewery, and now we're waiting to board the plane.
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