We woke
up at 0500 for a quick getting dressed and a cup of tea before leaving half an
hour later to get to the top of Poon Hill to see the sunrise and surrounding
mountains. The 400m climb was done in 35(!) minutes. While still arriving 20-25
minutes before the actual sunrise (around 0630) the view was still worthwhile.
As it got brighter a window of app. 5-10 minutes came and went where the
mountains got a nice red glow. It was quite beautiful and worth the walk. The
top, while large and open, ended up being crowded from the masses that had
arrived for the sunrise. Walked back down to pack and have breakfast at the
teahouse and we left the place at around 0900 to get to Birethanti, a 7-ish
hour walk down.
Almost
from the beginning we were walking through forest. I was walking behind the
front of the group (4 + assistant guide) and we suddenly saw a group of monkeys
playing around on the path. Before I had time to react and getting hold of my camera
the rest rushed ahead shouting “Monkey! Monkey!”, effectively scaring them
away- Loving wildlife photography this bothered me – probably more than it
should have. Also blaring music from their phones I got the impression that
people cared more about getting down than actually enjoying the environment. In
an attempt to cold down from this disappointment I held back and continued
walking by myself enjoying the silence of the forest. Coming out into the open
after two hours of walking we had a short tea break and feeling I had cooled
down enough I joined the front group again. We continued steeply down steps
almost all the way and around 1300 we had lunch. The break was longer than
usual, mainly due to the kitchen’s speed (or rather lack of it), and afterwards
we kept going and arrived in Birenthanti at around 1615.
As usual
we got our rooms and this time all rooms had own toilet and shower. And the
showers had hot water. VERY hot water. Score!
Tomorrow
we will have a short ½ hour walk and an app. 2 hours’ drive before arriving in
Pokhara before lunch where we will say goodbye to our porters and assistant
guide. The day will otherwise be a rest day before driving for 7 hours back to
Kathmandu the day after. It’s probably a good thing there is no more “real”
walking left as we in the group have a few worn knees and ankles. People being
worried and surprised by the 7 hour walk today surprises me; it seems people
are surprised that walking in the Himalayas doesn’t require the occasional long
day.
Sunrise from Poon Hill.
The mountain range seen from Poon hill during sunrise.
Walking through the nice and quiet forest.
Tea break.
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