Nepal Off The Beaten Path Tips by into-thin-air Top 5 Page for this destination

Alternative route to ABC

Alternative route to ABC – This makes it a round trip as you return from Chomrong on the opposite side of the valley to that which you trek in + by trekking in from Kande, you avoid the crowds

1)From Pokhara to Kande by bus of private car (The latter should be about 1000 NPR)
Then trek via Australian camp to Deurali (Up at first then fairly level – About 4 hours trekking)
2) Then the next day to Jhino – Down in the morning and a little up in the afternoon – Jhino has an excellent hot spring so don’t miss this
3) Jhino to Sinua - about ¾ days trek, Steeply uphill and then downhill on steps, the steeply uphill to Real Sinua
4) Sinua to Himalaya – about ½ day, down at first to Bamboo, trough Dovan and then steadily up
5 Himalaya to Deurali -- ½ day steadily up
6) Deurali to MBC - -- ½ day steadily up
7) MBC – ABC – Dovan - Full day, up early, breakfast at ABC then return downhill all the way to Dovan picking your pack up at MBC when passing
8) Dovan to Chomrong -- ¾ day with one up and over and a pull up to Chomrong
9) Chomrong to Ghandruk – ¾ days trekking, first steeply down then up a bit, then more or less contouring – You pass through the old Garung Village of Ghandruk and come to the better lodges about 10 minutes later.
11) Only one hours walking downhill to the village of Chane where the road now ends – Negotiate a jeep to Pokhara (2013 this cost me 900NPR for myself and my guide) then 1 ¼ hours on a rough road to Naya Pul and a further hour on a better road back to Pokhara – In time for lunch !!

Good Luck
Rob

Trip Report on my Arun Valley Trek

Trek report one–The Arun Valley Trek

Planning

Most of the “Bones” of the trek were put together before leaving UK, using the same agent that I have used for all my treks in Nepal (Now 9 over the last 18 years)

The trek starts at Tumlingtar & usually people fly there, but I really wanted to travel overland (In Comfort) so to be able to see some of Nepal that I hadn’t yet visited. Nirmal found the solution, an almost new Toyota Landcruiser, this took us as far as Hille where we spent the night in a nice hotel, then continued to Tumlingtar the next day in a Landrover.
Nirmal also organised our trekking staff, there were 4 trekkers in our group so the staff comprised One “Guide/Cook” who also carried around 10k of supplementary food (Tinned Tuna and Sardines, Dried meat, salami, Papad, noodles, cheese, muesli, peanut butter, tang, salt & sweet biscuits etc) and 2 porter/guides
Please Click Here to see the accommodation that we chose in Hille
Please Click Here to see the accommodation that we chose in Tumlingtar

The Arun Valley Trek
Day 1 – Tumlingtar (Aprox 450m) to Marduna (Aprox 1200m)– Leaving Tumlingtar on a little used dirt track (We met one tractor in 2 hours trekking) we followed the Arun River north, crossing it on a long suspension bridge at Balwa Besi which was our lunch stop (Simple accommodation also available). Then we started quite a long climb through forest to our overnight destination at Marduna. The Lodge was called the Sagarmatha” It was a recommended lodge (Internet) but was a little run down – Never-the-les it served its purpose and was run by a nice old man and his granddaughter
Walking time, Aprox 6 hours
Please Click Here to see the days Video Diary

Day 2 – Marduna to Dobani (975m)
First of all we continued uphill until we crested the ridge near Charlissay & then it was down until we reached the Chikhuwa Khola (Tributary to the run river) which we followed to our overnight destination of Dobani. Our lunch stop was Ghote Bazaar (Simple accommodation also available. Our lodge in Dobani (Nepali for where river divides) was unnamed and set high above the river, simple but adequate.
Walking time, Aprox 5 hours
Please Click Here to see the days Video Diary

Day 3 Dobani to Salpa Phedi (17000m)(Phedi in Nepali means bottom of hill / below pass)
This day is all uphill, undulating up at first to Tallophedi (Very bottom of hill) – This was our lunch stop & again simple accommodation is available here. Then more uphill to Salpa Phedi. The teahouse in Salpa Phedi was the best yet, “Irkhowa”, they have one very nice room with 3 beds designed for trekkers & vacate one family room when necessary to accommodate more trekkers
Walking time, Aprox 4 hours
Please Click Here to see the days Video Diary

Day 4 Salpa Phedi to Guranse (2920m)
This is quite a tough day, Uphill all day mainly on stone steps so an early start is a good idea so you get at least so far up before the sun gets too hot. There are a few small villages en-route so plenty of opportunities for tea and lunch. Jara Bari also has simple accommodation available. Guranse is just a cluster of shacks, there was a new teahouse just before the start of the village but it wasn’t really finished & only had 2 beds so we made our way up to the village proper where there is another very simple teahouse, only one room with about 8 beds, very draughty but at least a bed for the night.
Walking time, Aprox 5 hours
Please Click Here to see the days Video Diary

Day 5 Guranse to Sanam (2650m)
From Guranse is not so far to the top of Salpa La pass (3350m) & then downhill through forest, at first on stone steps, then slowly levelling out at Dhaka (Also known as Orkobug) where there is a teahouse for lunch, but no accommodation currently available , from here it is undulating and then slightly up to Sanam where there is an excellent lodge just to the left of the Gompa (Lodge owner also has the key of the Gompa which is worth visiting) The lodge is un-named and has several nice rooms overlooking the valley, This was also where we met our first other trekkers, two Americans coming the other way.
Walking time, Aprox 5 hours
Please Click Here to see the days Video Diary

Day 6 Sanam to Bung (1700m)
Great days trekking - Downhill at first to Guidel (Lunch stop, simple accommodation also available) then steeply downhill to cross Hongu Khola & then up a little and through terraces into Bung. Bung is a Rai large village - Bung in Rai means “Beautiful Flower)
Simple lodges in the centre of the village called “Pumori Lodge” – Two rooms with two beds so we take them both, simple but adequate.
Bung is also the point that you are officially supposed to pay the Makalu National Park entry fee – My own personal views are that as The Arun Valley route only passes through the very edge of The Makalu National Park then if no one directly asks for the permit then why pay – As no one directly asked us, we didn’t pay – Whether other trekkers choose to pay is entirely their own affair but purely for info this fee can either be paid in Bung or in advance in Kathmandu
We were also fortunate enough to be there the same day as the local market, so as we had arrived reasonably early we had the opportunity to have a look around and all of us found it very interesting seeing the local people going about their shopping
Walking time, Aprox 5 hours
Please Click Here to see the days Video Diary

Day 7 Bung to Boskam Gompa (Also known as Karauni Gompa) Aprox 2500m
Very short days trekking (Only ½ day as we arrive at 11.30) but all uphill – Steep at first then more gently – There was a government school en-route so I stopped here to leave some school supplies that I had brought with me as a gift, I gave these to the head teacher who was very pleased and introduced me to the rest of his teaching staff)
The lodge at Boskam Gompa is very good if a little expensive in Nepali terms compared to the previous ones that we had stayed – But it is very nice. The actual Gompa is only a few metres away so we visited and chatted to a man from Bhutan who was painting the images of the Gods – He was very skilled, in fact his next job was going to be in southern India so he was certainly in great demand !!
Walking time, Aprox 3 ½ hours
Please Click Here to see the days Video Diary

Day 8 Boskam Gompa to a small lodge next to The Imhuku Khola (1850m)
Another excellent days trekking, steeply up at first to the stupa overlooking the Gompa, then more gently for a while to a cluster of teahouses where the route splits, we took the left turn and this was again steep up to the summit of Surkie La (3085m)
From the summit the route goes down some Very steep vertigo inducing stone steps, then eventually levels out a little as we lost height, then levelling out as we approached Najindingma where simple teahouse accommodation is also available. I found the people here very hard and took a bit of a dislike to the place, this partly because we were charged 750NPR for a large pot of black tea – That’s more than I would expect to pay at Gorak Shep !! So we kept on trekking steeply downhill to the Imhuku Khola which we crossed on a long and impressive suspension bridge. Just after this bridge is a small simple teahouse/lodge where we stayed – Tragedy had struck this lodge 6 weeks earlier when the lodge owners wife had died in childbirth leaving him with a 6 week old daughter to look after on his own, he seemed to be coping surprisingly well but the grief of losing his wife was still fresh – So it had been a good decision to continue there as the money we spent would be very useful to him – We also considerably rounded our bill up so as to help as much as we could.
Walking time, Aprox 6 hours
Please Click Here to see the days Video Diary

Day 9 Lodge next to The Imhuku Khola to Pangom (2850m)
Yet another wonderful days trekking, very steeply up at first, narrow path through forest but sometime exposed so some care is needed, the trail then levels off and widens and we soon arrived in Shibuche (lunch stop where simple accommodation is also available)
From Shibuche the route is again steep for a while then levels off a little before reaching the summit of Pangkoma La (3173m) then it’s a fairly short walk down to Pangom where we chose “The Himalayan Trekkers Lodge”, a superb lodge offering all facilities, nice dining room with fire, good food from the first menu we saw on the trek and bucket shower available.
Walking time, Aprox 5 hours
Please Click Here to see the days Video Diary

Day 10 Pangom to Paiya (2730m) (This is where the Arun Valley route joins the route from Jiri)
Final days trekking before joining the main route from Jiri – Also crossing the final La of the Arun valley trek. Downhill at first & then up and over Kari La (3145m) – There is a small teahouse on the top of the pass where we took lunch – Then downhill, quite steeply in the end to where the Arun Valley path joins the route from Jiri just before Paiya.
Paiya is a nice village overlooking a small tributary of the Dhud Kosi. We chose “The Beehive Lodge” which can only be described as delightful – Here I took my first proper hot shower since leaving Kathmandu (100NPR and worth every rupee) – OK – I Really needed it ;-)
Please Click Here to see the days Video Diary

Trekking to Tilicho lake

Start off your trek as per The Annapurna Circuit as far as Manang where you will spend an extra night to acclimatise – Then the next night at Khangsar and from there to Tilicho base camp lodge (There are 2 possible routes, High and Low level so make enquiries at Khangsar to which one is the best as landslides keep changing the paths)
Then spend two nights at to Tilicho base camp lodge and visit Tilicho Lake on the day in between.
Then you have two options
1) Trek to Yak Kharka / Letdar and pick up the route to cross Thorung La
2) Return the way you came

If you wanted to cross over then passes form Tilicho lake to Jomsosm you would need a fully supported camping trek as this takes at least 3 days from Tilicho base camp lodge with no further accommodation available,
One other thing is to be aware that a lot of the paths in the Tilicho lake area shown on trekking maps don’t actually exist on the ground ;-)

Good Luck and Happy Safe Trekking
Rob
This photo is “Borrowed” from the net

Trek Report – Everst Base Camp Trek, Spring 2012

My Trek report on my recent trek to Everest Base Camp was just too long to fit it in as a Tip, So I wrote it as a travelogue, but now that I have several of these I thought it would be beneficial to add a link Here so as to make it easer to find.
Best Regards and Happy safe Trekking to One and All
Rob

Tips for trekking Arun Valley

Tips for trekking Arun Valley
Choose your trek mate(s) with great care – On this trek I out a small group of 4 trekkers together & alas I was unable to get along with one of them and this did detract somewhat from the enjoyment of my trek.

We might well have invented a whole new job description for this trek – This being Cook/Guide. I was fortunate enough to have trekked with Tej (our Cook / Guide) when I trekked Upper Mustang 4 years ago and Tej was our cook – besides being a good cook he also seemed more knowledgeable about Upper Mustang than our guide !! So when I was organising the trek I asked Nirmal if Tej had also trekked the Arun Valley Trek & he said yes – So I then suggested that if he was willing to carry about 12kg of supplementary food would he like the position, to which he said Yes. This turned out to be an excellent idea as the food available locally was very simple and without Tej our diet would have been a bit mundane.
Also Tej kept an eye on things in the kitchen when the lodge staff were cooking our meals, all I can say is that I trekked for 22 days in total and never once had any stomach / bowel problems which as regular visors to Nepal will realise is very rare indeed !!
Our two porter/guides were also really Superb, their names are Dipendra and Shambhu, so if you are looking for Excellent Porter/Guides with a good knowledge of the Arun Valley / EBC trek and who both speak really good English then ask for them by name !!!!!

As my timescale wasn’t tight, the two day overland trip to Tumlingtar worked out very well and I can also recommend this to others – But for those on a tight timeframe there is always the option of flying

Agents to organise this trek – For me this was simple as I have used the same chap since 1994 & he has always looked after me well, this being my 9th visit, I again used Nirmal and am again very happy with how everything went. Nirmal obtained our trekking permits, organised our road and air transport, our trekking staff & regularly telephoned me to check on our progress – If you want his contact details then please feel free to email / PM me
.
Also if anyone has further questions about the Arun Valley trek the same applies
Best Regards
Rob

Keeping clean when trekking

The main thing here is cleanliness with regard to personal
hygiene !! Toilet facilities are often Basic or worse, so I always take along a small bottle of alcohol spray to use after toileting as there isn’t always running water available nearby and you definitely don’t want to increase the risk of stomach problems that can be caused by a lack of personal cleanliness !!
Showers are available in the larger lodges but these can get expensive, especially at altitude and although the lodge owners will tell you “Yes – Plenty Hot water” you will be lucky to get better than lukewarm ;-)
Bowls of hot water are also available – Again these can get a bit pricy at altitude.
Don’t expect to maintain the same standards that you would at home would be my Best advice ;-)

The Shortened Helambu Circuit

If you are looking for a short trek close to Kathmandu then I can recommend the Shortened Helambu Circuit.
This trek takes 5 days + ½ day by bus from Melamchi Bazaar (End Point) back to Kathmandu by bus.
It is a Teahouse Trek so you can either do it entirely independently or take along a Porter Guide (As I did), there are no Large National Park Fees to pay to this trek is ideally suited to the Budget Trekker on a tight timeframe.

Day 1) Taxi or Local Bus to the starting point at Sundarijal (1463m). Then a full days walking to Chisapani (2194m), The trail is well defined and passes through The Shivapuri Watershed Wildlife reserve (Small entrance fee payable at the park gate)
The day is mainly up with a height gain of about 1.000m crossing Borlang Bhanjyang (2438m)) but there are plenty of small villages en-route to but refreshments.

Day2) From Chisapani the trail drops steeply down to Patibhanjyang (1768m) before heading steadily back up to Gul Bhanjyang (2141m)
You have a great variety of terraces with small sections of jungle on this day; again there are plenty of small villages en-route to but refreshments.

Day 3) From Gul Bhanjyang it is up again crossing Jogini Danda (2667m and the highest point of the trek) before a gentle decent to Kutumsang (2471m).
Again a lot of variety of scenery during the day with more terraces and small sections of jungle, only a few small Bhati’s en-route but sufficient for you to get snacks to keep you going

Day4) Here I departed form the main Helambu Circuit Route and descended through terraces all the way down into the valley of the Melamchi Kola and found a lodge near Mahankal (Aprox 1,000m) to spend the night.
A Beautiful days trekking on small paths descending though terraces all day with no facilities en-route.

Day 5) Not the most exciting day as you follow a dirt road from near Mahankal to Melamchi Bazaar (846m). But there is very little traffic to contend with and as you are following the river it also make for quite a pleasant days trekking – From Melamchi Bazaar we caught the bus back to Kathmandu the next day, but if your timeframe is really tight then you could pick up an afternoon bus.

We Really enjoyed our trek so I have no hesitation of recommending it to anyone, either as an introduction to trekking in Nepal or if you just can’t do a longer trek for whatever reason.
Good Luck and Happy Trekking
Rob

Short write-up on my Langtang Trek Langtang National Park Review

We set off from Dunche and spent the1st night about ½ trekking from the town at a place called Yunglang, There is only one simple teahouse there but as it is so close to Dunche not many people use it, But I think to be away from the road noise is better than staying in the town.
Then we had a hard day up to Singh Gompa, There is a height gain of over a thousand meters so you are pushing the limits on the AMS rules but the path is good and there are two places en-route for lunch / tea.
Singh Gompa is Beautiful with Awesome views towards Gosiakund and there is a cheese factory there so a good place to stock up !!
From there we dropped all the way back down into the Langtang Valley staying at the small hamlet of Pahre.
From there we just walked a short day up to Lama Hotel which is one of the main trekking villages in the valley, it can get a bit crowded but the lodges are comfortable with all facilities.
From Lama Hotel we trekked up to Ghoda Tabela – We could have gone further this day but my trek-mate, Mike decided that he didn’t want to go higher so we spent two nights there and I took Joan (Mikes wife) on a day walk to Langtang.
Then from Ghoda Tabela we trekked down to Sherpagon – This is on the high level route and to get there you have to turn right at Rimche (The hamlet below Lama Hotel) I would Highly Recommend this section of the trek as hardly anyone goes this way and both the views looking towards Ganesh Himal and looking back towards Langtang are Amazing.
From Sherpagon the path continues high up before dropping steeply down to the road at Syapru Besi wherewe caught the bus back to Kathmandu.

Hearts and Tears Motorcycle Club

OK -- Something a bit different here, Hearts and Tears Motorcycle Club is based in Pokhara, Their Club-House is situated next to The Busy Bee on Main Street in Lakeside. Monique and her partner who run this Motorcycle Club offer a different kind of Nepal Adventure. They have bought five "Enfield Bullets" and first they will give you training in how to ride these "Antique" Motorcycles, then once you have mastered the technique of controlling them they will give you some on the on the road training so that you can get used to Nepali traffic and the "Rules of the Road" Or lack of them !! Then once you are trained to their satisfaction you are now ready to go on your Adventure !! -- This can be a trip to Sauraha to go on a safari, a road trip to Kathmandu or Whatever you fancy -- If you have an idea then tell them and they will try and accommodate you. Their prices are very Reasonable and include Full Insurance, -- Go on -- Give it a go !!

Other Contact: Email: moniek@heartsandtears.com

Phone: +977 984 602 0293

Website: http://www.heartsandtears.com/

How can I prevent Blisters whist trekking ??

I think if anyone had a Sure way of stopping blisters then they would make a fortune selling their secret !!

However here are a few ideas of my own

1) Wear Well fitted and broken in boots

2) Take a good sock combination, Inners and then heavier cushioned outer socks, then keep them clean and fresh as possible.

3) Travel as light as possible, The more weight you have on your back, the more weight is transmitted to your feet !!

4) Consider using trekking pole(s) or a stick, these can help, especially on downhill sections when your toes can rub against the front of your boots, thus creating blisters

5) Pamper your feet and the end of the day, give them a good wash, dry them properly and rub in a good foot-balm. Dress any small blisters and cuts before they get infected and become Big blisters and cuts

Happy Travels
Rob