Start point: Pokhara, 822m

End point: Machakhola, 860m 

Elevation gain: 42m

Distance travelled: 160km 

Time in a bus: 14 hours 

The 6 AM alarm was a little bit of a shock to the system, but something we’ll quickly get used to I’m sure. It really felt like the morning of catching a flight or a big work event, and we were both a mix of excitement and nervous. Our guest house had kindly offered to hold the remainder of our gear so we could have smaller packs, but they still felt pretty heavy when we picked them up for the first time… bet they will feel even heavier at altitude! We met up with Mayla at the office and after a stop for a final Pokhara cappacino we headed to the bus stand. A lot of trekkers opt for the private jeep option to get to the start of the trail, but we went for the local bus. Cost difference was $300 USD for the jeep, and $20 NZD (total for three of us) on the local bus. We had been warned about goats, chickens and babies, but honestly it was very chill. The roads are a bit bumpy and slow here, but much better than I what I expected after hearing some horror stories. They are doing a lot of infrastructure development, and a large number of roads were single lane with the other lane still being smoothed out and tarsealed. Our first stop was Gorkha, about 108km from Pokhara. This took us about 4 hours including a couple of stops, one which included delicious chai, curry and samosa for breakfast. The views at the start of the drive were incredible, it was the clearest morning so far and we had panoramic views of the Annapurna ranges. Having Mayla with us was such a joy, he knows so much about all the peaks and is very open to sharing his knowledge with us. 

From Gorkha, things took a turn in the “eventful travel day” direction! It started with boarding a bus that in any other country would be considered full, but it’s amazing how many people, boxes, bags and kids they can fit into a bus here. We had been driving for about 10 minutes out of town when all of a sudden we joined a line of  stopped traffic. Josh and Mayla went out for a look and discovered that the road was completely blocked by a big truck that was stuck in some soft dirt where they had been doing landslides repairs. We must have been in the first five to ten vehicles on the site, and lots of people were helping to try and dig out the truck and get it moving. When it looked like it was going to take a decent chunk of time, we sat down and had a chai to wait. From here things only escalated, there was a broken digger in the way so they set to work repairing that, and used that to help try and push the truck, it was all pretty crazy. The police were there too and at any one time there were at least 50 people around the truck. Sadly, each of their valliant efforts only seemed to get the truck more stuck, and eventually they went for a technique of using the bucket of the digger to push the truck out of the way further so at least small cars could get past. But alas, our bus was too big, so we were informed we would be turning around and going a different way! This was about three and a half half hours after we first arrived, so we did wonder a bit why they didn’t choose this option earlier. We were all excited to be on the way again. 

It shortly became apparent why the driver waited so long to commit to this route, as we were going down a track I would be hesitant to drive at home in a Ute, let alone a bus!! Thankfully our driver was an absolute legend and got us back to the main road in one piece, but there were a few hairy moments for sure. From here we slowly travelled up the valley with the scenery getting more and more beautiful, and the road more and more shit. By the end it did feel like we were driving on a walking track, not a road!! It was so nice to be getting further afield, it definitely gives you a huge appreciation for the work that goes in to getting anything done up here, whether it be building, education, healthcare or food supplies. The last 25km took us a good couple of hours, with each kilometer more precarious than the last. It was only a small group of us on the bus by this point, and there was a strong sense of camaraderie with every crazy corner and big drop. It was the scariest road either of us can ever remember driving, especially given the fact we were in a bus! We all very happy to arrive in the small town of Machakhola, 14 hours after we left Pokhara, and only 160km away!!! 

Something I found super interesting was the way the roads develop here, especially up in these remote valleys. They often start as walking tracks, and then gradually more and more bikes ride them, and they turn into small dirt tracks. Then, eventually they get wide enough for the jeeps and then because of the jeeps, they’re wide enough for the buses and the trucks! Eventually you have a bit of a piecemeal constantly under construction situation! Add in the destructive landslides during Monsoon and it’s especially impressive that these roads and still functional. Existence up here is hard, that much is clear after only one day. 

We found a very basic but perfectly adequate guest house, and we enjoyed our first of many delicious Dahl Baht for dinner before bed. There’s so much more I could say, we’re noticing so many interesting differences from India and there are already things that have surprised us and also delighted us. But for now we’re exhausted and are getting up in just over eight hours for our first day of walking, so I’ll say goodnight. Even after a hectic travel day we are soooo excited to be here and can’t wait to start walking tomorrow! 

We were so happy to have a reasonably affordable ride from the border that we weren't fazed by the nausea-inducing acceleration or slightly terrifying cornering of our young driver, we were just happy to be on our way to Pokhara. And, thanks to his rally driver tendencies, it ended up being quite a quick trip too. We arrived in Pokhara before dark and checked into our accommodation. It was a simple room, two single beds with mattresses where you can truly touch the bed frame underneath, but the most gorgeous family. We have immediately noticed the nature of the Nepali people we have encountered so far. So caring, funny, helpful and open. They just give you a good vibe. For dinner we found some overpriced and underwhelming Mexican (I know, what were we thinking) which was a good reminder we are in a major tourist town. We spent the evening wandering the main street, stumbling on lots of things to purchase and the most amazing bakery. After eating our weight in cinnamon buns, mango cheesecake and hot chocolate we rolled home to bed very happy to be here!

We spent two days in Pokhara, which were mostly filled with admin. We wrote a few blog posts (which hopefully you all enjoyed!), read about treks in the area and researched and booked our mandatory guided tour from Nepal to China via Tibet. Then we chose a a trekking company and booked and paid for our upcoming trek around the Manaslu circuit, which meant we needed to do laundry, fully repack our bags and purchase missing items for the trek! We also spoke to family and friends on the phone, finalized our course at Kopan, and did a big money and budget sort out. I’m tired just writing about all of that! I wanted to share that list just to give you an idea of what our reality is like. Usually we blog about all our amazing experiences, but there is a lot of mundane planning and organization that goes into it all as well. Some things, like trekking and Tibet, require a lot of planning to make sure you have a really special experience. Ticking all those things off the list was an amazing feeling, and it’s really nice to know that we are basically all planned now up to about July 20th, bar two spare weeks we have in the Kathmandu area to fill with activities (if anyone has good recommendations please drop them in the comments). 

In general Pokhara is a really nice place to kill some time, and lots of people use it as a rest spot after they finish their trekking. There is great coffee, some nice sights and lots of adventure activities like paragliding, rafting, bungee jumping and ultralight flying. We stayed within about a 1km radius of our accommodation, but still loved the views of the mountains from our rooftop, and revisited a couple of cafes that I remembered from my trip here in 2017. 

In terms of trekking, we had really been going back and forth on what to do. It’s the start of monsoon in mid to late June, so it’s not the best time of year for trekking in a lot of places. However, there are some spots that are tucked in behind the rain shadow. Often people will book full guided packages which would be way out of our budget, but we had met some people in India who had managed to do some really cool treks on a budget. 

We were tossing up the Annapurna Circuit, Nar Phu Valley, Manaslu Circuit, Tsung Valley or some combination of the above. We met with a couple companies, and were really impressed by some and totally underwhelmed by others. Eventually we just walked in from the street to a place called ‘Ethical Trekking Nepal’, and met the most amazing guide, Mayla. He successfully talked us out of going to Annapurna and into Manaslu (much more remote and more of the adventure feel we love), and within 24 hours we were locked in. It was so nice to meet a guide and a company we clicked with, and this only continued when we met the manager Krishna. He had just been at the 75th Diamond Jubilee celebration for the first ascent of Annapurna I (the first 8000m+ peak climbed at the time), by Maurice Herzog. There is an excellent dramatised historical novel about this incredible feat of mountaineering called ‘Annapurna’ if you’re interested to learn more about the history of Himalayan mountaineering. 

After we confirmed the trek and ticked off some other big pieces of admin, we spent the evening packing and enjoying a Nepalese meal of BBQ buffalo. Josh even had a beer! Tomorrow morning we’ll meet Mayla at 6:30 AM and catch a local bus to Gorkha, and then a local jeep (hopefully) to Soti Khola. The next day we will walk to Jagat, and we’ll be properly underway from June 8th.

During our trek we’re going to try and write a short daily post, but we’re not sure how much reception and WiFi will be available. We’ll keep you updated as much as we can, and we expect to be back to civilization properly by June 21th. Wish us (and especially my knees) luck!

Hi! If you're reading this, it means you've landed on a post we haven't quite got to yet!! We wanted the map to be up to date so we could send live updates from our time trekking in Nepal. Our final weeks in India were some of the most special of our whole trip so far, so we wanted to do them justice and write them properly. We'll be sure to let you know when they are completed so you can come back and check them out. Huge love, Alice and Josh. 

P.S We've included one photo as a teaser of what's to come!

Hi! If you're reading this, it means you've landed on a post we haven't quite got to yet!! We wanted the map to be up to date so we could send live updates from our time trekking in Nepal. Our final weeks in India were some of the most special of our whole trip so far, so we wanted to do them justice and write them properly. We'll be sure to let you know when they are completed so you can come back and check them out. Huge love, Alice and Josh. 

P.S We've included one photo as a teaser of what's to come!

Hi! If you're reading this, it means you've landed on a post we haven't quite got to yet!! We wanted the map to be up to date so we could send live updates from our time trekking in Nepal. Our final weeks in India were some of the most special of our whole trip so far, so we wanted to do them justice and write them properly. We'll be sure to let you know when they are completed so you can come back and check them out. Huge love, Alice and Josh. 

P.S We've included one photo as a teaser of what's to come!