Obviously the Himalayas are not easy. Everest was conquered only two generations ago.
I’m in Pokhara, which, if you only come to chill and live very cheaply, is awesome, I cannot recommend it enough. Pokhara is also the base city for people wanting to trek the Annapurna’s. FYI Annapurna 1 (8091M) is the 10th highest mountain in the world, and even today there is a 20% death rate from people trying to “conquer” it.
Poon Hill is the easiest Annapurna hike with actual gain – views and altitude. It is considered “easy” but it is not. I found it torturous.
I did the first day of the hike only. I am pleased with my decision. Quitting can be powerful – some of my fondest memories are telling a boss to go stick it.
FYI I have dodgy knees, dodgy ankles, I had a damaged shoulder which made my pack hurt, I was actually carrying a pack (maybe 10 kg), and I have MS which makes me wobbly sometimes, and fatigued frequently.
The drive up from Pokhara to Ghandruk was nasty. It cost around $25 US. Make sure you get a Scorpio jeep, with sear belts. Anything else is false economy. A better vehicle might mean a better driver. All drivers here are a bit loose and crazy.
Our return journey had a landslide, closing the road for 8 hours. Wee managed to get a jeep to the landslide, and another beyond it. Getting from A to B took great tests of faith. One seemingly random guy waved us through while the earth digger was swinging around wildly. No health and safety here.
On the way up we saw a 4WD fail to get through a slippery flood. Some buses made it through but their lurching from side to side smelled like whiplash. Take the most expensive, reputable, drive. The sides of the roads for more than an hour are 100M+ drops, with blind turns and wobbly steering. Drivers roar around sharp corners and toot a warning. Take Valium.
The tea houses (aka guest houses) are generally basic. Ordinary food, thin walls, sometimes just squat toilets, and cold beyond the supplied blankets. Don’t expect fun bonding, most other climbers are humorless, 50ish, lean, moneyed Germans or Italians. The equivalent of cyclist wankers.
We ascended 700M in 4 hours, including lunch. Ghandruk to Tadapani. It was brutal. How many of your friends would, for a view, climb the stairwell of a 250-storey building?
You can’t’ look up or around, because the next step might be wobbly (almost always wasn’t, brilliant path, apparently not funded by government, built by locals to boost the tourism), or wet or covered in cow poo. Slog, slog, slog, with constant attention.
It was 50% steps. Never ending torturous steps.
The view and achievement were worth it. Do it!
For $25/day you can get a porter, do that. Don’t make a tough walk harder.
Be in the Himalayas, stare the 10th highest peak in the face, and enjoy the walk back down which is the absolute best.
We saw monkeys (which our local friend Khem says is rare), pack horses (with bells) and buffalo. Otherwise there was virtually no insects or birds. The forest was quite similar to New Zealand.