Getting off the grid in Nepal

In 2017 my wife and I traveled to Nepal in what turned out to be one of the most memorable and rewarding holidays we have ever had. I really hope that some of the photos featured here will do justice to the beauty and diversity the country has to offer.

P1040009 — Sunrise at the Muldhai Viewpoint. More than worth the 4 am wake up call!

We usually trekked for 4 to 6 hours each day, affording plenty of time to take in the scenery, read, reflect and enjoy a hot beverage or three at the many teahouses along the way.

P1030984 — My wife and guide enjoying the view

A common sight on the paths were donkeys carrying goods and supplies to the teahouses (I will never complain about the weight of my backpack again!).

Much is made now in more developed Western cultures of “farm to table” restaurants, where proprietors try to create a niche in the market by promoting the fact that they use only locally sourced produce on the menu. In Nepal, much of the Dal bhat we ate had ingredients sourced from gardens of the people running the teahouses. No “farm to plate” adverts to be seen – this was just what they did, and no doubt have always done.

The fact that we had only 8 days dictated that we could not travel to really high altitudes. We achieved our peak altitude of 4000m above sea level after ~ 1 hour hike from Kopra Community Lodge.

P1040071 — My wife enjoying the view from 4000 m above sea level, the highest point we reached on our trek

One of the real highlights of the trip watching the sunrise Muldhai viewpoint, reached after a 30 minute trek from our accommodation in Dobato. The photo below is definitely one of my favorites from the trip.

P1040027 — View of the Annapurna’s from the Muldhai viewpoint

Unfortunately we had very little time to explore Katmandu, or “Dustmandu”, as many of the locals call it. I took the photo below early morning on our last day in Nepal, filled with locals young and old indulging their sporting passions – a beautiful thing to see.

Featured below are some my other favorite pictures from the trip.

Trip notes: Our whole trip was organized through Kimkim, and more specifically Amanda Delecca, who we found incredibly professional and helpful, responding to our many queries and requests in the lead up to the trip in a very timely manner. We did the Khopra Danda – Community Trek, one I can highly, highly recommend. Our guide and porter (whose names, embarrassingly, I have forgotten) were true champions, going well beyond the call to duty to ensure we had a great trip.