I just came back from Ghorepani Poonhill Trekking. It was an awesome experience in my life. This year, I had a very unique experience during the monsoon. When the government of Nepal and the weather forecasting department announced not to travel for three days in the month of Aashad, I had a Nepali group scheduled for Upper Mustang. Again, the government announced not to travel for the next four days, but I needed to operate twenty Chinese groups for Ghorepani Poonhill Trekking. The first group traveled by bus, and both groups were initially scared before the tour and trekking, but both became adventurous and successful in the end. I trekked during the monsoon in Nepal, and it was enthralling as well as challenging at the same time.

I flew to Pokhara via Buddha Air, but the Chinese guests went by bus via Bandipur. I checked in at Hotel Dandelion Pokhara, where the guests were already staying. I went to the main street of Lakeside to buy a rain cover and a trekking stick to be prepared. I got a phone call from the senior guide who told me the tour leader wanted to meet me. I was also interested, so I met them, and we discussed the trekking plan for the next day. I hired a Chinese trekking guide from Pokhara, and two professional guides came from Kathmandu. During our discussion, the tour leader insisted on trekking with both professional Chinese guides, but they hesitated due to the potential risks of monsoon trekking. Finally, both agreed to proceed with the trek. We were twenty-four from Pokhara, including two children; most were women, and a senior gentleman had steel assembled in his toe last week. But their zeal was amazing. We departed from Pokhara after breakfast. I sourced nine Brahmin senior porters from Nayapool.

We all assembled in Nayapool and bought rain covers for our bags. Then, our large team started trekking from Nayapool. As soon as we started, we wore rain covers because it was raining heavily. We planned to have lunch at Hile and Simsime, enduring the showers until lunch. We had lunch at Hile and then continued trekking as planned to reach Ulleri. After lunch, it wasn’t raining heavily but drizzling, and though we were a bit tired, the rain helped us hike to Ulleri. We saw many landslides near Ulleri during our trek. I heard some noise about a foreigner’s missing bag (he was not our guest) at Nayapool. I initially didn’t take it seriously, but repeatedly the Pokhara-based guide got phone calls from the foreigner’s guide about the missing bag. Then I became worried as well. We crossed Ulleri and checked in at the Hotel Kamala Guest House. The hotel was very nice, and Kamala Didi (the owner) was kind and hospitable. After all guests checked in, a bag was found outside. I thought it was the missing bag and immediately contacted Nayapool. I then asked a porter to return home carrying the bag, and I agreed to compensate for the entire trekking amount since we did not carry heavy bags, and it was our mistake. Finally, two porters agreed to return and dropped the bag off at Ulleri.

I offered our guests some local millet wine, but only three accepted. We had dinner; there was no regular electricity, so we charged our mobiles using solar-powered multi-plugs. On the second day, we started trekking from Ulleri. The day was a bit easier than the first, but the conditions were similar. It rained continuously, and leeches were another challenge because continuous rain and cold weather create a favorable environment for them. We experienced only the mountain lifestyle, trekking in monsoon, and views of green mountains along the way. Unfortunately, we did not see any clear mountain views during the trek. I met approximately five France-based couples throughout the trek, congratulated them for winning the World Cup football, and they were proud of their national team.

We reached Hotel Snow View Lodge Ghorepani on the afternoon of the second day. After checking in and having dinner, we planned to go to Poonhill for the sunrise the next morning. We set our alarms for 4 a.m., but upon waking, the fog was thick, and the rain was the same as the previous day, so we canceled the sunrise plan. We were unlucky and had not seen any mountains yet. We continued trekking, seeing many white fog-covered lakes upon the mountains, but no mountain views. The leech attacks increased sharply; one child and one lady felt uncomfortable, but the rest trekked smoothly. It rained continuously. We had lunch at Banthati and checked in at Hotel Magnificent in Tadapani. We were hoping for a miracle in the weather. About 20 minutes after checking in, we saw a few mountain ridges sparkling like crystal. Since it was our final night of trekking, we prayed to God, but could not see the mountains clearly. I offered soup to our guests, but they preferred to prepare their own meals. I spoke with the hotel owner who kindly allowed us to use his kitchen. A senior lady prepared egg soup as her cuisine, and others made their own dishes for dinner as well. They were really happy to have that opportunity.

After dinner, I started dancing to local music, and everyone was excited. I danced with the tour leader, and we danced for over an hour to folk, Baja, and traditional Nepali music. Eventually, the guests started dancing to their own music. I wanted to make them happier.

I am not a professional guide. I am fluent in English and Hindi but did not know Chinese. However, trekking forced me to learn some Chinese, and I learned about twenty useful Chinese terms for trekking. I am committed to learning more Chinese in the future because I faced many challenges due to the language barrier with my guests.

We debated the topic, “Nepal is for all seasons.” Is it good for trekking? I explained the article and raised questions about trekking: Are trekkers coming only for the mountains or for other experiences as well? What are our immediate plans to promote all-season trekking in Nepal? What precautions should we take to trek in the monsoon? How do we showcase our mountains during the monsoon? These are major issues. I prefer trekking in the monsoon, but more must be done to promote our trekking brand.

Anyway, on the last day, we trekked to Kimche via Ghandruk and traveled by bus to Pokhara. We did not see any crystal-clear mountains during the trek, but experiencing the struggle to see them, tasting local food, and being conscious about the environment was exemplary for future generations. We finished our trek without any disturbances or problems. This is my life experience trekking in the monsoon, as highlighted in the Visit Nepal 2020 tagline. Lastly, Mardi Himal Trek is the signature package of Duke Nepal Adventure.