Pokhara sits next to a large lake, in the shadow of the Annapurna mountain range. In the days you can see flocks of paragliders swarming around the near hills, and the town itself is pretty much just a staging area for the many travellers wishing to hike into the nearby hills and mountains.

We set up camp at a hotel called the Marigold and spent the last few days planning out a walk into the Himalayas. Mindful of our inexperience in all things trek, we found an easier five day circuit which takes us high up into the foothills where we get to see fourteen of the Annapurna peaks, but doesn’t require crampons, ice picks and superhero strength.

The highlight of this trip should be the third day where we reach the summit of Poon Hill, from here we should be able to see for miles around.

Pokhara is full off vendors selling knock-off trekking gear, and so we loaded up on “North Face” and “Mamut” clothing as well as some more traditional yak wool blankets, to help us deal with the cold nights. Nicole bought some nice boots, whilst I decided to rent some, along with some sleeping bags and walking poles. How much of this we will need should quickly become apparent, when it’s too late to turn around!

Tomorrow we rise early for a 9am start. We take a Jeep to Nayapul where we begin our walk.

I’ll try to post as we go, but if mobile range doesn’t permit then it will be when we return to civilisation.