Trekking in Nepal

We chose to take our honeymoon in the fall, known as the best time of year to trek in Nepal. We did a 10-day trek on the Annapurna Circuit in Western Nepal. We went with an organization run by the family of a friend of ours, Archana, who is currently completing her MA in International Policy Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies (where Mac works).

Archana's family started an NGO called EWN-Empowering Women of Nepal, which provides
extensive training programs for women to become adventure tour guides and porters.
They have also started a school for children who have been rescued from child labor situations.
It felt wonderful to contribute to such an amazing organization and it was so fun to complete the trip with locals, who shared stories, songs and history about their land.

We trekked with 5 other travelers (all women!) who were from England, Switzerland, Canada, Holland and Scotland. On average, we trekked about 10-12 km per day for a total of 105 km and

Our trek left from Pokhara and we traveled Northwest up to Muktinath, just at the base of Thorung La Pass (5,416 m/17765 ft). We started in the lowlands, where the air was warm and thick and ended in bitter cold, freezing temperatures just below the pass. The topography changes were amazing and the geography of the terrain was so diverse; we went from river valley to rice fields to white-capped mountain tops. It was amazing to see the physical changes in the Nepali people as well; those living near the Kathmandu region (more Southwest) had smaller more angular faces and traditional dress similar to that in Pakistan and India. As we traveled to the Northeast region their physique slowly began to look more like that of Tibetans; a rounder, flatter face structure and more Tibetan-style clothes, along with noticeable differences in local cuisine, architectural styles and language.

We spent a few days on either end of our trek in and around Kathmandu visiting the traditional town of Bhaktapur, which bustles with daily markets in the open squares, intriguing alley ways and children playing in the side streets. Kathmandu is a busy city, teeming with tourists and locals alike, with plenty of shops (mostly filled with trekking gear and artisan crafts), cafes and street vendors.

We had fun just wandering the streets, taking in all of the smells, sound and sights, doing our best to capture some of our experiences in our photographs.
It was an amazing experience to be back in Asia and seeing the country on foot was incredibly rewarding, providing a unique understanding into the lives of the Nepali people.

Josh's Nepal Photos
Mac's Nepal Photos