Walking the Annapurna Foothills

This trip was amazing, from flying into Kathmandu with the view of the Annapurna Range visible over the tops of the cloud to experiencing the bustling city of Kathmandu, with its temples, palaces and bazaars! We loved the trekking, the fantastic scenery with early morning views of the Annapurna mountains and the stays in the Teahouses. A highlight for us was a walk through a village where we met local people working their own land and keeping livestock, meeting the retired Gurkha and his wife who led it. We loved our time in Chitwan, seeing the one-horned rhinoceros at the National Park, enjoying walks in the village and a very peaceful canoe boat trip on the river which were all great after the long treks of the previous days. The food was fantastic, exceeding our expectations especially in the Teahouses where we were surprised by the quality and quantity of food. We definitely did not go hungry on this trip! Our tour leader Su was brilliant, very organised and with lots of knowledge that he was happy to share. His love and enthusiasm for Nepal was evident. We thoroughly enjoyed our time talking to him, his catch phrase “anything is possible” was a constant when we asked questions. The other members of our support crew were fantastic too, very attentive, always there with a smile and amazingly produced tea even at the earliest hours when we were viewing sunrise over the mountains.

Walking, wildlife, food and culture: this tour ticked a lot of boxes for me. It is true that the poor visibility at this time of year (March) meant that the Annupurna mountains weren't visible during much of the trek, but the landscape with its flora, fauna and small farms still made the walking interesting and enjoyable. A special highlight was seeing the one-horned rhinoceros at the Chitwan National Park, and the cultural events staged at the Green Chwadi Retreat at Chitwan were an unexpected bonus. There was a wealth of birds to see throughout the tour, and our tour leader, Su, was very knowledgeable in identifying them. As someone who is unable to eat gluten, I had been worried about how I would cope with the food; and I am extremely grateful to Su for helping me to navigate this, as well as ensuring that there were always things available for me to eat.

Sudarshan was the most wonderful guide we could possibly have. The trip was amazing and he is so knowledgeable and attentive to individuals needs, that he made the whole trek an absolute delight. When the demands of the trek were taking their toll on me he was so attuned to all of us that he immediately recognised I was struggling, long before I was prepared to say anything. Even when we were shredded by leeches, Sudarshan's big smile and calm nature had us all seeing the funny side! He is one of life's treasures and I will take my grandson back to do that trip with him some day.

My trip was amazing. The Milo hotel Kathmandu was central and a great base. Sudarshan was an excellent guide who always looked after us, and when I had a short gastro episode at the beginning of our walk I couldn't have had a kinder more considerate guide. The itinerary worked well, the days walking, driving and Chitwan NP all well paced and very comprehensive. My fellow travellers were great and only being nine of us was awesome. Oh the bus and driver were excellent too. My only criticism was the free day in Kathmandu at the end which I didn't need as I had already had five days there before the tour started. This brings me to my other issue which was because I went to Nepal before the Explore trip and stayed after I didn't qualify for the airport pickups. The twelve days of the tour was never going to be enough for me, I am used to arriving before a tour so I have time to explore the starting city. My big red Explore bag is a real bonus and will be great for outback Aussie tours. Thank you Explore, I can't wait for my next adventure.