Sarangkot sunrise and trekking around Pokhara

In spite of what I said earlier though, Pokhara wasn’t all lying around and watching the lake! No, since I was in Nepal I obviously had to do some trekking as well, and I combined that with an early morning trip to nearby Sarangkot to watch the sun rise over the Annapurna massif. So while the sun was still behind the mountains…

…the Pokhara valley lay in darkness…

…but as the sun rose…

…and hit the top of the first peaks…

…the valley slowly appeared…

…as did the sun!!

I particularly enjoyed the different shades of blue and “layers” of mountains:

This is a shot of the whole panorama; the mountain on the far left is called Machhapuchhre (6993 m, also known as Machapuchare), which means Fish Tail – later you’ll see why.

From Sarangkot my guide and me took the bus to Kande, from where we hiked to Dhampus via Australia camp. As expected, the hike included quite a bit of uphill walking through gorgeous jungle…

…but also some beautiful views…

…under lovely, almost clear skies:

Ultimately we were actually level with the numerous birds of prey!

The view of Machhapuchhre from Australia camp finally showed why it’s called Fish Tail: the mountain actually has two peaks, making it look like the back fin of a fish!

But obviously the Annapurna massif contains several other mountains as well – what a view!!

And I was there!

In good company, too…

…and just in time before the clouds came in and eventually completely covered the mountains.

On our way back down from Australia camp we could observe some traditional Nepalese weaving…

…and women making local pasta…

…and even a documentary film team from Korea!

We also passed some traditional villages originally inhabited by Gurkhas (British and Indian army members of Indo-Tibeto-Mongolian origin, which reputedly know no fear – maybe they all used to be bus drivers?)…

…and many beautiful rice fields:

So, after a wonderful introduction to trekking in the Himalaya – I wish I’d had more time for a longer trek! Next time! – I treated myself to a “Nepalitalian” pizza with pesto and yak cheese! Good day!