Celtic Rover
For many people the Annapurna mountains to the north of Pokhara are the main reason for visiting this nice little laid back town, this is trekking central of Nepal and the streets are full of hiking boot clad westerners heading to or from the Annapurna loop treks. For me the biggest attraction, after three months on the road, was meeting up with all the family, in fact is was Christmas since we had all been in the same place at the same time as Poppy was studying in the USA. The kids had just finished a tour of India and a small trek in the foothills of Annapurna that Lee and I also did (cheating a bit by using Nelsons 4WD ability to do 70 percent of the work for us). It was a high point of the trip for me after the challenge of the Pamir and Pakistan to be with the family was a great emotional boost and a fitting way to mark the turning point for home of my “roof of the world” tour
Although we were in Pokhara for a few days, it was still the rainy season – this was the latest that Lee and the girls could manage due to work and university commitments but October is a better time for clear views of the mountains – we saw tantalising glimpses of the peaks from our trek but not great views for photography until the last day when the skies cleared in the early morning sun and we could see some of the peaks that surround the town. We got better pictures from our fourth floor hotel room than we had from the trek the day before!
So although we were in the wrong season we did manage to glimpse some of the greatest peaks in the world, I will come back with more time and walk some of the longer multi day treks here and in the Ladkah range in India but time is tight on this tour and mentally I was ready to spend time with the family and head for home so these challenges will wait for another trip and another time.
