Unplanned trek to Panchpokhari

I was planning a solo trek to Mardi Himal base camp/Annapurna Base Camp. The day before I scheduled my trip, I went shopping and my bag was packed with all necessary items. My mother did not agree with my plan. But I agreed with my mother and canceled the trek.

I was sad actually. I desperately wanted a trek.

Madhav bhai messaged me on instagram saying that they are planning for Panchpokhari trek. Without a second thought, I said I’m in. It was around 9pm. I packed my bag and took a bath. It was pretty cold.

The next morning, he came to pick me up at 5am. We went to Chabahil and waited for the other two friends. We headed to Melamchi from Sankhu-Jarsingpauwa-Bahunepati-Melamchi. We ate lunch and bought some snacks for the trek. We continued riding to Chhimti. We enjoyed some time at a cool waterfall and relieved some tiredness. The stone paved road was quite disturbing while riding the bike. Few kilometers before Chhimti, we stopped at a natural pool and spent some quality time talking, swimming and filming videos. Not to mention, it was just the beginning of fun along the route.

We reached Chhimti at 3:30pm, which is very late. Bus from Kathmandu to Chhimti reaches Chhimti at around 1pm. We were already 2 or more hours behind. We parked the bikes and went for noodles. After a rest, we started walking. We met two trekkers who were returning from Panchpokhari to stay overnight at Chhimti. They told us that we won’t make it to the Tuppi Danda and suggested we stay overnight at Deurali. We were planning to stay overnight at Tuppi Danda.

Stopped for rest. Boys started enjoying

We were told that Kale Dai, who owns a homestay at Tuppi Danda is returning to Tuppi Danda from Chhimti. Luckily, we found him and started walking. He was a very kind soul and a good human being. The one thing he said to us is that Tuppi Danda is about a 30 minutes walk from the point we met him but it was a lie. He lied to us because he thought that we would be hopeless to walk that many distances on that day. The darkness was very deep and we were not seeing any trail without flash lights. However, some of our mobile phones were still carrying batteries and became a help. After a two and half hour walk, we managed to reach Tuppi Danda at around 7:30 pm. It was so cold. It was intense. We laid our bags on the bed and went straight in the kitchen and started warming our feets on fire. The smoke was roaming around the room and our eyes were literally shedding tears because of it.

Kale dai started cooking aalu and tori ko saag. We drank coffee for Rs.50, which would cost Rs.10 in Kathmandu. It was a much needed drink to keep us warm and lively. We were allowed to eat roasted buffalo skin ( sukuti) for free. Kale dai is a soulful person. Haha. We ate dinner at around 9 pm and went to bed straight after.

The next morning we woke up, it was quite cold. We did morning rituals and drank coffee and hot water. Without further delay, we headed to the trail. Our goal was to reach Panchpokhari at around 3 — 4 pm. The trail was so good that we were mesmerized by the view and scenery. We were walking slowly and resting a lot. We met some trekkers returning from Nosyampati, a place for overnight stay or for lunch. We were told that it’s a checkpoint and also a place for lunch. The beautiful trail was slowing our pace as we spent some time looking for videos and photos. We stopped at a place for tea. We needed to stay too because it was a steep climb till the teahouse. There was a woman, our tea shop owner, who was a good soul too. She told us how the way is ahead and how much time it will take us. Like I mentioned before, we wasted nearly an hour there. We rested more than we actually walked.

We reached Nosyampati at around 1pm. We were meant to reach there at around 11 am or so. This shows how much we walked and rested. We ate lunch. Our hunger was so intense and in themeantime, the food was good too. It was the time when things started getting colder and cold fog covered the entire landscape. Sun vanished like a person exiled from the country. There was not a single chance that the sun would come up again. We started walking at our own pace. Resting more, walking less.

It was a hell of a walk when we reached Lauribina. Oh god, the steep climb and rapid increase in altitude. It was getting darker. Colder. Tiredness was all getting over us. Fog was dropping as rain. It was that cold. The steep climb of 135 stairs was the climax of the trek, for me. We thought that we reached Panchpokhari, but it was not what we expected. Panchpokhari was still a long way from there. One good thing that happened to us is the beautiful stars. We walked the trail by counting the shooting stars. It was a really beautiful moment of the trek.

We reached Panchpokhari at around 7:30 pm. It was getting seriously cold. We reached a homestay where the owner was cooking dinner. There were other three guys, enjoying the trans song and some fine smoke of weed. We ate dinner and slept. I didn’t sleep well because of lack of oxygen. My head was in intense pain when I woke up. Tiredness and lack of sleep made me regret joining the trek. But once I got and went outside for a view, it was soothing. There was pain but the beauty of the landscape made me forget the tiredness and headache. We went to the viewpoint for a 360 degree view of the area. We missed the sunrise but made it to the top on time for view. The place was alluring. Beautiful. Mesmerizing. Can’t put a word to describe the beauty of it. A must visit place.

We returned to the homestay for lunch. It was okay. Not that bad. You can’t wish for a nice meal in such a place. The water in the toilet was frozen, it was that cold.

We left the palace at around 1 pm which was again not a normal time to leave. We were already 4,5 hours behind the time which was a normal time to return. Like before, we rested and walked. But our pace was faster than before. Thanks to the downhill.

We stopped at Nosyampati for tea. Went on drinking Chhyang, a local alcohol made from yeast and rice. Was a good drink. But it bothered me on the way as I was never used to alcohol drinks. Tiredness was beyond an extreme point. Our mobile devices were chargeless. Walked until the trail was visible. Later, we burnt some sticks and made our way to Tuppi Danda. Our plan for the day was to reach Chhimti, but we were not in the state of further walking. Charged our device paying Rs. 200, ate dinner and slept. For the first time, it was a pleasant sleep. The bed was comfortable and the sleep was sound, endorsed by the tiredness.

Woke up early, took tea and started walking to Chhimti. It was refreshing. The early morning walk was good. We had enough rest. We reached Chhimti after having tea and some rest at Deurali. Reached Chhimti at around 9pm. Brushed our teeth, washed our face and made our way back to Melamchi. We stopped for a swim which was quite relaxing.

Ate momo in Melamchi. I went home and the boys came back to Kathmandu.

Trip Overview

Day 1: Kathmandu- Sankhu- Melamchi-Tipeni-Kot Gaun- Chhimti- Deurali- Tuppi Danda

Day 2- Tuppi Danda- Noshyampati- Pach Pokhari

Day 3- PanchPokhari — Nasyampati — Tuppi Danda

Day 4- Tuppi Danda- Chhimti- Tipeni- Melamchi

Overall cost: Rs. 5,500 each. Price may vary but it is around 5–6k for an individual.

Things to carry:

1. Water bottle
2. Snacks
3. Some altitude sickness medicines
4. Woolen cap, gloves and trekking stick.
5. Lip care, moisturizer creams, body spray ( highly recommended )
6. Power banks for additional battery charge ( you can get electricity if you wish to pay 200 for generator charge )
7. Camera for photos, highly recommended.