Boots made for Walking

Mr H and I are fresh back from trekking around Annapurna (a region of the Himalayas) in the west of Nepal. It was something he'd always wanted to do, and as I've come to adopt the attitude of 'if you can't beat them, join them' (hence my constant stomping over mountains at his side) I went too. This stomp, though, was much more than a walk, it was a real adventure and I've documented some of it here for those of you who might be interested in the Himalayas, trekking, and Kathmandu.

Stop over in Delhi between London and Kathmandu - the smog was intense and there were lots of kites (huge birds) flying around the runway which made me rather nervous!

Our room in Kathmandu, complete with 'zen zone'. The view from the balcony shows how necessary a little place of tranquility is here.

Festival dancers in Patan Durbar Square

Restoration work from the 2015 earthquake is still very evident, it's a long and painstaking process. Look at the crack at the top of this building.

Monkey Temple which gave glorious views over Kathmandu valley.

Pond of peace.

Spot the little monkey who is ignoring the 'don't climb' sign.

Spice seller on the street.

Flight to Pokhara and a first view of the Annupurna range we'd be trekking in.

Fishtail Mountain is one of the highest in this range and is the pointed mountain to the left of the centre. All these mountains are only a few hundred metres off Everest's height.

A bunch of photographs from our trek...

Hotel Nirvana!

Modi River. Lovely colour due to the glacial water, so I was told.

70% of the world's butterfly species live in Nepal! I think this one is called a Bandit.

It was good walking weather, between 20-24 C most days. Cold at night though, we always had a fire to sit around in the lodges.

Bananas at altitude.

These donkeys had been taking cement up to Gandruck and were enjoying a cool drink on their way to refill their loads. All the animals we saw appeared healthy and well cared for which was great.

Stormy arrival at Gandruck, but clear the next morning.

Lunch with a view.

Locally weaved pashmina, I couldn't resist.

Prayer flags. When they become old and worn out, they're cremated. Each flag has a prayer written on it.

Phew, makes me tired just looking at this app on my phone!

Sunrise on Annapurna South.

Water mill used for grinding millet.

Trumpet flowers.

My toes enjoying a well deserved break from boots!

Thali, a dish I'd never heard of but soon came to love.

Breakfast juice will never taste the same after this.

Uninvited dinner guest in a jungle lodge!

Fire and wine, a perfect end to the day (though wine was pretty rare in the mountains!)

The road between Kathmandu and India - crazy assed road full of potholes, dodgy bridges and landslides. Seven hours on it was seven hours too many! LOL.

The Dwarika's Hotel - the perfect stop over before the long journey home.

Not sure what we'd ordered here but it was delicious (and vegetarian, which is pretty much what I stuck to the entire trip).

Taxi to the airport...!

Thanks for reading, and looking, I hope you enjoyed these snaps from Nepal. The mountains were stunning, the food delightful, the architecture breathtaking and the wildlife wonderful, but it was the people who really captured my heart. They were kind and warm and generous of spirit, we felt so welcome in their country and always safe. I really hope to visit again, it's a truly incredible place, and like nowhere else on Earth. If you're interested, we booked through this company.