Dhaulagiri sanctuary trek | Newly explore trekking route around Dhaulagiri

Dhaulagiri sanctuary trek | Newly explore trekking route around Dhaulagiri: Dhaulagiri Sanctuary trek is the newly explored trekking route, can reach Dhaulagiri South base camp 4050 meters in 10 days through the typical Magar village.

Top 5 places to visit in Nepal

                Top 5 places to visit in Nepal

Nepal is probably the most diversified country in the world yes for sure it is. Yes for sure it is small in size but in terms of people, culture, history, landscape, climatic zones its mind blowing. It is situated between the India and China. The rectangular shape country is geographically divided into three regions. There is mountain region in the north which occupies 15% of its total area which is called Himalaya. The biggest region is located in the middle which is called hilly region occupies 68% of the total area which consists of mountain, hills, tropical valleys where two famous city are located Kathmandu and Pokhara. Terai region is located in the foothill at the bottom of hilly region which consists of flat and tropical landscape which is famous as the food store of Nepal because most of the food is produced in this region.

Now let’s talk about people. Nepal is home for around 2.9 million people basically there are two different tribes that are Aryan and Mongoloid. Aryan tribe is influenced from south Asia as the people from this community look like Indian & Arabian whereas the people from Mongoloid community look like Tibetan, Chinese and Burmese. There are more than 100 different ethnic group people living in Nepal. Also there are around 100 of dialect spoken all over but the national language is Nepali. People from several ethnic groups follow different religion, custom, culture and rituals. Hindu is the main religion in the country beside that there are lot of Buddhist, Muslim and Christian in the country. Shamanism is also widely practice in the rural remote areas where the follower is the worshiper of nature.

Now here in this paragraph we are talking about geography, flora and fauna. Nepal has a huge diversity in climate as it is possible to grow Apple and Banana within the gap distance of 25/30Km. The lowest elevation in the country is Kechanakalan which is 60M above the sea level and the highest point is Mt Everest 8848M which is known as the highest mountain, roof of the world. Tropical, subtropical, temperate, alpine subalpine and arctic climate can be experience here what made it wonderland in terms of botany and vegetation. 888 species of birds, 181 species of mammals, 100 species of reptile, 640 species of butterfly, 185 species of freshwater fish, 43 species of amphibians, around 6000 flowering plants are found in Nepal.

After discussing about people, geography and botany now we are discussing about top 5 places to visit in Nepal. This category includes the highlight of Nepal that if you are from abroad and would like to explore the highlight of country here chec out the list bleow.

1.       Kathmandu: Kathmandu is the capital of Nepal covering an area of 352Sq Km. There were three kingdoms in the ancient time in Kathmandu valley which is called Kantipur, Patan & Bhaktapur. Now it’s the biggest city in Nepal with maximum no of people living. Kathmandu is known as the city of temple as we can see temples everywhere and there are bunch of temples in the city and bunch of UNESCEO heritage site. There are dozens of choices for visitor you can go hiking, you can do visit around the sites, you can visit the museum, you can explore the cuisine or you can spend your day in the hustling and bustling area around the heritage sites. Kathmandu daurbar square, Patan daurbar square, Bhaktapur daurbar square, Pashupatinath temple, Buddhnath stupa, Monkey temple, Budhinilkantha temple, Taudaha lake, Nagarkot hill station from where we can see panoramic Himalayan view. These are the places to visit in Kathmandu beside this there are dozens of place to explore.

2.       Pokhara: Pokhara is adventure capital if we compare Kathmandu as heritage capital. Pokhara is one of the most picturesque cities in south Asia. There are many things to do as this city is also called the gateway to Annapurna as many trekkers for Annapurna, Dhaulagiri and upper mustang starts or finishes their journey here. Pokhara has created an icon of being adventure city like you can do many adventures here. Skydiving, Paragliding, mountain biking, bungee jumping can be done here. As a adrenaline sports rafting, jip flying are also available here. Short hike like Sharangkot and Peace pagoda are highly recommended that you can see the Himalaya hovering over the sky and you can see the city and lakes beneath. There are dozens of cave and lakes to explore. Davis falls, International mountain museum are highly recommended to visit. If you don’t like to walk, hike, physically challenging task you have also plenty of option to hang out just take a boat and enjoy the Himalaya from the lake or you can enjoy multiple cuisine   lying by the side of lake.

3.       Lumbini: Lumbini is the birth place of God Buddha he was born in Lumbini in 623 BC. His name was Siddhartha when he was child. He was born as a prince thus all kinds of comfort was available for him at that time. Later he attained enlightenment and became famous with the name of Gautam Buddha. Now the place where Buddha was born is listed in the UNESCEO world heritage site. There are bunch of attraction to see that hundreds of monastery, stupa and chorten are spread in a big area. Maya devi temple, Ashoka pillar are the place of interest to visit there. It takes 8 hour drive to reach lumbini from Kathmandu and it can be reach by flight in thirty minutes departing from Kathmandu every day.

4.       Chitwan: Chitwan is one of the growing cities in Nepal which is famous for the wildlife sanctuary which is called Chitwan National park which is famous for birds and wildlife. This national park is listed in the UNESCEO world heritage sites. This national park is famous for Royal Bengal tiger, one horn rhino, Gharial crocodile, spotted deer, wild boar and many kinds of reptiles, birds are found. This place was inhabited by Tharu people who have beautiful culture and golden history of adopting themselves in this area. In chitwan we can do Jungle safari, canoe riding, elephant riding, Tharu culture observation and city tour. It takes 10 min to reach by flight from Kathmandu and 7 hour by drive from Kathmandu.

5.       Mustang: Mustang is one of the districts across Himalaya which is located behind Annapurna. The capital town of this district is Jomshom which is 150Km away from Pokhara. The visitor get blessed with amazing Himalayan scenery, Towering Himalayan mountain, Ancient caves-monasteries, Apple orchard, Thakali people their custom, culture, ritual, religion and amazing landscape which looks like dessert mountain terrain. There are several places to visit like Kagbeni, Jomshom, Marpha, Titi lake, Dhaulagiri ice fall etc. There is one holiest temple of Hindu which is called Muktinath. There is a deepest gorge on the way between Mt Annapurna and Mt Dhaulagiri. Foreigner should get the permit to visit this region which cost around 40$ this charge is for the foreigner except SAARC Nationalities.

Everest Short Treks

Everest Short Treks: xdesc

Everest base camp trek difficulty

            Everest base camp trek difficulty

Everestbase camp trek is dream for every explorer around the world. This beautiful journey starts from Kathmandu taking a 30 minute flight to one of the world thrilling airport of Lukla. Then the trail follows dudhkoshi valley crossing few suspension bridge towards Namche bazaar. This journey is the combination of challenging journey through the high khumbu valley exploring with Sherpa culture and people. Everest base camp trek can be difficult if you are not physically fit or if you get sick in the mountain.

Everestbase camp trek isn’t difficult if you use the regular trail that most of the trekkers use. Everest base camp trek can be difficult if you combine this trek with some pass like Chola, Renjola & Khangmala. These three pass trek is also one of the famous trek from Everest region. Everest base camp trek can be grade as moderate/difficult trek.  Highest elevation we have to hike during Everest base camp trek is Kalapatthar 5545m. Kalapatthar is a view point to see Mt Everest. We can see Mt Everest from Everest base camp but that is not good enough.

If you are a good hiker you can do Everest base camp trek easily but you have to be careful about few things like

I)                    Walk slow and steady pace above 3500m

II)                  Eat and sleep well

III)                Eat plenty of fluid

IV)               Drink bottle or treated water

V)                 Eat hygienic food

If you are serious with following the above mention rule you can be able to do Everest base camp trek easily. This is not a tough hike, it’s tough because of altitude

When to trek in Nepal

                When to trek in Nepal

Mt Everest seen from Kalapathar

Trekking in the Himalaya is the best thing that we can do in Nepal. To explore this beautiful Himalayan country trekking is the best way. Spending few weeks in Himalaya will let know much more about Nepal. In this blog we are going to discuss about when to trek in Nepal?

Basically Nepal experience four different season summer (June/July/August) Autumn (September/October/November) Winter (December/January/February) Spring (March/April/May). For trekking two seasons is the best that is Autumn and Spring. We are discussing about what is the benefit of trekking in these two season and also we are discussing about other season Summer and winter what we can do at that time.

Yak Himalayan Caravan

01)   Autumn season: Autumn season is the best time for trekking in Nepal so many of the trekkers trek at this time. After the end of monsoon season the landscape gets greener with plenty of water flowing through river and waterfall. Green terraced rice field adds up the magical beauty to the nature. High land province offers the best visibility and best weather. It doesn’t get chilly cold up there during this time.

Mt Dhaulagiri seen from Ghorepani

02)   Spring Season: This is the second big season for trekking in Himalaya. After the end of winter season the spring comes with vivid colorful vistas. During this time the visibility gets better and stunning and less snow remains in the trail so walk gets easier but sometime it could get snowfall in the high province. The days get better with scorching sun whereas the night above 5000m could get chilly in the night time.

Faces of Nepal (Smoking women)

03)   Winter Season: Winter season is not good season for trekking though it’s ok below 4000m and the weather gets stunning and we have magnificent view. We can do few trek in this season around the lower provinces below 4000m. Ghorepani Poonhill trek, Everest Panorama trekking, Millennium trekking and Nagarkot Chisapani trekking are the best hike that we can do during winter season. This season could be the good option for mountain and night photography.

Mountain seen from Namche Everest

04)   Summer Season: Summer season in the Himalayas get either cloudy or rainy in the high province whereas lower valley gets hot and humid during this time. Trekking through the lush green forest could be one of the suffocating task because of the slippery trail spread with leeches. But in the high Himalaya the sun shines with little mountain view which later disappears. But to explore the highland flora summer is the best time. During July/August the pastureland of the high Himalaya gets more beautiful because it’s full of blooming different flower. Ghorepani Poonhill trek, Nagarkot Chisapani trek  and Kathmandu valley cultural trip would be the best for that time.

Posing Buffalo
Location : Annapurna Nepal

Nepal Trek Annapurna

                       Nepal Trek Annapurna

Medieval town Kagbeni by the bank of  Kaligandaki river 

Annapurna which literally means the god of the grain which was derived from Shanskrit word. Annapurna region is the most diversified region in Nepal which stretches from the western part of Manaslu in the east and in the west it borders with the eastern part of Dhaulagiri whereas it stretches from upper mustang to lush green valley of Seti river. There are several High Mountain and towering peaks in Annapurna region which feeds several rivers like Kaligandaki, Marsyangdhi, Madi & Seti which are the life line for the people who are living nearby. Countless numbers of flora-fauna, Hidden Shangri-La and high dessert, smiling and welcoming ethnic people, ancient and medieval culture heritage had made this journey unique and special. 

Mt Dhaulagiri view from Poonhill

Annapurna region could be one of the best place in Nepal to explore because it’s totally diversified and colorful.  Whether its rushing river flowing through the tropical gorge or the towering peak or the pine forest in the dessert or the blooming buckwheat and barely. The best way of exploring this beautiful region is trekking but if you are not physically fit for several weeks hike you can visit by jeep and flight also.

Mountain Boy with his dog

River marsyangdhi orignates from the end of the Highest lake Tilicho 4900M which is located behind Himalaya. The landscape used to be dry and barren behind the Himalaya because it used to be locate in the rain shadow area thus this place doesn’t get rain it only gets snowfall in winter and spring time.

There are dozens of different ethnic group found in Annapurna region which you can see during your trekking and journey. These ethnic people have their own language, culture, custom, ritual, religion and way of living. The major ethnic group found in Annapurna region is Gurung, Magar, Thakali, Tibetean Bhotia as well as some other ethnic people can be found in the region.

Mt Annapurna view from Annapurna Base Camp

There are several treks that we can do in the Annapurna region which are mention below :-

01)   Annapurna Circuit trek

02)   Annapurna Base camp trek

03)   Mardi Himal Trek

04)   Ghorepani Poonhill trek

05)   Jomshom Muktinath trek

06)   Nar Phu trek

07)   Ghalegaon Ghanpokhara trek

08)   Panchase trek

09)   Khopra Danda trek

10)   Royal Trekking

Photo Journey of Annapurna Circuit Trek

Annapurna circuit trek is one of the famous treks in Nepal. This journey is also known as backpackers trail because we can see so many backpackers trekking solo in this region. Annapurnacircuit is one of the outstanding outdoor journey because its full of adventure, thrill, amusement, challenge & obstacles and it goes through all kinds of climatic zone found in the world starting subtropical and pass through arctic at Thoroung-La pass 5416m.

In this blog I would like to exhibit the latest photos from Annapurna Circuit Trek done this January.Himalayan Smile Treks & Adventure is a leading trekking company based in Nepal. We have bunch of experienced mountain guide working in Nepal, Tibet, Bhutan & India.

Nowadays the number of visitor from abroad is decreasing in Annapurna Circuit for that many of us blame new road construct in the Marsyangdhi valley. The good news is the number of internal tourist (Nepali visitor) is increasing dramatically. Our analysis about road construction is :- It can make bit difference but in aggregate it doesn’t make big difference because road makes easier your journey, can enjoy the scenery from high province, and the good thing is its reducing the no of days to be spent for trekking because we can reduce few days by taking jeep which saves not only the time also the big amount of bucks.

So below here are photos, please don’t forget to comment, your comments and critics are always valuable for us.