Poon Hill Trek: The Glorious View

A trek perfect for adventure seekers, lasting anywhere from 2 to 8 days.

“Just 5 more minutes,” I told myself as my aching feet were going up the stairs one at a time. The stone stairs kept going up and up and up in a never-ending loop. It was dark and we were in a forest with evergreen trees towering over us. We had been walking for an hour, but it felt like an eternity.

 The sun was about to rise and it was getting bright. Before we reached the top, we could see the tip of the mountains with sunlight glinting off them. I saw people left and right, up and down, staring at the mountains, and we weren't even up yet! But wow, when we got up, it was unbelievable.

I took a flight from Kathmandu, Nepal to Pokhara. Then we drove in a rented jeep for 3 hours to Ulleri. At first, it was a smooth highway road, but as we got up the mountain, the roads were as bumpy as the soles of soccer cleats. Once we got to Ulleri, we had to go on foot because the village had no roads. We walked for about 30 minutes to get to our hotel, Annapurna View. While we walked up, we could see different villages on other hills. We stayed there for the night to start our trek early the next day.

On the first day of our hike to Ghorepani, we left early. Although people said it would take only 3-4 hours, it ended up taking us 6-7 hours due to our slow pace and frequent rest stops. One of the main challenges we faced was the steep staircase as we were still adjusting to the altitude change. We got tired faster than usual and there was a lot of complaining, both in our minds and spoken out loud. During the hike, we saw multiple restaurants and rest stops, and it was really interesting to see people from different countries, including Germany, Spain, England, Australia, and more. That night, we stayed at a decent hotel, where we met some friendly Australians and spent the evening enjoying dinner and playing cards together. Then we went to sleep for our big day.

We woke up at 4 am the next day. The sky was clear, without air pollution or any buildings covering the stars. We were in a pitch-black forest but walked with other people, so it was not as frightening. It took about an hour to make it to the top of Poon Hill,  just in time to see the sunrise. 

The view from up there was breathtaking. From high above the clouds, we could see some beautiful hills below us. But what took my breath away were the main mountains we saw- Annapurna South, Fishtail, and Dhaulagiri. They were beautiful.  And then, as the sun started to smile on the earth, the way it shone on those mountains was simply stunning and radiant. I felt like I was on top of the world.

We stayed there for about an hour. My brother played Nintendo because my parents promised that, if he walked up to Poon Hill, he could play. He played Super Mario Odyssey 11000 feet in the air. Afterward, we went back down for breakfast and watched the mountains one last time. We had a nice view from the hotel. At last, we walked 5 hours back to Ulleri on the steep hills, now with gravity in our favor.

This trek was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me and something I will never forget. This feat was hard, but worth it in the end.