Solo trip in Nepal
Click on the picture above to see the photo album!
Since my trip in Israel in July last year, I didn’t go for a long trip again until last April. In March, I suddenly felt the urgent need to go on holidays! Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any friends who were willing to go on a short notice, so I decided to go alone, something I always wanted to try. After a bit of investigation I found a cheap ticket to Nepal, and three weeks later I was on my plane!
I arrived very tired in Kathmandu after a two day journey, and a horrible night in New Dehli airport (not recommended). I wasn’t disappointed: Kathmandu was like no other city I had ever seen. By far the busiest! Even a bit too busy for my tired self so I stayed only one day. I moved on to visit Bodnath and its magnificent Stupa and the impressive Hindu temple of Pashupatinath. I continued and stopped for two days in Bhaktapur. I was also lucky enough to be in Bhaktapur at the time of the Bisket Jatra festival, to celebrate the Nepali New Year with the locals. This was a truly unbelievable experience: the whole city was packed and the atmosphere was incredibly festive.
Afterwards I left Kathmandu Valley and headed towards the town of Pokhara at the foot of the Himalayas. However I stopped halfway to stay one night in the lovely village of Bandipur. Rarely have I experienced such a warm welcome in a village: all the inhabitants were really friendly and the town very picturesque.
So finally I arrived in Pokhara, which was very disappointing to me, especially because of a heavy layer of fog that prevented me to see any mountains! But of course Pokhara was only the base to start my trekking in the Annapurnas. Due to a lack of time I took a flight to Jomsom and from there trekked up to Kagbeni and Muktinath and then all the way down to Marpha. I enjoyed the trek a lot, the scenery is stunning, the locals are lovely and the trek is varied and not too tough. However if I had to choose a trek again, I would probably go for another one as they very recently built a road along the trail and the tranquility is often disturbed by jeeps going by very fast and leaving a big could of dust behind them.
I finished my trip by visiting Kathmandu and Patan in depth and the monkey temple of Swayambunath.
To conclude, I’ve had a fabulous experience in Nepal. I won’t forget the lovely people there who have been so friendly all along my trip. It is also a precious mix of culture, landscapes, architecture and spirituality that is very rare. Traveling solo has never been a problem either: I’ve met loads of people and have experienced the culture much more than I ever had before on trips with friends. This is certainly an experience that I recommend to everybody to try once in their life. And to be really honnest: I don’t think it will be my last solo trip!