The map of our trek:
Pokara to Bahundanda
Elevation gain: 2700’ to 4300’ (+1400’)
Estimated miles: 8km
Time: 6am-5:30pm
We took a bus from Pokhara to Betsi Sharah, at least what we think was “Besa”, or maybe even Sera, but from there followed everyone from our bus like a flock of sheep onto another bus. This was an off-roading bus, and tunes were jamming while we bouncing along a very rough road.
We finally were dropped off in Bhulebhule, around noon. After being on a bus since 7am with little food we ordered lunch at our first tea house. Well this took 2.5 hours to prepare and eat, meaning we did not hit the trail until after 2pm.
It was rather warm and humid in this part of the hills, and after an hour of hiking we were covered head to toe in sweat. The botany was fun, and there were so many butterflies it almost felt unreal.
For the night we stopped in a small tea house on the outskirts of Bahundanda after a rather steep and long climb. It was also getting dark and we were nervous about continuing. We met an Israeli father/son couple there, who would prove to become trekking friends and companions over the next couple weeks.
The tea house had a cold shower - a very nice relief after being so hot all day, and offered rooms with single beds, very low ceilings, and mattresses about 1” thick. But, we were prepared and figured if the rest of the trek was like that we would be OK.
