My Eat, Pray, Love Solo Trip to Nepal

A few things crossed my mind when I was dangling on a rope over Kali Gandaki River in Kushma:

Me at 8, and my sister daring to look me in the eye and tell me that her favorite color is pink, yet I had told her specifically that pink is my favorite color. Valentine, I still haven’t let that go. Granted I’m more of a green person now, but still, sister code!!- I think?
How beautiful the year had been (…eventually, Q3 almost got me); some things surprisingly went according to plan but through a different route because the universe could never just find itself complying with what I have planned.
The love that surrounds me: from my friends, to my family, the universe. I felt really loved; still do.
How grateful I am for the gift of travel and all that I get to learn not just about the places but about myself- read more on the deep reflection on this here
My parents will flip when they see the videos of this- if they see the videos. My mom was okay; my dad questioned why I do this to myself.
How proud am I of myself. That I have become the kind of person that says something and does it; keeps promises made to herself. Is that how self-confidence is built? because there really is no one else I trust more than myself.
The past three days I had just spent alone on the mountains, and all I did and didn’t think about. How I want more than anything else to go back to the guest house in Ghorepani and read my Kindle as I sip on my tea again.
I thought about how cute my mom had been that week, for calling to ask when my flight would land so she would take leave to come and pick me up- Dorothy takes pick up duty very seriously and I love that she has instilled that in me- you pick the people you love from the airport.
God, I hope this rope holds and I remember the instructions on how to get back up.

In case you missed it, those were my reflections from my little solo rendezvous to Nepal.

Now to the juicy stuff, what I did and how much it cost me 😊

I entered Nepal to the most beautiful view from the sky, oh My God! I was looking at the view and in my head I had one of these popular Instagram audios playing as a background- whichever viral audio came to mind is the one I’m talking about.

Nepal was on my travel roadmap; my OGs know what I’m referring to. At the beginning of the year, as I’m pinning up my goals, I do that with my travel plans too. Sometimes I achieve 60%, sometimes less or more- but the intentionality pushes me to optimize my everyday life to accommodate my travels. I don’t track my finances and my leave days like a lunatic because I want to (Okay, let me stop myself before I lie any more to you; I love tracking. It just gives me so much peace of mind. Second to the peace of mind I got from sipping tea and reading to the most amazing view in Ghorepani). I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s start from the beginning.

I spent ten days in Nepal- two of those days were spent working- thank God for hybrid working, and my amazing manager- Matt incase you read this, does sucking up get me an extra leave day or two😂?

I spent three days in Kathmandu and one week in Pokhara.

In Kathmandu I visited the monkey temple- this experience was free. There are quite some stairs to get up but nothing too crazy. You can choose to start early to beat the crowd, but I opted to sleep in and start my day a little later.

Then, I headed to the Durbar square and walked around as I ate ice cream.

To end the day, I went to Bouddha Stupa. The entrance fee was 400NPR and I spent the rest of the evening walking around and ended the day by sitting in a café and having a lemonade as I people watched.

To get to Pokhara, I used the bus. There are many comfortable options to choose from. I went to Pokhara with the ‘normal bus’, which cost me 1200NPR and came back with the luxury which cost me 1500NPR. My advice, take the comfort one- you get a more spacious seat, working charging cables and Wi-Fi. I have never had a more productive bus ride.

Pokhara is where most people go as a baseline to start their treks. I stayed at Pokhara Backpackers hostel, and I loved not just their spacious beds, but the fact that if you stay as a guest, you can leave your stuff in their storage room for free as you go for your trek.

Post my workdays, I started my three-day solo trek. I know. My thought when Yasmine (I met Yasmine at the hostel and she got me intrigued on solo trekking as she had just done the Everest Base Camp alone- 14 days, dear reader! Some heroes really don’t wear caps) first mentioned this to me was, “Can never be me”. And we all know what happens to the culprits of this famous last words. Two days later, it was in fact me starting a three-day hike alone.

I took the bus from Pokhara to Nayapul. This cost me 200NPR. I then walked about 2 kilometers to the start of the trekking point.

A few things to take note off as you begin your solo trek:

Get water purification pills because as you hike up, the price of water and other necessities become outrageous. There are water taps along the way where you can refill your water bottle, pop a pill inside, wait thirty minutes and you’re good. I found it helpful to have two bottles with me so at no point was I without water.
The internet will get sketchy at some points. Which is a good thing- disconnecting is the goal young Padawan! What you don’t want is to be unaware of where you are and with no means to find out (No, this is not the time to f**k around and find out)- that’s why Mapy.com is here to save the day. You can download one map for free which is what I did and at any point in your trek you will know where you are. I loved that it showed multiple routes too. If you have the time, you can opt for longer routes- the nature will appall you!
Speaking of being appalled by nature, take time to pause, relax and enjoy the beauty around you- it really is so beautiful; and pausing is good not just for the muscles, but the soul too 😊
Get a hiking permit online ahead of time. It costs 3000 NPR to do it. If you pay at the office at the start of the hiking trail, you will need to pay 6000NPR- Use this website to apply
There are no ATMs so make sure you have enough money in cash as you start your hike. This depends of course on the length of your hike. What constitutes enough though Fellz?

Typical daily spend

Most tea houses cost:

300- room charge per night (budget with a buffer of 500)
Breakfast- 750 to 1000
Dinner- 750 to 1000
A cup of coffee/tea- 150(It gets a little cold up there so you may want to budget extra)
In Ghorepani the tea house charged 150 for warm water to shower so take this into account too.
Drinking water costs 150 in the hiking trails (To put it into perspective, it costs about 30 NPR in Pokhara so get the water pills my little hiker!)

You don’t have to get your hiking gear before you get to Nepal- there are shops where you can rent the gear for the duration of your hike which is way cheaper than getting your own gear. I rented hiking boots for 300 NPR per day and hiking sticks for 150 NPR per day- yes, please get the hiking sticks. I didn’t think I would need them, but they came in quite handy-both while trekking up and downhill.

Below is the breakdown of the trekking per day including prices, distance and elevation:

Day one: Nayapul to Ulleri

Above is a screenshot of the elevation and distance for day one.

Word of advice, take note of the estimated time and the time you actually take on the first day so you can map out how many hours you actually need for the last day as that was a longer trek and you don’t want to be hiking in the dark. Work with a target of getting to a tea house by latest 5pm.

Day two: Ulleri to Ghorepani

This was a shorter trek, and it rained half the time.

On that note, make sure to get a poncho- it cost me 200 NPR for one.

In Ghorepani I stayed in a tea house with the most magnificent view. Reading on my Kindle as I sipped tea to that view made me feel like a Nora Roberts character- I know I mentioned it before but honestly it was that good. You have to walk to the end of the village to get to it, but so worth it.

Day three: Ghorepani to Ghandruk

This day took everything I had in me.

It was a 7-hour trek with very minimal breaks as I did not want to risk being late- when it rains it pours; literally- it rained for the whole day!

My advice, albeit a trek being 3 days, work with buffer time for incase you find beautiful places that you want to stay in for some extra time and to give you the option of staying in, instead of hiking in the rain.

In Ghandruk, I got a bus for Pokhara for 500 NPR- It took close to 3 hours to get there as it had rained and the roads were in a ghastly state to put it ever so lightly.

And now to bungee!

The final day, I went bungee jumping where I met Alice and Chrissy- my advice: TAKE THE LEAP! That means if you’re in Nepal- try out the bungee jumping experience in Kushma.

The cost for bungee jumping, pick up and videos and pictures was 10,500NPR and the company organizes everything very seamlessly for you- 100% recommend them. I found the contact information easily on their website and the booking process was super easy.

Well, that’s it dear reader, I hope this inspires you to visit Nepal (the views are to die for; the people will make you stay), to trek a little or a lot, alone or with company and most important, that you take the leap, whether that means bungee jumping or doing it- whatever ‘it’ is for you😊

Till next time!