Standing on top of Poon Hill as sunrise unveils the sweeping Himalayan vista, your early morning start is richly rewarded as the glittering night sky gives way to the spectacular panorama of peaks from this famous viewpoint.
A trek well suited to first-time hikers, these fertile southern flanks of the Annapurnas are easily accessible from the adventure hub of Pokhara and home to hospitable hill folk such as the Gurungs, Magars and Tamangs. This trek doesn’t take you right in among the mountains but delivers an unrivalled range of scenery rising directly from the sub-tropical valley to the Himalayan foothills up to the ramparts of the sacred, unclimbed Fishtail.
As you find yourself quietly climbing through forests of pine, bamboo, oak and rhododendron with flashes of deep crimson in spring, look for birds, hanging moss and delicate orchids blooming in the trees. Rest on age-old platforms along the path. You are actually on the trail to Jomsom, up the Kali Gandaki river, whose Thakali village teashops have long hosted the ebb and flow of trans-Himalayan traffic. Your footsteps follow those of travellers, merchants and pilgrims who for centuries have plied this historic and well-kept trade route, accompanied by the clinking bells of decorated mule and pony caravans carrying loads to and from Tibet.
