Ghandruk is a popular place for treks in the Annapurna range of Nepal( i.e. specially for Annapurna Base camp trek), with easy trails and various accommodation possibilities.From Ghandruk there are views to the mountains of Annapurna including Machapuchare, Himchuli. By this reason it's purely in natural setting.
I had been wanting to take a short break from my work life since months. Life was slowly turning out to be monotonous and dull. The only way to inject energy in my life was undoubtedly traveling. Traveling always excites me more than it should :) Pokhara was the first place that crossed my mind but, this time I wanted to travel a little far than Pokhara and thus decided to make it up to Ghandruk.
The journey from Pokhara to Ghandruk was exhausting as the roads were dusty and the most of the journey was offroad. After almost 3 hours of bumpy and crazy taxi ride, we reached Ghandruk Bus Stop. Our cab dai told us that we still need to hike for more than 1 hour to reach our guest house. The walking part was fun and less tiring than expected.
The best part about traveling is that it gives you plenty of time to reflect upon yourself. In between working full time jobs and handling my social life, I felt lost and vacant. As cliche it may sound, but traveling is a great catalyst for some deep thinking. Well, traveling can be stressful on its own way, but travel stress if more of a positive stress unlike anxiety caused by work or our day to day life.
While climbing uphill to Ghandruk, we met people from different walks of life. The only thing that was common between all of us was the urge and excitement to reach our destination.We saw large number ‘kachhads’ – the only mode of transportation in the village and it was a beautiful sight to see. Eventually, after climbing steep uphill for around 1 and half hour, we reached our guest house and breathed a sigh of relief.
Ghandruk is a beautiful village and is mostly inhabited by Gurung people. The village is situated at an altitude of 2012 meters above sea level. The village was left untouched by the earthquake. The best part about our entire trip was getting to learn about the rural;village lifestyle of Nepal. Everything about this place had a traditional and rural touch to it and, throughout our stay, we felt like we entered a different part of the world, a part away from the hustle, bustle and rush of the city life. It was indeed a great way to relax and destress ourselves. Unfortunately, it was too foggy for us to see the mountains. There is a always a next time though :) Checking ABC trek off my bucketlist is my next goal and I’m already planning for it.
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