Nepal: Poon Hill and Community Project 2024

You will be accompanied throughout the trek by English-speaking local Sherpa guides who have an excellent knowledge of hiking in the region. The guides are first aid trained and will support you throughout your journey, sharing their experience and wisdom with you. You will also be supported by a team of assistant guides and a Different Travel UK tour manager. Your luggage is carried by a team of local porters.

The first two days of the trek you will gain altitude so you will spend more time going uphill. On day three you will spend the morning ascending and the afternoon descending, and the final two days will be descending. It is essential that your training includes plenty of hillwalking and trekking up gradients over consecutive days in order to condition your muscles to this type of exertion. Underfoot you will find stony trails, discover muddy forest floors, rocky steps or scree slopes. In some places it will be very dusty (bring a ‘Buff’ to cover your nose/mouth). There are some suspension bridges to cross.

Temperatures are dependent upon the weather which is usually clear and sunny in the morning, with clouds coming in during the afternoon. You can expect days to be sunny and warm (between 15 ̊C to 25 ̊C) and nights to be cold (between -5 ̊C to 5 ̊C). It is important to be prepared for all weather conditions and temperatures by packing technical non-cotton layers and waterproofs.

Please note: the conditions above are historically accurate but climate change can lead to uncharacteristic conditions which are out of our control. The guides will assess the situation and make decisions to ensure the best enjoyment and safety of the group.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner are included throughout the trip as specified on the itinerary. You will eat at local restaurants in Kathmandu and Pokhara and at teahouses along the trail during the trek. Although the food is plentiful during the trek the menus are not varied and most teahouses offer the same variations of rice, potato and noodle dishes, and soups.
A typical breakfast may include a choice between: eggs, omelette, toast, pancakes and porridge.
A typical lunch may include: dal bhat, pasta, noodles, vegetables, rice, soup, fried potato, momos.
A typical dinner may include: soup, dal bhat, vegetables, pasta, noodles/rice, potato dishes.

You will stay at a hotel in Kathmandu for three nights at the start of the trip and one night at the end of the trip. You will stay at a hotel in Pokhara for one night before the trek, and one night after the trek. All hotels have en-suite facilities and are on a twin or triple-share basis. A single-occupancy hotel room may be possible subject to availability and payment of a single supplement. During the trek you will stay for four nights in tea houses with shared bathroom facilities. There will be two, three or four people per room at each teahouse.
Tea houses are locally-owned lodges which comprise of a heated dining area, shared bathroom facilities and bedrooms. The tea houses are comfortable but very simple. You will eat your meals in the dining room and in the evenings you will likely enjoy the warmth of the room to play cards and get to know each other before retiring to bed. Battery charging facilities, soft drinks, hot drinks, snacks, toilet paper etc. are available to purchase from the reception area in the dining room. The bedrooms have mattresses, pillows and blankets but are not heated.

The hotels have en-suite facilities with flushing toilets and hot showers. The shower and toilet facilities at the tea houses during the trek will vary. Most now have gas-powered hot water showers, payable locally (approx. 400-750 rupees). You need to bring your own towel. A highly absorbent but lightweight and fast drying trek towel is recommended.
There will be Western and Asian squat toilets which flush. Toilet paper should always be placed in the bin, not flushed. If you need to use the toilet during the trek day you must find a private area off the trail. Used toilet paper must be packed up into a nappy bag or sanitary disposal bag, carried in your daypack and disposed of properly at the teahouse (please bring your own nappy sacks with you). You should bring one to two rolls of toilet paper for your own use but more can be purchased along the way if you run out. You are advised to bring a small pack of baby wipes and use natural or biodegradable soap/shampoo.

An ideal candidate for the trek would be someone who enjoys trekking and being out of their comfort zone; is interested in different cultures and is willing to train for the challenge.  The minimum age is 18, although 16-17 year olds may register if accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.

The trek does not require technical climbing skills but it is still a tough trek so it is important to take your training seriously and arrive in Nepal as fit as you can be. The local guides, in consultation with your Different travel tour manager, may advise that if you are not fit enough to continue that you leave the trek.
Please note that attempting to complete the trek without any training may make the experience unnecessarily difficult and hinder your experience, and also the experience of your teammates.
You should start training at least 6 months before your departure. The best form of training for a trek is get outside and start walking. If you’re not a regular walker, start slowly with short distances then as you get more comfortable, increase your mileage and add in more challenging terrain until you can comfortably walk for several consecutive days, for around 8 hours at a time, on hilly terrain while maintaining a comfortable pace without needing to stop frequently or more than once an hour for a 5-minute rest.
Hill walking while carrying a fully packed backpack while wearing your hiking boots should feature predominantly in your training as this will help prepare your body for the terrain and baggage load you will experience during the trek.

This trek is graded challenging because of the combination of long days trekking over varying terrain (including some days where you will trek uphill all day), the changeable climate and the basic conditions at the teahouse accommodation. Each day’s trek is between 5 and 8 hours in duration (variable depending on group pace).

You will slowly ascend to an altitude of 2800m, then trek to the highest point on the trek at 3400m (Poon Hill) where you will spend a short period of time before descending back to 2800m. Despite 3400m being within the agreed threshold for high altitude (3000m+), your time at this altitude is very limited so you are unlikely to feel symptoms of altitude exposure. Your local guides are experienced in spotting altitude related symptoms but please speak up if you are concerned about how you feel.

The kitlist for this trip can be downloaded here.