In late September 2025, a lingering low-pressure system over the Bay of Bengal and northern India caused a tremendous amount of rain to fall in Kathmandu and eastern Nepal. On Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th September from 240mm to 322mm of rain fell and parts of Kathmandu itself were flooded. It rained heavily for 40 hours, a continuous and dispiriting downpour. Since October is the start of the trekking season, tourism would be affected. Bridges, houses, highways were swept away, people displaced.
In the aftermath, we walked a little way out of Dhulikhel towards Namo Buddha, and parts of the road below the Kali Temple, near where I used to live, had been swept away by the surging floods. I had been intending to go to the Everest region, but road transport had been severely affected, and flights were all booked up. The only possibility would be trying to go by helicopter, but these flights were full, and the price kept going up, so we switched to the Annapurna area, as the road to Pokhara was open. It did occur to me that I was acting like a selfish Western tourist, only devoted to getting into the trek, while all this devastation was hitting Nepal, almost like another earthquake. But somehow Nepal is very resilient and just keeps going.
Day 1: Kande to Deurali
As we looked back towards Pokhara, everything was bathed in milky light; all that rain was still evaporating into a new cycle. Rain started again at 5:00 pm. No visibility, and not a very good outlook for clear views, with the forecast for rain continuing on and off for a week.
Day 2: Deurali to Low Camp
A clear view at 05:30. Cloud billowed up the valleys at about 10:00. Despite all the rain, the path was in good condition, everything held in place by the trees, for example the hardy Himalayan Oak, Rhododendrons, all trunks mossy. It was still and silent, though with the buzz of cicadas.
Leeches evident. Blood soaked hand. Left pinkie kept bleeding, thanks to the anti-coagulant they inject. A spectacular thunderhead was visible at 18:00
Day 3: Low Camp to High Camp
The late monsoon was still producing a lot of moisture, and clouds formed from below through condensation, so clear views were only available early on. As we climbed up the trees started to thin out and became shorter. Suddenly we could see all the way to High Camp with a well-defined ridge. It was quite windy and cool when we approached the lodges at High Camp. Cloud battalions were advancing up the valley towards the Annapurna range. We could see the sheer walls on the Annapurna Base Camp trek, and all the villages beyond Chomrung. It was reassuring to see this quotation from John Muir:
Day 4: High Camp to Upper Viewpoint, and descent to Forest Camp
We left at 04:00 to catch the sunrise. Many people were going up, a visible flow of head torches. Sheep were sleeping on the path. We arrived after a two hour ascent, and in time for the sunrise, with about 70 people milling around. It was a little tempting to go on and escape the crowds at the viewpoint, but the ridge does get quite narrow, and there have been reports of people slipping.
After breakfast at the lodge we continued down, a longish descent of 1600m and 20 km. The highest the rhododendrons will grow is about 4000m and all concentrated on one side of the ridge, either due to the soil or to get some shelter from the prevailing winds. They are stunted but just as beautiful.
Day 5: Forest Camp to Landruk
It was a drop of 1045m to Landruk. The weather was humid, windless and cloudy. There were many steep staircases on the way down, all wet and quite slippy. Handrails were in place for safety. We have met the following nationalities on the trek: Belgian, French, Australian, Swiss, Indian, German, Israeli, Japanese.
Day 6: Landruk to Chhomrong
We still had to descend to the river this morning. We met a French guy aged 72, walking alone with a minimal pack. Plucky. Now the trail is much busier. After lunch there was a gruelling rise up to Chhomrong. The second longest suspension bridge in Nepal is impressive, and removes the very steep descent previously necessary.
Day 7: Chhomrong to Bamboo
A strong stream ran by rice fields. A short day, but going up was still quite challenging, through the humid air. A large group had descended from the Base Camp, but there was no room at Bamboo, so they had to keep going to Chhomrong. It is apparent that this trek has become a ‘must do’ for young Nepalis, particularly during the Dasain festival, as I had never seen the trail as busy as this.
Day 8: Bamboo to Himalaya
Cloudier weather. Lunch in Doban then a steep rise to Himalaya, where the three lodges were packed. Rain fell shortly after arriving. Many dogs on the path, who seem to shuttle between the lodges.
Day 9: Himalaya to Machhapuchhre Base Camp
The trail is rockier and rather worn. We passed the avalanche zone, Himalayan birch trees by the path. If there is an avalanche, there is no warning and everything shoots off the heights and thunders down below. Anecdotally, someone saved themselves by going towards the river. A long slow climb up to MBC, where the lodges are impressively built stone structures. About 350 people an hour going up or down, certainly an impressive volume, if not tranquil.
Day 10: Machhapuchhre Base Camp to Annapurna Base Camp – down to Himalaya.
A sleepless night. Started off at 04:00. Some hot water to drink, and two Hobnobs on the way. Very much lacked energy, but kept going, and no other altitude effects evident. There were hordes of people out for the sunrise, many perched on the abyss above the glaciated valley which is crumbling away. Some new snow lay just above the base camp at 4130m.
We had a clear view of the avalanche zone on the way down. The classic U-shaped glaciated valley appeared, though hard to imagine the whole place completely filled up with ice slowly eroding the edges under the law of gravity.
Day 11: Himalaya to Chhomrong
A long descent to Chhomrong, and it was not all down, with some impressive rises on the way as well. A thunderstorm started as we left Sinuwa, with quite heavy rain. But afterwards the air was very clear with impressive views, and new snow could be seen on the rocks of the heights. The following day a jeep took us to Pokhara.