Hiking In Nepal: Mohare Danda Trek In The Annapurna Himalayan Range

Have you ever gone hiking in Nepal? Trekking in Nepal is an epic bucket list adventure. Recently, I got to do the Mohare Danda Trek in the Annapurna Himalayan Range. This 5-day trek is is a stunning alternative to the more popular Poon Hill Trek. Honestly, I didn't see a single other hiker outside of my own trekking group. I saw animals, high peaks -- like Fishtail Mountain, Annapurna Massif and Annapurna 2 -- and got to stay in local teahouses and homestays in remote places rarely accessed my tourists. How cool is that? *A big thanks to the Nepal Tourism Board and the Pacific Asia Travel Association for sponsoring my trip! The drive to Pokhara from Kathmandu is long and bumpy but as city transforms into countryside I'm reminded of the journey ahead. Pokhara is a hippy city with conscious cafes, crystal shops and active adventures around Phewa lake, building my excitement for the Mohare Danda Trek ahead. The trek, an off the beaten path five day hike through the Annapurna Himalayas begins three hours away in Jaleshwar. Day one is three hours straight up hill to our teahouse accommodation in Bhaskar though the beautiful mountain views keep me going. Day two is even harder with seven hours uphill but that's the price you pay to play in the clouds. With every set of stairs comes another view and we meet four-legged friends and locals along the way. We go up and down past giant boulders and through villages stopping for lunch with a view and a fun game of Carrom board before continuing on to Nangi village for the night. Views of Nepal's high peaks including Annapurna too enhance the stay. Day three is another seven hours uphill. We enter Alpine forests with a new pup companion named Seto and head farther up into the clouds toward our goal destination Mohare Danda. The views along the way are some of my favorite of the whole trek. It's so stunning the rain doesn't even bother me and at three p.m we arrived at 3300 meters with high peak views, worth it. On day four we begin descending towards Tikot village. While I love the trail animals there is a unwanted guest, leeches prevalent during monsoon season. We quickly scramble over rocks and through mud to avoid them though the mountains distract me. Along the way our porters find the rare Gasagomba, a caterpillar fungus that's also an aphrodisiac. Down and down we go past buffalo and streams and into fairy-tale woodland spilling out into wide open spaces until we reach Tikot. Momos and Chomain provide necessary fuel for exploring this adorable high altitude village. As if the trek never happened we're on our final steep day five descent. I forget the physical pain of the trek focusing on gratitude, grateful to have gotten to hike through Nepal's Annapurna Himalayas. I cross the final bridge and wave the mountains goodbye. Alright, super sweaty just finished the Mohare Danda Trek in Nepal. Five days, over 22 hours of hiking and over 3300 meters in altitude. A lot of fun but really hard.