During my term break, we (my family) decided to visit the Annapurna Conservation Area. During our flight to Jomsom, I saw Nilgiri, Dhaulagiri, Tukuche and many other mountains. When we stepped out of our plane, the majestic views of the snow-capped mountains amazed us.

Next day we took a jeep to Muktinath and visited the ‘Temple of The Eternal Fire’. There were absolutely no trees in sight!

After lunch we waited for a jeep for two hours. Unfortunately we were told that the jeep would come only the next day! So, we decided to walk to Jomsom.

On our way back, due to my clumsiness, my brother and I got got lost. But we found our family after a while. We spent the night in Khinga. The next day we walked to Kagbeni.

It was afternoon and the wind was so strong that we could hardly walk. We had to cover our faces as sand dust was blowing with the wind. It felt like we being were swept off our feet. We walked on and our next stop was Marpha, where the famous apples come from. We visited a monastery and left for Tuckuche. Though it was a long walk we enjoyed it. My dad and I also saw the starting of a river.

The next morning we left for Lete. It rained and the weather was cold. We reached a hotel which had nice rooms and a fireplace under the table.

The next day we walked to Tatopani. After resting awhile we went straight to the Tatopani pond. It was so relaxing.

My brother and sister really wanted to ride a horse, so my father’s friend arranged for one. They took turns to ride the horse, but when it was my brother’s turn the horse gave him a side kick on the chest. Luckily nothing happened. My sister got real lucky as my brother didn’t want to ride the horse after that.

Then we continued our journey and reached Beni. From there we took a car to Pokhara. It was certainly the most memorable trip of my life. Now I understand why so many foreigners come to Nepal to trek. I used to wonder why pay so much to walk.

But what disappointed me the most was that there were hardly any people from the city in sight. I would like to suggest everyone to visit such places at least once.

— Cynthia Satyal,

Class IX, St Xavier’s School