Mitrata-Nepal Foundation

The trekking team consisted of 7 girls, 3 boys, 1 guide, my friend Tara Kunal (board member) and me. The children were very energetic and excited about their first ever trekking.

On April 6th we left for Pokhara from Kathmandu. We spent a night in Pokhara and then headed to Naya Pool the following morning. After a half an hour walk, we reached at Berethati where we had our breakfast. Then we started our journey to Ulleri which was our destination for that day. On 8th we continued to Ghorepani. Finally on 9th April, we reached our final destination, Poon Hill. The following day, all of us woke up at 4:30 am in the morning to see the beautiful sunrise over the Himalayas. The weather was very beautiful and the view was crystal clear. It was a breath taking scenery. We saw Mt. Dhaulagiri, Mt. Dhaulagiri III, Mt. Tukuche, Mt. Nilgiri, Mt. Annapurna, and Mt. Machhapuchre. We were all very happy and thankful to God. We spent an hour in Poon Hill. The site was filled with lot of tourists that day, almost 300. One Australian group had 50 tourists. There were also Nepali groups.

After the beautiful sight seeing, we returned back to our hotel and had our breakfast. Then we started our journey to Ghandruk. It was a very long walk high hills and down hills. The students were very fast walker and we trailed behind them. We reached Ghandruk at 5:30 pm. We rested there for the night. The very next day we visited around the village and found out why the village was recognized as a model village, the beauty, the people, the culture of that village was simply out of words. The village was really beautiful and we can watch the breath taking view of Mt. Annapurna from there. The people there did know what hospitality means, they treated each and every guest like their own family. The Gurung community of Ghandruk was very aware of their culture and tradition and they still had maintained it like it used to be centuries before. Ghandruk village has been the major destination of Foreign and domestic tourists only because of the beauty and the culture of it and we are really glad that we were also the one to visit the Ghandruk village.

On April 10th, we started our journey back to Berethanti. The children were amazingly fast walker so they left Tara and me behind and reached their spot well ahead of us. By the time we got there, they had already ordered the lunch for us as well. After the lunch we went back to Pokhara and freshened ourselves. The children wanted to ride the boats on the Fewa Lake so we rented 3 boats. We spent an hour boat riding. We were pretty exhausted and returned back to our hotel. We rested our final night in Pokhara.

The next morning, our bus picked us in our hotel at 6:00 am and we all rode the bus back to Kathmandu. The journey was very successful and everyone had a tremendous fun. At times, I was worried and prayed to God to forbid any mishaps and accidents. Thanks to God that all were safe and sound.

I had planned this trekking for a long time and it took me over a year to find the sponsors and collect the fund. I had given words to the children to take them to trip after they finished their SLC exams. I was worried about not finding enough sponsors at times and did not want to let the children down. But with the hard work and determination and with the tremendous support from my dear friends, I was able to accomplish this project.

So this is the right time to reflect back and be appreciative and grateful to all my dear friends who had believed in me, supported me and generously helped me in this small mission to put smiles on the faces of Mitrata teen trekkers.

I would like to thank my friend Steve Mannshardt, President executive director of WWEP who had generously provided all the trekking gears for us. He provided

12 pair boots, 12 jackets, 12 pair gloves, 12 pair socks and 12 hats. My Nepali friends Aangmaya Sherpa and my neighbor Tirtha Rai sponsored 5 bag packs, each for the trip.

Finally, I would like to thank all my dear friends for their financial support to make this project a great success. All our Mitrata teen trekkers highly appreciate your kindness and generosity. Thank you.

By: Nanda Kulu