Monthly Archives: December 2013

Ghandruk Trip

I had been wanting to go to Ghandruk forever. This time when the opportunity knocked in, I wasn’t going to say no. So, when we finally got there unfortunately, we missed out on seeing the mountain range thanks to a thick fog that wouldn’t buzz. But we did get a few seconds view of Annapurna, that alone was enough to make the trip worthwhile. The fact is – Ghandruk is such a beautiful, peaceful, clean place to be, for someone who’s coming from Kathmandu-it’s nothing less than a piece of heaven.

On the way to Ghandruk

On the way to Ghandruk

On the way to Ghandruk

The view only gets better as you go up.

It's a mule's world in Ghandruk

It’s a mule’s world in Ghandruk

I was very impressed with the community coming together to preserve traditional Gurung culture. There are a couple of museums dedicated to its Gurung natives if one wants to check out. The first thing I noticed about this place is how clean it is. Not surprisingly, it’s the women groups who regularly organize cleaning campaigns here with a special focus on recycling non-compostable materials. No matter where you stay in Ghandruk – it will cost you pretty much the same, as it’s run by a single entrepreneurial community. I thought hotel stay was extremely cheap – Rs 300 per night for a room with three beds. But food price was quite something else. We stayed at Hotel Sakura – it was extremely clean. I’m pretty sure it was cleaner than most of the hotels I’ve stayed in the US.

Ghandruk

Ghandruk

I found Ghandruk to be a great mix of old and new world. World is so ahead of Nepal – but here is this tiny village located 1939 meters above sea level. They finally have direct access to road. It’s almost so remote that it seems almost unreachable but at the same time it is so well equipped with the modern amenities. They have their own hydro plants that keep the electricity running, solar power to heat water. Women groups who actively participate in embracing sustainable development. On top of all this mule’s still provide the primary transportation service for this place. If that’s not cool, I don’t know what is.

Ghandruk kids

Hello world!

Given below is a few snippets from our Ghandruk trip:

Ghandruk Experience from Shailiza Manandhar on Vimeo.