Australian Camps (Nepal)

We stayed in Pokhara for almost a week, and why not, it is the best place to be if you are in Nepal. And this is an affirmative statement after roaming through almost all of Nepal from left to right. Nepal is not only famous for being home to the highest mountain in the world, but is also famous for the treks that let you look at that beauty first hand. Not only Mt. Everest, Nepal boasts to be home to many such beautiful peaks, one of which is Mt. Machupuchaare. We wanted to do a trek when in Nepal, but being on a road trip, did not want to get onto a strenuous trek which makes our journey further more tiring. Hence, we were looking for a short trek which could give us a flavour of trekking in Nepal, and we hit the bull’s eye.

Just an hour away from Pokhara, from the city of Kande, starts a trek to one of the most amazing places in Nepal – The Australian Camps. As the name suggests, it is a place setup by some early Australians who camped up here long back. It is a 1.5 hour long trek (one-way) at moderate speed. The trek itself is quite beautiful and takes you through dense forests and native villages. The view throughout the trek is amazing with the view of the long valley through the mountains but you don’t really see the Annapurna range while you are walking. It is only when you hit the top that you suddenly realise where you have reached. Mt. Machupuchaare and the complete Annapurna range is right in front of you. ​

We could have trekked back the same day from Australian camps but what’s the fun being right in front of the mountain when you don’t even see the sun rising through the peaks and troughs. We decided to stay there overnight. ​

You won’t find these hotels online but there are enough and more places to stay once you reach. The best view was from the ‘Angel’s Guesthouse’ and we decided to spend our night there. The camps in the garden of the guesthouse were so tempting that we sacrificed the comfort of staying in the room for the first view of the sun from our camps in the morning.

It was Karvachauth the day we trekked up and Sidhi loves to follow the traditions as much as she can even while we are travelling. For the last four days, she was looking for a mehndi artist to put some festival mehndi on. Sadly, we couldn’t find any in Pokhara but what we did find was ‘Mehndi’. It was time for me to showcase the hidden artist in me while we waited for our evening snacks at the Angel’s.

We had a comfortable sleep in our small tents setup in the garden at the Angel’s guesthouse. The next morning was the most beautiful morning we had ever witnessed. As soon as we unzipped our tent at 5:45 AM in the morning, we could see the Annapurna range receiving it’s first share of sunlight. We have seen many beautiful sunsets but it was probably the most beautiful sunrise we had ever seen. What made it more beautiful was the perfect setting surrounding us.

The Juice:
1. You might find it hard to find a parking space in Kande if you are driving yourself. Just request a restaurant in the area to let you park for the night and you are good to go.
2. Carry enough water and snacks for the way, once you are on it, there is nothing at all on the way to keep you refreshed till you reach the top.
3. Do not do a day trip to Australian camps, a lot of tour operators might suggest that. The best thing there is the sunrise, just don’t miss it.