Poon Hill craze/Next Day

Poon Hill craze

Next day, we woke up around four and headed towards Poon Hill. The climb, again, was steep and strenuous, like that of Ulleri, but perhaps it was the early morning fresh air, or the good night’s sleep, our legs kept moving at a steady pace, and within 45 minutes we were at Poon Hill. While Ghorepani is at an altitude of 2874 m, Poon Hill is at an altitude of 3210 m. Gushes of cold wind blow here all the time, so be well wrapped. To beat the cold, we had hot coffee at the only available tea shop there. Soon, the place became crowded with people from everywhere; I could see Koreans, Chinese, Indians, Europeans, and Americans; not to forget the domestic tourists from Nepal. We took our places on the platform and waited for the sun to rise. The sunrise was spectacular—we could easily distinguish the highest peaks. The sun’s rays lit the Dhaulagiri and Annapurna I peaks, and then it shone upon other peaks in the range, namely, Nilgiri, Annapurna South, Himchuli, and Machhapuchhre.

People try to take good pictures and videos from Poon Hill and flood their social media accounts with their personal stories. Some try to get a levitating pose, others pose doing yoga and acrobatics, and some try to get souvenir pictures with their national flags and expedition banners. It’s crowded, and the scene from this point makes everybody crazy. There’s not a single person who wouldn’t admire the beauty of the Himalayan range so close to their eyes. I could imagine how lovely it would be during the rhododendron blooming season!