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Our group of 10, made up from 8 travel agents and 2 guys from Exodus Holidays, met at the Jet Airways desk at Terminal 4 Heathrow, for our week long adventure in Nepal. They very kindly upgraded us to their Premier Class for our flight to Kathmandu via Dehli.

On arrival into Kathmandhu and on our transfer to the hotel, I was immediately struck by the noise of car horns! They beep to let you you know they're coming, to let you know they're passing, and to let you know they've passed...it's crazy, but amazing all at the same time!

After an overnight stay at the Royal Singi Hotel,we set off to Bandipur, which is a 3 hour drive away. We were going white water rafting! This was something I had never done before so I was both excited and nervous! We were thankfully on board our dinghies with very experienced guides and so split between 2 craft, we set off to battle our way over the rapids. They were a lot higher than I anticipated but it was great fun!

Once finished, we stopped for lunch before meeting our wonderful Sherpa guides who were to remian with us for the rest of our week. We drove for another 2 hours to the mountain resort of Bandipur. This is an amazing place although as it was raining heavily at the time of arrival ( we were still at the end of the rainy season) we couldnt see the spectacular view that greeted us the following morning.

Thankfully the rains had stopped by now, and so we took an early morning walk into Bandipur to explore the wonderful streets and architecture, and meet some locals.

After breakfast, we then set off for the 2 hour drive to the wonderful lakeside town of Pokhara. In the afternoon, we went for an 18km bike ride! We were led by our guide Chimi, who told us he had completed the summit of Everest earlier this year, so we knew we were in safe hands! The scenery we cycled through was absolutely stunning, it was a really memorable afternoon.

The following morning we set off from Pokhara to our starting point at New Bridge for our mammoth trek to the Annapurnas. We each had a backpack, and our Sherpas carried everything else, from spare clothes, to food, drink, and bedding . Their packs were enormous but they made very light work of it!

The trek was mostly uphill and there were steps....thousands of steps! This was going to be a lot harder than I had imagined! One of the sherpas told me to climb very, very slowly and that although it may take longer, it was the best way to do it.We stopped regularly for drinks and to rest...and then the heavens opened! It was still definately monsoon season! One of the highlights for me though was seeing young school children coming home from school, racing up and down these slippery stone steps with barely anything on their feet, and with huge palm leaves for umbrellas! They were squealing with delight looking at our cameras to see themselves on the screen, it was an unforgettable moment.

When we eventually arrived at our destination in Ghandruk, soaking wet and exhausted, we were greeted by the Sherpas that had gone on ahead, with steaming mugs of tea...the best I have ever tasted!
They cooked us a wonderful meal and we had a fantastic evening before falling into our sleeping bags in our little rooms high up in the mountains.

The following morning, we took an early morning walk to view the incredible Fishtail mountain in the Annapurnas, one of the ranges that make up the Himalayas. It was absolutely breathtaking against the beautiful blue Nepalese skies.

We made our way back down the mountain in 80 degrees heat, stopping to soak our sun hats under the free flowing cold mountain waters, it was bliss!

The following 2 days were spent in wonderful Chitwan National Park which is very close to the Indian border. We went elephant trekking in the jungle, and even washed an elephant in the river! We also sailed past crocodiles in little wooden boats! I experienced so many exciting and different things, this really was a trip to remember. If youre looking for an adventure, then look no further than Nepal, it really is a land of amazing contrasts and wonderful people. I shall never forget it!