The “Guerrilla Trek” is not a single well-defined trail, but rather a personal selection from several routes of various lengths and difficulties lying in an area to the west of the Annapurna Circuit.
The name seems mostly a marketing term to give an attractively dangerous edge to an otherwise unknown and undeveloped (but quite benign) trek, bit it does of course come from an historical context. This region was a key area in which the Civil War that plagued Nepal for many years was played out. However it would be a mistake to imagine that this was going to be a walk through a war zone like Vietnam. There are no tunnels, bomb craters, burnt out tanks, decaying airfields or even (it would be hard to tell) bullet marks on walls. Instead what you find is bare subsistence farming in a desperately poor country held back further decades by conflict compounded by sub-optimal governance.
It is not yet clear how successful this new “trail” is going to be, but in general the (admittedly slightly cynical) advice is always “Do it now before it gets ruined”. The flip side of that is “If you are expecting comfort you have a few years (or perhaps decades) to wait”.
Over a 30-year period I have done the Annapurna Circuit several times, and even though each has been enjoyable and indeed memorable in its own way, I can definitely say that the first time when it was least developed was undoubtedly the best experience. In terms of development this trek is roughly equivalent to the Annapurna Circuit circa 1980.
What to expect
Notwithstanding all the difficulties of life here, there is the minimum infrastructure needed: trails that are easy enough to follow, a few bridges in key places, some water taps, some rivers and several villages. Things are slowly evolving, as evidenced by the creeping arrival of roads. Evolving not necessarily for the better mind you, but changing nonetheless.
The region is clearly not ready for mass tourism be that trekkers or anyone else. However a bit of extra money coming in, which also diversifies the local economy, would certainly be welcome. If this also brings with it some new ideas and provides the opportunity to develop infrastructure and local skills then so much the better.
Possible negative impacts include more trash, distorting prices in the local economy, cultural insensitivities and fuel depletion.
Ways to lessen the impact
- Travel in a small group
Two is perhaps ideal, while more than four starts to get a bit difficult - Stay with local people
Give them money even if they do not ask. It may be refused - Eat local food, but carry some supplements
Some basic resupply is possible along the way - Carry your own fuel
Gas canisters are probably the most convenient - Carry out all your rubbish
Trash along the sides of the trail and in villages is local. Let's not add to it! - Purify your water
We used a Steripen but pills and filters could also be used - Interact respectfully with local people at all times
This might include appropriate dress as well as behaviour when bathing - If you need a porter use local people
This helps keep the money local. They know more and be pleased to show you their home
The people
Above all the people are hospitable and helpful within the limits (on both sides) imposed by language and inexperience in dealing with people from such different cultural backgrounds. No one in the hills in Nepal just goes for a walk for exercise as we do. They have no need, life is already enough of a physical struggle. The trails are just the roads from one village to another, to a market, to a temple or to fetch loads of wood. They are however happy for you to appreciate and enjoy their country of which they have good reason to be proud.
The people here do not see many foreigners, so we are all ambassadors. How we behave and interact is important not just for ourselves but for all those that follow.
It’s pretty simple to behave respectfully towards people who almost invariably behave respectfully towards us.
Drunks
It was a little more difficult dealing with the various drunks who attached themselves like flies in most villages. That required a little more finesse and at times some firmness.
It is awkward when you need to rest and find a place to stay to have someone who is almost incapacitated by drink imposing themselves on your attention. And it is especially disappointing when that person then announces themselves as the Teacher for the village. What to do? Early warning, and avoidance is the best policy.
An incident
On one occasion I did have a minor run in with someone who I took to be an ex-Guerrilla cadre. He was very interested to know about us and in the normal course of events you tell people where you are going and where you are from with no hesitation. It is the usual course of a conversation on the trail.
But this person who came up to us when we were quietly resting by a stream was more insistent. He wanted me to write down stuff that I was simply not prepared to do. It would have been wise to have written any old nonsense. However I felt tired, had been a bit unwell and was as a result easily irritated. So I simply took his scrap of paper, tore it into many small pieces and scattered it to the wind. I then told him to F*** off!
This was not quite the ideal approach. It was not good behaviour, and I am not proud of what I did. It was also foolish and in some circumstances could easily have been dangerous. In a cooler moment I would not have done this. However we all have our failings. Luckily he had no knife with which to cause us immediate harm, nor mobile phone with which to call up harassment further down the trail.
He can have had no legitimate reason for any information from us, and was probably going to do nothing with it. So much better to simply smile, fill in complete nonsense and send him away satisfied.
If you wish to prepare for this sort of event, consider keeping a few photocopies of fake ID to leave with people like this. It will look official and be completely valueless. It may also reduce your temper. In my case I hope this is a lesson learnt.
Guests of honour
I'd rather end this introduction on a positive note. So I'll just describe a little of the festival in Kharang. It was mentioned to us the night before when we arrived in the village and found our homestay. In the morning we helped them a little with the decorations over an arch at the entrance to the village.
The festival was to promote an "End Open Defecation" project, which aimed to establish in "Every Village, Every House, One Toilet" throughout the region. We had already seen considerable evidence of progress in the form of toilet construction in several villages we had passed. Apparently half of them in the area already have a toilet for every house. No mean achievement, and visible (literally) concrete evidence of a Nepali Governmental project delivering tangible positive health outcomes.
Later that morning we walked down to the school where the crowds were gathering, though it was still a little early for the musicians. There were also some late arrivals who had walked some hours from outlying villages. We wandered in the crowd trying to keep a low profile (hard when you are a head taller than most people) and also do some discrete people watching.
After a while some officials arrived with some ceremony, and the first musicians filed in playing heartily. We were spotted and immediately offered garlands and tikka on our foreheads. I was invited to sit up on the podium and later found myself having to "dance" in company (and I use the term loosely) in front of a audience of some 300 people. Luckily it is not an especially taxing activity, in contrast to the rather trickier peacock dance which we also witnessed.
The speeches lasted quite a long time and various awards were presented. It is possibly quite a rare chance to address such a wide gathering and explain what is happening so I guess one can excuse their length. Eventually we were back to the music, played on some fairly quaint instruments (one man had a small drum attached to his forehead) and more dancing. We did a short parade around the area with some chanting of slogans along the lines of "One house, one toilet in every village". It was a good lesson in understanding the level of development in this area.
It was therefore amusing to note the number of smartphones in evidence which were recording every facet of the event for posterity, including (and I am somewhat reluctant to contemplate this) my own rather modest contribution to the dancing.
We were made so very welcome with such grace and charm. Thank you to the villagers and the visitors alike. A memorable day.
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