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Contents 9 April 2024 - Granada to Ronda, Spain 10 April 2024 - Ronda, Spain 11 April 2024 - Ronda to Arcos de la Frontera, Spain 12 April 2024 - Arcos de la Frontera to Algeciras, Spain 13 April 2024 - Algeciras to Asilah, Morocco 14 April 2023 - Asilah to El Jadida, Morocco 15 April 2024 - El Jadida to Essaouira, Morocco 16 April 2024 - Essaouira, Morocco Links to other blogs about our road trip 9 April 2024 - Granada to Ronda, Spain We drove from Granada to Ronda and stopped on the way to walk the Caminito del Rey which is a walkway attached to the walls of a steep and narrow gorge. It was finished in 1905 and it took 4 years to construct. It was built to provide access for the workers at the hydro electric power plant. The original path for the Caminito del Rey was constructed of concrete and steel. It deteriorated over the years and the concrete collapsed in numerous sections. Several hikers died on the old walkway and in 2015 a new walkway was opened. The Caminito del Rey is an easy walk with great views but it has become extremely popular and commercialised. You have to buy tickets for specific start times and most of the tickets are for guided walks with a group. We didn't want to walk with a group and I only just managed to buy tickets online for doing the Caminito del Rey on our own. There were a lot of people doing the group walks. We paced ourselves so that we slotted in between two large groups on guided tours and managed to enjoy most of the Caminito del Rey in peace. We arrived in Ronda at 18.00 and checked into a 3 bedroom duplex apartment. It was very spacious and comfortable and only a 10 minute walk to Ronda's historic centre. There was also free off the road parking. We booked the apartment through Booking.com and paid Eur 235 for 2 nights. 10 April 2024 - Ronda, Spain In the morning we walked around Ronda which is probably the most well known and popular White Town (Pueblo Blanco) in Andalusia. Ronda is perched on a massive rocky outcrop straddling a deep gorge. It was one of the last Moorish strongholds to fall to the reconquest in 1485 because of its impregnable position. We walked across the Puente Nuevo (New Bridge) to reach Ronda's old town. The bridge was completed in 1793 and was the world's highest bridge until it was surpassed by a French bridge in 1839. There is a chamber inside the bridge that was used as a prison. During the civil war both sides used the prison as a torture chamber for captured opponents. Some prisoners were thrown to the rocks at the bottom of the gorge. Our first stop in Ronda was to the cathedral of Santa Maria la Mayor. It was built on the site of a 13th century mosque. The original Minaret and Mihrab of the mosque still stand. Afterwards we visited the nearby 14th century Palacio de Mondragon which was probably the palace of the Moorish kings. In the afternoon we drove to 3 other White Towns. They are fortified hilltop towns and all the buildings are painted white. We first stopped at Setenil de las Bodegas. The main sights were the castle and the houses built into the cliffs. We then drove through beautiful countryside to Olvera and climbed up the fort. The last white town was Zahara de la Sierra with its fort perched high above. We decided not to climb up to it as it was hot and getting late. 11 April 2024 - Ronda to Arcos de la Frontera, Spain We left Ronda at 11.00 in beautiful sunshine and fortunately the air conditioning was working as it got to 28 centigrade today! We were heading for Arcos de la Frontera which is another White Town. We reached Arcos de la Frontera at 14.00. I had booked a 2 bedroom apartment with parking through Booking.com for Eur 72. We opted to have a rest at the apartment, to avoid the heat of the day, before heading off to see the sights. We paid to enter the church of Santa Maria de la Asunción and climbed up its bell tower. It was built in the 15th century on the remains of a former Moorish mosque. There is a castle on the same square as the church. It was built as an Arab fortress but became the residence of the Duke of Arcos after the Reconquest and remains in private hands. It isn't possible to visit it. We then continued walking along the main street of Arcos de la Frontera past a convent and the church of St Peter to a Mirador. The views from the Mirador weren't very good and unfortunately the better Mirador by the castle was closed due to construction. For supper we bought a whole grilled chicken, chips and salad and ate it in our apartment. 12 April 2024 - Arcos de la Frontera to Algeciras, Spain It is only a 1.25 hour drive from Arcos de la Frontera to Algeciras. We stopped off at Medina Sedonia on the way. It's a reasonable sized White Town and its medieval walls, the Church and the Alcazar (fort) are the main historic sights. Unfortunately the Alcazar isn't open to visitors. In Algeciras we stayed at the Hotel AC Algeciras which is a Marriott Hotel. It cost a very reasonable Eur 70 and was only 10 minutes drive from the ferry port. 13 April 2024 - Algeciras to Asilah, Morocco We got up early at 06.15 to catch the 09.45 ferry as our tickets stated we had to be at the port of Algeciras 2 hours before departure. As I suspected this wasn't really necessary and a few cars arrived only 30 minutes beforehand. I had read that the ferries were often late and I was therefore pleased to see that our ferry was at the port. However, the ferry only sailed at 10.30 despite the ferry not being very full. We had a good view of Gibraltar as we left Algeciras and soon afterwards had a view of the coast of Africa. It took 1 hour 45 minutes to reach the port of Tangier Med which is 40 kilometres from the city of Tangier. It took us over an hour to clear customs as all cars were being X-rayed by a large machine mounted on a track. If this is done in the peak season there will be chaos. We then spent another hour buying 3rd party car insurance and obtaining Moroccan SIM cards and dirhams. A lady representing the Inwi telecom company tried to sell us a very expensive SIM card and data package for Eur 60. I knew it should be a lot cheaper and declined. Fortunately the car insurance agency sold SIM cards with 7.5 GB of data and they only cost Eur 10! As we needed 2 SIM cards it was a big saving. I had reserved a very nice hotel room in Asilah through Booking.com for Eur 48. Asilah is south of Tangier on the Atlantic coast and was only an hour's drive away from the port of Tangier Med. It was an easy drive on a toll highway and a good introduction to driving in Morocco! After checking into our hotel we walked to Asilah's interesting medina. The Medina is largely residential with white houses decorated with lots of vivid blue. It is surrounded by sturdy fortified walls built by the Portuguese in the 15th century. There are two main gates and several towers spread along the walls. We had dinner at a local fish restaurant outside the medina's walls. We both had mixed platters of seafood and chips and it only cost Eur 8 per platter. 14 April 2023 - Asilah to El Jadida, Morocco We drove southwards from Asilah to El Jadida on the toll road. Google Maps estimated that the journey would take 4 hours but it actually took 6 hours. The toll road was very busy between Rabat and Casablanca and there weren't enough lanes open at the frequent toll stations. Police were everywhere, particularly on the bridges crossing the toll road where there were usually 4 policemen monitoring the traffic. El Jadida is on the Atlantic coast and was founded by the Portuguese in the early 16th century. In the late afternoon we walked from our apartment hotel along the sea front to the Portuguese fortress. There is a long sandy beach, which is very popular with Moroccans, but it didn't look very appealing to us. We got to the fortress's ramparts at 17.50 just as they were closing the access to the walkway along the top of them. The ramparts were meant to be open up to 18.00. The only other attraction in El Jadida was the famous Portuguese cistern but it has been closed for a few years due to structural issues. It is likely to remain closed for a long time due to the lack of funds for restoration. We walked around El Jadida's fort but it was neglected and dirty. Unfortunately our 1 bedroom apartment had also seen better days. We wished we hadn't stopped off at El Jadida! 15 April 2024 - El Jadida to Essaouira, Morocco We drove from El Jadida to Essaouira today, relieved that the car's air conditioning was working as the outside temperature hit 35 centigrade! The first part of the journey was along toll roads which were so much quieter than yesterday. It seems that many people had visited family at the end of Ramadan and were making their way home yesterday. After a while the toll road ended and we drove on public roads through bustling towns. I had to drive very carefully as people, carts pulled by donkeys, motor bikes etc were all over the road. The scenery was much more arid and rural than it had been coming down south from Tangier to El Jadida over the past two days. We passed sheep farms and farmers were ploughing their fields using horses. There were lots of carts being pulled by horses and donkeys. Essaouira is on the Atlantic coast and it was a bit cooler because of a breeze. Strong trade winds make its crescent shaped beach popular with wind and kite surfers. We had a quick walk around the medina in the late afternoon. We have 2 nights in Essaouira and have plenty of time to explore. We stayed in a 2 bedroom apartment which we had booked through Booking.com for Eur 61 per night. We were very pleased with it as it was a modern apartment, quiet and a pleasant 10 minute walk to Essaouira's medina. 16 April 2024 - Essaouira, Morocco In the morning we walked along the promenade to Essaouira's harbour. It was absolutely packed with fishing boats and there were a lot of stalls selling an interesting variety of fish. We wanted to visit the bastion at the harbour as it has a good view of Essaouira. However, they charge an entrance fee of Eur 5 which is far too much. Instead I took photos of Essaouira from the nearby beach. After that we spent a few hours wandering around the medina. Essaouira's medina has a mixture of restaurants, art galleries, tourist shops, hotels and homes. It is an interesting medina with good facilities and no hassles. I can understand why Essaouira is very popular with foreigners. Links to other Blogs about our Road Trip Week 1 - Salamanca, Toledo, Cordoba & Granada Week 3 - Southern Morocco Week 4 - Marrakesh to Todra Gorge Week 5 - Todra Gorge - Merzouga - Fes - Chefchaouen Week 6 - Morocco to Cadiz & Seville Week 7 - Seville to Portugal Week 8 - Porto to Pontevedra, Spain Week 9 - Muxia & the Lighthouse Way Week 10 - Muxia, Spain to Plymouth, UK

Contents 17 April 2024 - Essaouira to Agadir 18 April 2024 - Agadir to Sidi Ifni 19 April 2024 - Sidi Ifni to Tafraoute 20 April 2024 - Tafraoute 21 April 2024 - Tafraoute to Taroudant 22 April 2024 - Taroudant 23 April 2024 - Taroudant to Marrakesh Links to other blogs about our Road Trip 17 April 2024 - Essaouira to Agadir It took just over 3 hours to drive south from Essaouira to Agadir. Agadir is a large resort town on the Atlantic coast and it is popular with foreigners seeking winter sun. We drove through misty weather which thickened into a sea mist by the time we arrived in Agadir. It was only 20 centigrade in Agadir whereas it had reached 31 centigrade further inland on the drive down. In 1960 Agadir suffered the most destructive and deadly earthquake in Moroccan history. Most of the city was destroyed and about 15,000 people died. Agadir was rebuilt in the 1960's and only the beach is of interest to tourists. We therefore only stayed for a one night in Agadir to break up our journey southwards. We had booked a 2 bedroom apartment at an Agadir hotel through Booking.com for Eur 59. The staff were very helpful and gave us a quiet room as requested. The apartment was better than expected. It took us 10 minutes to walk from the apartment to Agadir's beach. Even though the weather was misty the beach seemed very nice. There is a huge expanse of sand and lots of Moroccans were playing soccer on the beach. We walked for about half an hour along the beach to have a meal at a restaurant on the esplanade. The weather started to clear in the evening and we hoped that the next day's weather would be better. 18 April 2024 - Agadir to Sidi Ifni Fortunately the weather improved and we continued our drive southwards to Sidi Ifni. It was mostly dual carriageway as we left Agadir but there were far too many roundabouts. Agadir sprawls out in a messy development. It took about an hour to get out of this very poorly planned area of Agadir. We stopped off for lunch at the seaside town of Aglou Plage. Sadly it has been ruined by overdevelopment as there is a mass of ugly holiday accommodation for Moroccan holidaymakers. My old Lonely Planet guidebook described the next 40 kilometres of coast from Aglou Plage to Mirleft as "exceptionally picturesque". The coastline didn't seem very special to us and there was ugly development on sections of it. Twenty years ago Mirleft had a "totally undeveloped beach" according to Lonely Planet but now Mirleft is a large and ugly resort town. We were relieved to find that Sidi Ifni has retained its character. Spain was given Sidi Ifni by treaty after the Spanish-Moroccan war of 1859, which Morocco lost. Spain didn't take full possession of it until 1934 and most of the buildings only date back to then. Spain handed Sidi Ifni back to Morocco in 1969. There isn't much to see in Sidi Ifni but it is a pleasant and laid back town. It is a popular surfing destination and is also popular with foreign recreational vehicles. There were more than 30 camper vans lined up along the sea front. We couldn't be bothered to swim but did walk along the beach. Afterwards we had dinner at a seafront restaurant and watched the surfers. We stayed at the Logis la Marine Guest House in Sidi Ifni and it cost Eur 86 for their best and newest room on the top floor. It was a really nice room overlooking the sea. We live next to the sea in England but were still surprised at how much louder the waves were here. 19 April 2024 - Sidi Ifni to Tafraoute We left the coast of Morocco today and headed north east to Tafraoute which is at an altitude of 1,200 metres in the Anti Atlas mountains. Tafraoute is known for its palm groves where almonds and olive orchards grow. It is also popular with climbers, hikers and tourists. We were pleased to be heading inland as the scenery on Morocco's Atlantic coast isn't very interesting. We won't see the sea again until we reach the port of Tangier in 2.5 weeks time! I didn't want to repeat yesterday's drive along the more commonly used road between Sidi Ifni and Tiznit. Instead we drove on roads (P1918 and P1916) that weren't on our map but were on Google Maps. The road was good, except for one section, until about 5 kilometres from Tafraoute. Then the road really deteriorated and the surface was badly corrugated. This bad section of road was very scenic. We booked a suite at the Hotel Salama in Tafraoute for Eur 42 a night. It was very good value for money as we had a living room and a bedroom. It was very central and we could park our car in front of the hotel. 20 April 2024 - Tafraoute It felt surprisingly cool in the morning as it was about 17 centigrade and there was a chilly wind. We drove to the Ait Mansour Gorge which is a 50 minute drive south of Tafraoute. There is a tarred road there but it is narrow in places I parked the car on the road side just before the Ait Mansour Gorge and a woman immediately appeared and said she was a parking attendant. We were pleased to have secure parking even though we would have to tip her. We walked along the narrow road through the best section of the Ait Mansour Gorge. The green oasis at the bottom of the gorge was a stunning contrast to the pink hills and rocks towering above the gorge. After the Ait Mansour Gorge we continued driving south to the village of Afla Ighir and then had the choice of retracing our steps to Tafraoute or doing a circular route via the Tizerkine gorge. I wasn't sure about the condition of the road through the Tizerkine gorge. However, a Tripadvisor forum report from about a year ago indicated it was driveable in a saloon car. We decided to try the circular route and the road to Tizerkine was excellent. I was surprised that we didn't see any other vehicles and I soon found out why! The condition of the road deteriorated badly as soon as we passed Tizerkine although the scenery was excellent. The road surface alternated between broken up tar and dirt! The road was also very narrow and in several sections it wouldn't have been possible to get past any oncoming vehicles. Luckily there were none! I drove very carefully to avoid damaging our Ford Focus as last year we had broken a front spring in Greece. It was a relief to reach the village of Taghaout where the condition of the road improved. From there it was a pleasant drive back to Tafraoute. The entire drive had taken about 5 hours. 21 April 2024 - Tafraoute to Taroudant We drove 4 hours from Tafroute to Taroudant in the Sous valley. The first part of our route followed the road to Agadir and then we branched off north-east to Taroudant. The mountain road out of Tafraoute was narrow and just wide enough for 2 cars to carefully pass. There wasn't much oncoming traffic and I slowed down to a crawl for oncoming vehicles as the Moroccan drivers hardly slowed down at all. It was possible to pull off the road but neither myself or the oncoming vehicles wanted to. The scenery on this section was very good. After about an hour the road widened and it was then good all the way to Taroudant. I hadn't been sure about the condition of the road that branched off to Taroudant as it wasn't shown on my map but the road was on Google Maps. We stopped in the countryside for a picnic lunch and there were wild camels everywhere. We eventually joined the main Agadir to Taroudant road. The scenery was bleak and we drove through numerous scruffy developments. I had booked a room at Riad Amnay in Taroudant's medina. A Riad is a traditional Moroccan house built over two or more storeys around a central courtyard which usually contains a fountain. We had been given the location of a nearby parking lot but the challenge was to find it. We had the location on Google Maps but with the one way streets inside the city walls it was difficult to locate. A motor bike rider kindly stopped to help us and we followed him to the parking lot. He then walked us to the Riad. I gave him Eur 2 for his help which was probably too much. Riad Amnay was of a high standard and had very good reviews. Lani was very happy with it. However, the rooms in Riads are usually dark as the windows face into the courtyard and I like natural light. Otherwise it was very good. We booked through Booking.com and paid Eur 54 a night. 22 April 2024 - Taroudant We had booked two nights at the Riad in Taroudant. In the morning we drove 40 minutes to the village of Tioute to see the old Kasbah on the hilltop and the oasis below it. On the way we saw several goats in the trees eating leaves. We had read about goats doing this and had wanted to see it. Tioute's Kasbah was a huge disappointment. It was built in 16th century and is described as being magnificent, perched on the hill overlooking the oasis. Sadly, most of it is falling to pieces and has been closed off. The only part open was a large restaurant that has been built in the Kasbah and tour groups come for lunch. We then visited Tioute's Oasis which unfortunately is very popular with tour groups. A guy on a motor bike wanted to give us an hour's tour for Eur 15. Eventually we settled on Eur 5 and we followed him in our car to a parking lot by the Oasis. He then told us he wanted Eur 15 and drove off when we didn't agree to it. We were pleased as he had led us to the Oasis and we could wander around by ourselves. It was pleasant but has been spoiled by tourism. The paths through the Oasis are paved. There are a few cafes, handicraft stall and locals offering donkey rides. Not our scene at all and it was a wasted morning When we got back to Taroudant we again had problems finding the parking lot. This time the driver of a Caleche stopped to help us and we followed him to the parking lot. He was a nice man and I gave him Eur 2 for his help. We had lunch in the nearby square and the same Caleche driver came over to say hi. He spoke English and he asked if we wanted a ride in his Caleche around the 7 kilometre long city walls. Apparently Taroudant is referred to as Little Marrakech because of its ramparts. We wouldn't normally ride in a Caleche but we wanted to see the city walls and walking around in the heat wouldn't have been fun. We had been told that the fair rate was Eur 10 per hour and that was what he offered. We therefore agreed to meet him at 15.00. We enjoyed the ride and certainly wouldn't have enjoyed walking. Afterwards we wandered around the large under cover market in Taroudant. I buy very little but wanted to buy a leather belt. The asking price was Eur 31! I wouldn't negotiate as he started with an absolute rip off price. In the end I got it for the Eur 5 that I initially offered. 23 April 2024 - Taroudant to Marrakesh via the Tizi n'Test The fastest route from Taroudant to Marrakesh is on the A3 toll road and it would take about 3.25 hours. However, there is a much more scenic road over the 2,100 metre high Tizi n'Test mountain pass which Google Maps said would take about 5.5 hours. I wanted to drive over the Tizi n'Test pass to see the Atlas mountains even though the road is much more difficult to drive on. Unfortunately it was a hazy day and it spoiled the views on the south side of the pass. This area was badly affected by the earthquake of September 2023. Over six hundred thousand people were affected and many are still living in tents and temporary buildings. The road was also damaged by the earthquake. On the south side of the Tizi n'Test pass there were many cracks along the side of the road and pull over areas were cordoned off. On the north side of the Tizi n'Test pass sections of the road surface were badly damaged. A lot of fallen rocks had been cleared to both sides of the road. The first hour of the journey was along the main road east of Taroudant. It is pretty bleak road that goes through messy towns and the scenery isn't great. It is very similar to the main road west of Taroudant which I also disliked. The scenery improved once we turned off the main road and headed north. Initially it was a very good two lane road. As we got nearer the top of the Tizi n'Test pass it became a one lane tarred road but it was easy and safe to pass other vehicles. Before we reached the top the road surface deteriorated and didn't improve for the next 50 miles! It was very slow going and tiring constantly watching out for potholes. We finally reached Marrakesh after 7 hours of driving and checked into our 3 bedroom apartment in the suburb of Gueliz. We booked it through Airbnb for Eur 75 a night. We were too tired to go into Marrakesh and had 3 nights there anyway. We spent the evening relaxing and did some much needed laundry. Links to other blogs about our Road Trip Week 1 - Salamanca, Toledo, Cordoba & Granada Week 2 - Spain to Morocco Week 4 - Marrakesh to Todra Gorge Week 5 - Todra Gorge - Merzouga - Fes - Chefchaouen Week 6 - Morocco to Cadiz & Seville Week 7 - Seville to Portugal Week 8 - Porto to Pontevedra, Spain Week 9 - Muxia & the Lighthouse Way Week 10 - Muxia, Spain to Plymouth, UK

Contents 24 April 2024 - Marrakesh 25 April 2024 - Marrakesh 26 April 2024 - Marrakesh to Ait Benhaddou 27 April 2024 - Ait Benhaddou to Zagora 28 April 2024 - Zagora to Skoura 29 April 2024 - Skoura to Todra Gorge 30 April 2024 - Todra Gorge Links to other blogs about our Road Trip 24 April 2024 - Marrakesh We had a quiet morning doing laundry and other chores after our long drive yesterday. We took a taxi into the old part of Marrakesh at around 13.00. It felt pretty hot and the driver thought it was 35 degrees centigrade! We explored Marrakesh's souks for a while. The souks were a maze of numerous alleys lined with stalls selling all sorts of things: spices, pottery, carved wooden objects, leather bags and babouches (traditional Moroccan slippers), carpets, fabrics, clothes, dried fruits, antiques etc. We wanted to find specific souks that specialised in items like leather, metal, dyed wool etc. However, it was difficult locating them and we ended up just wandering around. It is quite possible that these specialised souks no longer exist. We then went to the Almoravid Dome which was built in 1106 and it is thought to be the oldest building in Marrakesh. It was part of a richly decorated mosque that was destroyed in 1156 by the Almohad dynasty. However, we didn't enter as the fee was excessive. Our next stop was the Ben Yousef Medersa, one of the oldest and largest Islamic schools founded in the 14th century. It's a beautiful building and probably the best sight in Marrakesh. We wanted to see the Mouassine Fountain which dates back to the 16th century . Sadly it was badly affected by the earthquake in late 2023 and was closed. The surrounding buildings have been supported by scaffolding to prevent them from collapsing. It was hot and tiring walking around Marrakesh so we stopped for a drink at a roof top cafe. Afterwards we went to the Djemaa el-Fna square but it was too hot and the evening street entertainment hadn't started. We had a meal at one of the roof top restaurants overlooking the square. The evening entertainment still hadn't commenced by 18.30. We therefore walked over to the nearby Koutoubia mosque that dates back to the 12th century. Non moslems can't enter so we just walked around the exterior. At dusk we returned to the Djemaa el-Fna square. It was fun walking around the numerous fruit juice and food stalls. All the vendors were very friendly and tried to entice us to buy from them. However, we had already eaten. There was some very limited entertainment in the Djemaa el-Fna square. It was mainly for Moroccans and we were expecting a lot more and a lot better. We will return a bit later tomorrow evening to see if it is better. 25 April 2024 - Marrakesh We spent most of the day relaxing in the apartment and then took a taxi into the centre of Marrakesh in the late afternoon. We visited the Jewish Mellah district. T he majority of the Jewish population left when the French pulled out of Morocco in the 1950's and there are no longer any Jews living there. Moroccans took over their houses but recently the offspring of the Jews who vacated the houses have returned and are trying to reclaim them. Afterwards we wandered around Marrakesh's souks and had dinner at a roof top restaurant. Before heading back to the apartment we went to Djemaa el-Fna square to see if it was any more entertaining than yesterday. It was absolutely buzzing in Djemaa el-Fna square at 22.00 but all the entertainment was for Moroccans like yesterday. There were many groups of men, surrounded by spectators, playing their music loudly. There were also snake charmers and storytellers. I don't think that Djemaa el-Fna is of much interest for foreigners. 26 April 2024 - Marrakesh to Ait Benhaddou We drove south from Marrakesh over the 2,260 metre high Tizi n Tichka mountain pass. Google maps said it would take about 3.5 hours but it took 6 hours even though the road was very good. The scenery was very beautiful, particularly on the section of the road via Telouet, and we frequently stopped to take photos. We stopped off to see an old Kasbah at Telouet. Unfortunately it was affected by the earthquake and has been closed. We arrived in Ait Ben Haddou at 17.00 and then walked up to the top of the hill to explore the Kasbah and the fortified village. The buildings are made of mud and straw. It is now very commercialised and there were quite a few other independent tourists there. Luckily there were no tour groups but we were told that there are plenty during the day! 27 April 2024 - Ait Benhaddou to Zagora We drove south from Ait Benhaddou to Zagora today. It is a very scenic route along the Draa river valley with views of the Atlas mountains, oases and old kasbahs. The mountain scenery on the road north of the town of Agdz was very impressive. The Draa River is Morocco's longest river at 1,100 kilometres long, flowing from the High Atlas Mountains to the Atlantic. Zagora is in the Draa River Valley which is described as being green and lush. Sadly Morocco has been struggling with drought conditions the past few years and many of the palm trees were turning brown. We saw the impressive Kasbah Tifoultoute soon after leaving Ouarzazate. It appeared to be a hotel and we didn't visit it. After passing the town of Agdz we stopped at two Kasbah's. The first one was Kasbah Cheikh Arabi and we each paid Eur 2 to enter and look around. The second one was Kasbah Oulad Othmane and we only walked around the exterior as it was closed. We stayed in a small guest house in Zagora that had very good reviews on Booking.com . The guest house was good but the owner was a bit strange. It was the first hotel in Morocco where no one spoke English and I used my limited French. 28 April 2024 - Zagora to Skoura We drove about 30 minutes south of Zagora to the Tinfou Dunes. They are part of the Agafay Desert which borders on to the Sahara. It is popular with tourists and we were lucky to arrive 15 minutes before the day's first bus load of tourists. We then drove back towards Zagora and stopped to see the old Islamic library at Tamegroute. It has old manuscripts and books on a variety of topics apart from religion, such as poetry, science, mathematics, medicine etc. Sadly the library was closed as it was the weekend but we could still visit the ancient Kasbah next to it. There were several guides milling about, offering to show us the Kasbah which is still lived in, the pottery making and the pottery shop. They all denied that they were guides! We walked with a "guide" around the Kasbah and followed him through dark and gloomy covered alleyways and houses to the pottery area. The Kasbah was very atmospheric and we enjoyed it. The pottery was also very interesting. They use the branches of the palm trees to fire up the old brick ovens. They showed us the modern metal ovens that Germany had donated. Unfortunately they aren't used as they are heated by gas which is too expensive. We walked around Tamegroute's Kasbah for over an hour with our guide and he gave us a good tour. We didn't buy any pottery at the shop but gave him Eur 5 for his efforts. It wa s probably too much as he seemed happy. We then returned northwards to Skoura along the Draa River valley we had driven down yesterday. We visited the Kasbah Amerdihl in Skoura. It was passed down to two brothers who have fallen out. They have split Kasbah Amerdihl and there are two separate entrances and 2 separate entrance fees! We were told that the right section of the Kasbah was the more interesting part. 29 April 2024 - Skoura to Todra Gorge We drove north-east from Skoura to Todra Gorge. On the way we visited the Valley of the Roses where 3,000 to 4,000 tonnes of rose petals are harvested every spring. It took us over an hour to drive up the Valley of the Roses to the village of Bou Thrarar. The road was tarred the entire way but was narrow. We expected to see masses of rose bushes but they were very sparse. The roses may have been affected by the drought that has affected Morocco over the past 7 years. We have even seen dying cacti! The scenery was great. Unfortunately as we drove along the sky got darker. As we reached Bou Thrarar it started to rain and even hail at times. The temperature dropped to 10 centigrade and I was cold in my shorts! We reached our hotel at Todra Gorge at about 17.00. We were very pleased with our choice of hotel which cost Eur 67 a night through Booking.com . The hotel was only one year old and we had a very nice and spacious room overlooking the oasis and the mountains. The weather soon cleared up so we walked 15 minutes through the oasis to Todra Gorge. It was cold and there weren't many other people there. Todra gorge was very spectacular and its walls rise very steeply above it. It was windy and cold and we didn't linger. 30 April 2024 - Todra Gorge We left our hotel at 09.00 to drive through Todra Gorge. It was fairly quiet with not too many cars on the road. The vendors were beginning to set up their stalls along Todra gorge. We continued driving on to the village of Tamattouchte which my 2004 Lonely Planet guidebook said was a stunning Berber village. The road was tarred but was narrow except for a section near an empty new dam. We turned around just after Tamattouchte which unfortunately is no longer a stunning village! The drive there was very scenic though. We got back to Todra Gorge at 11.00 and the tour groups had arrived! Todra gorge was now full of tourists and cars. We returned to our hotel and then quickly set off for a hike up into the mountains above Todra gorge. The trail was about 12 kilometres long and we ascended about 400 metres. It took us four and a half hours with lots of stops for photos! It is the most popular trail in Todra gorge and we saw about 12 other hikers. Links to other blogs about our Road Trip Week 1 - Salamanca, Toledo, Cordoba & Granada Week 2 - Spain to Morocco Week 3 - Southern Morocco Week 5 - Todra Gorge - Merzouga - Fes - Chefchaouen Week 6 - Morocco to Cadiz & Seville Week 7 - Seville to Portugal Week 8 - Porto to Pontevedra, Spain Week 9 - Muxia & the Lighthouse Way Week 10 - Muxia, Spain to Plymouth, UK

Contents 1 May 2024 - Todra Gorge to Merzouga 2 May 2024 - Merzouga to Midelt 3 May 2024 - Midelt to Fes 4 May 2024 - Fes 5 May 2024 - Fes 6 May 2024 - Fes 7 May 2024 - Fes to Chefchaouen Links to other blogs about our Road Trip 1 May 2024 - Todra Gorge to Merzouga We drove south from Todra Gorge to the small town of Ainif and then turned east towards Rissani and Merzouga. The road was in good condition, with interesting scenery and little traffic. When we got closer to Merzouga the wind picked up and sand was blowing across the road. By the time we reached Merzouga the temperature was 31 centigrade. Our hotel was on the outskirts of Merzouga and just across the road from the Erg Chebbi desert. At 18.00 we walked up the nearby sand dunes. Unfortunately the wind had really picked up and we had to protect our eyes. It wasn't possible to sit down for long to admire the desert scenery. Many people spend 1 night in a hotel in Merzouga and then 1 or more nights in the desert. It didn't appeal to us as it is very touristy and most tours follow the same route and stay in the same locations. We also didn't fancy an uncomfortable camel ride. After experiencing the blowing sand I was sure we had made the right decision. The hotel manager told us that the wind had been very strong for the previous 2 weeks. 2 May 2024 - Merzouga to Midelt Early this morning we noticed large groups of cyclists heading into the desert. They were part of the Titan Desert Bike Race that starts in the Atlas mountains and ends in the dunes of Merzouga. It covers 600 kilometres with 7.5 kilometres of ascent. Usually about 600 cyclists take part. We left Merzouga via a different route from yesterday as we were heading north to Fes, but stopping at Midelt on the way. The road today was busy with 4 wheel drive tour vehicles and several large groups of motor bikers. We didn't enjoy the route or scenery until after we passed Erfoud. After Erfoud the scenery improved and there was a large oases that was still very green. Then after Er-Rachida the road was much quieter and we lost the desert tourists. The road went past the Hassan Addakhil Reservoir and through the beautiful Gorges du Ziz. We had been coping well with all the police roadblocks and had never been questioned by the police. At a road block close to Midelt a policeman waved us through. Another policeman then pulled us over and wanted to know why we hadn't stopped! Fortunately the first policeman admitted that he had allowed us through! I had booked a 2 bedroom apartment at Midelt through Booking.com for Euro 80. One of its attractions was a washing machine as we needed to do 6 days of laundry. The apartment was new and exceptionally well furnished and equipped. Unfortunately the sound proofing wasn't good and 2 noisy families in the apartments below disturbed us. 3 May 2024 - Midelt to Fes The drive to Fes was very scenic and rural. We were stopped twice at police roadblocks even though we complied exactly with all requirements. As soon as they realised we were foreigners they waved us on. In 2004 we stayed in the Palais Jamais which was a fantastic Sofitel hotel on the edge of the medina. Unfortunately it closed in 2014 and it is now being rebuilt. There are now many Riads in the medina that have been converted into hotels. However, I find that Riads are dark and gloomy with windows facing into a courtyard. After a lot of research I booked a room at the Fes Heritage Boutique Luxury Hotel . It was expensive at Euro 160 per night but it was only a 5 minute walk away from the main gate of the medina and had the best reviews for a hotel. We were delighted when we arrived to find that they had upgraded us to a suite. In the late afternoon we had a wander through the medina. We were in Fes 20 years ago and we could certainly see some changes. It doesn't feel as medieval because: There are lots more tourists and even large groups go into the medina. Tourists can find their way around the medina using Google Maps whereas before you would become disoriented once you left the 2 main alleys. There are very few donkeys transporting goods. The cry of balak, balak used to warn pedestrians of passing donkeys There is very little skilled craft work being done as most items can be manufactured more cheaply. Despite that Fes still has the best medina in Morocco and probably the world. Fortunately it is still pedestrianised and one doesn't have to contend with motor bikes like in Kathmandu. 4 May 2024 - Fes In 2004 we could only find our way around the medina of Fes by using a Tourist Board guide book and signs that had been put up in the medina. Unfortunately the signs no longer exist but we used the guide book, and Google Maps, to do five of the sight seeing circuits in the book. We set off while it was still fairly cool to do the Fes Jdid circuit. Fes Jdid translates as New Fes but it actually dates back to the 13th and 14th centuries. At the time Fes Jdid was new as the medina of Fes el Bali dates back to the 11th century! We took a taxi to the Royal Palace Gate in Fes Jdid which was built in the 1960's. We were surprised and disappointed to find 2 tour buses already there. In 2004 we were the only tourists. I had unfortunately forgotten my map and notes and was struggling to find the synagogue and cemetery. We were soon approached by a man who gave us a quick tour around the Jewish quarter of Fes Jdid. He wasn't happy with the Eur 1 that I gave him! We walked back to our hotel via Moulay Hassan square, Bab Shaa and the beautiful Jnan Sbil Garden. The garden covers an area of 7 hectares. It was an imperial park and opened to the public at the beginning of the 20th century. We stopped for lunch near Bab Boujloud, which is the main gate of Fes's medina. The outside of this gate is blue and the inner side is green. We ate at a restaurant on the rooftop terrace, which was the same location where we had several meals 20 years ago. We then followed part of the Monuments and Souks Circuit and visited the following places: The Fountain at the Nejjarine complex. Foundouk el Nejjarine. A Foundouk is a building designed as a rest stop for merchants and visitors. This one was built in 1711. The woodwork was beautiful. It is now a museum with many exhibits of the carpenters' handiwork. Souk Henna which surrounds an old tree. Qaraouyine mosque. Non moslems cannot enter. We took a photo from the rooftop of an adjacent building as the narrow lanes prevent a good view from street level. It was built in 859. Medersa Attarine built in the 14th century. It has a beautiful courtyard that leads into a square prayer hall. The student accommodation was above. Moulay Idriss Mausoleum which contains the tomb of Idris II who ruled Morocco from 807 to 828. Non moslems aren't allowed to enter. It was extremely busy both inside and outside the mausoleum. 5 May 2024 - Fes We set out on the Palaces and Andalusian Gardens Circuit which is on the eastern side of Fes's medina. It is mainly a residential area and the alleys are quiet. Sadly a lot of the palaces are not open to the public, either falling into ruin or in private hands. We had a peek into the beautiful Palais des etoiles (Palace of Stars) owned by the Italian consul. It was an oasis of tranquility. The Palais Abdeslam Moqri was in disrepair but there is a bit of restoration happening. Some children showed us around. We then visited a few things we missed from yesterday's Monuments and Souks Circuit. The first was the Medersa (Islamic school) Bouinania built in the 14th century. We chatted to an interesting family, an 80 year old father who had lived at the Medersa in the 1970s and his 3 children. The Dar al Magana (House of the Clock) was across the alley . It was built in 14th century and houses an unique water clock. The clock consists of 12 doors and platforms carrying brass bowls. Every hour, one door opens and a metal ball drops into one of 12 brass bowls. A rope with a weight attached is also involved. The final sight was Place Seffarine which is known for its coppersmiths. We had Moroccan tea on the rooftop terrace overlooking the square. It was fascinating to watch a craftsman heat up a copper object, then add a powder which then turned the inside silver! It was probably a chemical reaction. There are plenty of shops in Place Seffarine selling metal objects and there was an alley off the square where they were dying wool and hanging it in the alley to dry. 6 May 2024 - Fes It was our last day in Fes. We first walked down Talaa Kebira, which is the slightly quieter of the 2 main alleys in the medina. It was quieter than at the weekend, although later on we encountered large tour groups near the main tannery. An unofficial guide then showed us around a small tannery on the western side of Talaa Kebira . Fes has 3 tanneries and very few people visit this one. There weren't any other visitors when we were there and the guide showed us how: The hides are soaked in stone vats in a mixture of pigeon faeces and chalk to clean and soften them. After this they are able to soak up the dyes more readily. Only natural pigments are used: poppy for red, henna for orange, indigo for blue etc. The hides are scraped to clean and soften them. A huge wheel is used, like a spinning drum of a washing machine, to rinse the hides. The hides are dried in the sun. It is dirty and very smelly work. I wouldn't want to do it to make a living. We then visited the other small tannery on the eastern side Talaa Kebira. There were other visitors there and some shops overlooked the tannery. The Chouara tannery is the largest and oldest in Fes. It dates from the 9th century! To reach the terraces overlooking the tannery you have to walk through shops selling leather goods! You are given a sprig of mint to neutralise the smells and invited up to the viewing terrace overlooking the vats. I didn't find the smell as bad as I did 20 years ago. 7 May 2024 - Fes to Chefchaouen I didn't sleep well last night as I have caught a cold. We were very sad to leave Fes this morning after a very enjoyable 4 days there. However, we probably won't go back again as Fes has changed too much since we were last there 20 years ago. Mass tourism spoils places. The 4.5 hour drive to Chefchaouen was very scenic with rolling hills and fields of wheat, spinach and poppies. We passed quite a few herds of goats and sheep. Sadly the road soon disintegrated with eroded edges and deep potholes. It didn't improve until we joined the N13 that goes from Meknes to Chefchaouen. Chefchaoun was founded in 1471, just before the Spanish Reconquest of Granada, when its population quickly grew with Muslim and Jewish refugees fleeing Spain. The descendants of the Jewish refugees painted their houses blue in the 1930's and now Chefchaouen is known as the Blue Town. The old medina of Chefchaoun is a very beautiful with all the blue buildings. Unfortunately most of the streets are lined with tourist shops. There aren't any shops for the locals and they are all outside the medina. We were tired of Moroccan food so we went to Mr Bin Chinese Restaurant that had been recommended on the Tripadvisor Travel Forum. The food was very good and it was a nice change from Tagines! Links to other blogs about our Road Trip Week 1 - Salamanca, Toledo, Cordoba & Granada Week 2 - Spain to Morocco Week 3 - Southern Morocco Week 4 - Marrakesh to Todra Gorge Week 6 - Morocco to Cadiz & Seville Week 7 - Seville to Portugal Week 8 - Porto to Pontevedra, Spain Week 9 - Muxia & the Lighthouse Way Week 10 - Muxia, Spain to Plymouth, UK

I did the Kanchenjunga Circuit trek with a porter/guide in November 2023 and this is a daily summary of my trek. I have also written blogs about Planning the Kanchenjunga trek , the Tea Houses on the Kanchenjunga trek , Day Hikes on the Kanchenjunga Trek and Hiking Times . Contents Map of the Kanchenjunga Trek 8 September 2023 - Training for the Kanchenjunga Trek 24 October 2023 - Flight from London to Kathmandu 25 October 2023 - Arrival in Kathmandu 26 October 2023 - Trekking Permit & Monkey Temple 27 October 2023 - Patan & Bouddhanath 28 October 2023 - Packing & Durbar Square 29 October 2023 - Kathmandu to Taplejung 30 October 2023 - Taplejung to Chirwa 31 October 2023 - Chirwa to Sekathum 1 November 2023 - Sekathum to Thangyam 2 November 2023 - Thangyam to Phale 3 November 2023 - Phale to Ghunsa 4 November 2023 - Ghunsa 5 November 2023 - Ghunsa to Khambachen 6 November 2023 - Khambachen & Jannu Viewpoint 7 November 2023 - Khambachen to Lhonak 8 November 2023 - Lhonak 9 November 2023 - Lhonak to Pangpema & Back 10 November 2023 - Lhonak to Ghunsa 11 November 2023 - Ghunsa to Sele La High Camp 12 November 2023 - Selele High Camp to Tseram 13 November 2023 - Tseram to Ramche 14 November 2023 - Ramche to Tortong 15 November 2023 - Tortong to Kengsra 16 November 2023 - Kengsra to Taplejung 17 November 2023 - Taplejung to Bhadrapur 18 November 2023 - Bhadrapur to Kathmandu Links to My Other Blogs on the Kanchenjunga Trek Map of the Kanchenjunga Trek 8 September 2023 - Training for the Kanchenjunga Trek I did training hikes on the South West coastal path in Cornwall to prepare for my Kanchenjunga Base Camp trek. There is a path just minutes away from our house and it provides excellent training as it has a lot of ascent and descent. I had regularly walked this path but on September 8th I put my left foot too close to the path edge and twisted my ankle. For the next five weeks I had to have regular treatment from a chiropractor and could only do limited walking on country roads.  That wasn’t good fitness training! The chiropractor felt that I should postpone my treks until the following year as 35 days of trekking would be too much for my ankle. Ten days before my departure date I was able to resume walking on trails and build up my fitness a bit. I decided to go to Nepal and try to do the Kanchenjunga and Langtang treks. 24 October 2023 - Flight from London to Kathmandu I had booked my flight with Qatar Airways in February, departing London on 26 October and arriving in Kathmandu on Friday 27 October. The flights to Nepal had become expensive since Covid and I was pleased to have got a relatively good deal. In August it suddenly occurred to me that I would be arriving in Kathmandu on a weekend as the weekend in Nepal is on Friday and Saturday. The Department of  Immigration issues the trekking permits for restricted areas like Kanchenjunga and their website showed the office closes in the early afternoon on Friday and reopens on Sunday. My flight from Kathmandu to Bhadrapur was booked for early Sunday morning and for various reasons I didn’t want to postpone this flight. This meant that I had to fly out to Kathmandu earlier and it cost an extra USD 370! An expensive mistake and I also had to pay for 2 extra night’s accommodation in Kathmandu. Lani kindly drove me to Heathrow, which is a four hour drive from our house. The flight took off on time and the flight was as pleasant as it could be in economy class! 25 October 2023 - Arrival in Kathmandu The plane landed in the late afternoon and I managed to buy the visa and get through Immigration very quickly. I was very happy when my 2 bags quickly appeared on the carousel. I always worry about losing luggage and the problems that would involve. I carry my hiking boots in my hand luggage as it would be very difficult to find comfortable replacement boots in Thamel. Last year I stayed at Hotel Thamel House which had only opened a year ago. It was at a very good rate of $50 a night and I was upgraded to a spacious room with a balcony. Unfortunately this year the room rate had doubled so I had to look elsewhere. The new Everest Boutique Hotel in Thamel had been recommended on the Tripadvisor forum and I had booked a room with a balcony for $50 a night. I was very happy with my room and the hotel. Unfortunately it will probably become more popular and the room rates will increase. 26 October 2023 - Trekking Permit & Monkey Temple At 09.00 I met the owner, and his partner, of the trekking agency ( Enjoy Nepal Treks ) . I had to pay for the Kanchenjunga trek and give them my passport so they could obtain the trekking permit from the Immigration Department. I was concerned because the Immigration Department was only open for 2 hours due to the festival of Dashain. The Kanchenjunga Base Camp trek is in a restricted area and at least 2 foreigners must trek together. A solo trekker can circumvent this rule by submitting someone else’s passport (with a valid visa in it) to Immigration. They will then issue a “Ghost Permit” for someone you will never trek with.  One of the reasons that I selected Enjoy Nepal Treks is that their website stated they could obtain “Ghost Trekking Permits” for solo trekkers. I had to pay for 2 trekking permits for Kanchenjunga costing $60 each plus a $35 fee to cover Enjoy Nepal Treks' extra work. I was very happy when Enjoy Nepal Treks called me a couple of hours later to say they had obtained the permits and wanted to return my passport. Luckily they had a contact in Immigration or they may not have succeeded. There was a long line up of people trying to obtain permits during the two hour opening period. The ghost permit was for a young Indian lady who I never met! When on the trek the standard ploy is to state at the permit check points that your trekking partner became sick and had to turn back. I have never heard of a problem arising from doing this. During my meeting with Enjoy Nepal Treks I checked if my porter/guide would carry a duffel bag like most porters do. I was informed that my porter/guide was more of a guide and would need a rucksack.  The guide (Jiwan) was therefore quickly summoned to the hotel so we could go around the shops in Thamel to select a rucksack. Jiwan was 47 years old and seemed very pleasant.  I wanted the largest rucksack possible as I also had a tent and air mattress. The largest rucksacks in Kathmandu are 90 litres and I bought one for NPR 4,500 ($35). It seemed that it would be large enough if my tent was strapped to the outside, which was what I did last year for the Makalu base camp trek (see my blog Planning the Makalu Base Camp Trek ) . In the afternoon I took a taxi over to the Monkey Temple. I would usually have walked but I was still a bit concerned about my ankle. I have been there 3 times before and the last time was a year ago. However, it is always a pleasant outing and good to get off the busy streets of Kathmandu. 27 October 2023 - Patan & Bouddhanath Last year I spent half a day in Patan and really enjoyed it. It is possible to walk on the streets without worrying about being hit by motorcycles and cars. I no longer enjoy walking around Kathmandu as there is just too much traffic and very few sidewalks.  Unfortunately Kathmandu has been spoiled in the 30 years since I first went there. In 1994 I felt safe cycling around Kathmandu and the surrounding villages. I wouldn’t dream of doing that now and would have difficulty in finding my way around. I therefore decided to visit Patan’s Durbar Square again and walk around the streets and temples to the south and north of it. I visited the residence of the Kumari (living Goddess) of Patan for the first time. It is easy to visit her in a room in her squalid “palace” whereas it is difficult to see the Kumari of Kathmandu. It is sad to see a young girl cooped up and it can’t be a nice life. Afterwards I took a taxi from Patan to Bouddhanath and circumambulated the famous stupa numerous times. It is an atmospheric place and fantastic for people watching. 28 October 2023 - Packing & Durbar Square I spent the morning buying a few things for the trek and packing my rucksack. The porter/guide carries up to 15 kilograms but the owner said that I could exceed that. Unfortunately my tent and air mattress were bulky and weighed 4 kilograms. I took the tent in case the tea houses on the Kanchenjunga trek were full. I planned to spend 2 nights at Kanchenjunga north base camp at Pangpema, which is at an altitude of 5,140 metres. At night it is very cold there and in the past there has been a lack of blankets.  Last year I was cold when camping in Lower Dolpo with my -13 centigrade Rab sleeping bag. I therefore bought a new and expensive Mountain Equipment -30 centigrade down sleeping bag that weighs 1.5 kg. Unfortunately it is bulky and takes up a lot of space in the rucksack. In the afternoon I walked to Durbar Square in Kathmandu. The buildings in Durbar Square are in much better shape than when I was last there. However, they are still repairing some buildings that were badly damaged by the 2015 earthquake. Durbar Square is always very busy with locals and tourists. I prefer Patan’s Durbar Square which is quieter and in better condition. 29 October 2023 - Kathmandu to Taplejung I had arranged with my guide (Jiwan) to meet me at my hotel at 06.00 and then to find a taxi to take us to the airport. I was a bit concerned about finding a taxi at that time.  However, the evening before the flight Enjoy Nepal Treks' owner recommended that I leave for the airport at 05.00. That seemed way too early since the flight was at 07.40. We compromised with a time of 05.45 and the owner kindly said that his partner would bring Jiwan to my hotel and help obtain a taxi. I should clarify that my personal arrangement with Enjoy Nepal was just to provide a porter/guide for $25 a day, obtain the permits and arrange the flight to Bhadrapur.  The itinerary for the trek, the ground transportation, my meals and my accommodation was my responsibility and the costs for my account. That is what I wanted rather than a more expensive full service trek package. Enjoy Nepal Treks could have provided a full service package if I had requested it. I got up at 05.00 and by the time I got to the hotel reception at 05.45 Jiwan had already found a taxi. At that time of the day there was hardly any traffic and I arrived at the airport at 06.15. It was way too early and we couldn’t even check in! Any way better safe than sorry as I didn’t want to miss my flight. I made sure that I got a front seat on the left side when checking in so I would have good mountain views. Our flight was slightly delayed and my guide and I arrived at Bhadrapur at 09.15. It is a small airport and in front of it is a large parking area for taxis. There is a sign showing the fixed price per destination and the cost to Taplejung, where the Kanchenjunga Base Camp trek starts, was NPR 20,000 ($150).  We were allocated a driver who had a Datsun hatchback. I was initially sceptical that a saloon car would make it but Jiwan assured me it would be fine. I hadn’t realised that the road to Taplejung was tarred. I had thought the road would be horrendous like the access road for last year’s Makalu base camp trek . It was a 9 hour drive to Taplejung. It wasn't a safe drive on the winding and mountainous roads as the driver took too many risks when overtaking. On the way we passed the tea plantations at Ilam. Ilam is very popular with Nepali tourists and the viewpoints are commercialised and tacky.  A few sections of the road were in poor condition but not too bad. We stopped on the way for breakfast and lunch and arrived at Taplejung in the dark at around 18.30. Some trekkers break up this journey by spending the night in Ilam. I just wanted to get it over and done with. The hotels in Taplejung used to be awful but I had found good Google reviews for 3 hotels. We went to all 3 of these hotels. They looked fine but they were all busy with pilgrims. It was probably due to Dashain. As the pilgrims wake up at around 04.00 to go to the temple I knew I would have a very disturbed night's sleep at these hotels. I was about to give up and choose one of those three hotels when Jiwan suggested trying the nearby Hotel Blue Star. He had stayed there before and said it was okay. I was sceptical but went to have a look. I decided to stay there as only 1 other room was occupied and it seemed quiet. The bonus was that it was only R1,000 ($7.50) per night for a room with an attached bathroom whereas the other hotels cost around R4,000 ($30). 30 October 2023 - Taplejung to Chirwa It was surprisingly quiet during the night and I had a good night’s sleep. I had fried rice for breakfast as there was very little else on offer. All the food at the hotel was cheap and the dal bhat for dinner only cost NPR 200 ($1.50). Jiwan informed me that the first day of my planned Kanchenjunga Base Camp trek, from Taplejung to Chirwa, was along an unpleasant and dusty road. He suggested that we take a shared jeep instead.  Luckily I had done my homework and I knew there were 2 jeep tracks to Chirwa. Jiwan was referring to the eastern “road” that goes via Lingkhim. I planned to walk along the quiet western jeep track via Mitlung. I had considered taking a jeep but time wasn’t an issue.   We started walking at 08.30 and had to first walk up to the centre of Taplejung. Taplejung looked to be a nice enough town. From there we walked on rough jeep tracks mainly. Fortunately there was very little traffic on this "road" and it was a pleasant walk.  We descended about 1,100 metres to the village of Mitlung where we had dal bhat for lunch. It again only cost R 200 ($1.50). There were 2 French trekkers (father and daughter) there and they were the only trekkers we saw on the trail that day. We continued walking on to the village of Sinwa in very hot weather. Jiwan was really suffering from the heat. He was wearing long trousers and had his personal backpack on his front and my rucksack on his back. I think tomorrow he will put his pack on top of mine like I had suggested at the start of the day! My plan had been to stay at Sinwa but Jiwan continued walking on to Chirwa. I didn’t say anything as I was happy to do this. This meant ascending 300 metres and walking almost another 3 hours. We reached Chirwa (1,185 metres) at 17.00 and the first tea house was more or less full with 5 trekkers. They had one spare room but it didn’t look great. We therefore went across to the only other tea house and it was empty. It was a basic tea house but better than the ones on last year's Makalu Base Camp trek. There were plenty of spiders in the communal toilet but they weren’t large. It was a hard first day of trekking with 8 hours of actual walking in hot and sunny conditions. 31 October 2023 - Chirwa to Sekathum I had another good night's sleep and I was finally over the jet lag. The bill for dinner, breakfast and the room was only R1,470 ($11) of which R500 was for the room. Jiwan and I started hiking from Chirwa (1,185 metres) at 08.30. For the first three hours we were in the shade which made it easier. The trail and scenery were very pleasant. It is now possible to go by jeep from Chirwa to Sekathum but I was pleased to be walking. It took us 4.5  hours to hike to the village of Sekathum (1,650 metres). This was our intended destination for tonight but we hiked on for another 30 minutes to the tiny settlement of Itahari. The next tea house was a 4.5 hour walk away and we were too tired to walk there. My leg was also hurting a bit from yesterday’s long walk and my lack of fitness. There were only 4 simple and clean rooms in the tea house. Some Nepali men who live in the UK passed by and I had a good chat with them. A Greek trekker and his guide came to stay later on and we were the only 2 trekkers staying at the tea house. He seemed to be smoking a foul smelling cigar but it turned out to be weed. 1 November 2023 - Sekathum to Thangyam The tea house was expensive and the cost for all meals and lodging came to R2,900 ($22). They didn’t have a menu so I didn’t know the prices until I settled the bill.  We set off from Sekathum (1,650 metres) at 07.45 and the trail immediately ascended steeply. After a while we crossed a suspension bridge and then followed a path constructed along the side of the mountain and just above the river. It was a proper trail today as the jeep track has ended. We hiked 850 metres up to the village of Amjilosa (2,498 metres) and it took us 4 hours. We had a lunch of dal bhat there. As it had to be freshly cooked the lunch took an hour. There are 2 tea houses at Amjilosa and we had lunch at the basic older one. I had a look at the rooms and they were gloomy and had several beds in each room. The owners told me that a week ago both the tea houses were full and trekkers were sleeping in the dining rooms. I was very glad that I hadn’t started the trek any earlier. The Greek trekker’s guide had told us that there was a new lodge at Thangyam (2,405 metres) which was another 2 hours along the trail to Kanchenjunga Base Camp. We therefore decided to make our way there as it was too early to stop at Amjilosa and I wasn’t impressed with the tea house. The lodge at Thangyam was very nice and cost R500 per night. It was constructed in 2019 but because of Covid was only opened last year. The guy running it spoke perfect English and was very welcoming. He gave me a corner room as requested.  There was a fancy menu with western dishes but I stuck with Dal bhat! This was the first tea house which had a menu. There was a really good shower room, although there was only cold water. I had my first shower for 4 days and it was my last one until I got back to Taplejung on 16 November! The Greek trekker and the French father and daughter were also staying at the tea house. The Greek was pretty stoned as he was smoking weed and drinking Tongba! He was about 50 years old. He irritated me as he played music on a blue tooth speaker whilst walking. This was his first visit to Nepal and thought he knew a lot about Nepal but he was often wrong. The French trekkers’ guide told me that one of his trekkers on the Kanchenjunga trek had to be evacuated last year due to altitude sickness. He then told me that they had only spent 1 night at Khambachen (4,145 metres) whereas the norm is 2 nights. I told him that and he didn’t like it. Later I was speaking to the French father and he was concerned about altitude sickness as he had suffered from it before. When he told me that he was only spending 1 night at Khambachen I strongly advised him to spend 2 nights.  I couldn’t understand why they were only spending 1 night there as they had more days than me for their Kanchenjunga trek. The guide didn’t like me interfering. I was pleased that when I last saw the French trekkers at Lhonak they told me they had spent 2 nights at Khambachen. A noisy Nepali family was staying at the tea house and spent the evening dancing around a fire outside. Thankfully the manager got them to be quiet and go to their rooms at 21.00.  I slept well but started to feel a bit cold in the early morning as the tea house is at 2,400 metres. I had been using the tea houses' duvets so far with my silk liner sleeping bag. I hadn't yet used my new Mountain Equipment -30 centigrade sleeping bag that cost £650. I thought it would be too warm at lower altitude on the Kanchenjunga trek. I will use it tonight as I will be sleeping at 3,200 metres and it will be even colder. 2 November 2023 - Thangyam to Phale My stay at Thangyam cost R1,470 ($11) and my lunch on the trail was R250 ($2). Therefore when taking into account the $25 cost of my porter/guide the total cost for the day was only $38. We started walking at 07.45 on a steep trail that ascended 300 metres to the tea houses at Gyabla (2,725 metres). Gyabla is a very pleasant spot and we must have spent an hour there. There are 2 or 3 tea houses and one of them is large and modern. We continued walking  up to Phale (3,215 metres) and I met a young Nepalese woman coming down the trail. She told me that she was a guide for a group of German and Canadian trekkers doing the trek to Kanchenjunga Base Camp. They had been staying in Ghunsa, which is where I am going tomorrow. She said that a guy working at the Sherpa Guest House in Ghunsa had followed her to her room and forced his way in. He then tried to rape her but she managed to fight him off. The owner of the tea house wouldn't take any action. So she found a temporary guide for her group whilst she was hiking back down to report the matter to the police. We arrived at Phale at 13.30. The few other trekkers on the trail had just finished having lunch there and were walking another 1.5 hours on to Ghunsa. I was in no rush and decided to stay in a simple, but clean, tea house. I ended up being the only trekker in Phale for the night. Another reason for spending the night there was for acclimatisation as Phale is at an altitude of 3,215 metres. As I was planning to climb Drohmo Ri East (5,935 metres) from Kanchenjunga north base camp I needed to be better acclimatised than most trekkers. Phale is an interesting local village with a monastery. It is a Buddhist settlement and probably the most authentic village on the Kanchenjunga circuit. I had a late lunch of dal bhat in the tea house’s Tibetan kitchen. I tried Tibetan butter tea for the first time and didn't like it. I had enough dal bhat for 1 day and ordered vegetable fried noodles for supper. Two dogs at the neighbouring tea house were barking incessantly all evening. Luckily they stopped at 22.15 so I could sleep. There was a cow, with its bell clanging, by my room during the night but it was a pleasant sound. During the night the temperature dropped to 5 centigrade in my room and 2 centigrade outside. It will get a lot colder as I ascend to Kanchenjunga Base Camp! I was warm in my new sleeping bag. 3 November 2023 - Phale to Ghunsa There was no rush in setting off today as my next stop was Ghunsa which was only a 1.5 hour walk away. At 07.00 we walked over to the nearby monastery where the monks had started praying. The monastery is only 50 years old and there are 4 Tibetan monks living there. The scenery on the walk to Ghunsa (3,415 metres) was stunning. The trail runs along the river. The foliage on the larch trees had turned golden and there were snow capped mountains in the background. My guide had reserved a small detached hut with an attached toilet at the Peaceful Guest House. It cost R800 ($6) per night and had free charging of electrical devices. I had a very poor dal bhat for lunch and it was by far the worst of the entire trek. I found out later that there was a large group of 16 Italian trekkers arriving the next day. I don’t like busy tea houses and groups can be very noisy. Also the Peaceful Guest House has a lot of bedrooms but the dining room is small. I therefore decided to move to another smaller tea house with a similar detached hut the next morning. It was recommended to me by 2 Spanish trekkers. I could have hiked 600 metres up to a viewpoint this afternoon. However, I didn't as my hip was hurting a bit due to my lack of fitness. Instead I wandered around Ghunsa in the afternoon. The southern section of Ghunsa is the trekkers’ section and there are a lot of lodges. The northern section is the older section for the locals. There is a medical centre in the northern section which was meant to have internet. Unfortunately it hasn’t worked for over a year and it doesn’t seem that it will be fixed for a long time. Ghunsa is the largest village on the Kanchenjunga trek. There is a lot of decent accommodation and even a cafe serving cake. Ghunsa is the place to have a hot shower. 4 November 2023 - Ghunsa The temperature in my room dropped down to zero centigrade in the night and the outside water pipe froze. I was warm in my sleeping bag. The other guests (3 Chinese, 3 Japanese and 2 Israelis) were all having their breakfast at 07.00 so I had ordered my pancakes for 07.30. The other trekkers were very friendly but the Chinese were noisy. I moved over to the other tea house after breakfast. They prepared a packed lunch for Jiwan and myself and we walked up a trail towards the Nango La (pass) that goes on to Olangchung Gola. We reached 4,810 metres before I decided to turn around. My hip was still hurting a bit and I didn't want to overdo it. I had also developed a sore throat and runny nose last night. We therefore only walked for about 4 hours in total and it was at a slow pace. 5 November 2023 - Ghunsa to Khambachen I walked up to Khambachen (4,145 metres) today. The walk took 6 hours and I found it hard going. Initially it was cold and icy in places. Then the sun came out and it warmed up. The trail was very scenic. There were a few landslides that had to be crossed. We stopped for dal bhat at a very basic tea house on the way. I stayed at the Khambachen Lodge and got the last detached hut for R700 ($5) per night. There are 4 of these huts plus rooms in the main building. The only downside is that the dining room is small and gloomy. A week ago it was so crowded that the neighbouring White House tea house in Khambachen had to put up large tents for the porters and guides. Many trekkers had to sleep in the dining rooms of the lodges. What a difference one week makes. There were now very few trekkers doing the Kanchenjunga trek and I could choose which lodge to stay in and even be fussy about selecting rooms. Just the way I like it! I walked over to the White House lodge. The owner was very friendly and spoke English well. He gave me a free cup of tea and afterwards I ordered more tea and cake. The White House has a good reputation for its food. The White House’s dining room is much nicer than that of the Khambachen Lodge. It is large and bright. However, its cottages are attached and would be noisier than the detached cottages of the Khambachen lodge. I also think that groups tend to stay at the White House. At the Khambachen lodge there were 4 French trekkers, 2 Spaniards, 3 English women and myself. The French didn’t speak much English but it was enjoyable talking to the others. The three English women were going to do the difficult Lumba Sumba trek after going to the north base camp. They had a team of porters waiting for them back at Ghunsa. I was intrigued to discover that I had followed one of the women’s blogs before. I found out later that they completed the trek successfully. I slept well and the temperature in my room dropped to -4 centigrade. My sleeping bag coped well with the cold. 6 November 2023 - Khambachen & Jannu Viewpoint I stayed at Khambechen for 2 nights to acclimatise to the altitude. Most trekkers do this and aid the acclimatisation process by walking up to a viewpoint of Jannu mountain. It is a very scenic walk and well worth doing even if you are already acclimatised. We set off at 07.30 to walk to the view point. Initially it was cold but after 15 minutes the sun came over the mountain and warmed things up. Soon I was taking layers off as it was too warm.  We were walking right into the sun and it was blinding. They have laid a path of rocks up to a Hindu shrine near the viewpoint. Unfortunately it hasn’t been laid well and a lot of the rocks are loose. I was wearing boots but was still concerned about twisting my ankle again. It took us about 3 hours to reach the Hindu shrine where we had our packed lunches of 2 chapatis and an egg. Afterwards we continued on for another 20 minutes to reach the top of the moraine of the Jannu glacier. We reached a height of 4,606 metres and there were fantastic views of the glacier, Jannu and other peaks. There were only 2 other trekkers at the lodge that night. They were 2 retired Germans, a doctor and a teacher. The doctor spoke good English and we got on very well. I ended up staying at the same lodge as them a few more times. The White House was also quiet as only 4 French trekkers were staying there. 7 November 2023 - Khambachen to Lhonak Jiwan and I hiked for five and a half hours from Khambachen (4,145 metres) to Lhonak (4,792 metres). Initially it wasn't particularly scenic but the scenery soon improved. We reached a large landslide area and there was a sign warning about falling rocks. In the middle of this area was a waterfall and we had to cross an ice and snow covered river. Jiwan found a good route across and it wasn't too much of a problem crossing the river. Since falling on ice last year on the Makalu base camp trek I have been very wary of ice. Actually the biggest danger from ice is on the floors of the tea houses’ toilets. You definitely don't want to fall there! We reached a basic tea shop at Ramtang at 11.25 and had an excellent vegetable noodle soup for lunch. It was much better than the noodle soups on the Makalu base camp trek. It has been a very pleasant surprise that all the accommodation and food is far superior to that on the Makulu base camp trek. We reached Lhonak at 13.45. I chose the Kanchenjunga Guest House as no other trekkers were staying there and they had attached huts. I took an end unit as usual. The toilet was just a long drop but it was fine. I was pleased to discover that this lodge was one of the few that could charge electrical devices. It was also free for guests! There are several tea houses at Lhonak, more than at Khambachen for some reason. There seemed to be about 15 trekkers at the other lodges. A week ago it was very busy, like at Khambachen, and all the lodges were full. My tent would have proved useful then but so far it has just been extra weight for Jiwan to carry. 8 November 2023 - Lhonak It was -6 centigrade in my room last night but again I was warm in my sleeping bag. What I dislike is the cold in the mornings. My hands become cold and sore after washing my face, brushing my teeth and packing up.  The fires in the dining rooms of the tea houses on the Kanchenjunga trek are never lit in the morning. The best place for breakfast is in the kitchen if you are allowed in. You normally are if the tea house isn’t busy. As I was the only trekker there I had my coffee and porridge by the fire in the kitchen and my hands soon thawed out. Most trekkers doing the Kanchenjunga trek spend 2 nights at Lhonak. After the first night they walk to the north base camp at Pangpema (5,140 metres) and then return to Lhonak for the night. I intended to spend 3 nights at Lhonak as I wanted to sleep at Kanchenjunga base camp and ascend Drohmo Ri East (5,940 metres) the next day. I intended to acclimatise for 2 nights at Lhonak before going to Kanchenjunga base camp and then spend another night there on my way back. To improve my acclimatisation I walked up the east side of the Lhonak glacier today. The map actually shows the path to be on the west side of the glacier. However, I had read on another blog that there was a better path on the east side.  The lodge owner confirmed that the east path was best and offered to show us the way as he was visiting a mountaineering camp further on. He was too fast for me but we kept up with him long enough to be sure we were on the right route. There was one slightly tricky section early on that went across large boulders. Then we came across a small bridge consisting of 3 icy logs. The blogger had commented on this and said he had crawled across! I was a bit cross as I had mentioned this to Jiwan and he assured me it would be alright. Anyway the river level wasn’t too high and Jiwan found a way across without using the bridge. We walked up to the ridge of the moraine and reached an altitude of 5,124 metres. I could see the confluence of the Chabuk and Chijima glaciers. I could also see the tents of the mountaineering expedition that were at this confluence.  There was little point in going further so we turned back. There was a cold wind on the way back. The entire walk took us almost 6 hours. Before we had set off I had asked the owner of our tea house to radio the tea house at the north base camp to let them know we wanted to come tomorrow and stay for 2 nights. When I returned from my hike the owner told me that the people running the small tea house at Kanchenjunga north base camp were walking down to Lhonak. I met them at Lhonak and they said they were going to Ghunsa for 5 days for the festival of Tihar. Unfortunately I couldn't persuade them to return and open up the basic tea house at base camp for me. I was very disappointed as it meant I would have to go to Kanchenjunga base camp as a day trek instead and wouldn't be able to go up Drohmo Ri East. There were only 6 other foreign trekkers at Lhonak tonight and they all decided to stay at the same tea house as me! They were the 2 Germans and 4 French trekkers that had been at Khambachen during my second night there. Luckily they all spoke English well and I got on particularly well with the Germans.  9 November 2023 - Lhonak to Pangpema & Back I had an early breakfast at 06.00 as I was doing the long day hike to Kanchenjunga's north base camp at Pangpema. Clouds tend to roll in around midday and obscure the peaks. I wanted to get there before that occurred. I ate in the warm kitchen with the 2 Germans as the dining room was freezing. The outside temperature was about -9 centigrade. The previous evening the Germans had ordered Sherpa stew for breakfast. I had decided to try it and ordered it instead of my usual porridge. The sherpa stew certainly makes a good and filling breakfast. Fortunately the 4 French trekkers had breakfast slightly later as there wasn't much room in the kitchen. Jiwan and I set off at 06.30 and followed the west bank of the Kanchenjunga Glacier up to Kanchenjunga's north base camp. The scenery was very impressive. We had to walk steeply up and down a couple of landslide areas. We reached Kanchenjunga's north base camp at 11.00 and stayed there for 75 minutes admiring the views of Kanchenjunga and other peaks. The weather was clear and sunny like it was for the entire Kanchenjunga trek.  We were the first people at Kanchenjunga base camp and it was fairly peaceful for half an hour. Then the other foreign and Nepali trekkers arrived. There were the usual over the top celebrations and silly photo shoots. There was a very small tea house plus 4 tents at Kanchenjunga base camp. Three of the tents would accommodate 2 people in each tent and the fourth larger tent would accommodate a lot of people. However, as I expected the tea house was closed. On the way back down to Lhonak we stopped at a makeshift tea shop in a tent and had dal bhat for lunch. We arrived back at Lhonak at 16.00. It was a long and tiring day. In the evening I went to warn a group of 8 trekkers with Project Himalaya that the tea house at Kanchenjunga north base camp was closed. I did this as I had trekked in Lower Dolpo with Project Himalaya last year and was aware they were doing the Kanchenjunga trek. They said their guide had contacted the owner and he had promised to return to open it up for them.  When I told the owner of my tea house this he just laughed and said he doubted that the Kanchenjunga base camp owner would return. It turned out he was right. It was surprising as about 30 trekkers and their guides and porters had wanted to stay there that night. The tea house would have made a lot of money, although I am not sure that there would have been room for all of them. A Swiss woman also stayed at the tea house tonight. She was part of a mountaineering expedition and had come down due to a weather warning. Her colleagues were following her down tomorrow. Luckily it turned out to be a false alarm and the weather stayed fine. 10 November 2023 - Lhonak to Ghunsa . It was an 8.5 hour walk, and a 1,400 metre descent, back down to Ghunsa from Lhonak. This included a 1.25 hour stop at Khambachen for dal bhat. Everyone says this is a long and tiring day and it was. I stayed at the Mountain River View Side Lodge again. The only other trekker was a 66 year old Nepali trekker who had lived in London for 3 years. We had a good chat at dinner time. Unfortunately I arrived too late to have a shower. There is free electricity charging in the rooms. I made sure that all my electrical devices were fully charged as I was told that there wouldn’t be another opportunity for 5 days. 11 November 2023 - Ghunsa to Selele High Camp Jiwan and I left Ghunsa (3,415 metres) at 08.15. The mornings in Ghunsa are cold as the sun doesn’t reach the valley until late. After half an hour we reached a sunny and warm clearing in the forest and we took off a few layers of clothing. It was a steep 600 metre climb to a small tea shop at 4,010 metres and it took 3 hours. It was mainly through forest, although there were clearings at times that enabled us to look down on Ghunsa and Phale. The forest had ended by the time we reached the tea shop. We were joined by the 2 Germans and 4 French trekkers and we lay on mats in the sun for an hour whilst dal bhat was cooked for our lunch. As we were waiting for our lunch 2 Australian trekkers came from the east side. We started talking and after a while I realised it was Sue and Howard Dengate who provide very useful trekking information on their website. They are now in their mid 70’s and have done many adventurous treks. It was great chatting to them for half an hour. After lunch it was a further 1.75 hour walk to the Selele high camp (4,200 metres) where there are 2 tea houses. Both of them are reasonable and fairly new. I went to the upper tea house as the 4 French trekkers were staying in the lower tea house. The Germans joined me a bit later on. We sat in the kitchen until the dining room’s fire was lit at around 16.30. This is the usual time that the lodges on the Kanchenjunga circuit trek light the fire in the dining room. Normally no more wood, or dried dung, is put on the fire after about 19.00. This encourages trekkers to go to bed shortly after 20.00! There were 2 sections to the tea house and I had the newer wing to myself. It was very quiet as a result. The toilet floor was becoming icy in the afternoon and by the evening we were told not to risk using it! 12 November 2023 - Selele High Camp to Tseram It was a tough 7 hour walk from Selele high camp (4,200 metres) to Tseram (3,868 metres). There were 3 passes to cross and we had to ascend 450 metres to reach the first pass known as the Mirgin La (4,645 metres). The weather was clear until the first pass and we had good views. I was pleased the weather had stayed clear for us. As we descended the first pass the clouds started to roll in and blocked our views for the next 2 passes. It didn’t clear until we began the final 600 metre descent to Tseram.  The 6 other trekkers had taken packed lunches. We hadn't as we had been told there was a small tea house on the way. Unfortunately it was closed but Jiwan had brought several packets of biscuits. I devoured 2 packets. We were fortunate that there was virtually no snow. It would have been an exhausting walk in snow over the rough terrain. One of the better tea houses at Tseram was closed as the owner was ill. Another was taken over by an Alaskan couple and their entourage of 17 porters and guides! They should have been camping with that many support staff. That left the oldest tea house for myself, the 2 Germans and 4 French trekkers. The tea house was very basic so I pitched my tent and kept my belongings in my bedroom for safekeeping. As the owner of this tea house was sick, Jiwan cooked for everyone and the food was delicious. 13 November 2023 - Tseram to Ramche I had a good night's sleep in my tent. Jiwan kindly helped me pack away the tent in the morning. I left Tseram (3,868 metres) at 07.40 and hiked for 3.5 hours up to Ramche (4,610 metres). It was a 750 metre ascent. The mountain scenery was absolutely stunning the entire way.  A British father and his son were the only trekkers staying at Ramche the previous night. I met them whilst they were walking back down to Tseram. They were friendly and warned me that Ramche was very cold at night and that the tea house was very basic. There are 2 tea houses at Ramche but the new tea house was closed. That left a very basic tea house with cow dung drying on the walls. The dining room was mainly constructed of clear plastic. It was very warm in the sun but I knew it would be freezing at night as there was no fireplace. I put my luggage in a dark and basic bedroom and then had a quick lunch of omelette and chapatis. As the weather was still clear we decided to try walking up to the Oktang viewpoint near the south base camp of Kanchenjunga. It took 1 hour 20 minutes to reach the Oktang viewpoint and we were very fortunate that the weather was clear. The British trekkers had informed me that it had clouded over at 12.30 the previous day, but there was very little cloud when we left Oktang at 14.15. At the viewpoint we had great views of the 3 peaks of Kanchenjunga, the other mountains and the glacier. We walked a bit further northwards along the ridge of moraine towards the south Base Camp for Kanchenjunga. Unfortunately, the path to Kanchenjunga's South Base Camp is blocked by a landslide. Most people think that the views from Kanchenjunga's North Base camp are much better than from Oktang. I disagree and prefer the south side. It was the best day of my Kanchenjunga trek. When I got back to Ramche I decided to pitch my tent. The French and Germans had arrived but they decided to go to the Oktang viewpoint the next morning. That suited me as I wanted to get ahead of the French trekkers and stay in tea houses with fewer trekkers. There was an amazing sunset over the mountains and we all stayed out in the cold to watch it. Jiwan ended up cooking supper again as the owner was apparently feeling sick. I was concerned that the owner had cooked my lunch but there was nothing I could do about that now.  The food was fantastic and the portions were huge. It was a cold evening and by 20.00 everyone went to bed. The warmest place had been the kitchen whilst supper was being cooked over a roaring fire. I kept going in to warm up. 14 November 2023 - Ramche to Tortong It was a cold night and all the condensation on my tent froze. I tried packing up the tent before breakfast but my hands became too cold when trying to remove the ice. I managed to thaw out my hands in the kitchen where Jiwan was cooking breakfast for everyone. Everyone was having Sherpa stew except me. I had chapatis and omelette. When I saw the sick lodge owner put his dirty hands on my chapatis I wished that I had ordered the Sherpa stew as well! I was concerned I would get sick but fortunately I didn’t. The sun came out early at 07.15 but it wasn't strong enough to melt the ice on my tent. Jiwan kindly scraped it all off and packed up my tent. We left Ramche at 08.30 and got back to Tseram at 10.45. I had an early lunch of vegetable fried noodles and Jiwan had dal bhat. It was far too early in the day to stop walking. I also wanted to get ahead of the French trekkers who I knew would be spending the night here. We started walking again at 11.45 and followed the river down to Tortong (2,980 metres). It took 3.5 hours on a path that descended through forest most of the way. We descended a total of 1,600 metres today. There are 2 tea houses at Tortong and I ended up staying at a tea house where the British father and son were staying. I thought I had selected a quiet room but there were 4 young and noisy Nepali boys in the room below me. I therefore moved my sleeping bag to a vacant room and had a good night's sleep. 15 November 2023 - Tortong to Kengsra A new trail was constructed in 2019 on the Kanchenjunga Circuit trek that avoids the large landslide at Yamphudin. It goes directly west of Tortong (2,980 metres) and follows the river (Simbuwa Khola) down to Hellok (1,700 metres). I had passed Hellok on the second day of the trek, although I was on the other side of the river. The first section of the hike was through virgin forest and there were absolutely no settlements for 5 hours. After a while the forest changed from large trees to bamboo. It is red panda territory but we didn't see any. I was concentrating more on my foot placement as the terrain is difficult. On the way Jiwan found 2 ticks on his clothes. I was going to remove my trouser leggings as it was hot but left them on to protect against ticks. It is the first time I have come across ticks in Nepal. After 5 hours we reached a new tea house at Kengsra (2,268 metres). We had descended over 700 metres from Tortong. In reality it was a lot more as the trail went up and down. They call it Nepali flat! It had been a very tough hike. Everyone I have met who has done it felt the same way. We had dal bhat for lunch at Kengsra and asked the helpful tea house owner to try and arrange a shared jeep from Hellok to Taplejung the next day. Unfortunately there were not any shared jeeps the next day as it was a holiday (Diwali/Tihar).  As a result we arranged for a private jeep to come from Taplejung the next morning and take us back there. The cost was R15,000 ($115) for the 3 to 4 hour very rough jeep ride from Hellok to Taplejung. We decided to stay at Kengsra for the night and then walk 3 hours to Hellok the next day to meet the jeep. When we arrived at Kengsra it was very hot and sunny. However, by 14.30 the sun went down behind the mountains and it really cooled down. The British father and son (35 years old) arrived soon afterwards and also decided to spend the night there. Jiwan and I had flights booked from Taplejung to Kathmandu on 19 November. As we hadn’t stayed the night at the Kanchenjunga's North Base Camp it was now possible for us to fly one day earlier. I asked Jiwan to contact Enjoy Nepal Treks to see if our flights could be changed. I was keen to get back a day earlier as I was starting the Langtang trek on 21 November and needed time to wash clothes. I also fancied sleeping an extra night in a good hotel! There is a very limited Nepal Telecoms signal at Kengsra and you can only get the signal with an older type phone. Jiwan borrowed the lodge owner’s phone and managed to arrange for the flight to be changed. There was no extra cost for me but it cost an extra R2,560 ($20) to change Jiwan’s ticket. In the evening we sat outside by a fire and celebrated Diwali with a freshly slaughtered chicken and locally brewed Rakshi. The British son and his guide had far too much Rakshi and felt it the next morning! Fortunately I found the Rakshi tasteless and I stopped the tea house owner from continually refilling my mug. Usually tea houses use wood very sparingly. However, wood was plentiful here and we had a roaring fire all evening. 16 November 2023 - Kengsra to Taplejung We left the tea house at 08.15 and a few minutes later passed another new hotel on top of the hill but it was closed. The terrain was much easier after Kengsra. There were many settlements and lots of cardamom plantations. We walked slowly and it took us 2.5 to 3 hours to reach Hellok. On the way Jiwan spoke to the driver who was coming from Taplejung. He was intending to pick up a person who was seriously sick from drinking too much the previous night whilst celebrating Diwali. Jiwan told the driver that I would have to authorise this. I told Jiwan that I wasn't keen as I envisaged the sick person vomiting in the jeep as the road is very rough. We had a very good dal bhat at a home stay in Hellok and at 13.00 the jeep arrived. The driver wasn't friendly and ignored me. The family of the sick man offered to pay half the cost for the jeep and they insisted he had to sit in the front. I didn’t agree to this and was still concerned that the sick man would be vomiting in the jeep. In the end the family of the sick man agreed to pay the driver R20,000 to take the sick man. The driver agreed, although it was Jiwan and I who had arranged the jeep. So at 14.00 I didn't have any transport to Taplejung. Jiwan contacted the lodge owner at Kengsra who was very annoyed with the driver for reneging on the agreement. He arranged for another jeep to come to pick us up for R15,000. However, the jeep was at Taplejung and it would take another 3 to 4 hours to reach us. I decided to walk half an hour down to Ranipur to meet the jeep there. I waited in a tea house for the jeep to arrive and fortunately there was wifi. The first time for 2 weeks. Whilst waiting for the jeep the British father and his son arrived at the tea house. The father had found a tick on his body that morning at Kengsra and was very worried. There was an ominous red rash where it had been and that can be a sign of Lyme disease. I was surprised when the 2 Germans arrived about 17.00. It was good to see them again. They had trekked from Tortong to Hellok in 1 day. A very hard hike and the one German looked very tired. The jeep finally arrived at 18.00. We drove in the dark and arrived at the Hotel Blue Star in Taplejung at 21.30. When we stayed there at the start of our Kanchenjunga trek the hotel was empty and quiet. It was therefore a shock to see that the hotel was packed with families and was very busy. We stayed as Jiwan had made a reservation. It was too late to look around for another hotel and most of the hotels in Taplejung are full at this time of year. I knew that the other guests would be going to the temple at around 04.00 and I was certain that they would disturb me. I thought we might be too late for dinner but everyone at the hotel, including young children, were waiting for dal bhat to be served. The dining room was full so we ate after the other guests at about 22.30. It was a very long day. As I expected my sleep was then disturbed at 04.00 with all the people setting off for the temple. 17 November 2023 - Taplejung to Bhadrapur Jiwan arranged for another jeep to take us on the 8 to 9 hour journey to Bhadrapur airport. The cost was R20,000 ($150) which is what I paid when driving from Bhadrapur to Taplejung.  We left at 08.30 and after an hour had excellent mountain views back to Kanchenjunga. We stopped for lunch and had a good dal bhat for R200 ($1.50). This is the local price and so much cheaper than on the trek. We arrived at Bhadrapur at 17.30 and spent a night at a small hotel by the airport. It was quiet until 22.30 when several Nepali arrived singing loudly! 18 November 2023 - Bhadrapur to Kathmandu The departure time for our flight to Kathmandu was 09.00. We left the hotel at 07.35 and it was only a 5 minute walk to the airport. Jiwan got me a front seat on the right hand side of the plane so I could enjoy the views of the Himalayas again. The plane was only 30 minutes late. The small domestic arrivals area at Kathmandu airport is always crowded and chaotic. I was relieved when my bag appeared and we then took a prepaid taxi to the Everest Boutique Hotel . I thanked Jiwan for the trek. We were meeting again on 21 November to do the Langtang and Gosainkund/Helambu treks. I didn’t have a booking for a room but got a room with a balcony which is what I wanted. I immediately started washing clothes in the sink and hung them out to dry on the balcony. I didn’t use one of the cheap laundry services in Thamel as I was concerned they might damage my trekking clothes. It was good to be back in a comfortable hotel with a clean bathroom. I had 3 nights of comfort and good food before starting the Langtang trek on 21 November! Links to My Other Blogs on the Kanchenjunga Trek Tea Houses on Kanchenjunga Trek Hiking Times on the Kanchenjunga Trek Planning your Kanchenjunga Trek Day Hikes on the Kanchenjunga Trek

I did the Kanchenjunga Base Camp trek in November 2023 with a porter/guide. This blog provides information to help plan your trek. I have also published blogs on Tea Houses on the Kanchenjunga Trek , Day Hikes on the Kanchenjunga Trek and Hiking Times on the Kanchenjunga Trek . Contents When to do the Kanchenjunga Trek Getting to the Trailhead Clockwise or Anti-Clockwise on the Kanchenjunga Trek Itinerary up to Ghunsa when trekking clockwise Itinerary - Ghunsa to North and South Base Camp s Itinerary - South Base Camp down to Taplejung Permits and Guides for the Kanchenjunga Trek Cost of the Kanchenjunga Trek Vlogs about the Kanchenjunga Trek Links to My Other Blogs on the Kanchenjunga Trek 1. When to do the Kanchenjunga Trek The 2 main factors to take into account when doing the Kanchenjunga trek are the weather and the number of trekkers. 1.1 The Number of Trekkers on the Kanchenjunga Trek The official statistics show that less than one thousand foreigners do the Kanchenjunga Base Camp trek every year. In addition to this there will be Nepalese trekkers, guides, porters and mountaineers. This would probably increase the number of people on the Kanchenjunga trek to about 2,000 a year. This number is low compared to most of the other trekking areas in Nepal. However, there are far fewer tea houses on the Kanchenjunga trek than in the more popular trekking areas. Also the trekking season is shorter as the tea houses at higher altitudes are likely to be closed from the end of November, or even earlier, to the end of February. The number of trekkers per month in 2018 for the Kanchenjunga trek were: January 9 February 13 March 72 April 153 May 17 June 2 July 4 August 5 September 143 October 442 November 101 December 9 These figures reflect when trekkers start the Kanchenjunga trek. Many of the 442 trekkers for October would still be on the Kanchenjunga trek in November. 1.2 The Weather The monsoon season is slightly longer in the Kanchenjunga region as the monsoon enters Nepal from the east. When the monsoon ends it withdraws west to east. This means that in the Kanchenjunga region the monsoon can commence about 5 days earlier than in Kathmandu and last 5 days longer. My blog on the Everest Base Camp trek details the monsoon start and finish dates from 2002 to 2023. Over the last couple of decades the monsoon has been starting around the 12th June and ending around the 15th October. I don't recommend trekking in the monsoon as you wouldn't have good mountain views. Every 2 or 3 years cyclones originate in the Bay of Bengal and impact Nepal. When this happens it can spoil a trek and be dangerous for trekkers. The cyclones mainly occur in May and October. In October there is very little risk of cyclones after October 20th. Until last year I mainly trekked during May and early June in Nepal. This was because I wanted to avoid the crowds and Lani didn't want to trek in very cold temperatures. The weather in May and early June isn't as dependable as in April, late October and November but it can be a good time to trek. In 2022 and 2023 I trekked in October, November and early December as Lani didn't join me. The sky is certainly much clearer at this time of year and the cold didn't bother me too much. The worst time for feeling the cold is in the early morning but it wasn't an issue the rest of the time. 1.3 Conclusion on the Best Time to do the Kanchenjunga Trek In my opinion the best time to start the Kanchenjunga trek is in very late October or early November. If you start before the 25th October you risk encountering large groups and the tea houses may be full or very busy. If you start too late in November you may find that some, or all, of the tea houses above Ghunsa and Tseram are closed. I recommend timing your trek so you aren't staying above these villages after 20th November. When trekking in November plan your trek so it doesn't coincide with The Mountain Company's annual camping trek around the Kanchenjunga Circuit. I read a blog where the porters were a problem as they were constantly going in and out of the dining rooms. They were also sleeping in some of the rooms and were very noisy. The Mountain Company's trek usually starts in early November and consists of 10 to 12 trekkers and about 30 Nepali support staff. However, it looks like it may not run in 2024. Late March, April and May could be another good time to trek. There are fewer trekkers than in October but the weather isn't as dependable as in November 2. Getting to the Trailhead for the Kanchenjunga Trek The quickest way to reach the trailhead for the Kanchenjunga trek is to fly from Kathmandu to Suketar airport. There are 3 flights a week. This flight route has a reputation for being unreliable so I didn't use this route. I met 2 trekkers who flew into Suketar so it is possible. It's probably a good option during late October and November when the weather is fairly reliable. I flew from Kathmandu to Bhadrapur airport and I was on the first flight of the day. It was easy to obtain a taxi at Bhadrapur airport and the fixed price to Taplejung was R20,000 ($150). It was a long 8 to 9 hour drive over a paved mountain road to Taplejung. I started walking from Taplejung the following day. I could have booked the flight online but Enjoy Nepal Treks booked the flight for me. It didn't cost any extra. It helped having the trekking agency book my flight as when I wanted to return a day earlier they arranged it for me. 3. Clockwise or Anti-Clockwise on the Kanchenjunga Trek Most trekkers do the Kanchenjunga Circuit trek clockwise as it is better for acclimatising to the altitude. This entails going to the North Base Camp of Kanchenjunga first and then crossing over the Selele to visit the Oktang viewpoint near Kanchenjunga's South Base Camp. This is what I did. Some trekkers do the Kanchenjunga Circuit trek anti-clockwise. The only slight advantage of doing this is for trekkers who intend to hike up Drohmo Ri East (5,965 metres) from Kanchenjunga's North Base Camp. It means that when you reach Kanchenjunga's North Base Camp you have been at high altitude for longer. Some of the disadvantages of doing the Kanchenjunga trek anti-clockwise are: There is a huge and dangerous increase in altitude between Tortong (2,980 metres) and Tseram (3,868 metres). There is a very steep ascent from Tseram on the way to the Selele High Camp. You will be passing more trekkers coming the other way. The busy period on the east side of the Kanchenjunga circuit is a week later. I met 2 Australians going anti-clockwise and they said the lodges at Tortong had been full. When I stayed at Tortong at the end of my trek there were only 2 other trekkers there. 4. Itinerary up to Ghunsa when trekking clockwise The itineraries for the Kanchenjunga Circuit trek usually only vary at the beginning and end of the trek. For the middle section of the Kanchenjunga trek, from Ghunsa to Tortong, most trekkers follow the same route and stop at the same villages. At the start of the Kanchenjunga trek there are 2 rough roads from Taplejung to Chirwa. Most vehicles take the eastern road which goes via Lingkhim. The western road goes via Mitlung and there is very little traffic. From Chirwa there is a rough road to Sekathum and the road ends there at the moment. Some trekkers take private or shared jeeps from Taplejung to Chirwa or Sekathum. This saves about a day of walking. A private jeep to Sekathum would cost R15,000 to R17,000. There are very crowded shared jeeps to Chirwa and Sekathum but I don't know the cost. If you are starting the Kanchenjunga trek from Taplejung possible itineraries would be: Recommended Itinerary Taplejung to Sinwa (5 hour walk) Sinwa to Sekathum (6.75 hour walk) Sekathum to Thangyam (6.25 hour walk) Thangyam to Ghunsa (7 hour walk) Fast Itinerary Taplejung to Chirwa (7.75 hour walk) Chirwa to Amjilosa (8.25 hour walk) Amjilosa to Ghunsa (9 hour walk) 5. Itinerary - Ghunsa to Ramche via Kanchenjunga's North & South Base Camps My blogs on Hiking Times on the Kanchenjunga Trek , Tea Houses on the Kanchenjunga Trek and Day Hikes on the Kanchenjunga Trek will help you plan your trek. 5.1 Ghunsa (2 nights) In autumn it is a very beautiful 1 to 1.5 hour hike from Phale to Ghunsa as the larch trees along the Ghunsa Khola have turned golden and there are snow covered peaks in the distance. Ghunsa is at an altitude of 3,415 metres and everyone stays 2 nights unless they are already acclimatised. Ghunsa has the best accommodation on the Kanchenjunga trek and it is a good place to stay. However, it is often cold as the sun doesn't reach Ghunsa until mid morning. There are 3 day hikes that can be done during the acclimatisation day. See my blog on Day Hikes on the Kanchenjunga Base Camp Trek . 5.2 Khambachen (2 nights) It is a 6 hour walk from Ghunsa to Khambachen (4,145 metres) and there is a tea shop on the way where you can have lunch. Trekkers should stay 2 nights at Khambachen to acclimatise to the 730 metre altitude gain. Khambachen is a beautiful location and there are 2 good tea houses. There are 2 good day hikes from Khambachen and if you have time it is worth staying a third night. Many Nepalese trekking agencies only have a 1 night stay at Khambachen for the Kanchenjunga trek. This is dangerous and also means missing out on the excellent day hike to the Jannu viewpoint. 5.3 Lhonak (2 nights) It's a 5.5 hour hike up to Lhonak (4,792 metres) and there is a tea shop on the way where you can have lunch. Lhonak is in a very pleasant setting and there are some reasonable tea houses. Most trekkers stay 2 nights and do a day hike to North Base Camp at Pangpema. Some trekkers spend the night at the small and basic tea house at Pangpema and hike up Drohmo Ri East (5,965 metres) the next day. However, you cannot rely on the tea house being open as I have explained in my blog Tea Houses on the Kanchenjunga Trek . It is possible to hike back to Lhonak after going up Drohmo Ri East but it would be a very tiring day. Another reason for spending the night at Pangpema is for photography. The sun isn't in a good position for photography at midday when day hikers are there. 5.4 Ghunsa (1 night) It's a tiring 7 hour hike back down to Ghunsa via Khambachen and it entails a descent of 1,400 metres. Khambachen is a good place to stop for lunch. 5.5 Selele High Camp (1 night) It's a 4.75 hour hike from Ghunsa to Selele High Camp (4,200 metres). The trail climbs steeply from Ghunsa. It is mainly through forest until the View Point Tea shop is reached after a 3 hour and 600 metre ascent. The tea shop serves dal bhat at a very reasonable price. From the tea shop it is a 1.75 hour hike, and a 200 metre ascent, over open terrain to Selele High Camp. There are 2 reasonable tea houses in a good setting 5.6 Tseram (1 night) It is a long and tiring 7 hour hike from Selele High Camp to Tseram (3,868 metres). At the end of the hike there is an 800 metre descent to Tseram. Take a packed lunch with you as the only tea shop on the route is too far from Selele High Camp. Also you can't rely on the tea shop being open. Tseram has 3 tea houses and 2 of them are reasonable. 5.7 Ramche (1 night) The walk from Tseram to Ramche is extremely scenic and is one of the best sections of the Kanchenjunga Circuit trek. It takes 3.5 hours to reach Ramche (4,610 metres) and there is an ascent of 750 metres. I would advise setting out as early as possible for 2 reasons: It is possible to walk to the Oktang viewpoint the same day but often the clouds obscure the views from midday. I was very fortunate and the sky was clear all afternoon. There are only 2 tea houses at Ramche and they can become full. One of the tea houses is very basic and it would probably be preferable to have a room in the newer tea house. It takes 1 hour 20 minutes to hike to the Oktang viewpoint and from there you can walk a bit further along the lateral moraine. After that a landslide makes access to Kanchenjunga South Base Camp very difficult and dangerous. Trekkers rarely go there. 6. Itinerary - Kanchenjunga South Base Camp to Taplejung If you visit the Oktang viewpoint for Kanchenjunga South Base Camp on the day you arrive at Ramche it is possible to hike down to Tortong the next day. If the weather clouds over when you arrive at Ramche it is certainly worth waiting until the next morning to walk to the Oktang viewpoint. If you do that there would only be time to hike down to Tseram that day. The traditional end to the Kanchenjunga trek was to hike south down to Yamphudin and then walk for several days back to Taplejung. There is now a road at Yamphudin that goes southwards to Phidim. This road joins the main Taplejung to Bhadrapur road. It is therefore possible to take a jeep from Yamphudin to Phidim. Some trekkers still hike back to Taplejung from Yamphudin. The trail goes via Mamangkhe, Phumphe Danda, Kande Bhanjyanga and Lali Kharka. It is usually a 4 day hike but it could be done in 3 days. There is a little used road between Taplejung and Phumphe Danda. It would be possible to take a jeep to Taplejung from Phumphe Danda. There is a new trail from Tortong that follows the Simbuwa Khola westwards to Hellok and Ranipul. This new route avoids the large landslide between Tortong and Yamphudin. I took this trail. It is a very hard 5 hour hike from Tortong to Kengsra. There are 2 new tea houses at Kengsra. It is then an easy 2.5 to 3 hour hike to Hellok and Ranipul. From there it is a 3.5 to 4 hour jeep ride to Taplejung. Alternatively it takes 2 days to walk to Taplejung from Hellok or Ranipul. 7. Permits & Guides for the Kanchenjunga Trek Permits for the Kanchenjunga Trek The Kanchenjunga trek is in a restricted area and a trekking agency must obtain a permit on your behalf from the Department of Immigration. The permit costs $20 per week and trekkers would normally need a 3 week permit for the Kanchenjunga Circuit trek. The Department of Immigration is closed from 15.00 on Fridays to 10.00 on Sundays. So you must be in Kathmandu during one of the days that they are open before you head out on your trek. Sometimes the office is only open for 2 hours during public holidays. There are many public holidays during the October and November trekking season! Permits for the Kanchenjunga trek will only be issued if there are 2 foreigners trekking together. Some agencies can get around this by obtaining a ghost permit for a non-existent trekker. This is usually done with the help of an Immigration official. I obtained a ghost permit for an Indian woman who I never met and I had to pay $60 for her 3 week permit. I also paid $35 to Enjoy Nepal Treks for arranging the ghost permit. There aren't any checkpoints on the Kanchenjunga trek but if there had been I would have stated that she had become sick and had gone back down. A fee of R3,000 ($23) is payable for the Kanchenjunga Conservation Area Project. It used to be payable at Tapethok but the office there has been closed and it is now payable at Ghunsa. Guides You have to trek with a guide in the Kanchenjunga restricted area. I had a porter/guide from Enjoy Nepal Treks at a cost of $25 per day. The daily cost has now been increased to $30. 8. Cost of the Kanchenjunga Trek I paid $1,119 to Nepal Enjoy Treks for the following services for the Kanchenjunga trek: Porter/Guide (21 days @ $25 per day) $525 Insurance for the Guide $35 Restricted Area Permit ($120 for 2 people for 3 weeks) $120 Admin fee for the ghost permit $35 My flight to and from Bhadrapur $254 Guide's flight to and from Bhadrapur $150 TOTAL $1,119 The expenses that I paid myself are shown in the table below: Overnight Stop Total Cost Room Food Drink Transport Other Notes Taxi to airport 900 900 Taxi from Bhadrapur to Taplejung 20000 20000 Taplejung 1680 1000 500 180 Chirwa 1570 500 750 320 Itahari 2900 700 1500 700 Thangyam 1470 600 650 220 150 1 Phale 2030 500 1100 430 Ghunsa (2 nights) 8000 1600 2580 820 3000 2 Khambachen (2 nights) 6150 1400 3500 1250 Lhonak (3 nights) 10965 2400 5375 1940 1250 3 Ghunsa 2700 800 1250 500 150 1 Selele 4400 1000 1700 900 800 3 Tseram 2850 700 1350 500 300 1 & 3 Ramche 3500 500 2400 600 Tortong 2560 500 1700 360 Kengsra 3140 500 1500 440 700 4 Hellok & Ranipul 700 500 200 Jeep from Ranipul to Taplejung 15000 15000 Taplejung 1490 1000 350 140 Jeep from Taplejung to Bhadrapur 20000 20000 Bhadrapur 2500 1500 700 300 Taxi in Kathmandu 900 900 TOTAL NPR 115105 15200 27405 9350 56800 6350 TOTAL USD 880 116 210 71 434 49 Notes for the other expenses: 1 Toilet Paper 2 Kanchenjunga Conservation Project fee 3 Boiled water for my water bottles 4 Beer I have summarised the expenses under each overnight stop. The expenses include drinks and meals while at other locations that day. The total cost of my Kanchenjunga trek was $2,000 compared to a cost of around $3,000 for a group trek. Other advantages of doing the Kanchenjunga trek by myself meant that I could determine my itinerary, choose the tea houses, have a room to myself and have plenty of space in vehicles. Most nights I had the company of other trekkers and wasn't restricted to being with the other members of a group. I have been on 2 camping group treks in Nepal but I would never do a lodge group trek. I could have reduced my costs by not having so many hot drinks and not ordering boiled water for the cold mornings. I didn't bother as the cost wasn't that material and it improved my enjoyment of the Kanchenjunga trek. The biggest expense was for transport. I had wanted to take a shared taxi from Ranipul to Taplejung but couldn't as it was a public holiday. I would have saved a lot if I had used public transport between Kathmandu to Taplejung but I didn't fancy doing that. It is always difficult to determine how many Nepalese rupees should be taken on a trek. My chart above gives an idea of how much is needed. If necessary I use some of the Nepalese rupees that I have brought for the guide's tip and give the guide USD instead. 9. Vlogs about the Kanchenjunga Trek When I did the Kanchenjunga trek in November 2023 there was a group of 8 trekkers with Project Himalaya 2 days behind me. One of these trekkers posted 3 videos of the trek: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 In late March/April 2024 a German trekker, who posts a lot on the Tripadvisor forum, did the Kanchenjunga trek. The weather was terrible and his videos give a different perspective to the trek. It shows that the weather in late October and November is more reliable. So far he has posted 2 parts and still has to post the final one: Part 1 Part 2 10. Links to My Other Blogs on the Kanchenjunga Trek Kanchenjunga Trek - Trip Report Tea Houses on the Kanchenjunga Trek Hiking Times on the Kanchenjunga Trek Day Hikes on the Kanchenjunga Base Camp Trek

Contents 13 July 2023 - Hike in the Dolomites (Alpe di Suisi) 14 July 2023 - Hike in the Dolomites (Sassolungo) 15 July 2023 - The Dolomites to Metz, France 16 July - Metz to Cornwall, England Links to my Other Blogs 13 July 2023 - Hike in the Dolomites (Alpe di Suisi) The forecast was for rain to start late morning. After yesterday's experience we decided to take the cable car from Ortisei to the nearby Alpe di Siusi at 08.30 and walk around the plateau for 2 to 3 hours whilst it was dry. It was a goods walk and it didn't rain. At midday we took the cable car back down to Ortisei and walked around the shops before returning to our apartment. The weather forecast was wrong and it didn't rain at all! I was frustrated as we could have done a longer walk. See my blog "Hiking in Val Gardena, Dolomites" for full details of our hikes. 14 July 2023 - Hike in the Dolomites (Sassolungo) I had intended to do today's hike in 2 sections over 2 days, but the weather prevented this. It looked like it might be feasible to do my intended route in 1 long hike. The usual routes taken are either a hard 6.5 hour hike around the entire Sassolungo massif or a shorter 3 to 4 hour circular hike around half of the mountain. The latter route involves taking a chairlift up to the Furcela de Sassolungo in the centre of the massif and then hiking down. We decided to try a variation of this latter option. Instead of doing a circular hike we would take the bus to St. Christina, take the chairlifts up to the base of Sassolungo, walk around Sassolungo to the chairlift up to the Furcella de Sassolungo, descend down to the other side of Sassolungo and then walk back to Ortisei using chairlifts where possible. We started early and at 08.30 were the first on the chairlifts going from St Christina to the base of Sassolungo. It was a beautiful walk around to the chairlift to Furcella de Sassolungo, which is known as the "Coffin". Lani was apprehensive about the "coffin" as it was reported that it is difficult getting into the small 2 person gondolas. In reality it was a lot of fun as the attendants were very helpful and friendly. After admiring the great views from the top we started the long and steep descent down to the other side of the massif. Lani is a bit nervous descending steep slopes with loose stones so it was a bit slow going. Once down we walked along the base of Sassolongu and then took the "Florion" chairlift down to the Alpe di Suisi plateau that we were on yesterday. It was now 16.00 and it would take another 1.25 hours to hike up to the gondola that descends down to Ortisei. We were tired and weren't looking forward to that final hike up the hill. I then saw a crowd of people waiting at a bus stop and was told that it was going to the gondola station. That was wonderful news so we got on the bus. Unfortunately the bus went to a different gondola station on the other side of the plateau! A Norwegian couple had made the same mistake and together we found a bus that was just leaving that would take us down to the valley. We were shocked to find out that the fare was Eur 16 each but there was no better alternative. Once down in the valley we took one of the free buses back to Ortisei. We reached there after 18.00. It was a long and tiring day but an excellent hike with stunning views. 15 July 2023 - The Dolomites to Metz, France It was meant to be an 8 hour drive from Ortisei to Metz. This became a 10 hour drive as a section of highway had been closed. It was a hot day and in southern Germany the temperature reached 39 centigrade! I was shattered by the time we arrived in Metz. Our hotel was similar to an Ibis hotel and it was right in the centre. Metz is a very nice town and we walked around and had dinner. We had Chinese food for the first time on the trip. It made a nice change from the western food we had been eating for the last 3 months. 16 July - Metz to Cornwall, England It was going to be a long drive back to England so we got up early and left the hotel at 07.00. We were booked on the 14.00 ferry from Dunkirk. As we were getting close to Dunkirk we realised that we might make the earlier ferry at 12.00. We were fortunate as the 12.00 ferry was running half an hour late and we were allowed to board. Despite being on an earlier ferry we didn't get back home until 20.00. It was another very long day, but not as tiring as yesterday as we could relax on the ferry and Lani did some of the driving in the U.K. This was the end of a very enjoyable road trip. It went very well, but it took a lot of planning. We were concerned about driving through countries like Albania, but our fears were unfounded. We were also concerned about our 10 year old car, but there were only relatively minor problems like the broken spring and worn brake pads. The engine management warning light had been on for about 4,000 miles of the 8,000 mile trip. It turned out that the catalytic converter needed to be replaced. I am now planning our next road trips. In 2024 we would like to take the ferry to Spain and drive down to southern Morocco. If the car is still in good shape in 2025 we might drive through Turkey to Armenia and Georgia. That would be a long trip and we would need at least 4 months to do it. Links to my Other Blogs Cornwall to Venice - Week 1 Venice to Serbia - Week 2 Serbia to North Macedonia - Week 3 North Macedonia to Greece - Week 4 Nafplio, Greece to the Peloponnese - Week 5 Peloponnese to the Greek Islands - Week 6 The Greek Islands - Week 7 The Greek Islands to Albania - Week 8 Albania to Montenegro - Week 9 Montenegro to Croatia- Week 10 Brac to Rab, Croatia - Week 11 Rab to Dolomites, Italy - Week 12 UK to Greek Island Accommodation - Part 1 UK to Greek Island Accommodation - Part 2 Hiking in Val Gardena, Dolomites

Contents 6 July 2023 - Drive from Rab to Rovinj, Croatia 7 July 2023 - Beach & Sighteeing in Rovinj 8 July 2023 - Day Excursion to Pula, Croatia 9 July 2023 - Drive from Rovinj to the Dolomites, Italy 10 July 2023 - Hiking in the Dolomites (Seceda) 11 July 2023 - Hiking in the Dolomites (Resciesa) 12 July 2023 - Hiking in the Dolomites (Seceda) Links to my Other Blogs 6 July 2023 - Drive from Rab to Rovinj, Croatia There were 2 possible routes from Rab to Rovinj. They would take about the same amount of time: Return to the mainland on the ferry that we had come over on and then drive northwards up the coast to Rovinj. Drive 20 minutes north to Lopar and take a 1.5 hour ferry ride to Valbiska on Krk Island. Then drive from Krk to Rovinj. Krk Island is now connected to the mainland by a bridge. We decided on the second option as it meant less driving and we could also visit Krk Town, which is yet another historic Venetian town. See my blog "Krk Town, Croatia: Travel Guide". When we reached Rovinj we were very pleased with the apartment we had booked. In the evening we wandered around Rovinj and had dinner there. Rovinj is an exceptionally nice old town and it was packed with tourists. See my blog "Rovinj & Pula, Croatia: Travel Guide" 7 July 2023 - Beach & Sighteeing in Rovinj It is now hot every day and we drove over to the nearby Zlatni Rt Nature Reserve to swim and relax by the sea. It is a popular area, but we found a good shady spot to spend the day, swimming from the rocky coastline. In the late afternoon we drove into Rovinj again to have a good look around and to have an evening meal. We are finding that restaurant meals in Croatia are no cheaper than in the U.K.. We like seafood but fish is quite expensive. We therefore usually have calamari which is better value. 8 July 2023 - Day Excursion to Pula, Croatia Pula is a Roman town about 45 minutes' drive from Rovinj. The main site is the fairly well preserved Roman amphitheatre. Unfortunately they were constructing a stage and screen for summer shows that somewhat spoiled the experience. They do this all too often at historical sites and there is never a compensatory reduction in the entrance fee. There are a number of other historical sites to see in Pula and we spent an enjoyable morning wandering around. See my blog "Rovinj & Pula, Croatia: Travel Guide" 9 July 2023 - Drive from Rovinj to the Dolomites, Italy It was a 7 hour drive from Rovinj to Ortisei in the Italian Dolomites. This was the last week of our holiday and I had booked 6 nights in Ortisei so we could hike for 5 days. I had skied in the Dolomites in 2017 and 2018 and was so impressed with the scenery that I wanted to experience it in the summer time. We were grateful to be driving northwards as the traffic going south was very congested. I believe the school holidays in Germany have now begun and families are now travelling to southern Europe. Once we reached the Dolomites the mountain roads were a lot slower but the scenery was spectacular. The pictures below were taken on the final section of our journey through the Dolomites. 10 July 2023 - Hiking in the Dolomites (Seceda) The weather forecast was good for the first 2 days and it was important to take advantage of it. We walked into Ortisei to buy a hiking map and then to the nearby Ortisei-Furnes-Seceda cable car. This takes you just below the summit of Seceda mountain (2,518 metres) in 2 stages. Unfortunately we had a late start and we didn't reach the summit until 10.30 a.m. By then it was far too busy for my liking. As the trail was narrow it was difficult to pass people and therefore slow going. After an hour of walking the trail became a lot quieter and much more enjoyable. The scenery was spectacular. We walked to the Col Raiser cable car that descends to St. Christina and from there took a bus back to Ortisei. See my blog "Hiking in Val Gardena, Dolomites" for full details of our hikes We had pizza again for dinner. We are surprised by how few restaurants there are in Ortisei. We will probably eat at our apartment in future. It will be cheaper and it will avoid a steep 15 minute walk to our apartment. 11 July 2023 - Hiking in the Dolomites (Resciesa) We decided to start hiking as early as possible today and reached the Ortisei to Resciesa funicular just before the publicised opening time of 09.00 a.m.. Frustratingly the opening time had been changed to 08.30 a.m. so we could have started even earlier. Fortunately there were very few people and the funicular set off shortly after we arrived. Initially the mountains were obscured by low cloud or fog but it cleared after an hour. It was another very good walk. We walked down to the Ortesei to Furnes cable way and took the gondola back to Ortisei. It was a hot day so we bought some drinks and ice cream there. We had bought 6 day lift passes for Eur 135 each. We therefore decided to take advantage of them by taking the Alpe di Suisi cable car from Ortisei to Mont Seuc (2,005 metres). There is a fantastic view of Sassolungo from there. We walked for 1.5 hours on the plateau before returning to Ortisei. 12 July 2023 - Hiking in the Dolomites (Seceda) The weather forecast for today wasn't good. Forecasts in the mountains are often unreliable and as it was dry when we woke up we decided to do a hike. I had planned a walk near Sassolungo. That involved taking a bus to St. Christina and then a chairlift from there. Unfortunately it started to rain on the way to St. Christina. We sheltered in a building for over an hour waiting for the rain to stop but it never did! The rain just got heavier. We therefore took the bus back to Ortisei and ate our sandwiches in our apartment. The rain stopped at midday and we decided to go up to Seceda to walk on some of the trails we hadn't already done. The weather was fine in the afternoon and I wished that we had done a more challenging hike. With hindsight we should have had a relaxing morning in our apartment and then done a good hike in the afternoon. Links to my Other Blogs Cornwall to Venice - Week 1 Venice to Serbia - Week 2 Serbia to North Macedonia - Week 3 North Macedonia to Greece - Week 4 Nafplio, Greece to the Peloponnese - Week 5 Peloponnese to the Greek Islands - Week 6 The Greek Islands - Week 7 The Greek Islands to Albania - Week 8 Albania to Montenegro - Week 9 Montenegro to Croatia- Week 10 Brac to Rab, Croatia - Week 11 Dolomites to Home - Week 13 UK to Greek Island Accommodation - Part 1 UK to Greek Island Accommodation - Part 2 Hvar Island, Croatia: Travel Guide Split, Croatia: Travel Guide Trogir, Croatia: Travel Guide Omis, Croatia: Travel Guide Krk Town, Croatia: Travel Guide Brac, Croatia: Travel Guide Rab, Croatia: Travel Guide Rovinj & Pula, Croatia: Travel Guide Hiking in Val Gardena, Dolomites

Contents 29 June 2023 - Day Excursion on Brac Island to Sutivan, Vidova Gora & Skrip 30 June 2023 - Day Excursion to the Island of Hvar, Croatia 1 July 2023 - Day Excursion to Bol, Croatia 2 July 2023 - Brac to the Island of Rab, Croatia 3 July 2023 - Beach Day at Lopar on Rab Island 4 July 2023 - Beach Day on the Frkanj Peninsular near Rab 5 July 2023 - Beach Day on the Frkanj Peninsular near Rab Links to my Other Blogs 29 June 2023 - Day Excursion on Brac Island to Sutivan, Vidova Gora & Skrip We drove around Brac island today and our first stop was the small town of Sutivan. It is very picturesque and not at all touristy. Our next stop was the 778 metre high peak of Vidova Gora, which is the highest point of all the Adriatic islands. There were excellent views of the famous Zlatni rat beach at Bol and also across to Hvar Island. We took out our camping chairs and ate our sandwiches there. We made our way back to our apartment via the village of Skrip. Our guide book raved about the stone houses, but there weren't many of them and there wasn't much to see or do! Our plan had been to stop at Lovrecina Bay for a swim. The road to the beach was very steep and narrow and we decided not to risk damaging the car. It was a good decision as I later saw on Tripadvisor that several people found the road to be very nerve wracking. See my blog "Brac, Croatia: Travel Guide" for further information on visiting the island of Brac. 30 June 2023 - Day Excursion to the Island of Hvar, Croatia We had been to the island of Hvar about 16 years ago and really liked it. We therefore decided to take a passenger ferry over for the day to visit Hvar Town again and the town of Stari Grad. There is a fast ferry between Milna on Brac Island and Hvar Town that sailed at 09.50 and returned at 19.10. We wandered around Hvar Town for an hour and a half before taking the bus to Stari Grad. We had 2 hours in Stari Grad before the bus returned to Hvar Town. This gave us enough time to wander around the old town of Stari Grad. We then had another 4 hours to explore and enjoy Hvar Town. We walked up to the castle, which for some reason we hadn't visited the last time. It was a steep and hot walk but had very good views. The cost of entering the castle is too high and like a lot of other people we didn't enter and enjoyed the views from the base of the castle. Hvar Town was trendy and popular when we were last there and it is even more so now. It is still a very nice town but expensive. See my blog "Hvar Island, Croatia: Travel Guide" for further information about visiting Hvar. 1 July 2023 - Day Excursion to Bol, Croatia Bol is the main resort area on the Island of Brac as it has Zlatni rat, which is Croatia's most famous beach. It should have been a 45 minute drive to Bol from our apartment in Supetar, but there was severe traffic congestion in Supetar due to cars queuing to board the ferry. This delayed us by half an hour and made us aware that we must get an early ferry when we leave Brac tomorrow. Parking in Bol was surprisingly easy and we walked into the town for lunch. It is a very pleasant town despite not having many old buildings. Afterwards we walked half an hour to Zlatni rat beach along a very pleasant tree lined promenade. Unfortunately we didn't have our swimming gear and we decided not to go naturist! 2 July 2023 - Brac to the Island of Rab, Croatia Unfortunately there isn't a ferry from Brac Island to Rab Island. This meant we had to take a ferry back to Split, drive 4 hours northwards along the coast and then take another ferry to Rab Island. After experiencing yesterday's congestion at the port we got up early to catch the 07.45 ferry to Split. There was no problem in boarding the ferry at this time and it took less than an hour to reach Split. The second half of the journey from Split to Rab Island was very scenic. After Zadar the road follows the coast through Paklenica National Park to the small ferry port at Jablanac. The long and narrow island of Pag across the water is very dramatic due to its stark and desolate terrain. There is an hourly ferry from Jablanac to Misnjak on Rab Island. We waited for about half an hour and boarded the next ferry. It was a short 15 minute ferry ride and then half an hour drive to our apartment in Rab Town. Our apartment was nice, but we soon found that we had a very noisy family above us. I complained to the owners who were aware of the problem as they lived in the apartment above the noisy family. They very kindly offered to refund our money for the remaining 3 nights. Fortunately I found another good apartment that had a cancellation. It was better than the original apartment, but was 50% more expensive. It was worth it and we couldn't have endured another 3 days of the noise at our original apartment. See my blog "UK to Greek Islands Accommodation - Part 2" for further information about the apartment. 3 July 2023 - Beach Day at Paradise Beach on Rab Island It was a hot day so we drove 25 minutes northwards to Paradise beach near the village of San Marino. We rented sun loungers and an umbrella and spent 5 hours relaxing there. It is a very nice beach for families as it is very shallow and there are a lot of facilities. It was too shallow as we had to walk out very far to reach a depth of about 2 feet deep. It was also too commercialised and busy for our liking. I have found that Rab Island is too developed with buildings everywhere. Rab Town itself is very nice and unspoilt. See my blog "Rab, Croatia: Travel Guide" for further information. In the evening we moved into our new apartment. It is very comfortable and also very quiet! 4 July 2023 - Beach Day on Frkanj Peninsula near Rab Town It was another hot day and I didn't want to spend it driving around the over developed island. We decided to have another beach day and to try the nearby Frkanj peninsula as it looked undeveloped. It was only a 10 minute drive from our apartment and there was parking by a small taverna. We found a nice shaded spot a few metres from the sea and had a very nice day swimming and reading. In the evening we went to our usual restaurant in Rab Town and walked around the town afterwards. Rab Town has a vibrant lower section with shops and restaurants. The upper part has 4 churches with bell towers and an attractive wooded parkland to the east of it. 5 July 2023 - Beach Day on Frkanj Peninsula near Rab Town We went back to the Frkanj peninsula today as we enjoyed it so much yesterday. We have done a lot of driving and sightseeing over the last 11 weeks and just wanted to relax. Links to my Other Blogs Cornwall to Venice - Week 1 Venice to Serbia - Week 2 Serbia to North Macedonia - Week 3 North Macedonia to Greece - Week 4 Nafplio, Greece to the Peloponnese - Week 5 Peloponnese to the Greek Islands - Week 6 The Greek Islands - Week 7 The Greek Islands to Albania - Week 8 Albania to Montenegro - Week 9 Montenegro to Croatia- Week 10 Rab to Dolomites, Italy - Week 12 Dolomites to Home - Week 13 UK to Greek Island Accommodation - Part 1 UK to Greek Island Accommodation - Part 2 Hvar Island, Croatia: Travel Guide Split, Croatia: Travel Guide Trogir, Croatia: Travel Guide Omis, Croatia: Travel Guide Krk Town, Croatia: Travel Guide Brac, Croatia: Travel Guide Rab, Croatia: Travel Guide Rovinj & Pula, Croatia: Travel Guide

Contents 21 June 2023 - Sighteeing in Perast & Herceg Novi, Montenegro 22 June 2023 - Kotor Serpentine Road & Lipa Cave, Montenegro 23 June 2023 - Budva & Solila Beach 24 June 2023 - Walk up Kotor's Fortress Walls 25 June 2023 - Kotor to Trogir, Croatia 26 June 2023 - Sighteeing in Split, Croatia 27 June 2023 - Sighteeing in Omis, Croatia 28 June 2023 - Drive from Trogir to the Island of Brac, Croatia Links to my Other Blogs 21 June 2023 - Sighteeing in Perast & Herceg Novi This morning we drove along the north side of the beautiful Gulf of Kotor to see the village of Perast and the town of Herceg Novi. We left fairly early as I was concerned about finding parking at Perast and wanted to see Perast before the arrival of tour groups. We did find parking and also got there before the tour groups. Perast is an attractive village with numerous old buildings. The main attraction though is the Our Lady of the Rock island which is about a 5 minute boat ride away. We took a small boat ride over to the island for Eur 10. Unfortunately there wasn't much to see and the church only opened when we were leaving by 09.30. Initially there were very few people on the island, but after 10 minutes of peace a large group arrived. We continued our drive along the Gulf of Kotor until we reached the large town of Herceg Novi. Our guide book had warned that parking was difficult and it was! Fortunately as we were struggling to park a friendly man directed us to a multi storey car park near the historic centre. I liked Herceg Novi as there is quite a bit to see and there is a nice seafront promenade. The sights are a bit spread out and we didn't attempt to see everything. On the drive back to Kotor we took a short ferry ride from Kamenari to Lepetane on the southern side of the Gulf of Kotor. The road is very scenic, but in many places it is only a single lane. It was a bit nerve racking whenever traffic came the other way. See my blog "Perast & Herceg Novi: Travel Guide" for further information. 22 June 2023 - Kotor Serpentine Road & Lipa Cave The Kotor Serpentine Road is a narrow historic road that snakes up the mountains to the east of Kotor to Lovcen National Park. There are 25 hair pin bends and the road is too narrow at places for vehicles to pass. It was another nerve racking drive and I was pleased to see that tour buses were coming the same way as us. It would have been very difficult to pass them and vehicles were having to reverse back to allow them through. Unfortunately there weren't many places where we could stop and it wasn't safe to admire the views whilst driving! I was pleased when we reached the top and got on a good new road going through Lovcen National Park. We stopped off at Njegos Mausoleum, but we didn't pay the excessive charge of Eur 8 a person to enter. There are meant to be excellent views from the mausoleum but it was very hazy today. Lovcen National Park was very scenic. We drove on to the Lipa Caves and joined a 1 hour tour. It is an extensive cave and there are several galleries with colourful stalagmites, stalactites and other formations. We really enjoyed the tour. See my blog "The Kotor Serpentine Road to Lipa Cave" for more information. 23 June 2023 - Budva & Solila Beach Budva is Montenegro's main resort and the roads can be very congested as a result. We therefore had another early start in order to avoid the congestion and find parking. Our drive to Budva went well and the additional benefit of being early was that Budva Old Town was deserted. It was a hot day and after walking around Budva's Old Town we walked eastwards along the seafront promenade. Budva's beaches were heaving with people and I hate being on beaches like that. We did have our beach stuff in the car, but we decided not to swim here and go elsewhere. See my blog "Budva, Montenegro: Travel Guide" for more information. Sveti Stefan Island is near Budva and it is the most well known landmark in Montenegro. There are good views from a couple of pull ins off the main road. However, there are even better views from St. Sava Church on a nearby hillside. Afterwards we drove back towards Kotor and stopped at Solila Beach. There was a restaurant and good facilities there. It was much nicer than the beaches at Budva and we spent the afternoon there. 24 June 2023 - Walk up Kotor's Fortress Walls It costs Eur 8 per person to access Kotor's city walls that climb steeply up the hillside to the Church of Our Lady of Health and the Fortress of St Ivan. Neither of them are that special, but there are excellent views of Kotor and the Gulf of Kotor the entire way. It took us 45 minutes to reach the fortress but we had numerous photo stops. See my blog "Kotor, Montenegro: Travel Guide" for further information. 25 June 2023 - Kotor to Trogir, Croatia There had been warnings on the Tripadvisor forum there could be long delays at the Montenegro/Croatia border at this time of year. They recommended using the smaller border crossing on the coastal road and said that it should only take an hour to cross. We therefore left Kotor as early as we could (08.30 a.m.) and drove to the border on the coastal road. There were no other cars there and it took us less than 5 minutes to enter Croatia! It took us about 6 hours to reach Trogir. Along the way we had an excellent view of Dubrovnik. In the evening we walked into Trogir for dinner and wandered around. The tourist season was in full swing and it was very busy. See my blog "Trogir, Croatia: Travel Guide" for information on visiting Trogir. 26 June 2023 - Sighteeing in Split, Croatia It took 45 minutes to drive from our apartment in Trogir to Split. I had researched the car parking in Split and knew that it might be difficult. It was! We had to circle around the car park 3 times before finding a vacant spot. Each time we had to exit and then reenter the car park. We got to Split about half an hour before the tour groups started to crowd out the main sights. It is a very interesting town packed with ancient sights. We spent the morning there and returned to our apartment after lunch in Split. See my blog "Split, Croatia: Travel Guide" for information on visiting Split. 27 June 2023 - Sighteeing in Omis, Croatia Omis's Old Town is very compact. It mainly consists of one long street with restaurants and shops and with a castle above it. The castle is interesting and there are excellent views. It is a steep climb up and the roof of the castle is reached by climbing a metal ladder. Omis is very scenic and many people take a boat ride up the river. We just missed the hourly boat by a few minutes and decided not to wait an hour for the next one. There is also a decent beach in the Omis's new town. However, we didn't want to walk back to the car in the heat to get our swimming things. See my blog "Omis, Croatia: Travel Guide" for further information. 28 June 2023 - Drive from Trogir to the Island of Brac, Croatia I had made a booking on the ferry from Split to Supetar, which is on the Island of Brac. In Croatia ferry bookings for vehicles aren't for a specific time like with the Greek ferries. Boarding of vehicles is done on a first come first served basis. If there isn't space left you have to wait for the next ferry. We arrived 75 minutes before the ferry we wanted to board was due to depart and had no problem boarding the ferry. I was relieved that we were directed to park on the main deck. Vehicles behind us were directed down a very narrow ramp to the next level. The ramp was so narrow that the vehicles' tyres were almost touching the sides of the ramp. I had booked a small apartment on the edge of Supetar which was convenient to reach by car and only a 10 minute walk from the centre. See my blog "UK to Greek Islands Accommodation - Part 2" for further information about the apartment. Supetar is a small and pretty town and we wandered around and had dinner there. Links to my Other Blogs Cornwall to Venice - Week 1 Venice to Serbia - Week 2 Serbia to North Macedonia - Week 3 North Macedonia to Greece - Week 4 Nafplio, Greece to the Peloponnese - Week 5 Peloponnese to the Greek Islands - Week 6 The Greek Islands - Week 7 The Greek Islands to Albania - Week 8 Albania to Montenegro - Week 9 Brac to Rab, Croatia - Week 11 Rab to Dolomites, Italy - Week 12 Dolomites to Home - Week 13 UK to Greek Island Accommodation - Part 1 UK to Greek Island Accommodation - Part 2 Hvar Island, Croatia: Travel Guide Split, Croatia: Travel Guide Trogir, Croatia: Travel Guide Omis, Croatia: Travel Guide Krk Town, Croatia: Travel Guide Brac, Croatia: Travel Guide Rab, Croatia: Travel Guide Rovinj & Pula, Croatia: Travel Guide Budva, Montenegro: Travel Guide Day Trip to Perast & Herceg Novi The Kotor Serpentine Road to Lipa Cave Kotor, Montenegro: Travel Guide

Contents 14 June 2023 - Gjirokastra to Himare, Albania 15 June 2023 - Sightseeing around Himare, Albania 16 June 2023 - Day Trip to Dhermi & Livada Beach 17 June 2023 - Himare to Berat, Albania 18 June 2023 - Berat, Albania to Kruje, Albania 19 June 2023 - Kruje to Koto, Montenegro 20 June 2023 - Sightseeing in Kotor Links to my Other Blogs 14 June 2023 - Gjirokastra to Himare, Albania Before going to Albania we had read that the roads were bad, but so far they have been fairly good. The first part of today's journey was from Gjirokastra to Saranda on the coast. The road went through the mountains and it was an impressive new road with great scenery. Unfortunately there were very few places to stop for photos. The mountainous coastal road from Saranda to Himare was in reasonable condition and had good sea views. It was only a 2.5 hour drive from Gjirokastra to our next accommodation in Himare. See my blog "Driving through Albania: From Greece to Montenegro" for further information about driving in Albania. Our apartment was a couple of kilometres away from Himare on a dirt road. On arrival we received a very warm welcome from the owner and she gave us coffee, liquor and cake. As we were the only people staying at the apartment building we looked at some of the other apartments. We decided to upgrade to a deluxe penthouse apartment for an extra Eur 30 per night. It was definitely worth it as it had 2 large balconies with excellent sea views and the interior of the apartment was very nice. See my blog "UK to Greek Islands Accommodation - Part 2" for further information about the apartment. It was a steep 10 minute walk down to the excellent Livada beach. We had free use of a sun umbrella and sun loungers and the sea was warm and great for swimming in. In the evening we drove to Himare for dinner. As we got there we saw a police car and realised that we didn't have the car papers or my driving license. It took the edge off our dinner as we didn't want a problem with the Albanian police. We didn't particularly like Himare as it is a bit ramshackle and poorly developed. It has a beach, but Livada beach near our apartment is much nicer. We managed to drive back to the apartment without being caught by the police. Luckily there are quite a few foreign cars so our car doesn't stand out as much as in the Greek islands. See my blog "Himare, Albania: Travel Guide" for information on visiting Himare. 15 June 2023 - Sightseeing around Himare, Albania We drove half an hour southwards along the coast to Palermo Castle. On the way we stopped at a viewpoint from where we could see an old sea tunnel that the Soviet Union used for their submarines in the 1950's. We were fortunate to obtain a parking spot. The parking was very limited unless you were willing to risk driving down a very bad track to the beach. The castle was only built in the early 19th century but we enjoyed wandering around it. We drove to the hill behind Himare to see the remains of old Himare. They weren't very impressive but the views were nice. We drove to Livada beach for a nice lunch of fish and a swim. We could see Corfu in the distance with storm clouds all around. It looked as if there would be a storm so we went back to the apartment and got there just before it rained. 16 June 2023 - Day Trip to Dhermi & Livada Beach Today we drove northwards up the coast to the coastal resort of Dhermi. It was until recently a village, but upmarket hotels have now been built and even more are being constructed. However, it does look nice and has been developed much better than Himare. We could have swam there but decided to go back to Livada beach instead for lunch and a swim. The weather clouded over so we returned to our apartment before the rain started again like yesterday. 17 June 2023 - Himare to Berat, Albania We left Himare today to drive 4 hours northwards to the historic town of Berat. Unfortunately the weather forecast wasn't good and by the time we reached the top of the over 1,000 metre high Llogoraja pass we were driving through rain and cloud. The scenery is meant to be spectacular but we couldn't see much! After the pass there is a new road known as the Vlore Bypass that has been cut through the hillsides. It is a good road, but there is rock fall as measures haven't been taken to stabilise the cut away hillsides. We could see the coastal town of Vlore from the road and it didn't look very nice. As we reached Berat it started to pour with rain. I parked the car in yet another difficult underground car park and was happy that the apartment owner guided me. Our Euro 45 per night penthouse apartment was fantastic and incredible value. We relaxed there for a couple of hours until the rain stopped. See my blog "UK to Greek Islands Accommodation - Part 2" for further information about the apartment. We then walked up to the interesting castle. It is spread over a large area and contains mosques, houses and shops. The old town is on the river below the castle. It is much nicer, and more interesting, than Gjirokastra. There are 2 main historic areas in Berat. Mangalemi on the north side of the river is the Moslem area and Gorica on the south side is Christian area. See my blog "Berat, Albania: Travel Guide" for more information on visiting Berat. 18 June 2023 - Berat, Albania to Kruje, Albania I had enjoyed driving in Albania until we got closer to Berat yesterday afternoon. Until then we had mainly driven through the countryside, but then that changed and we drove through numerous uninteresting towns. Unfortunately the drive from Berat to Kruje was just as unattractive and the police were out in force with radar guns. We were warned most of the time by oncoming drivers flashing their lights. I didn't do the same as so many Albanians drive too fast and dangerously that they deserve to be caught. There were also quite a few pot holes in the roads which we hadn't come across before in Albania. However, before coming to Albania I had expected most of the roads would suffer from potholes! We had booked the best hotel in Kruje as it was very good value, in the centre and had parking. We were fortunate to get a good room with a balcony facing the castle and bazaar. See my review of Hotel Panorama on my blog "UK to Greek Islands Accommodation - Part 2". It made all the difference having a good room as although Kruje is nice there isn't much to see. It is very frustrating that guide books and travel blogs too often give false positive images of places. See my blog "Kruje, Albania: Travel Guide" for information on visiting Kruje. 19 June 2023 - Kruje to Kotor, Montenegro The road from Kruje to the border with Montenegro was in good condition and scenic. The Albanian passport control just waved us through and the Montenegro passport control was quick. We bought a green card from a very friendly guy at an office at the Montenegro border for only Eur 15 for a 2 week period. The cheapest green card for the entire trip. It took us about 5 hours to drive to Kotor and our apartment was easy to locate. We went into Kotor in the evening for dinner. We walked along the promenade and had a look around the very interesting walled Venetian town. 20 June 2023 - Sightseeing in Kotor, Montenegro Today we explored Kotor and swam in the estuary near our apartment. See my blog "Kotor, Montenegro: Travel Guide" for further details. Links to my Other Blogs Cornwall to Venice - Week 1 Venice to Serbia - Week 2 Serbia to North Macedonia - Week 3 North Macedonia to Greece - Week 4 Nafplio, Greece to the Peloponnese - Week 5 Peloponnese to the Greek Islands - Week 6 The Greek Islands - Week 7 The Greek Islands to Albania - Week 8 Montenegro to Croatia- Week 10 Brac to Rab, Croatia - Week 11 Rab to Dolomites, Italy - Week 12 Dolomites to Home - Week 13 UK to Greek Island Accommodation - Part 1 UK to Greek Island Accommodation - Part 2 Budva, Montenegro: Travel Guide Day Trip to Perast & Herceg Novi The Kotor Serpentine Road to Lipa Cave Kotor, Montenegro: Travel Guide Himare, Albania: Travel Guide Berat, Albania: Travel Guide Gjirokaster, Albania: Nothing Special! Driving through Albania: From Greece to Montenegro Kruje, Albania: Travel Guide

Contents 7 June 2023 - Hike in Northern Tinos 8 June 2023 - Ferry to Andros Island 9 June 2023 - Day Excursion on Andros Island 10 June 2023 - Beach Day on Andros 11 June 2023 - Hike on Andros 12 June 2023 - Ferry to Athens & Drive up to North Greece 13 June 2023 - Greece to Albania Links to My Other Blogs 7 June 2023 - Hike in Northern Tinos, Greece We are both having problems with our British Telecom Sim cards so we couldn't contact the garage to find out whether the brake pads had arrived from Athens. We drove over there and were pleased to find they had arrived and the mechanic quickly fitted them. Unfortunately he also found that one of the front springs was broken (see picture). I think it happened on 20th May when I hit a bad pot hole on the way to our accommodation in Koroni in the Peloponnese. The car has been handling well since then which is surprising. Unfortunately he couldn't replace it as it has to be ordered from Athens. It won't arrive until tomorrow, which is when we are going to the island of Andros. We will have to try to find a garage there to do it. The mechanic recommended that we replace both front springs and the shock absorbers and estimated that it would cost about Eur 400. We then drove up to the northern end of Tinos island and stopped at the pretty village of Kardiani on the way. As usual there are several churches in the village. Dovecotes for pigeons are very popular on Tinos and there were some in the village. We did a circular walk from the inland village of Marlas down to the coastal village of Mali and then of course back up again! The trail was well marked and in good condition and it took us about 2.5 hours. Before Covid a lot of trails were opened and signposted on Tinos, but unfortunately many of them are now overgrown and difficult to walk on. In the evening we had another walk around Tinos Town and for the first time entered the church of Panayia Evangelistria which is frequented by pilgrims. See my travel blog "Tinos, Greece: Travel Guide" for information about visiting Tinos. 8 June 2023 - Ferry to Andros Island, Greece Our ferry from Tinos was scheduled to depart at 11.30 for the 40 minute ride to Andros. We arrived at the port an hour ahead of time as recommended by the ferry operator. Generally we found that half an hour was more than sufficient! As usual there was no indication of where to wait at the port and nobody was around to ask. After half an hour a couple of other cars seemed to be waiting for the ferry to Andros so we drove over and joined them. It was the right decision! The officials at the port and on the boat were super friendly and the boarding process was easy. When we arrived at Andros we immediately drove to a nearby garage. I had found it on the internet the previous night and the owners of our apartment at Andros confirmed it was a good garage. They ordered the parts from Athens and told us to come on the 10th to have them fitted. The cost was Eur 550 which was a bit more than it would have cost us on Tinos. The drive to our apartment was up a steep mountain with hair pin bends. The fairly narrow entrance to the property was off a very steep section of the road and it was a bit nerve racking. The mother and daughter were waiting for us there and were very hospitable. The sea view from the house is spectacular. In the evening we drove 20 minutes to the small coastal resort of Batsi. I accidentally drove down a 1 way street angering another driver. We had souvlaki again for supper. See my blog "Andros, Greece: Travel Guide" for more information on visiting Andros. 9 June 2023 - Day Excursion on Andros Island, Greece Our accommodation is on the west side of Andros and in the morning we drove half an hour over to the east side to visit Andros Town. Usually the port would be in the main town of the island but the east side of Andros is too windy. There is limited parking at Andros Town and we were lucky to find a parking spot. The town juts out onto a peninsular and is quite attractive. It isn't spoilt or touristy as most visitors stay on the north west side of the island. It only took just over an hour to wander around Andros Town. Afterwards we drove along the coast southwards to the coastal town of Korthi. It was mountainous and the scenery was spectacular but unfortunately there were few places to pull over and stop. We had grilled calamari for lunch at Korthi. Afterwards we continued driving around the coast of the island until we reached the port of Gavrio in the north west of Andros. This is where our ferry from Tinos docked yesterday. We had now driven on most of the decent roads on Andros and didn't want to risk driving on the more remote roads. 10 June 2023 - Beach Day on Andros Island, Greece In the morning we took our car to the garage. We were pleased that the parts had arrived from Athens so they could do the repair. It was going to take about 4 hours. Luckily for us the garage was opposite the beach at Agios Petros, which is one of the best beaches on Andros. We were the first people on the beach at 09.00! A taverna had sun loungers and umbrellas on the beach which were free as long as food or drinks were ordered. We could actually see our car in the garage so it was super convenient. Luckily it wasn't windy today and for once it was good beach weather. Our car was repaired by 13.00 and we returned to the apartment for lunch and then relaxed there in the afternoon. 11 June 2023 - Walk on Andros Island, Greece We drove to the nearby village of Paleopoli and then walked about half an hour down to a beach near some ancient ruins at Paleopolis. We spent about an hour on the beach and then walked back. The trail was in good condition unlike a lot of the trails on Andros that are overgrown. We drove to the small coastal resort town of Batsi for a souvlaki lunch. Batsi is a nice town and we have had one meal there every day. 12 June 2023 - Ferry to Athens & Drive up to North Greece In the morning we took a 2 hour ferry from Andros to the port of Rafina in Athens and arrived just after midday. It was then a 6 hour drive north towards Albania to the coastal resort of Parga in northern Greece. We only spent 1 night at Parga, which is a shame as we really liked our accommodation and Parga. The Greek islands had been very quiet and there hadn't been many tourists. In contrast Parga was bustling with lots of holidaymakers. Normally I wouldn't like that but it made a nice change. Unfortunately we only had time to wander around the town and have dinner. It would have been nice to have walked up to the Venetian castle and explored the surrounding area. 13 June 2023 - Greece to Albania It was a 4 hour drive from Parga to Gjirokastër in Albania. We didn't have any problems at the border, although we were surprised that at the Greek side we had to get out of our car to present our passports. At all the other borders we have just driven up to the passport control booth. On the Albanian side we bought 15 days of 3rd party insurance for Eur 49 and it was very straightforward. See my blog "Driving through Albania: From Greece to Montenegro" for information on driving in Albania. We had problems locating our apartment in Gjirokaster. After a frustrating half an hour driving around we stumbled across it. After checking in we walked up a steep hill to the castle. The castle is impressive and we spent an hour looking around. Afterwards we walked down to the old bazaar which is very attractive. It consists of about 4 streets of shops and restaurants, but unfortunately they are mainly catering for tourists. It started to rain so we sheltered in a cafe and had a drink. The Bradt guide book raves about Gjirokastër's cobbled streets and nice houses. We weren't that impressed and can't understand why Gjirokastër is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We were glad that we only had 1 night there. See my blog Gjirokaster, Albania: Nothing Special! Links to My Other Blogs Cornwall to Venice - Week 1 Venice to Serbia - Week 2 Serbia to North Macedonia - Week 3 North Macedonia to Greece - Week 4 Nafplio, Greece to the Peloponnese - Week 5 Peloponnese to the Greek Islands - Week 6 The Greek Islands - Week 7 Albania to Montenegro - Week 9 Montenegro to Croatia- Week 10 Brac to Rab, Croatia - Week 11 Rab to Dolomites, Italy - Week 12 Dolomites to Home - Week 13 UK to Greek Island Accommodation - Part 1 UK to Greek Island Accommodation - Part 2 Himare, Albania: Travel Guide Berat, Albania: Travel Guide Gjirokaster, Albania: Nothing Special! Driving through Albania: From Greece to Montenegro Kruje, Albania: Travel Guide Andros, Greece: Travel Guide Tinos, Greece: Travel Guide