The beauty of the Khopra Ridge is the fact that it is a ridge. You walk two whole days on this ridge. So for two days, there are big mountains on either side of you. I am not very sure if you understand the significance of this. There are very few treks in this world where you walk for two whole days on a ridge. Leave alone a trek with such astounding mountain views. When you combine these two, the Khopra Ridge becomes a very special trek.

Then there is the sense of adventure. On the Khopra Ridge trek, you climb to Khayer lake, which is at around 15,700 feet. Getting to an alpine lake at this altitude is thrilling and adventurous. Unfortunately, I don’t feel this on the ABC trek.

You see great views from even inside your tea house. Just like any other trek in Nepal, the Khopra Ridge trek has tea houses all along the trail, where you stay for the night. They’re almost luxurious compared to other treks where you camp.

Well, there are a lot of talking points here. We take a deviation to Khayer Lake. It is a small hidden lake. But getting there is like a spiritual experience. The locals revere the lake.

If you thought the Grand Canyon was full of deep gorges, on this trek you see the deepest gorge in the world — Kali Gandaki. It separates the summits of the Dhaulagiri range from the Annapurna range.

I am not going to guarantee it, but there’s a very high chance of walking above a bed of clouds. If you’re lucky, see the sunset above it.

I don’t know if it is right for me to say this about a favourite trek of ours, the Annapurna Base Camp, but the ABC is full of steps to climb and descend. After a while, it hurts to your knees. On the Khopra Ridge, it is a usual mountain trail. It has its ups and downs and challenges, but not the crazy steps of ABC.

For us, Khopra Ridge has turned out to be the best off-beat trek in Nepal. We know what it means to trek on a crowded trail in Nepal. The Khopra Ridge is a godsend in that respect. No maddening crowd on this trail.