After a stopover in Hong Kong and visit to the Big Buddha, an enthusiastic group of 9 arrived in Kathmandu and spent the first 2 nights at the comfortable Nirvana Garden Hotel. We weighed the trekking bags, ate a good breakfast and boarded the bus for a 6 hour drive to Dhunche. The road winds its way over a big ridge west of the Kathmandu valley, across several rivers and after a dal bhat lunch (rice, lentils, curry veg & pickle) in Trisuli Bazaar, climbed up to 1920m and entered the Langtang National Park. We continued on to Syabru Besi as the road now is paved down to the river and to where we started our trek.
On a bright, sunny morning we headed to a check post, across the bridge over the Bhote Khosi river and east to the trails bordering the Langtang Khola (river). We made it the first 1000 meters elevation gain to Rimche the first day and stayed in a small tea house. The food was good and sleep most welcome.
The next day we gained another 1000m over 6 hours and arrived in Langtang Village mid afternoon and were greeted by Jangbu, the proprietor of Hotel Tibet Guesthouse, a newer teahouse I stayed in 3 years ago when it was first built. We had a rest day planned the next day so folks showered, did laundry and charged camera batteries. We took a walk to the Cheese factory and had tea with fresh bread with tomatoes and nak cheese (a yak is a male, nak is a female!) Delicious!
After the rest day, we hiked further up the valley to Kyanjin Gompa at 3870m. We had dal bhat at the Gompa Guesthouse with the familiar (to me) owner cooking up a nice lunch. The sun was intense and everyone feeling the altitude - slight headaches, fatigue, etc. After a visit to the 500 year old Gompa (temple) we headed back down the valley to another night at Langtang village.
By now everyone was getting into the routine of packing up the trekking bags before breakfast so the porters could lash them together and get on the trail. Breakfasts of oatmeal, or eggs and toast, pancakes, tea and coffee were consumed and we got on the trail by 8am each day. Back down the valley we stayed again in Rimche and the stars at night were amazing. We had lunch at Landslide and then a fork in the trail took us up to Thula Syabru, high on a ridge at 2250m. (Well, I am not immune to pitfalls of travel - I drank a Fanta on the way and resulted in a serious food poisoning :- (
We changed the itinerary a bit and the group went off to Sing Gompa at 3330m climbing over 1000m via Phoprang Danda. This was through farms, a beautiful forest and into warm sunshine. A few folks who wanted an additional challenge headed up to Laurebina Yak and the Gosainkunda lakes, while some stayed for a rest day in Sing Gompa. In evenings, we all learned to play Dumbal, a Nepali card game that was great fun. There was a cheese factory here too so we took advantage of it, buying cheese and taking boiled eggs and chapatis for our lunch on the hike out to Dhunche. Arriving in Dhunche brought our trekking to a close and we had a celebration beer with our guide and porters, gave them their tips and prepared ourselves for the 6 hour bus ride back to Kathmandu. Warm showers, good food and shopping were available to the group upon returning.
We took a day trip to Bhaktapur, an old walled city in the Kathmandu valley. There were 3 old kingdoms (Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur) and they each have a royal square - Durbar Square. We also toured Pashupatinath, the holy Hindu temples on the banks of the Bagmati river and on to tour Bouddhanath, the Tibetan quarter, walking around the kora and having lunch on the rooftop cafe overlooking the largest Stupa in the world.
Well, as all things must come to a close, some folks flew to Hong Kong, some by car to Chitwan park, and some off to India or home. A great group, lots of laughs and with so much culture, mountain scenery and daily experiences, we will process this all in the months to come! Everyone remained fairly healthy in spite of a few colds, coughs and sore muscles. Thanks to this amazing group for their support, curiosity and enthusiasm for trekking in Nepal.
!
On a bright, sunny morning we headed to a check post, across the bridge over the Bhote Khosi river and east to the trails bordering the Langtang Khola (river). We made it the first 1000 meters elevation gain to Rimche the first day and stayed in a small tea house. The food was good and sleep most welcome.We changed the itinerary a bit and the group went off to Sing Gompa at 3330m climbing over 1000m via Phoprang Danda. This was through farms, a beautiful forest and into warm sunshine. A few folks who wanted an additional challenge headed up to Laurebina Yak and the Gosainkunda lakes, while some stayed for a rest day in Sing Gompa. In evenings, we all learned to play Dumbal, a Nepali card game that was great fun. There was a cheese factory here too so we took advantage of it, buying cheese and taking boiled eggs and chapatis for our lunch on the hike out to Dhunche. Arriving in Dhunche brought our trekking to a close and we had a celebration beer with our guide and porters, gave them their tips and prepared ourselves for the 6 hour bus ride back to Kathmandu. Warm showers, good food and shopping were available to the group upon returning.
1 comment:
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