Travelogue of a trekking trip to the Langtang region, Gosainkunda Lake and Helambu trail

Ujwal Thapa, CEO of ExoticBuddha.com wrote this article.

1st day: Oct 25th, Sunday – Kathmandu (1300m) to Shaybrubesi (1900m):

there were a couple of us on a hired 4 wheel Land cruiser through Kathmandu to Trisuli bazaar to Dhunche all the way up to the 100 something kilometers north to a place called “syaure besi”, the gateway to the langtang valley of mountains. The trip was about 8 hours (you could probably do it in 6 hours but we took some long breaks on the way) Here we stayed at Buddha Guest house. Pretty boring place this Syaure Besi, but it is the gateway to the trek. The hotel was operated by a local Sherpa, giving hints of the the type of people you would meet on the trip.

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Teavelogue of a hiking trip to the summit of Nagarjun hill in Kathmandu done in October 2009

(Bijaya Shiwakoti wrote this travelogue.)

We, a friend and I, did the hiking in the Nagarjun Hill, part of the Shivapuri National Park in western Kathmandu, on a fine autumn afternoon. The hiking was two hours of upward and one and half hours of the downward walk on the moderate slope of Nagarjun hills. The starting point of this trail is about a kilometer away from the Balaju bypass, the exit point for buses leaving from Kathmandu to Trisuli Bazaar. Travelers wanting to hike here should reach the gate of the park. Foreigners should pay an entry fee of NRs. 250 (around US$ 4). If you are in a hurry and want to drive instead, there is a metal road of some length and dirt track for the remaining part until it reaches the summit of the hill. There is entry fee of around NRs. 700 (US$ 10) for jeeps.

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Travelogue of a trip from Surkhet to Jumla to Rara Lake to Kolti to Surkhet done in August 2009

The traveler is Ujwal Thapa – CEO, ExoticBuddha.com.

Day 1 – Surkhet to Jumla
Trip to the biggest lake in Nepal, Rara, was rather a solitary but exhilarating experience. My plan was to trek up there from Jumla to Rara, Mugu and the go down to Bajura,and get to the plains from there. I stayed a hospital in Surkhet at a friend who was a doctor there. That introduced me to the what the people up north in the most undeveloped part of Nepal were experiencing. Surkhet is a gateway to the Karnali region including some of the far west like Bajura. The small 10 to 15 seater planes hold flights to Khalanga in Jumla, Taalcha in Mugu and Kolti in Bajura. (Jumla has cemented runaways whereas others don’t.)

I flew to Jumla after getting hard earned tickets (its like a bus stop where first come first serve system is put in place but then the planes would rather take rice and other cargo items in the seats rather than passengers, more profitable for them). At the last moment i got switched from Sita Air to Yeti Air because the Sita Air plane’s tyres burst open while landing. At least I should count my luck in getting extra seat in Yeti, because I happened to know the Manager of the Sita Air at the airport – who you know helps a lot in these places. I met people who had been waiting for a week at the airport trying to get a ticket to the Karnali region.

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Travelogue of a trip from Pokhara to Ghandruk, Landruk, Pothana done in mid August 2009

Maheshwor Shrestha wrote this travelogue.

Day 1: Nayapul to Tikhedhunga

We started off from Pokhara and took a taxi to Nayapul. It took us NRs. 1,500 (US$ 20) for the ride that took us about 1 hour to reach the destination. Yes, it was a rip-off. Probably taking a local bus (given that we knew the routes and stops) might have cost us about NRs. 50 per person.

Anyways, we took the graveled road from Nayapul to Birethanti, the entry point to the Annapurna Conservation Area (ACAP). It takes you about 20 minutes to reach Birethanti. There, foreigners will have to register and obtain a trekking permit to enter the ACAP (if you don’t already have one). Obtaining a trekking permit here is twice as expensive (NRs. 4,000, US$ 60) compared to the cost if you were to obtain in from Kathmandu or Pokhara (by the lakeside).

From Birethanti starts the real trek. After crossing the suspension bridge over Modi river, you take a left and continue your journey through villages and hills. The trails are generally well-marked and you are likely to encounter lots of people along the way even if you are trekking in an off-season.

Most of the trek is easy to follow and walk. There was a tricky point at about 1.5 hrs of trek from Birethanti. Just to make sure that you are in the right track, the river would be to your left. The trek ascends gradually for most part until you reach Hile.
The part of the trek from Hile to Tikhedhunga is steeper. It takes you about 2 hours from the bottom of the hill to reach Tikhedhunga. We ended our trek for the day in Tikhedhunga, which offers a nice view of the river valley. The hills look simply gorgeous!!

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Travelogue of the trekking trip to see Mount Everest up close on December 2005.

(The traveler is Ujwal Thapa – CEO, ExoticBuddha.com)

Day 1:

I got a ticket to Lukla from a local travel agent (referred by a friend) in Kathmandu. Cost me about $60 (It costs around $ 120 at the moment for the tourists).

Took one of the early flights out. (There are different rates for natives and for foreigners). As usual, had a bit of delay before the start, because of weather. They say, Lukla has one of the most dangerous looking airports in the world. They certainly weren’t wrong. The runway actually slopes down right into a cliff to a ravine possibly a thousand feet below

I was taking the hike alone (at least till Namche bazaar- the hub for all Everest trekkers) and then meeting my doctor friend who was stationed there.

Everything started smoothly and by 10 in the morning I was in Lukla. It wasn’t as cold as I expected. This was in the beginning of December. I took my bag and the stopped by a bakery shop (yes, one in a line of many bakeries such as german, Italian, swiss along the way  it seems its quite a business over here). Had coffee and some fresh german bread (at least that’s what I was told it was).

At the end of the day, I reached up to Monjo (2800 meters or 9240 feet). Most people stay further back at Phakding. But I thought I should save the distance for the strong climb of the next day up to Naamche bazaar. The Food at the lodge was okay, nothing worth remembering. Accommodation is bare minimum but for a weary traveler its nothing to complain about.

Highlights:

• The sloping air strip in Lukla
• The walk along the boundary between hilly regions of Nepal and higher regions
• The superman porters carrying more than their body weight of supplies to the businesses near Everest.

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