So there I was at home thinking I’d be spending a relaxing weekend at home on the 4th of July weekend and reminiscing about the long weekend getaways in recent years. I was pleasantly surprised when I learnt about a short hike in Dhulikhel that a group of friends/colleagues at ICIMOD, the organization where I’m interning in Kathmandu, had planned.
With that began my first hike in Nepal!
We caught a bus early morning to Dhulikhel, a tourist town east of Kathmandu - two hours by the local bus. When we hopped on the bus at the old bus park in Kathmandu, it was empty but as we moved along it got way overcrowded and the conductor kept cramming more people in. Overcrowded buses in mountainous terrains … a recipe for disaster! A report on a recent accident… a harsh reminder of the value of human life in these regions.
It was about a 2 hour bus journey with some beautiful views of the surrounding hills and even a glimpse of the world’s tallest statue of Shiva - Kailashnath Mahadev Statue - located at the border of Bhaktapur and Kavrepalanchowk, about 20 kilometers from Kathmandu. Given the mist surrounding the region, initially what I witnessed was a giant head floating in the clouds … if that doesn’t make you believe in the powers that be, then nothing ever will!
A 44 ft tall Lord Shiva is on top of the hill
It is also rice planting season apparently!
Around 10 am, we jumped off the bus to have omelet toast at a local restaurant. The food was great … the restroom not so much. The rare occasions I wish I was a guy - the luxuries of standing and peeing and not needing to sit on a filthy commode. On the brighter side, when we need to take a dump, we are all equal :) [There is good news for those not born with a penis though - check out P EZ]
After a good breakfast, we headed off further west towards a village that I think was called Bhattedanda. A friend had stayed in one of the Homestays here and suggested we first stop by there to pre order our lunch on the way back. That was a good plan because we chanced upon a guide to show us the way! It was pretty hot and humid but overcast with no rain. Hiking in the rain would have been impossible and it seems the weather gods were smiling down on us!
It was a wide path, not too muddy or rocky and with a steady incline which made it quite manageable in spite of me being out of shape. Not much of fauna but a whole lot of flora! I have often missed the greenery of the monsoon in the Indian subcontinent…
We even picked up a canine friend along (who abandoned us half way!)
We took a route that is taken to go to Namo Buddha but we did a much shorter hike.
After about an hour and half into the hike, we finally took a long rest stop at a tea/cold drink shop. And then as the grey clouds began to gather, we quickly started heading back. On our way back we encountered the helipad that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi used to land for the SAARC summit held last year.
That’s when the rains began. The rest of the hike was downhill and the rains had made the trail really muddy and slippery. But it was easy going. Although it drizzled at first, it slowly built up to a heavy downpour. Thankfully, the downpour began when we were 10 minutes away and managed to escape the worst of the weather. A wholesome lunch later, we walked back to the Dhulikhel bus stop to catch another overcrowded bus to Kathmandu. The views on the way back were just as beautiful...
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