Nepal 2005
MENCAP TREK NEPAL (March 2005)
RAISED THIS TRIP £3,313
CUMULATIVE TOTAL £10,037
After my trips to Patagonia and Mozambique, I wanted to raise at least £3,276 this time, to bring the total to at least £10,000. This I did … just!
Again, here are a few notes from the trip, with thanks to everyone that supported the fundraising and training. You can click on the images below to see the full size photographs.
Rugby, England to Kathmandu, Nepal is 4615 miles as the long-distance crow flies. I left for Nepal on 11th March 05 and returned on 22nd March 05.
The first thing to report is that the day before we left, Across the Divide (the expedition organisers) were in touch to say the original itinerary planned was not possible. This was because of the political troubles in Nepal (See BBC Newspages) which meant that the road to Jiri was to be blockaded during our stay by the Maoist rebels. Though it was disappointing not to be ascending PK, the alternative trek, around the rim of the Kathmandu Valley, was still very challenging, and we had the added bonus of meeting far more of the Nepali people than we would probably have done in the more remote regions to the East.
After a night in a Kathmandu hotel to recover from the traveling, our first morning was spent on the road. We boarded buses to Kakani to the North-West of Kathmandu and enjoyed our first views of the Himalaya looking out across to Annapurna.
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Bus trip to Kakani.
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First views of the Himalaya.
(Click on images to enlarge)
After a brief lunch we started Eastwards towards the holy mountain Shivapuri. We had been told by the Nepali guides that the mountain was within a few hours walk, and that we should be camping on the summit for our first night. However the distance was far more than they had estimated and we stopped to camp not long after entering the Shivapuri Nature Reserve. The first night’s camp was beautiful, and our porters had arrived before us too set everything up. Ignore the dates on these photos, I set the camera to the wrong date in error!
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First nights campsite.
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Good morning!
(Click on images to enlarge)
The following morning the initial plan was to hike/climb to the summit of Shivapuri before lunch, and then make a long afternoon trek to get back on to the original schedule. However a combination of diversions by the military, and poor time estimates by the local guides, meant that we didn’t reach the summit until nearly 5pm, making a 9 hour hike in all (including lunch stop).
Shivapuri is a beautiful place, and a pilgrimage site for the Nepali people. There is a shrine at the top of the mountain to Shiva and a holy man (Saddhu) lives in a cave a few metres below the summit. There are prayer flags everywhere. The summit itself is a flat area about 100ft square, onto which we crammed all of the tents. The Saddhu didn’t seem to mind, in fact he came to talk to some of the group in the evening after he had meditated for a while, and again in the morning just before we left.
The climb to the summit was the toughest part of the trek by far, scrabbling up a steep rough path to about 2,700m, for about three hours. Again, the porters did us proud, bringing the whole campsite up the mountain. Each time a porter came through the group he would be given a well-deserved round of applause.
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The hike up mount Shivapuri.
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Porters taking the campsite to the summit.
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Spectacular view from the summit.
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The Saddhu (Holy Man).
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Campsite on the summit.
(Click on images to enlarge)
The following day was shorter, we were trekking for about 6 1/2 hours and the terrain was easier as well. It’s probably a good job as it gave the group time to recover after the ascent of Shivapuri. Our destination was Chisipani, now getting right round to the East of Kathmandu. The best thing about this day was the people we met – the Nepalese are very friendly and welcoming – and the views from the campsite again.
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Campsite at Chisipani.
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View from my tent!
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Nepali people.
(Click on images to enlarge)
At Chisipani local children danced for us, see the video here …
On leaving Chisipani the next day we hiked South towards Nagarkot. In terms of the scenery this was the place we expected the very best, to be able to see Everest and some of the most striking views of the mountains. Unfortunately we were let down by the weather, which misted in for the evening and indeed for the next morning as well.
After another long and tough day (9 1/2 hours this time though admittedly with a lengthier stop for lunch) the campsite was very welcome. We had trekked along mainly dry and dusty tracks but also along the terraces that seem to dominate the landscape here.
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Even the vehicles have character here.
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Our path winds ahead across the terraces
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Nepali family typical of many we met.
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View from Nagarkot (from a stock photo due to mist).
(Click on images to enlarge)
The following day was another 8 1/2 hours trekking, and now we were really feeling that we had all well earned our sponsorship money! The landscape was very militarised during the early part of the day, and we weren’t allowed to take photographs in some areas. Later the trail opened up to pathways across terraced mountainsides and some quite tough ascents and descents. One highlight was hiking through an old town called Sankhu where we were able to visit a school for children with learning disabilities, or as the (not very politically correct) sign above the door said, the “Association for Welfare of Mentally Retarded”.
Our “campsite” for this evening at Dhulikhel turned out to be at a lodge rather than under canvas, thanks to the Irish contingent who made up the majority of the group. Across the Divide had arranged this as a surprise so that they could celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with a shower and a decent nights sleep, though of course a few celebrated well into the night!
The Friday trek was definitely a day of two halves. The morning and early afternoon took us from Dhulikhel to the Namo Buddha monastery, which is spectacular. Here we had a chance to look around, meet some of the monks who had made the pilgrimage to the site, and take in some spectacular views. The 5 hours or so it took us to get to the site were well worth while.
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Monastery in the distance.
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Me at the Namo Buddha monastery.
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Prayer flags are everywhere!
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Me with one of the monks.
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Weather coming in as we left the monastery.
(Click on images to enlarge)
As you can see from this last picture, as we left the monastery and hiked off towards Panuti in the south, the weather looked really threatening. It lived up to its threat about an hour into the afternoon trek, when the heavens opened and we were deluged with torrential rain for the rest of the day.
Everybody was absolutely drenched, cold and miserable by the time we reached the campsite in the darkening evening at about 5:30, and the rain showed no signs of letting up. We had had to ford streams coming down off the mountainside and across the road, battle against wind and rain coming from the south against us, all while trying our best to keep equipment and clothing as dry as possible.
Shortly after arriving at Panuti it was evident that we wouldn’t be able to stay in the camp that night, the site was completely waterlogged, it was going to be impossible to cook and eat a hot meal, and to cap it all, the recently dug toilets were full of water and completely unusable. The decision was taken by Malcolm of Across the Divide to call the buses out a day early and travel back to Kathmandu that evening. We all breathed a sigh of relief at that, I don’t think we would have got much sleep that night in the flooded camp.
So there you have it, in a nutshell. Several days of spectacular scenery, wonderful people, and hard trekking, rounded off by an extra day in Kathmandu where we could relax and do the tourist bit before flying home.
My thanks to everyone that donated and sponsored me to take this trip, it was hard work but definitely worth it. To underline this, the charity made a surplus on the sponsorship raised of over £100,000. You can see how my own contribution was made up on the fundraising report page.
This time, I owe thanks to a three Rugby business sponsors who deserve a mention, they are Franklin Associates, Jamesway Travel, and Rugby Town Centre Company.
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David Head, March 2005
