Nepal is a country of South Asia lying along the southern slopes of the Himalayan
mountain ranges. It is a landlocked country located between India to the east,
south, and west and the Tibet Autonomous Region of China to the north. Its
territory extends roughly 500 miles from east to west and 90 to 150 miles from
north to south. Nepal has a diverse geography, including fertile plains,
subalpine forested hills, and eight of the world's ten tallest mountains,
including Mount Everest. Nepal, long favoring a policy of
isolation, remained closed to the outside world until a palace revolt in 1950.
In 1991 the kingdom established a multiparty parliamentary system. In 2008,
however, after a decade long period of violence, the monarchy was dissolved, and
Nepal was declared a democratic republic. As a result of its years of
geographic and self-imposed isolation, Nepal is one of the least developed
nations of the world.
Getting there ...
We continued our journey from Bangkok to Nepal in the morning on 4/9 and
landed in Kathmandu Airport at about 12:30PM. I have arranged my Nepal
trip with Above The Himalaya Trekking
for my 10-day itinerary: 1) 5 days for
Everest
trekking, 2) 1 day in Kathmandu (served as a buffer day just in case), and
3) 3 days in
Chitwan Jungle. When we were picked up from the airport and driven to
the hotel in Kathmandu, we experienced the chaotic Kathmandu traffic (probably
only second to Cairo...).
Day 2 (4/10) ...
- Helicopter to Lukla
Our guide Suresh came to
the hotel to pick us up at 5:30AM to go to the airport. Our original plan
was to take a regular flight to Lukla where the trekking began. However,
the weather conditions had been poor in the past few days and the forecast
was not promising either, so Puru (our trip organizer) suggested us to take
a helicopter directly from Kathmandu airport to Lukla since a helicopter had
a better chance to fly under the borderline weather conditions than a
regular airplane (but with additional cost of $1400 to us). When we got to the airport
before 6AM, the weather was terrible with rain and shower, and we had to
wait in the airport
without knowing what the plan would be. After the rain stopped in
Kathmandu, we were told to continue to wait because the weather in Lukla was
still bad. After 6 hours of wait at the airport, we finally got a go
at about noon although we were told that Lukla was not clear for landing
yet, but we would take off first and hopefully after 40-minute flight the
weather would improve there (and it did!
video).
Lukla airport has gained worldwide fame, not only for its
unusual location, but also because it was rated the most dangerous airport in
the world for more than 20 years. The airport is popular because it is
considered the gateway to Sagamartha National Park and the starting point for
treks towards Mount Everest Base Camp (EBC).
- Trekking to Phadking
After a quick lunch at Lukla, we started our
first day of trekking to Phadking. We had a porter who would carry our
luggage with us for the entire trekking. The default load for a porter
is 30kg for 2 persons (15kg/person). Since we usually travel light,
our combined luggage weight was only 14kg, so I think our porter should be
happy with such a light weight load.
From Lukla (elevation at 2840m) to
Phadking (at 2610m) is ~ 7.5km (610m up, 830m down), and took us about
3 hours (2PM to 5PM) through forests and small towns in the light rain.
We stayed in a room with bath
in a mountain lodge. The hot water in our bathroom was heated by solar
panel, but because it was a rainy day, so it did not have really hot water
for shower in our room and we had to go to a common bathroom where gas
heated hot water was available. Since there were no roads in the
mountain, everything (food, fuel, raw materials, anything...) needs to be
carried in (by human or
by animals) on foot.
Day 3 (4/11) ...
- Trekking to Namche Bazar
Our second leg of trekking was from Phadking
(at 2610m) to Namche Bazar (at 3440m), about 12km (1670m up, 880m down).
The trail starts alongside the Dudh Koshi River, and we crossed many
high-suspension bridges on the way. The ascent to Namche Bazaar is a
challenging steep trail (400 meters up) where I really thought those
porters
(who could carry the load up to 40kg) are so tough. At the elevation
higher than 3000m, every step was difficult for us, and I think the mental
power was as important (or more important) as the physical strength.
- Namche Bazar
We walked through the town of Namche Bazar before
getting to our mountain lodge. Namche Bazar is one of the Everest
region’s largest and most commercialized towns. Most people who trek
to EBC will stay here for 2 nights to acclimatize to the altitude.
Day 4 (4/12) ...
- Namche Bazar
It was a perfect day for sunrise. The views from
our balcony were just amazing.
- Trekking to Tenzing Norgay Memorial
We walked up a steep hill behind
Namche Bazar to the
Tenzing Norgay Memorial where we had our first view of
Mount Everest.
Tenzing Norgay was a Nepalese-Indian Sherpa mountaineer. On 29 May 1953,
Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary were the first confirmed to have reached
the summit of Mount Everest, as part of the 1953 British Mount Everest
expedition.
- Trekking to Hotel Everest View
The last part of our trekking
was from Namche Bazar (at 3440m) to Hotel Everest View (at 3880m), about 4km
with a steady climb of 400m in the first half of the trail. The
weather was nice and the views along the way were incredible. It's
hard to describe the joy to be part of the Himalayas.
- Hotel Everest View
Our trekking destination was Hotel Everest View, where we will stay for 2
nights. Opened in 1971, Hotel Everest View has been listed on
the Guinness Book of World Records (2004) as the Highest Placed Hotel in the
world at 13000ft. With no access to roads, the construction of Hotel
Everest View relied on porters carrying the necessary items on a two week
trek from Lamusangu (80km from Kathmandu), or items being transported on a
helicopter. The hotel was designed by Japanese architect Yoshinobu
Kumagaya. This hotel was built with a dream of Takashi Miyahara that
guests from all over the world can come and enjoy a 360 degree view of the
Himalayas. All twelve rooms at Hotel Everest View were designed to
offer a panoramic view of Mt. Everest and the surrounding peaks. It is truly
a luxurious experience to enjoy the tranquility and peacefulness of the
Himalayas in the spacious and heated room.
- Himalayas
While we were relaxing in our room, the weather changed
quickly from sunny to cloudy, and luckily changed back to clear sky just a
few minutes before sunset. The majestic view of Mt. Everest was the
best reward of the hard work we did in the last 3 days.
Day 5 (4/13) ...
- Khumjung Village
After breakfast, we went to visit Khumjung (at
3780m), the largest Sherpa village in the Khumbu region. Carved into
the hillside at the foot of the sacred Mt. Khumbu-yul-Iha (5761m), the
village has a monastery that displays a scalp claimed to be from a yeti
(abominable snowman) and a school founded by Sir Edmund Hillary. We
watched a documentary about Sir Hillary at the visitor center and we were
moved by his devotion to Sherpa people.
The weather changed quickly in the afternoon. The
snow started to fall in the late afternoon and it became a winter scenery before
sunset.
Day 6 (4/14) ...
- Helicopter Flight Sightseeing to the Everest Base Camp (EBC)
The
weather was still not stable in the morning, and we could only sit and wait.
Finally at about 8:30AM, we were told it was clear enough to fly to the EBC.
Although the most mountains were still covered by cloud, the views along the
way were still amazing and we could see some people trekking to and from the
EBC. It only took about 10 minutes to reach the EBC by helicopter.
It was quite a view when we saw the EBC from the air;
EBC was a huge
collection of tents on the edge of a glacier.
We had a quick landing at Kala Patthar (at ~5600m).
Although we could not see any mountain peaks due to the cloudy weather, it
marked the highest elevation we have ever been.
- Fly Back to Lukla
We flew back to the Hotel Everest View to pick up
our guide and luggage, and then flew back to Lukla airport. It took us
3 days to walk up from Lukla, and it only took 10 minutes to fly back to
Lukla in helicopter.
The runway at Lukla is 527 m (1,729 ft) 30 m (98
ft) with an 11.7% gradient. The runway is a tabletop runway with a
cliff on one side and the Himalayas on the other . In order to help
decelerate during landing and accelerate during takeoff, the runway adopts a
tilted design, but this design also prevents the aircraft from giving up
takeoff, otherwise it will fall into the cliff, and there are no go-around
procedures.
When we boarded our plane, we were the only passengers
onboard (plus a flight attendant and two pilots). It was a short 20-minute
flight from Lukla to Ramechhap (because Kathmandu Airport was too busy to have
small planes), but it was a long drive from Ramechhap back to Kathmandu.
The road conditions were so poor that it took about 6 hours of drive for 130km.
Day 7 (4/15) ...
I arranged a car and a driver to take us to a few places
in Kathmandu for a half-day city tour.
- Boudha Stupa
In terms of grace and purity of line, no other stupa in
Nepal comes close to Boudhanath. From its whitewashed dome to its gilded
tower painted with the all-seeing eyes of the Buddha, the monument is
perfectly proportioned. The first stupa at Boudhanath was built
sometime after AD 600, when the Tibetan king, Songtsen Gampo, converted to
Buddhism. The stupa was originally built to house holy relics
including authentic bone pieces of Kassapa Buddha and of Shakyamuni Buddha,
together with Dharmakaya relics, Dharma relics, etc. Its massive
mandala makes it the largest spherical stupa in Nepal and one of the largest
in the world. In 1979 the Boudha Stupa became one of UNESCO's World Heritage
Sites in Nepal.
-
Shechen Monastery
(雪謙寺)
Shechen Monastery is one of the "Six Mother Monasteries" of the
Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. It was originally located in Kham,
Tibet, but was destroyed in the late 1950s during the Cultural Revolution
and was rebuilt in Nepal in 1985. There were very few tourists here,
and we could sit in their morning ceremonial (or worship) session to have a
spiritual experience.
- Pashupatinath Temple
The Pashupatinath Temple is a Hindu temple
dedicated to Pashupati, a form of Shiva. The temple, considered one of
the holiest pilgrimage sites for Hindus, is given a status of one of the
most sacred Shiva Kshetras (abodes of Shiva) in Skanda Purana, and only
Hindus are allowed to enter the main temple. The
main temple of Pashupatinath
is a building with a bunk roof and a golden spire. It is located on the
Western bank of Bagmati and is considered a masterpiece of Hindu
architecture. Along the right bank of Bagmati numerous platforms
for funeral pyres are built. The
cremations on these platforms are a common activity. Another
culturally shocking thing in Pashupatinath is the image of local women
washing clothes downstream the river. The waters of Bagmati contain animal
fat because of the ashes of cremated Shiva followers and easily wash the
dirt from linen. It is believed that this is how the soap was invented.
- We went to a Chinese Noodle restaurant (Dongfang Palace 东方宫兰州拉面) for
dinner. It was so delicious and cheap, and it was our best meal in
Nepal :-)
Day 8 (4/16) ...
Our last part of Nepal trip was to go the Chitwan National Park, located in
the Terai of south-central Nepal. Chitwan National Park, established
in 1973, was Nepal’s first National Park. The Chitwan valley is
characterized by tropical and subtropical forests. Roughly 70 percent of park
vegetative cover is Sal (Shorea robusta) forest, a moist deciduous vegetation
type of the Terai region. A total of 68 species of mammals, 56
species of herpeto fauna and 126 species of fish have been recorded in the park.
The park is especially renowned for its protection of One Horned Rhinoceros,
Royal Bengal Tiger and Gharial Crocodile.
- Chitwan
We had a morning flight from Kathmandu
(@ 9:45AM) to Bharatpur. The domestic flights from Kathmandu were
quite chaotic: many different flights departed at the same gate at the
same time, and the announcement was not very clear and sometimes only in
Nepali. Our flight was delayed for about an hour, and the flight time
was only about 30 minutes. We were picked up at the airport and
driven to our resort,
Landmark
Forest Park, just before lunch.
At 5:15PM, we went to our 1st
activity at Chitwan, Tharu Village Walk. When the first protected
areas were established in Chitwan, Tharu people were forced to relocate from
their traditional lands. When the Chitwan National Park was
designated, Nepalese soldiers destroyed the villages located inside the
national park. We walked by a few local houses and settlement,
and walked down the Rapti riverbank, viewing the endless plains of the land
of the Terai region of Nepal, and watching the sun setting from the side of
the river.
- Tharu Dance
After dinner, there was a Tharu cultural dance on the
lawn in the resort. Woanyu also joined them to have some fun.
Day 9 (4/17) ...
- Canoe Tour
We had an early start at 7:30AM to have a canoe trip along
the Rapti River. It was an amazing way to flow down the river to see
animals, birds, and crocodiles along the way. It was a smooth ride to
blend with the environment quietly. We then got off the canoe and had
a leisure walk in the forest, and visited the Elephant Breeding Center.
- Jeep Safari
After a quick lunch, we went for a jeep safari at
12:30PM. The guide took us to the park entrance to check in, and took
a small boat to cross the river
to get on the jeep in the park. We were so lucky that there was
a tiger resting on the lake
shore for a long time. It was such a rare sight of a tiger that
even all the guides could not believe it. Although the tiger was
pretty far away on the other end of the lake (only my long lens was capable
of capturing some decent enough photos), it did create some
traffic jam on the narrow dirt
road.
We were driving in the park for a couple of hours and
encounter two rhinos. However, the rhinos were hidden in the dense bush
and blocked by branches, and no clear views were possible. The sky became
dark and the weather changed quickly. Lightning started to show up and
rain began to pour down. We were all soaked in the jeep and thought our
jeep safari was going to be over. After a quick visit to the
Crocodile Breeding Center, we were back to the jeep, and the sky began to clear
up and animals also began to show up. We saw three wild boars crossing the
road in front of us, many different herds of deer, groups of monkeys on the
trees beside us, and finally two large rhinos grazing along the roadside.
I could not believe we were so lucky today!
The rhino here is the Indian rhinoceros, also known as
the greater one-horned rhinoceros, a species of rhinoceros found in the Indian
subcontinent. It is the second largest living rhinoceros species.
Its thick, silver-brown skin folds into the shoulder, back, and rump, giving it
an armored appearance. In 2022, the total Indian rhinoceros population was
estimated to be about 4000 in the world. Chitwan has the largest
population of Indian rhinoceros in Nepal, estimated at 605 of 645 individuals in
total in the country as of 2015 (increased from 95 rhinos in 1960's).
Day 10 (4/18) ...
- Elephant Safari
This morning we went for an elephant safari at about
8:30AM. Although a jeep safari can cover more distance, but it was
limited to where the roads are. On the contrary, an elephant safari
was slower and bumpier, but it can go anywhere in the forest, and it can get
very close to animals since it will not scare them away. We saw total
5 rhinos submerging in the pools in the middle of forests (not accessible by
any road), and we were surrounded by deer and monkeys in the jungles.
The elephant safari was definitely a very unique and interesting experience
to see animals from a different way (video).
Going Home ...
After lunch, it's time to fly back to Kathmandu. The Bharatpur airport
has traffic control and our flight was delayed for ~ 30 minutes because the
Prime Minister of Nepal was coming (we saw his helicopter landed at the
Bharatpur airport). It's just a short rest stop at the hotel in Kathmandu
in the late afternoon. After dinner (a delicious Korean BBQ), we went to
the Kathmandu airport to catch our flight at 11:30PM (to Bangkok and then back
to Taiwan). Nepal may be
one of the least developed countries in the world, but its natural beauty and
diversity are unparalleled. From the majestic Himalayas to lively jungles,
these 10 days were one of most memorable trips we have ever had.
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