I think nothing will make me happier than talking about the journey I spent away from all the chaos of a busy city like Kathmandu.
51 kilometers north of the Kathmandu Valley is the magnificent place called Langtang: one of the shortest trekking routes. The region is renowned for having the Langtang National Park Nepal’s Himalayan first national park. It exceeds an elevation range of 6,450 meters (21,160 ft) stretching over three districts Nuwakot, Rasuwa, and Sindhupalchwok.
After checking one last time for all the necessary essentials we decided to hit the road in the early Sunday morning. We reached the bus stop at 11 in the morning, where me and my friends booked the tickets to Syabrubesi (1460 meters/ 4790 ft) in Rasuwa District. Crossing different cities, villages, and rivers it nearly took us 2 and a half hours to reach this beautiful place, where we took the rest before the actual journey and filled our stomachs. It is a small town with many hotels and restaurants.
Instead of staying the night in Syapru Besi, we decided to climb the trail to Domen. After walking to the end of the road in Syapru Besi we found the suspension bridge above Bhote Koshi which was our gateway to reach our own Eden. After crossing the bridge and turning left we began our trek officially. Climbing the path, passing through the forest, crossing a couple of suspension bridges. Finally, after 3 hours of climbing, we reached Domen.
Domen (1670 meters) is a small place with a few houses here and there where we end our first day of the trek. That night we slept soundly excited for the journey ahead.
The next day, waking up at 6 and having breakfast, we began the trek again, with no right place in mind where to rest the night for the second day. As we were climbing the trail we passed through many villages, forests, and bridges. After walking for almost 2 and a half hours we reached the place called Bamboo (1970 meters). It is one of the largest villages so far with few hotels.
After resting for an hour and having lunch we geared up for the journey ahead. With the thought of covering as much ground as possible, we walked like our tail was on fire. The trail continues to climb through the forest, with occasional glimpses of Langtang Lirung between the trees. After a steep climb, the joy of seeing the starting valleys which eventually end up in beautiful meadows is so pleasing to our tired legs. In the past hours, we crossed the places called Rimche, Lama Hotel, and RiverSide, and finally got to the Ghoda Tabela (3008 meters) after 6 hours of such a gruesome climb. It was a beautiful farm and a few houses filled with heartwarming kind people who were kind enough to give us shelter for the night.
The next morning after eating our breakfast we packed our bags and left the place at 7 in the morning. The trail after Ghoda Tabela was like an everyday walk but with the mesmerizing scenery of snow peaks, turquoise color river, huge boulders, bizarrely shaped rocks, stupas, and many yaks. It was a great sight for us. Crossing the few villages and the huge landslide that wiped the Langtang village during the 2015 earthquake it took us about 3 hours to reach New Langtang. Passing the memorial gate we entered the village and took the much-needed break and enjoyed the locals' hospitality and warmth.
After an hour's rest, we started our trek again to the final destination for the day, Kyanjin Gompa. We crossed many small settlements while climbing the trail through yak pastures in the open valley from Mundu and finally reached the small village, Kyangin Gompa (3,800 meters). It took us nearly 3 hours to reach, the place has a small monastery and a government-operated cheese factory. When the time came to call the night, the thoughts of the next day were the last things on my mind which left me excited and heartbroken at the same time.
The last day of the climb was here when we woke up early in the morning and decided to climb the trek at 7. After breakfast and packing all the necessities and leaving a few unwanted stuff for the day we begin the climb. After climbing for a straight 3 hours, we reached the point Tsergo Ri (5033 meters/16,500 ft). The place is like the Kala Patthar of Mt. Everest which offers a stunning view of the Langtang Himalayan Range. The place gives magnificent views of Yala peak (5,520 meters), Langtang Ri (7,277 meters) and Naya Khang (5,844 meters), Chanbu (6,781 meters), Ganjal Pass, and many other mountains.
It was 5 in the evening when we decided to hike down to Kyanjin Gompa for the night. The one thing that still confuses my mind is how less we talked while we were hiking down the trail. Was it because of the sadness of the journey coming to an end, was it because of hunger, or was it because of the mesmerizing view that left us speechless? For me, I will say all of the above. It took us 2 hours to reach Kyanjin Gompa where we talked about the places when eating our dinner and slept the night with blooming sadness of leaving the place.
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