TEAM: Kishor Karki, Bishnuhari Bhattarai, Prashun Khadka, Aleena Rayamajhi – A complete team of Engineers.
Four Days & Three Night Trip!
The Langtang Trail is one of the most popular, nearest and longest trek route from Kathmandu, Nepal. The popularity of the Langtang Trail is because of the amazing view of the Gosaikunda that is located in 4380m altitude. Not just the view, but also the temple that is located near the lake which is believed to be a holy temple of Shiva has also made it a popular trekking spot. The lake holds a great mythological history of ancient Hinduism.
I had been to the Gosaikunda last week (5th April, 2019). I’ll be giving you some of the advice and ideas about the trail if you are also willing to enjoy the same trail!
I’ll be explaining the entire summary of just about route at the end. If you are in hurry, you can switch to the last section. But, if you are not, enjoy my four days wild trekking experience!
I had been to Kathmandu on 1st of April to attend a meeting of my office. On the next day two of my colleagues including myself were having momo for lunch while we came up with the idea of trekking to Gosaikunda.
As our second meeting-that was supposed to be on 4th of April-was cancelled, we thought of utilizing the time by making it a memorable trip!
The two of my colleagues also called one of their friends to join us and thus, we were four now. I was the only woman there, but that’s fine.
I had just heard little about the trekking trail and had never trekked above 4000m altitude till date! But well, everything has to be for the first time once!
We four started the journey from Kathmandu at 9 am on April 3rd. We had two bikes and three bags.
To be honest, I had just carried some formal clothes and heels, laptop, laptop bag and a pair of sports shoes and two stretching pants to Kathmandu from my hometown because I had no idea that I’ll end up at 4380 m the same week! But fortunately, I could borrow some warm clothes from my sister in Kathmandu!
Okay, so I was telling that we had two bikes and few bags. Mine was a laptop bag instead of a trekking bag which I feel shy to explain right now! I had carried a bunch of snickers to feed on while trekking, and a packet of sanitary pads, as I was expecting period the same week!
It took us 8 hours to reach Dhunche from Kathmandu from bike. I’ve heard buses leave to Dhunche from Machhapokhari every hour and will take you to there within 7 to 8 hours of drive. Dhunche, being the headquarter of Rasuwa district was quite developed and there were plenty of good lodges to stay at. We stayed at Namaste Gosaikunda Hotel that day. The cost was NRs. 1000 per room.
Because the terrain being Hilly, it was a rough ride. I had to take a hot shower because I was covered with dust! After having a heavy dinner, we rested that day early and started the trek the next day (April 4) at 7 am. We had a light break fast, which we regretted instantly as the first hour of trek made us hungry again! We left some of our extra clothes in the same lodge along with the bikes.
After walking for 3 hours through beautiful view of rural houses, Ghatte Khola, dense jungle, you will reach Deurali which is at 2500 m from sea level. You will find a small hotel that will serve you with snacks and even a place to stay. But we didn’t stay longer there.
From Deurali, it took us 2 hours to reach Dhimsa where we could have our lunch. The food was average. You cannot grow anything except potatoes there. Because the owner of the hotel was not there, only a little girl, who was the sister of the owner, cooked us the lunch. My trek partners helped her with the cooking while I was so tired that I felt asleep in the bench outside the hotel.
I cannot believe how I could eat that amount of food that time. The magic was in hunger and not in food probably! Thanks to the little girl’s effort, the energy was regained. The four plates of vegetarian lunch, few packet of chow-chow, biscuits, a bottle of coke and a liter of Chhyang (local alcohol made from Maize) costed us around NRs. 1500. It sounds fair enough at such a place where no transportation can reach.
Then, from Dhimsa the trek continued from 3:00 PM. After walking for an hour through the jungle we reached Chandanbari (Singompa) where one can find plenty of good hotels and good view of the mountains. But we didn’t even stay for a minute there but rather enjoyed the slow walking through the roads with the beautiful view of the mountains and passing across the Cheese factory which we thought of giving a visit while returning. (But unfortunately while returning the factory was closed.)
From Chandanbari, trekking for around two hours will take you to Cholangpati, which is situated at 3500 m altitude. To reach there you will have to cross the roads covered with snow. It was a rough time. But well, the trekking made us sweaty and the snow could not make us cold. I was feeling so hot that I was still drinking the remains of coke that we had bought at Dhimsa at double the original price.
Once we reached Cholangpati, it was already 5:00 PM and the weather fluctuated so badly that it became windy with cold breeze outside the hotel. We were served with a tea made from Dhuppi. It was supposed to increase a year span to the life of the one who drinks it. We also seated around a firewood stove that was built for the same purpose.
I don’t know how magical the tea was and if it really increased our life span by one year or not, but it was magical enough to change the weather back to sunny. After completing the tea we could see that the angry wind was gone. This motivated us to make our last trek of 2 hours of the day!
After trekking for about an hour, it was already dark now! The rough terrain was already troubling us. Our phones were about to die of having no charge. Meanwhile, we met a group of people who were heading towards the same place carrying a lot of stuffs. We were fortunate enough to know they owned a lodge and were willing to guide us till there.
I cannot explain how painful it already had been, because we were again walking in snow, and this time in dark! Two colleagues of my team were already tired and unable to walk. Thanks to my stamina, I didn’t get any altitude sickness! So finally at 7:00 PM we reached Lauribina, 3900m altitude!
Lauribina is a Nepali word that means without-stick. As per the name suggests, you are supposed to walk this trail without a stick if you are trying to please the gods in Gosaikunda. But, I was not going to meet or please the gods but rather for the view, so it didn’t matter me. We had already bought sticks from a little boy at Dhunche, without which I might have fallen down because of the slippery snow! It costed NRs. 25 for one good stick, or lauri (in Nepali).
There we met some foreign trekkers, two from Germany and one from France. They were quite friendly! The lodge was ‘The Morning View’ which served us well. We had our dinner, hot water, and sat for a while around the firewood stove to heat our snow feet.
I was exhausted and slept immediately once I reached my bed. I was having ache in my body the entire day! Specially my joints, knee caps, legs, shoulders and chest were having some serious pain. After having a good yet cold sleep, we woke up at 6:00 AM!
Guess who was there? My period. So now all the pain a day before I faced made sense to me! The period cramps were on my way and I was getting mood swings from a day before. Anyways, freshen up, left the bags there, had a good meal, and left for the final destination, Gosaikunda at 7:45 AM. The roti-tarkari costed us NRs. 200 per plate. A stay at Lauribina costed us NRs. 1100 per person along with dinner and breakfast with the same money.
This has to be the most difficult trek for me. I was already tired from walking the entire day a day ago, and it was my first day of period too. Well, the challenging part was, I had only male companions along with me, therefore, I didn’t feel like sharing my ache. I feel pity for them as I might have expressed my anger due to my mood swings!
We forgot to carry water along with us as we left all our bags there. Thus, we had to suck the ice to feed the enough water.
It took us three hours to reach the beautiful Gosaikunda which was our final destination. We were at 4380m altitude already! On our way we could also see some other Kundas (small ice covered pond). Gosaikunda is also one of the 108 ponds that exist there. There is also a temple which was unfortunately closed. Gosaikunda was covered with ice. The view was worth the two days of trek!
Gosaikunda being the holiest lake of Nepal, has an amazing mythological story! Lord Shiva is believed to have released the entire poisons by resting in the same lake. Gosaikunda is the starting point of Trisuli River as well.
After having a bowl of garlic soup, which costed NRs. 250 per bowl, we played in the snow. I made a little snowman too. It was funny how our legs were going deep into the 4 to 5 feet of snow there. We took a lot of pictures, enjoyed an hour resting in the snow, and returned from there.
From Gosaikunda it took us one and half hours to reach back to Lauribina, where we had Rara soup, NRs. 200 per bowl and trekked back after collecting our bags. It is always easier to trek downhills and to the roads where you have already trekked once!
We stayed that night in Dhimsa, where we could again eat the dinner, the same daal bhaat and tarkari that gave us plenty of energy a day before to climb till Lauribina. A dog followed us from Chongpati to Dhimsa where I rewarded it with some portion of my daal bhaat tarkari. We reached Dhimsa at 6:00 PM
It rained in the morning the next day, thus, we began our trek only at 8:00 AM and reached Dhunche at 11:30 AM where we had our lunch and returned back to Kathmandu!
SUMMARY OF THE TRAIL!
Kathmandu to Dhunche: 6 to 7 hours in bike or local bus. Starting the trip at 9:00 AM. A night rest at Dhunche
Dhunche to Deurali: 3 hours climb though hilly terrain, Ghatte Khola. Availability of local hotel for lunch and stay. Should start the trek at 7:00 AM with heavy breakfast.
Deurali to Dhimsa: 2 hours of trek through rough road. Lunch time.
Dhimsa to Chandanbari: 1 hour trek through jungle.
Chandanbari to Cholangpati (3500m): 2 hours of trek through snow covered roads.
Cholangpati to Lauribina(3900m): 2 hours of trek through snow covered roads in some portion. A night rest at Lauribina.
Lauribina to Gosaikunda(4380m): 3 hours of trek. Begin the journey at 7:45 AM after having heavy breakfast.
ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS!
1. Gear and shoes with good grip
2. Plastic above your socks to avoid snow water wetting the socks and feet
3. A lot of chocolates to constantly supply energy
4. A lot of water to keep yourself hydrated
5. Medicines for headache, body pain, stomachache
6. Warm clothes, woolen cap, and gloves
7. Plastic or raincoat to avoid snowfall wetting your body
8. Music gadget, to make your trek musical
9. Power bank, to supply your phone with charge
10. Stretching pants, avoid jeans! Carry extra socks too
11. Moisturizer & sunscreen
12. Torchlight & Stick
The entire journey will cost you NRs. 6000 per person if you follow the same expense. Because the journey will lead you to a holy place, you will also avoid meat and alcohol most probably, so this amount will do!
I hope this article will guide you to Gosaikunda! Don’t worry, there is hardly an Internet service, your phone will be out of reach of network, thus, you will enjoy the nature and not the phone for four days. It will be awesome if you wish to stay for more than four days, but even four days will do!
The beauty of Gosaikunda and the difficult path that leads you to there is worth your four days time. It is better with friends or colleagues like mine!
Because you are going out in the mountains, so forget where you came from. For four days, forget your office or college. Dedicate the entire time to nature, who knows if it becomes the best trek of your life! Happy trekking the Langtang Trail!
Thanks for making it to the end of the page!
Aleena Rayamajhi
4/9/2019
