13th April, 2026
Bread toast, omelet & black tea. That constituted a good filling breakfast at the “Mountain Hotel” of Taplejung. There was time before our departure. Dhananjoy & I went out for some local surfing. Taplejung is an important town in this part of Nepal. Just as it was a stop before embarking on Kangchenjunga base camp trails, it also formed the base for a pilgrimage, the “Pathibhara temple”, one of the famous shrines of Nepal. It takes about a few hours drive followed by a hike of about 3 hours. A lot of pilgrims flock to Taplejung for this reason. While roaming around in the local market, we saw many of them. It’s a bustling town with different people heading for different destinations. Our bags were already packed. After returning from the market, we waited for some time before the arrival of our vehicle. We had the privilege of boarding first.
After that, the jeep went through the bylanes of the town, often through narrow, bumpy alleys, which never looked like proper roads. We were told that the jeep was to collect passengers on its way, but initially, we went into the backyard of someone’s home. There were sheds for herding chickens & pigs. The animals peeped at as through the gaps in the bamboo walls. The driver dumped some goods & returned to the main market through the alleys. We realized it was his home and this detour was to dump some goods there. It then stood at the main junction while passengers started piling in. We sat in the middle row, Dilal sat beside the driver. Two other passengers boarded in the front row. By that time, the back row was already stuffed to the brim. When we thought the jeep was filled beyond its capacity, people started climbing to its roof. It was supposed to be a journey lasting for 5-6 hours and we were already sandwiched from either side. However, once the jeep started it’s journey, we somehow got used to it and turned our focus outside. The jeep initially went downhill along the same road by which we came to Taplejung. After about an hour, it diverted to a different road from a junction. From there on, our route followed the Tamor river. The road wasn’t paved, but wide enough. Work was going on at different places to widen it. JCBs were at work. Their mechanical hands were collecting and dumping debris of blasted rocks & boulders on to trucks, which were clearing them away. Green fields lined the slopes of the surrounding hills. A huge hydro electric power project is being executed. Large tracts of land were cleared on both banks of the Tamor river, with its flow diverted at multiple places. In some places it’s torrent ran violently, while at others it was tamed by creating artificial diversions to channel it into a huge reservoir. The mountain’s were ripped bare, which gave a disturbing feeling. Are these sustainable at all? What appearances would these places acquire in the months of monsoon? Villages kept flying by with lush greenery in the fields with ripe crops. Dense forests interspersed the villages which had thick foliage. At this time of the year, they acquired different colors ranging from light brown, light green, golden yellow, scarlet red to dark maroon, depending on the variety of the trees and the age of their leaves. Ocassionally, houses with slanted roofs were nestled amidst the cultivation fields.
The road, though not paved, was level enough. The jeep stopped at multiple places to allow passengers to get down or embark upon the journey. At times, also to load or dump goods. In such remote parts of Nepal, these private shared vehicles are a medium for both passenger as well as cargo transit. With the luggage & surplus passengers on its roof, the vehicle was plying with cautious speed but surprising stability. But that was put to ultimate test after lunch. The Tamor river kept flowing in the opposite direction of our travel through gentle as well as turbulent torrents. It is one of the main rivers that forms the Koshi river system, which also leads its name to the province. The breeze was still cool though we were approaching noon. After sometime the vehicle left the main road to take a detour through an upper village and halted at a local hotel. It was time for lunch. The passengers off boarded and made their way inside the hotel. We gave orders for dal bhat. While that got prepared, we enjoyed a couple of beers. We had company as many others did the same. I was hesitant to drink just before lunch but other passengers seemed unfazed. So I went along with them.
The hotel was two-storeyed with residential rooms in the top floor. Loads of corn hung from the balcony to dry them in the sunlight. The place was filled with noise from the dining passengers as well as cluckings of poultry. Cardamom fields lined the slopes of the surrounding hills. After lunch, the journey resumed and the vehicle descened to rejoin the main road. With that, changed the road surface. What was seemingly level, now disintegrated into a series of potholes. We were scuttled around randomly as the driver carefully negotiated the “climbs”. It needed immense skill to navigate through the maze with an overloaded vehicle. Skills were demanded from the passengers who graced the roof. On some treacherous stretches they had to off board to reduce the weight and walk patiently behind the vehicle. Afternoon wore on quietly and the solar rays acquired a tinge of gold. The vehicle kept plying on, but the ride wasn’t smooth anymore. Passengers kept getting down at their destinations, goods continued to get dispatched or loaded at the village stops. We reached a junction called Ranipul.
It’s here the road diverges to two directions. One trail goes towards Torangden. This is the trail that goes towards Oktang, which is also known as the Yalung/South base camp of Kangchenjunga. Trekkers who cover both the base camps use that trail to descend to Ranipul. We went along the other road that headed towards Sekathum. After sometime we reached a confluence. We left the Tamor river and followed the other river which came down from the upper valleys to meet Tamor. From here on, we followed the Ghunsa river (known as Ghunsa khola locally) into its valley. The entire route towards the North base camp would follow the Ghunsa river. Dilal was speaking to one of the co-passengers but we couldn’t decipher much of it. Just when we were nearing Sekathum, the jeep took a turn in the opposite direction. The plan changed. Instead of Sekathum, we would be staying at Itahari, a local village. That would allow us to stay at an advanced location on the route. Though Sekathum had more options for stay and the tea houses are likely to be better, we were told Itahari also had decent lodges. The jeep went through an area that was undergoing massive construction for a hydro electric power project. The terrain was filled with stones and dust, thanks to the construction activity. After sometime our bumpy ride finally came to an end. We disembarked. It gave us relief. We were finally out in the open. It was a landslide area. A massive stream of debris came down the slopes of the nearby hills.
After our luggage was handed over, we met our porter. “M. Bahadur Limbu”, was his name. A simple but sturdy man. He picked up our luggage and we started off on foot along a narrow path along the banks of the Ghunsa river. I was very happy about the prospects of getting detached from vehicular traffic for about a fortnight. The trail went through dense bushes and cardamom fields. After walking for about 2 kms through minor ups & downs we saw the sloping roofs of the houses of Itahari. It is a village nestled amidst a deep gorge of the Ghunsa river, surrounded by high hills with near vertical walls on both sides.
Though sun was still up in the sky but darkness was about to set in, thanks to the overhanging shadows of the high hills. When we entered our rooms, daylight was receding fast from the valley. After enjoying cups of tea, we went out for some local excursion in the village. We went through a narrow path that went besides local houses. Some of the cultivation fields were planted with brinjal plants. They looked like a lush green carpet. Purple flowers dotted the fields. Many of the homes had bamboo sheds. These were shelters for pigs. The animals kept peeping through the gaps of the walls. They raised a sound that resembled snoring.
We went through the the narrow alleys and started descending towards the banks of the Ghunsa river. It was roaring down the gorge in leaps and bounds forming multiple rapids and pools. The bluish green stream flowed amidst large boulders. Its rocky bed created multiple rapids that looked like frothing milk. A set of logs joined multiple rocks across the stream to form a pool that joined its banks. While walking over the pool, the sight of the roaring stream amidst the gaps between the logs gave us a thrilling feel. We went over the pool and then tip toed over the rocks to find a place to sit on one of them. Camera shutters kept rolling as the river gave ample scope for it.
As darkness started setting in, we returned to the tea house. Limbu (our porter) went back to his village for the evening. He would return the next morning when to join us on our trail. Our next destination would be Amjilosa. Dilal gave an idea of the trail. A gradual hike would lead us to Phedi. After that, it’s an uphill climb to Amjilosa.
Dilal speach: “I will book tea house at all place – Amjilosa, Gyabla, Ghunsa, Khambachen everywhere already”.
Tension was building up all through this statement only to be released after the last word. If you apply the rules of “inverted tense” (as explained in one of my earlier posts about this journey, you’d be able to decipher that all lodges were booked and there was nothing to worry. The owners of the tea house reared goats. There were some kids in the goat shelters. One of these was standing on trembling legs. It even had a trace of a dangling umbilical cord. We learnt that it was born on the same day. Soft chapati and country chicken curry formed a delicious dinner. We retired to our room. After segregting the clothes for the next day, setting an alarm for 4 AM, we slid under the blankets. The climate was somewhat warm despite being in the Himalayan foothills. The reason probably was the closed narrow valley with very little winds. The sound of the flowing Ghunsa river, amplified by the mountain walls, filled the air. I thought about our successive destinations and felt excited about the prospects of the views. We were told, snow views could be seen after Gyabla. The beds were comfortable and sleep overpowered us. Itahari is at an altitude of 1570 m.
Break shackles 