Tag: camping

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16th April, 2026

The comfortable room helped having a sound sleep. When the alarm went off, the temptations were to stick to the bed a bit longer. The weather was pleasant but cloudy. The mornings have been cloudy since last few days. When I asked a guide from the French team about possibilities of clearer weather in the coming days, he jokingly said “I’m trying hard for it”. The kitchen staff were already active. When we reached the dining place, it was already buzzing with activities. Trekkers from different groups were in different stages of having their breakfast. Our menu was “American set breakfast”. That translated to bread toast, jam/peanut butter, honey, hash browns (a dish made out of mashed potatoes, resembling the Indian dish if “Aloo tikki”), fried/scrambled eggs, tea/coffee, bacon/sausage and fruit juice. We customized it to exchange bacon/sausage with extra bread toasts. When it was served, it was indeed a candidate for photograph. It drew comparison with the “Everest base camp trekkers breakfast” at Namche Bazar. On both ocassions, it drew awe from us and we enjoyed to the fullest.

Gyabla got entrenched in our minds and a lot of that had to do with “Shingi Namjong”. It was decided that we were to have lunch at the place on our return journey. On that ocassion, the leg of our journey would be from Ghunsa to Amjilosa. But that changed for better and we got our second chance to stay at Shingi Namjong. Another story for a later date. Sonam bade us goodbye and after a group photograph at the lawn, we started off for Ghunsa. This was what Dilal had to say about the day’s trail on the previous night:

Dilal speach: “We go down, then little up & down (read level), then we up, up and reach Phale. It takes 2 hrs, may be 3 hrs, depend speed. After Phale, flat flat for 2.5 hrs, we crossed bridge and then Ghunsa. I will already book the Dzonga Family House lodge”.

That should roughly translate to 5-6 hours of walk, the initial part of it should involve some uphill climb but the latter half should be a light stroll. Our slated stay was at the lodge which carries the name “Dzonga Family House”.

After moving beyond the lawn the trail moved into a field surrounded by bushes and trees with the same colorful foliage which we encountered earlier. They forced us to stop here and there to capture the beauty through our lenses (both human and optical).

It was a pleasant walk on level ground. Then the track moved downwards. The descent went through a set of stairs. Multiple switchbacks took us down fast to the base of an iron bridge. We crossed a stream and started hiking gradually. The trail moved close to the Ghunsa river. We came closer to its banks. There were many ocassions where we shot videos of the meandering trail under the canopy.

We came out into an open area where the Ghunsa was flowing ferociously below our feet. A set of boulders led into its bed from where we stood on its banks. We couldn't resist the temptations and made our way to the river bed over the boulders. The milky torrent made its way around the boulders to jump into the gorge. The sun was sneaking through the clouds.

Blooming rhododendrons dotted the banks, floating white clouds made their way through the sky and the valley was at it's best. We forgot about the destination and indulged in photography. But such landscapes seriously expose the limitations of technology. We try as much as possible to capture the beauty through the optical lenses, but they can't capture even a fraction of what gets etched in our memory. As we moved along, the number of rhododendron trees increased. The color was mostly dark pink and scarlet.

We came across a few tea houses. We stopped there briefly to unstrap our backpacks and gulp down some sips of water. The entire preriphery of the place was surrounded by blooming rhododendron trees. While we quenched our thirst, cool winds brushed our face as we watched the Ghunsa flow through leaps & bounds into the valley below. The sun continued to play hide and seek with the clouds.

Our track continued beside the Ghunsa river, it gradually started moving up and we found ourselves walking along an exposed ridge. The forests temporarily removed their covers and we reached a point from where a set of rocky staircases moved up. Dilal confirmed that this was the start of our hike to Phale. As soon as we started our hike, forests closed in, the coulds too moved in fast and we found ourselves walking under the shades. Nature did it's best to give us comfort. The steps were a bit high. I felt a slight pain in my right knee. Though still nascent, but it wasn't a good sign. With most of the walking still remaining, this could only increase in intensity. Time for a painkiller tonight. But for the moment, I kept those thoughts at bay and concentrated on the trail. The switchbacks led us to a gate. It was a gate made out of stones and decorated with prayer flags.

Reaching the place gave us comfort. Going by Dilal's account, this was our last hike for the day. Rest of the route should just be "flat flat". After moving through a forest of rhododendron trees we entered into a wide valley floor. Large fields reached out wide on both sides to reach the bases of distant hills which encircled the valley. A track moved through the middle of the valley floor towards some distant houses. Phale was in our sights. It was a descently large village with a local monastery.

The track moved through an alley. Tea houses and normal huts bordered it on both sides. It was time for some tea. The entrance of the village as well as its exit were guarded by rhododendron trees. Winds started blowing hard under the cloudy sky. That forced me to put on the windcheater. After tea, the track moved on flat ground. Small streams interspersed it at multiple places. One of these were routed to a prayer wheel. It's a common practice to use the energy of flowing streams for different purposes. Rotating prayer wheels is one of them. The track moved under the shade of dwarf rhododendron trees.

That told us, we gained significant heights from lower reaches where these trees had greater heights. This stroll continued for another hour. The sky was considerably darker than before. I felt a few drops of rain on my exposed hands but Dilal confirmed that raincoats were not needed. The Ghunsa river reappeared beside us and it's stream was not far below the trail. We reached a junction. A sign-board pointed towards left.  It read "Nangola pass". It pointed to an uphill trail that went up through rocky staircases. The Nango La (4820 m) serves as a connection between the Kangchenjunga base camp region to the remote village of Olangchung Gola. Another arrow pointed in the forward direction that read "KBC".

We followed that direction and after sometime the Ghunsa opened up as a wide stream. The trail went through a few landslide areas, some of these were bridged with logs. Beyond a certain distance, a suspension bridge went over its stream. On the other bank, roofs of the lodges were visible. Ghunsa was within our sights.

Winds swept us while crossing the bridge. After reaching the other side of the Ghunsa, we went along a narrow alley amidst the cultivation fileds and tea houses. The Dzonga Family House greeted us through its gates. On the right side, there was a two-storeyed house. The top floor was the kitchen and dining place. To our left, another two-storeyed house hosted the living rooms. We were taken to our room and we loved it instantly. Though much smaller in size than the one at Gyabla, it was neat. The beds were evenly laid. It had a balcony and guess what, an attached washroom! For the first time on the trail, we could rise later as we wouldn't have to race for common washrooms. There were charging points and for the first time on the trail, a proper WiFi connection. After changing our clothes, we took the chance to inform our homes about our safe arrivals. Dal bhat awaited us at lunch. Though not as tasty as in Phedi, it was good enough. WiFi was charged at a rate of 750 NPR for every device. For the first time in the trail, warm water was also getting charged. These told us that we were at the last place of stay within the tree-line.

Ghunsa is an important place in this route. It is where the permits get checked (both on the way up and down). Officers of the Kangchenjunga conservation area (which contains the entire route) make entries about every individual in their registers. One the way down, they check the returning travelers ro tally against their entries to ensure there are no instances of disappearance. Dilal went to complete the formalities. Ghunsa is also the place where routes diverge between the north & south base camps of Kangchenjunga. The northern route goes forward via Khambachhen and Lhonak. Another route goes via Selele pass (4390 m), Sinion La (4450 m), Mirgin La (4480 m) and Sinelapche Bhanjyang (4830 m) to reach Cheram. From thereon, one can go to the southern base camp via Ramjer. Trekkers who combine the two base camps, use this route to transfer to the south base camp route.

As usual, after lunch, Dhananjoy went out for a village stroll. I declined his offer as the "drying of clothes" occupied my mind. I waited for the fire place to start up. But unlike Gyabla, there weren't many places to sit around, neither enough strings to hang the clothes. The place was much smaller than the one at Gyabla, but that was an unfair comparison. I kept tossing between the tables and the fire place to try and find a place to hang my clothes. The best I could find was a stool. I layed some of my clothes there and the rest on a table that stood quite far from the fire place. Despite changing the face to allow different parts of the clothes have exposure to heat, the best it could give was consolation. I gave up and settled down on the table. Dhananjoy returned from the stroll and filled me with his experiences in the village. He even found time to play volleyball with a Swiss group of travelers! These came along with some rebukes for me being "lazy" and "over-obsessed" with drying of my clothes (there's some truth to this, I have to admit).

After some negotiations, we convinced Dilal to extend the "Beer line" to include Ghunsa (at the expense of having to include him in the sessions). This was indeed to be our "last" while going up. We stuck to this on the condition that the guideline was to be much more linient while coming down (though the rationale sugests similar guidelines for both - if there's risk in going up the slopes in a "toxic" state, so will it be while coming down as steepness goes eitherways). After beer, it was dinner time and then it was time for

Dilal Speach: "Tomorrow, we go small up and down for 2 hrs, may be 3 hrs, depend speed till Labuk. Some rest, then no tree, only boulder, rock, hike. Open area, landslides. Another 2 hrs, may be 2.5 hrs, depend speed, we reach Khambachen."

It'll take about 5-6 hours to reach Khambachen. But the important thing is that we'd go beyond the tree line into the zone of rocks and boulders and the latter part beyond Labuk is likely to be steeper and possibly, through some landslide zones. We retired to our room after dinner. For a change, I set the alarm at 5.30 AM for the next day. It was still a bit early, as we were slated to start at 7.30 AM. We were sleeping at 3475 m.

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14th April, 2026

The sound of the torrent kept reaching our ears through the night, but that didn’t interrupt the sleep. The alarm kept its promise. There was a nip in the air and the natural temptation was to wrap the blanket even tighter to embrace its warmth but I resisted that. The day before, in the afternoon, we met two locals who descened from Ghunsa. They skipped two halts, Gyabla and Amjilosa, to reach Itahari directly. Their homes were in the Terai town called Dharan. Pictures from their mobile enticed us. I had a mixed feeling looking at them. On one hand, they were through with the tough part. All that lay ahead, was an easy ride to Taplejung, followed by a descent to the plains over the smooth Mechi highway. I looked forward to the day when we will reach that state. But I also looked forward to the exciting hike spanning the next few days that’d take us to the base camp, the views of the trail and above all, standing below the feet of the third highest mountain of the world. The colorful rhododendrons in the forests that lined the lower areas, the glacial moraines over which we’d be walking, the ever changing face of the Ghunsa river right up to the snout of the Kangchenjunga glacier where it originated from and the surprises & challenges the trail might have in store for us. In such trails, I have no feelings of sadness even while returning. A sense of completion fills my mind and a relief of not having to negotiate challenging terrains. But, at times, human made disruptions, aided by weather, have played spoilsport at places with easiest of accessibility. I’m talking about the domestic flights in Nepal. It happened in Luk La as well as Tumlingtar. I didn’t know at that time, what was in store at Bhadrapur. Limbu was at our doors, ready to pickup our bags. After a hearty breakfast with roti and chana curry (it’s called “ghugni” in the state of West Bengal), it was time for a group photograph. On every trek, the first day carries a unique excitement. After months of staying in civilization, you get the first opportunity to strap your backpack, take up your hiking pole and hit the trail. This was no exception. After moving out, we started hiking along a strip of path that went beside the goat shelters. It moved up through multiple switchbacks and soon we were walking amidst cardamom fields.

The leaves glowed bright in the clear sunshine. Cardamom seeds were visible near the roots of the plants. Just as I focused to take some photographs, I got sprayed with drops of water. I was taken aback by the suddenness of it. That’s when our guide urged us to move quickly to escape this water spray. Once we were off the limits, we turned back to see the source of it. Sprinklers were rotating to spray water on the fields. The tea houses of Itahari were visible below us.

They appeared as matchboxes from the height. The flowing Ghunsa river was clearly visible behind the lodges. Fertile fields were lush green. Most of the cultivation was of cardamom. The track was adulating and after sometime we faced our first suspension bridge on the route. After crossing over, we went along the right bank of the Ghunsa river.

Limbu kept ahead of us. Right after starting from the lodge, Dhananjoy drew my attention to the feet of Limbu. He was wearing rubber slippers! Hiking the slopes while carrying a load of 20-22 kg, wearing slippers, Limbu appeared unfazed. While we were wearing two layers clothes, Limbu was down to a T-shirt. Very soon he went out of our sights. The villages on the other side were no different. Cardamom fields, houses nestled among them with sloping roofs, animal sheds – and sight of a contained life.

The Ghunsa river showered its blessings in the form of water & sediments over these villages. It’s violent torrent with multiple rapids told us that it was moving over a rough bed. We came to a village called Jaubari. The name sounded familiar. The name also features in the famous Sandakfu trail in the neighboring state of West Bengal in India. Could it be possible that a route exists towards Sandakfu from here? The fact that the Sandakfu trail passes along the Nepal border, increased that possibility. It was revealed to me later that this assumption was wrong. There are multiple places in Nepal with the same name in its different regions. For example,  there are many Deuralis & Tatopanis. This was one such example. My wrong assumption was corrected, incidentally, by a man from none other than the Darjeeling district, which is where Sandakfu lies.

We climbed some stairs to reach an elevated field and guess what. We saw Limbu resting by leaning against a rock, basking in the bright sunshine. We continued along. The trail started descending under a huge overhanging rock. It exited at a place where the Ghunsa river was flowing just under our feet. We stood over a a wooden bridge made up of loosely strewn logs. We literally walked above the gushing stream. The makeshift bridge led us from one rock to another, while the torrent roared below our feet.

After one rock, it climbed up to regain the trail on the other side. We breathed a sigh of relief. But I didn’t lose the chance of filming a video. I asked Dhananjoy to shoot the video. When I moved, he shot. He then went back to the starting point to follow the trail once more. This time, Dilal played the cinematographer. After reaching the other side, the trail continued. After sometime, we reached Lamatar. It was initially planned that if time permitted, we would have tried to reach here the day before. We rested there for sometime and resumed our journey. The trail now started to rise and we started climbing stairs. These set of stairs went up through a few swirls to reach the base of a bridge. After crossing over, the trail descended. It was a bit steep so we had to be careful. It was broken at places but was manageable. Descending such trails require more care than ascending. We went down to the banks of the Ghunsa river, deep into the gorge. After crossing over, we looked at the path that lay beyond the bridge. It went up through a set of rocky stairs. There were multiple switchbacks as the stairs moved up through the dense forest.

We started climbing. From hereon, we walked under the canopy of a dense forest. After sometime we reached Phedi. This is another common name in Nepal. Every trail in Nepal has a Phedi. It means the bottom of a hill or a mountain. There are two Phedis on either side of the Thorong La on the Annapurna circuit. There’s a Phedi after descending from the Larkya La on the Manaslu circuit. Just like others, this place too justified its name.

There was a small lodge. After removing our backpacks, we sat in its lawn for some rest, while our dal-bhat meals were being prepared. A dog was sleeping in the sunlight. Cool breeze flowed through the leaves of the surrounding trees. Chickens roamed around the place searching for grains. A goat was also there giving curious looks at Dhananjoy’s bag. An old saying goes that there’s nothing in this world that goats can’t eat. We kept a cautious look while it inspected the bag from a distance. Finding it to be uninteresting, it’s attention turned elsewhere. The lady of the lodge fetched some freshly harvested leafy green vegetables (called Rai Saag in local language). That raised our interest in the lunch. We’re aware of this delicious dish of Nepal. It takes time to prepare lunch as they prepare it afresh. After about 40 minutes, we were invited to the dining place. Rice, lentils, Rai Saag, a vegetable curry and some pickles. Coupled with freshly cut onions & green chillies, the lunch was perfect. We pounced upon it and were quite satisfied at the end. A hike for another 2.5 hours awaited us after the lunch. Though not tough, hiking after lunch can be tiring. We strapped our backpacks & resumed our hike. By that time clouds started taking over. We navigated the stairs. A few rhododendron trees appeared.

Flowers were few but bright red in color. We saw some trees with foliage of different colors (similar to what we saw on our way before reaching Taplejung. Though light was less, but we couldn’t resist taking photographs. Such trees increased in numbers. We would see many more on successive days. Though time was passing by, there was no hurry as the total duration of walk was not to exceed 6 hours. We stopped at every bend for photographs. Just when we thought we saw the most beautiful color, another one turned up at the corner. The trunks & branches were covered with thick moss.

These forests must be a treat for eyes during monsoons. It’s a separate aspect though, that most of the areas become inaccessible due to the swelling torrents of the Ghunsa river or the landslides brought on by incessant rains. We kept moving up under the canopy. The sky also bore a dark appearance. I was wondering whether we need our rain covers but Dilal assured that it won’t be necessary.

After hiking for a couple of hours we came out in the open. The track now moved along flatly. The lodge (there was only one) of Amjilosa was now visible at some distance. It was still some way to go, but the sight of destination always gives satisfaction and energy. The lodge was spread across terraced slopes. It’s dining room & kitchen was at the lowest level, the next level had some rooms for porters and guides. The room for us was at the highest rung. There was a flat ground. To the left, lay the rooms, the toilets lay to the right. When we were unlocking the room keys, we heard sounds of thunder. We thanked our luck for arriving just in time as a light drizzle started immediately. After changing to our room wears, we hung our trekking clothes in the balcony. There were some clips (which reminded me of forgetting to pack them, despite planning to do so much earlier). Then we headed to the dining space (as is the norm for tea house treks in Nepal).

We met a group of French trekkers there. They were a group of aged friends who have been coming to Nepal for at least 30 years. Every year they bring & distribute “items of relevance” to the inhabitants of every village they stop along the route. This time around, they were distributing sunglasses which could protect against ultra violet radiation and snow blindness. Their target recipients were porters, guides and potentially yak/sheep herders who often travel to higher echelons of the Himalayas in search of pastures for feeding their animals. Such routes often involve crossing high passes, traversing glaciers and sometimes climbing as well. The Frencg group always travel with the same set of guides & porters. They’ve worked out a reciprocal program where these porters & guides travel to France and work there for a few months. This time, this travel has been adversely affected because of shooting costs of air travel due to the ongoing West Asian crisis. This cultural exchange was apparent from the fluent bidirectional French conversation between the French travelers and their porters and guides. We’d meet many other French groups as well as travelers from other countries during the trek but not any other Indian. I was talking to one of the members. They’ve been on every known trail of Nepal, even in the Dolpo area of Western Nepal about 20 years ago. Dolpo was the hotbed of Maoist insurgency in those days. There weren’t any tea houses in those days, all was about camping or residing in local village homes or schools. They visited the Shey Phoksundo lake, stayed at the Rimgmo village on its banks and even at Saldang. That’s an area of immemse interest of mine. Hence, I spent a lot of time discussing this topic with him. The previous evening, while having beer, Dilal cautioned against alcohol consumption in the higher areas.

Dilal speach:

“You will having beer in low place. You will not having beer in high place. Not good.”

Here’s one small addition to Dilal’s English grammar, just so it doesn’t sound like an order, which wasn’t his intention. “Will” here equates to “can”. Got it? Wonderful, rest is a cake walk for you. When asked to provide a concrete boundary that separates low from high, he put Amjilosa at high. Immensely disappointed with that decree, we negotiated hard and were able to trade in Amjilosa. We were able to shift the boundary further by another two by inviting Dilal to join us, but it came at a price. With that somewhat weak “trade deal”, he stuck to us for the rest of the trek for the drinks sessions, which we found hard to escape from. Coming back to the current phase, we enjoyed a few beers. Dinner was served at 7.30 PM and we retired to our rooms after that. By this time, the drizzle has transformed to proper rain. I tossed around the bed, thinking about it. I normally don’t like rains in these parts of the world (however selfish it may sound). They could wreck havoc by closing trails, adding to delays, thereby upsetting plans. We faced it at Goecha La as well as the Annapurna circuit. On the latter ocassion, it cost my visit to the Tilicho lake (by playing on my fear of snow), but the plan somehow survived its onslaught after some adjustments. Could Goecha La repeat here? Is Kangchenjunga still not ready to accept me at her premises? The sound of the rain on the roofs sounded strong. I silently ventured out of the room to check the situation as well as visit the toilet. Coming out in the open, removed many of my concerns. The rain didn’t feel that strong as it sounded on the roofs. But what if it continues raining throughout the night? Though I scaled down the intensity apparent from the sounds by the factor observed by me by going out, the concern remained about the duration. Also, rains at lower altitude implies snow at higher. There was a contrast between my states of mind at Itahari and here. It was at a high there driven by expectations. It dipped somehow by the rains but I forced them out to concentrate on sleep. We were at 2400 m.

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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.

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