kathmandu – Break shackles

Kangchenjunga north base camp – Taplejung

Ten years ago when we were at the Luk La airport, awaiting our return flight (which never took off), I recall looking at a poster that read “The Limbu trail”. It had a picture of the Kangchenjunga group of mountains. The captions were enticing. They spoke about the picturesque views & an opportunity to witness the local culture of the Limbu tribes who inhabit that corner of Nepal. This far-eastern corner of Nepal is home to the Limbu, Rai & Tamang tribes. While the latter two are also found in lower areas of other parts of Nepal, it’s the Limbus who are native to this area. Later on, we found that in the extreme high altitudes, it’s not even the Limbus, but Sherpas who are the primary inhabitants. This is especially true about the tea house owners. We found it at Gyabla, Ghunsa, Khambachhen & Lhonak. This was the case even on the Makalu route where Sherpas were the primary dwellers in places like Tashigaon, Khongma, Langmale etc. On this ocassion, I was interested to meet Nupu Sherpa, the owner of the “Kangchenjunga White House” lodge at Khambachhen. I saw his interview on YouTube and found it very interesting. He & his father have been running this lodge from those days when this trek required extensive camping at other places. He was jovial and spoke with a lot of enthusiasm about the surrounding area, the snow leopards & of course, like any other Sherpa, about the illusive Yeti. It’s a common trend in the Sherpas to talk about legends surrounding this mythical bipedal animal. Even in his autobiography, Tenzing Norgay spoke about instances where his ancestors had the (mis) fortune of meeting this creature and the unfortunate bearings it had upon their lives. Anyways, I hoped to stay at the same lodge and meet “Nupu Dai” as he is fondly known in this trail.

11th April, 2026

With my hopes running high, I started from my home at 10.30 AM for the airport. However, I dozed off soon and was only woken up after reaching terminal 3 of Indira Gandhi International Airport. Dhananjoy was already staying at Kanyam since the previous day. He has been posting pictures of the picturesque tea gardens & the adulating hills of the area. I wish I could have traveled by that route. Now I’d have to spend a night at the congested tourist area of Thamel, but there’s no point regretting, now that the decision has been taken. The flight took off on time but I didn’t have a seat by the window. Hence, the Himalayan views were out of my reach. But a quick sneak revealed that clouds shielded much of the famed views. The plane touched down at the runway of the Tribhuvan International Airport. We off boarded the aircraft and reached at the arrival terminal where the familiar statue of Budhha greeted us. After the usual formalities at the airport, I stopped at a counter of Nepal Telecom to buy a local SIM. As I moved outside, I was relieved to see a cab driver standing outside holding a placard of “Karma Hotel”. It’s comforting to see the dots getting joined. The cab drove through the familiar streets of Kathmandu. We went past the Pasupatinath shrine area, the gates of the Narayanhiti royal palace and then entered the streets of Thamel. I got a message from Tej Gurung asking for a slot to meet at my hotel. I shared the location and mentioned the expected time of arrival. Just about when I was settling in my room, I was informed by the front desk that Tej was waiting at the reception along with the guide. I was meeting Tej physically after 2019. On that ocassion, we met him on our way towards Manaslu circuit. Since then, we’ve done other treks with his company, but all of them were via Gorakhpur and Pokhra/Besisahar. All our communication with Tej have been through online channels. I also met Dilal (our guide for this trek) for the first time. It turned out that our special permits (required to visit the Kangchenjunga area, which is a restricted area) were not yet prepared. But to my relief, Tej mentioned he’d get them prepared & send them online to the guide’s number, just in time before they get checked at Ghunsa. Tej handed over the trekking maps and T-shirts. There was a change suggested in the itinerary. Instead of staying three nights at at Lhonak, the guide suggested staying at Pangpema (the North base camp) on the second night, hiking to Drohmo Ri from there & descend to Lhonak on the third day. The reason for not staying at Pangpema was lack of proper facilities but that would have meant hiking again to the base camp and Drohmo Ri on third day only to descend again. It made no sense and I agreed to the suggested change, but only after confirmation that it was possible to sleep on a bed under a blanket. We could adjust to the rudimentary food facilities, as long as lodging options were warm enough. It was fixed that Dilal would pick me at 5 AM. The rest of the evening was spent by roaming around the streets of Thamel. After returning to the hotel, I segregated the luggage to leave some clothes at Kathmandu for use during my return. This was also to keep the luggage within limits during the trek. The hotel agreed to provide some breakfast at those early hours even though it was outside normal working hours of their kitchen. With the operational aspects sorted, I went to sleep with a comfortable mind. I compared my state of mind at Kathmandu before the start of the Makalu trek. It gave comfort that this time, it was more professionally arranged. The guide too, was well versed with the area. His comments during our brief discussion made it apparent. There was one question yet to be resolved. That was to hire a private jeep from Bhadrapur to Taplejung. Relying on shared transportation would add a lot of overhead to the travel. It takes at least eight hours to reach there. A shared transportation could add many more hours to the journey. To add to the delay, domestic flights in Nepal are notorious and we may anyways be looking at a delayed start from Bhadrapur. Going by flight history data, a delay of an hour was more than expected. I kept those thoughts at bay, set the alarm at 4 AM and went for my last comfortable sleep, at least for a fortnight.

12th April, 2026

With the alarm, I set off with the proceedings. After a comfortable hot shower, I headed downstairs & woke up the person on duty. A quick breakfast of bread toast, jam & omelet was prepared. While I was at it, Dilal arrived with a taxi. I invited him to join me for breakfast. After the meal, I handed over the spare luggage at the front desk, they returned a tag in lieu of that. The taxi started off for airport through the dark sleepy streets of Thamel. Cool morning breeze swept across my face. These are all too familiar. I recalled a similar journey just a few months ago. The destination at that time was Tumlingtar. This time it was Bhadrapur. We were three of us at that time. This time I was alone. The cab went past the Pasupatinath shrine, took a turn and entered the domestic terminal. The terminal was the same with its resemblance more to a bus terminus than an airport.

After checking in, we waited at the departure terminal. For a change, we boarded the aircraft on time. While that lifted my spirits, the wait for more than an hour, just sitting in the aircraft, started deflating it. Apparently, heavy air traffic at Kathmandu Airport was the cause. Initially, announcement was for a delay of 15 minutes. After 30 minutes, when asked, another such “15 minutes” took the tally to an hour, which is when it started taxying through the runway and followed by a short run, it took off.

*Mt Everest, Kathmandu-Bhadrapur flight*

Immediately, the amazing vista of the Himalayas emerged. Despite a partial cloud cover, one couldn’t miss their identities. The Langtang range was followed by Cho Oyu, then the famous pyramid of Mt Everest, Lhotse, Makalu & others. Before the Kangchenjunga group could appear, the aircraft took a turn towards the plains & started it’s descent and we landed at the Chandragarhi airport at Bhadrapur. A small airstrip in the Terai region of Nepal, Bhadrapur runway was picturesque.

Dilal shared some information about the transportation arrangements. “Private transport, difficult finding. Shared transport, long time. Private transport, I will arrange.”. I tried to make sense of this “unique grammar”. It was difficult to understand what has been done and what remains to be. The reason for spending much time in explaining Dilal’s English is to establish some patterns for the audience to understand his statements. There will be regular excerpts of these in future episodes, which I’d mark with labels of “Dilal speach“. On this ocassion, after exiting the Airport, we waited beside some local shops. A jeep pulled in and Dilal signalled me to get in by saying “I will already arrange private jeep”. The word “already” was crucial to decipher the pattern. Almost like the accidental discovery of the ancient Egyptian language, I found out that in Dilal’s grammar, “will” indicates past tense. So this translated to “I have arranged a private jeep”. The road went through the plains. Initially we went amidst fertile fields followed by the dense lush green forests of the Terai. Then came a place named Charali, a square junction from where four roads diverted. One came from Bhadrapur, one on the right went towards Kakarbhita (the border near the Indian town Siliguri), the left road went towards the town of Dharan and in the north, it went towards Ilam, the district headquarters. The jeep went in that direction and soon, the tea gardens started on both sides. Almost immediately, the road started moving up gradually. The sights of tea gardens pleasantly reminded me of similar landscapes of the Dooars & Darjeeling regions of North Bengal. That reminded me that we were traveling through regions close to those areas of India. It gave a strange feeling of homecoming despite being in a foreign land. I called up Dhananjoy to inform our location. As we moved upwards, the bright sunshine gave way to mist & clouds. Though we couldn’t see the picturesque landscape in its full glory, but the mist added its own charm.

*Kanyam, picture courtesy, Dhananjoy De*

The adulating hills were covered with tea gardens. The lush green gardens with a blanket of mist resembled familiar landscapes of the Darjeeling hills. When I met Dhananjoy at the Hotel Green Carpet at Kanyam, I was relieved. This was more to have some company from theron. Our trekking group has reduced to just two in this ocassion, so I was eager to reach that number. Kanyam appeared to be a popular weekend tourist destination for people from adjoining areas of India. A lot of tourists flocked the mall.

Our vehicle traveled through these and we gradually crossed Fikkal and other towns. As we moved upwards, the sun appeared again. We stopped for lunch at 11.30 AM, quite early by our standards. But we were told that the next big town Phidim was quite far and by Nepalese standards, it was already time for lunch. We had our first “dal bhat” of this trip. As expected, the vegetables were fresh. To top it off, we were presented with fresh fish from the nearby river flowing through the valley. After a neat lunch, our journey resumed through the villages of the rural Limbu heartland. The Mechi highway started to move downwards and we reached the town of Phidim, which was a big junction in this area. After that we started moving up again through the winding roads. The quality of roads were good. The foliage started to assume multiple colors. After sometime, our guide pointed towards a flowing river way below in the valley. It was the Tamur river, one of the many tributaries of the SaptaKoshi river. Evening wore on as we continued progressing and after sometime we entered the town of Taplejung. The jeep meandered along the serpentine roads through the marketplace and after sometime we arrived at “The Hotel Mountain“. After settling in the rooms, a dal bhat meal awaited us along with fish curry (with big pieces of Rohu fish). Along with lentils, fresh vegetables and ghee, the meal was satisfying. It was planned we would leave at 7.30 AM, the next morning. This time around it would be a shared jeep. The beds were comfortable, blankets were warm and we went to sleep. Taplejung was at an altitude of 1820 m.

Earlier

The Barun valley – reaching Kathmandu

Earlier

18th October

It was Diwali. Working migrants who live in the Delhi area were on the move. They were heading towards their homes to spend time with their families. This is an auspicious time of the year and the greatest festival of North India. During this time, we were also leaving Delhi. In fact, we were departing from the country and heading towards the Nepalese capital. It meant that we were competing with the rush. Even in the early hours of the day, one expects heavy traffic towards the exit points from the city, i.e. railway stations or airports. For international flights, one must arrive at least three hours in advance. This time frame allows for security procedures, which are typically more exhaustive than those for domestic flights. Though our flight was at 11:45, I started from home at 6. Dhananjoy started from Lucknow on the previous evening and reached a friend’s place in the morning. He was on his way to airport via metro. I also decided to use metro railway to travel to terminal 1. After my wife dropped me at the starting station, it took about 45 minutes to reach there. A shuttle transported me to terminal 3 in about 15 minutes. I met Dhananjoy and Kunal there. For some reason, web check-in was disallowed for Dhananjoy, so he had to complete it at the terminal. After baggage check-ins, it was time for security checks. As usual, we had to unravel a lot of our belongings only to reassemble them again. After arriving at the boarding gate, we finished our breakfast with chicken sandwiches provided by my wife, Anindita. Dhananjoy ensured window seats for all of us.

As the flight took off, Delhi turned into a city map, highways turned into lanes, vehicles reduced to toys. We focused our gaze on the Northern horizon. We hoped to view the Himalayas. It was the very reason for booking window side seats. It started with the Uttarakhand Himalayan peaks. The view of the awe-inspiring Dhaulagiri massif and the Annapurna range indicated that we’ve entered the Nepalese skies. We glided past the major regions of Nepalese Himalayas: Dhaulagiri, Annapurna, Manaslu, Ganesh Himal, and finally Langtang. Then the aircraft started its descent towards the Tribhuvan international airport.

*Kathmandu valley from aircraft, picture courtesy, Dhananjoy De*

After landing, we descended the airstairs to exit the aircraft. Standing on the runway in the bright afternoon sunshine, I looked around. It was surrounded by hills on all sides. Snow capped peaks of the Langtang region were visible beyond the hills on the northern horizon. A bus carried us to the arrival terminal.

A statue of Budhha greeted the arriving tourists. We posed for photographs in front of it. Immigration formalities in Nepal are one of the simplest that can be found in the world, especially for Indian citizens. In fact there are dedicated counters for Indian passport holders. While traveling in a cab to Thamel, we went past the famous Pasupatinath shrine. It’s golden top, styled like a pagoda, glittered in the afternoon sunshine. Durbar residency is a decent hotel with comfortable rooms. After getting fresh, we sat over glasses of beer at the hotel’s bar. We spoke to Raju and asked him to meet at our hotel in the evening. Since it was still early afternoon, we ventured out to visit Swayambhunath. The breeze was cool at the top of hill at Swayambhu. The views are all familiar as it was the third visit for me. The bird’s eye view of the Kathmandu valley from the top is awe inspiring.

*Kathmandu valley from Swayambhu top, picture courtesy, Dhananjoy De*

*Swayambhunath, Kathmandu, picture courtesy, Dhananjoy De*

The gymnastics of the monkey brigade is ever enchanting. One can spend an entire afternoon by watching their antics. We then went to Basantapur Durbar square. The ancient wooden temples are mesmerizing. The Shwet and Kal-Bhairav idols captivate with their presence. The scores of burning incense sticks and candles transport one back hundreds of years. This was to the age when the Kathmandu valley was ruled by local kings. This was before the Gorkha ruler Prithvi Narayan Shah attacked and conquered the area. He leaves behind a mixed legacy. Some credit him for consolidating the Nepalese kingdom by defeating the warring chieftains. Others loathe him for his cruelty towards the defeated forces.

*Shwet-Bhairav, Basantapur Durbar Square, Kathmandu*

*Kal bhairav, Kathmandu, picture courtesy, Dhananjoy De*

The Shah dynasty occupies a significant position in Nepalese history. After Prithvi Narayan Shah, the dynasty was immersed into a succession struggle between warring factions conspiring against each other. This mayhem was capitalized by the powerful prime ministers, the Ranas. They took control of affairs and reduced the Shah kings to puppets. They continued their iron grip over Nepal for centuries. The Ranas maintained a warm relationship with the colonial rulers of India, to the south of their border. They even stood by the British East India Company to help them suppress the revolt of 1857. When the British left India, almost abruptly in 1947, the situation changed dramatically. At that time, Nepal was ruled by its prime minister Mohan Shamsher Jung Bahadur Rana. The king Tribhuvan was it’s ceremonial ruler (who was crowned at the age of five). Inspired by the ideals of the Indian National Congress, the Nepalese Congress party was formed and it started it’s struggle for Democracy in Nepal. But they were suppressed by the Ranas with a strong hand. Tribhuvan sensed an opportunity and started liaising with them, promising to free them from the autocratic rule. He escaped from the Royal palace and took refuge in the Indian embassy. From there he was flown to New Delhi, where Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of independent India, greeted him. Nehru was in favor of a democratic Nepal, but under the watchful guidance of the monarch. The Rana was forced to relinquish the rule and an accord was signed where Nepal was turned into a semi democracy with power shared between a democratically elected government headed by a prime minister and the monarch. Tribhuvan returned to Nepal, a hero. Seen as the king who ushered in democracy to his country. It could have been a happy ending for Nepalese politics from here on. But Tribhuvan’s successor, King Mahendra, had other ideas. He abolished the Parliament and introduced a Panchayat system where the Panchayat heads directly reported to him. Discontent started brewing against his policies. Rural Nepal witnessed the Maoist insurgency. Protests erupted on the streets of Kathmandu. After the sudden demise of Mahendra, Birendra became the king. He inherited not just the throne, but the political turmoil too, much of which was a result of his predecessor’s repressive policies. Despite relentless loss of civilian lives due to Maoist insurgency, the Army was not called upon. It is said that much of it had to do with Birendra’s reluctance to allow the army to fire upon his own countrymen. He took the unprecedented step of relinquishing much of his power. The power then shifted to the elected government. In doing so, he effectively converted himself into a constitutional monarch. But some say, this neither pleased the insurgents on the streets, much less the royal family members, many of whom favored his father’s policies. Finally, on the fatal night of 1st June, 2001, he was assassinated at the Royal Narayanhithi palace along with his queen and other members of the family by his heir Deependra who later shot himself. Many reasons and conspiracy theories float around, but the official record puts the responsibility on Prince Deependra. As the funeral pyres burnt at the cremation ground on the banks of the Bagmati river behind the Pasupatinath shrine, a mythological legend surfaced from the rears of history.

It is said that Prithvi Narayan Shah, the founder of the Shah dynasty, once met with the saint Gorakhnath (believed to be an incarnation of Lord Shiva). He somehow ended up enraging the saint who cursed him and predicted the destruction of the dynasty during the reign of the 11th Shah king. Birendra was the 11th. After this massacre, younger brother Gyanendra succeeded him. He too, like Mahendra, tried to dissolve the Parliament under the pretence of saving the country from rampant corruption of the political class. This proved to be the final blow to the monarchy and he was forced to abdicate. Monarchy was abolished in Nepal. The country turned into a secular democracy. The monarchs, who once were viewed as incarnations of the revered Hindu God Vishnu, now moved into oblivion. But since then, the political class plunged into one controversy after another. Corruption ran rampant. In a few years, Nepal saw approximately 20 prime ministers come and go. This led to the public protests led by the young generation (called gen-Z) in the month of September 2025 (just a month before our departure). Police firing led to the deaths of 20 young people. Angry mob burnt down every possible signs of the current establishment. It forced the incumbent government to resign. These developments threatened to disrupt our plans but finally, sense prevailed. Things calmed down with a caretaker government taking over under the leadership of a former chief justice of the supreme court. Fresh elections are slated for early next year.

Anyways, let’s get back to our story. After returning to the hotel, we tried to call up Raju but he didn’t pick up the phone. We tried this multiple times while rearranging our baggage (to leave some elements at Kathmandu). Raju’s silence increased our tensions. Normally, we expect a guide to have a conversation about the plan. They should fix the timing of departure. A guide should also give a sense of responsibility and purpose. We started thinking about alternative courses of action. Ideas of reporting to the police also crossed our minds as it was now 8.30 PM. This was late night by the standards of a hill station. Chances of Raju’s appearance seemed to dwindle by the minute. All our payments were already made and we didn’t know about his address. We almost gave up hopes and let our fates rest upon his mercy. Then, suddenly, late at the night, his face appeared. As if a fever subsided from our bodies after running high temperatures for hours! Apparently, his phone discharged while he was busy printing our T-shirts. Nevertheless, all’s well that ends well. Raju would arrive at the hotel with a hired cab. We would start for the airport no later than 8 AM. It was already planned to visit the Pasupatinath shrine at 4 AM in the morning. I went to sleep with mixed feelings. On one hand I was relieved that the trip wasn’t jeopardized. On the other hand, Raju’s casual attitude didn’t bode well for the upcoming days. Did he make the necessary arrangements as claimed by him or there could be unpleasant surprises along the way? Little did we know then that many such fears will turn out to be true. Because of these thoughts, sleep eluded me for long. It was our last comfortable stay before embarking on a fortnight long trip, but I couldn’t enjoy it. The route wasn’t known to be as developed as other parts of Nepal. It demanded more experience and preparedness from a guide but Raju’s attitude seemed on the contrary. I hope he turns up the next day on time! Was it wise to not engage a tour operator? We were planning a trek that lies in a desolate corner of Eastern Nepal. All my thoughts turned to the negative territory. Finally, some factor in my brain resisted. There wasn’t any point pondering over something yet to materialize. It’s wise to cross the bridges as they come along. Why not live in the present? Why not enjoy the moment of being away from work for a fortnight, away from the corporate rat race? Didn’t I wait long enough to embark on the Makalu trail? This itinerary was impossible to attempt a few years ago due to its duration. Now, it seems within our reach! Why not grab the opportunities with both the hands (rather limbs as well). The Himalayas don’t beckon so easily. Whatever comes our way, we will tackle it. We will return to the same hotel after a fortnight with Makalu base camp added as a feather to our illustrious cap!

Earlier