Unique Places in Nepal

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Tips for trekking Arun Valley
Choose your trek mate(s) with great care – On this trek I out a small group of 4 trekkers together & alas I was unable to get along with one of them and this did detract somewhat from the enjoyment of my trek.

We might well have invented a whole new job description for this trek – This being Cook/Guide. I was fortunate enough to have trekked with Tej (our Cook / Guide) when I trekked Upper Mustang 4 years ago and Tej was our cook – besides being a good cook he also seemed more knowledgeable about Upper Mustang than our guide !! So when I was organising the trek I asked Nirmal if Tej had also trekked the Arun Valley Trek & he said yes – So I then suggested that if he was willing to carry about 12kg of supplementary food would he like the position, to which he said Yes. This turned out to be an excellent idea as the food available locally was very simple and without Tej our diet would have been a bit mundane.
Also Tej kept an eye on things in the kitchen when the lodge staff were cooking our meals, all I can say is that I trekked for 22 days in total and never once had any stomach / bowel problems which as regular visors to Nepal will realise is very rare indeed !!
Our two porter/guides were also really Superb, their names are Dipendra and Shambhu, so if you are looking for Excellent Porter/Guides with a good knowledge of the Arun Valley / EBC trek and who both speak really good English then ask for them by name !!!!!

As my timescale wasn’t tight, the two day overland trip to Tumlingtar worked out very well and I can also recommend this to others – But for those on a tight timeframe there is always the option of flying

Agents to organise this trek – For me this was simple as I have used the same chap since 1994 & he has always looked after me well, this being my 9th visit, I again used Nirmal and am again very happy with how everything went. Nirmal obtained our trekking permits, organised our road and air transport, our trekking staff & regularly telephoned me to check on our progress – If you want his contact details then please feel free to email / PM me
.
Also if anyone has further questions about the Arun Valley trek the same applies
Best Regards
Rob

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Trek report one–The Arun Valley Trek

Planning

Most of the “Bones” of the trek were put together before leaving UK, using the same agent that I have used for all my treks in Nepal (Now 9 over the last 18 years)

The trek starts at Tumlingtar & usually people fly there, but I really wanted to travel overland (In Comfort) so to be able to see some of Nepal that I hadn’t yet visited. Nirmal found the solution, an almost new Toyota Landcruiser, this took us as far as Hille where we spent the night in a nice hotel, then continued to Tumlingtar the next day in a Landrover.
Nirmal also organised our trekking staff, there were 4 trekkers in our group so the staff comprised One “Guide/Cook” who also carried around 10k of supplementary food (Tinned Tuna and Sardines, Dried meat, salami, Papad, noodles, cheese, muesli, peanut butter, tang, salt & sweet biscuits etc) and 2 porter/guides

The Arun Valley Trek
Day 1 – Tumlingtar (Aprox 450m) to Marduna (Aprox 1200m)– Leaving Tumlingtar on a little used dirt track (We met one tractor in 2 hours trekking) we followed the Arun River north, crossing it on a long suspension bridge at Balwa Besi which was our lunch stop (Simple accommodation also available). Then we started quite a long climb through forest to our overnight destination at Marduna. The Lodge was called the Sagarmatha” It was a recommended lodge (Internet) but was a little run down – Never-the-les it served its purpose and was run by a nice old man and his granddaughter
Walking time, Aprox 6 hours

Day 2 – Marduna to Dobani (975m)
First of all we continued uphill until we crested the ridge near Charlissay & then it was down until we reached the Chikhuwa Khola (Tributary to the run river) which we followed to our overnight destination of Dobani. Our lunch stop was Ghote Bazaar (Simple accommodation also available. Our lodge in Dobani (Nepali for where river divides) was unnamed and set high above the river, simple but adequate.
Walking time, Aprox 5 hours

Day 3 Dobani to Salpa Phedi (17000m)(Phedi in Nepali means bottom of hill / below pass)
This day is all uphill, undulating up at first to Tallophedi (Very bottom of hill) – This was our lunch stop & again simple accommodation is available here. Then more uphill to Salpa Phedi. The teahouse in Salpa Phedi was the best yet, “Irkhowa”, they have one very nice room with 3 beds designed for trekkers & vacate one family room when necessary to accommodate more trekkers
Walking time, Aprox 4 hours

Day 4 Salpa Phedi to Guranse (2920m)
This is quite a tough day, Uphill all day mainly on stone steps so an early start is a good idea so you get at least so far up before the sun gets too hot. There are a few small villages en-route so plenty of opportunities for tea and lunch. Jara Bari also has simple accommodation available. Guranse is just a cluster of shacks, there was a new teahouse just before the start of the village but it wasn’t really finished & only had 2 beds so we made our way up to the village proper where there is another very simple teahouse, only one room with about 8 beds, very draughty but at least a bed for the night.
Walking time, Aprox 5 hours

Day 5 Guranse to Sanam (2650m)
From Guranse is not so far to the top of Salpa La pass (3350m) & then downhill through forest, at first on stone steps, then slowly levelling out at Dhaka (Also known as Orkobug) where there is a teahouse for lunch, but no accommodation currently available , from here it is undulating and then slightly up to Sanam where there is an excellent lodge just to the left of the Gompa (Lodge owner also has the key of the Gompa which is worth visiting) The lodge is un-named and has several nice rooms overlooking the valley, This was also where we met our first other trekkers, two Americans coming the other way.
Walking time, Aprox 5 hours

Day 6 Sanam to Bung (1700m)
Great days trekking - Downhill at first to Guidel (Lunch stop, simple accommodation also available) then steeply downhill to cross Hongu Khola & then up a little and through terraces into Bung. Bung is a Rai large village - Bung in Rai means “Beautiful Flower)
Simple lodges in the centre of the village called “Pumori Lodge” – Two rooms with two beds so we take them both, simple but adequate.
Bung is also the point that you are officially supposed to pay the Makalu National Park entry fee – My own personal views are that as The Arun Valley route only passes through the very edge of The Makalu National Park then if no one directly asks for the permit then why pay – As no one directly asked us, we didn’t pay – Whether other trekkers choose to pay is entirely their own affair but purely for info this fee can either be paid in Bung or in advance in Kathmandu
We were also fortunate enough to be there the same day as the local market, so as we had arrived reasonably early we had the opportunity to have a look around and all of us found it very interesting seeing the local people going about their shopping
Walking time, Aprox 5 hours

Day 7 Bung to Boskam Gompa (Also known as Karauni Gompa) Aprox 2500m
Very short days trekking (Only ½ day as we arrive at 11.30) but all uphill – Steep at first then more gently – There was a government school en-route so I stopped here to leave some school supplies that I had brought with me as a gift, I gave these to the head teacher who was very pleased and introduced me to the rest of his teaching staff)
The lodge at Boskam Gompa is very good if a little expensive in Nepali terms compared to the previous ones that we had stayed – But it is very nice. The actual Gompa is only a few metres away so we visited and chatted to a man from Bhutan who was painting the images of the Gods – He was very skilled, in fact his next job was going to be in southern India so he was certainly in great demand !!
Walking time, Aprox 3 ½ hours

Day 8 Boskam Gompa to a small lodge next to The Imhuku Khola (1850m)
Another excellent days trekking, steeply up at first to the stupa overlooking the Gompa, then more gently for a while to a cluster of teahouses where the route splits, we took the left turn and this was again steep up to the summit of Surkie La (3085m)
From the summit the route goes down some Very steep vertigo inducing stone steps, then eventually levels out a little as we lost height, then levelling out as we approached Najindingma where simple teahouse accommodation is also available. I found the people here very hard and took a bit of a dislike to the place, this partly because we were charged 750NPR for a large pot of black tea – That’s more than I would expect to pay at Gorak Shep !! So we kept on trekking steeply downhill to the Imhuku Khola which we crossed on a long and impressive suspension bridge. Just after this bridge is a small simple teahouse/lodge where we stayed – Tragedy had struck this lodge 6 weeks earlier when the lodge owners wife had died in childbirth leaving him with a 6 week old daughter to look after on his own, he seemed to be coping surprisingly well but the grief of losing his wife was still fresh – So it had been a good decision to continue there as the money we spent would be very useful to him – We also considerably rounded our bill up so as to help as much as we could.
Walking time, Aprox 6 hours

Day 9 Lodge next to The Imhuku Khola to Pangom (2850m)
Yet another wonderful days trekking, very steeply up at first, narrow path through forest but sometime exposed so some care is needed, the trail then levels off and widens and we soon arrived in Shibuche (lunch stop where simple accommodation is also available)
From Shibuche the route is again steep for a while then levels off a little before reaching the summit of Pangkoma La (3173m) then it’s a fairly short walk down to Pangom where we chose “The Himalayan Trekkers Lodge”, a superb lodge offering all facilities, nice dining room with fire, good food from the first menu we saw on the trek and bucket shower available.
Walking time, Aprox 5 hours

Day 10 Pangom to Paiya (2730m) (This is where the Arun Valley route joins the route from Jiri)
Final days trekking before joining the main route from Jiri – Also crossing the final La of the Arun valley trek. Downhill at first & then up and over Kari La (3145m) – There is a small teahouse on the top of the pass where we took lunch – Then downhill, quite steeply in the end to where the Arun Valley path joins the route from Jiri just before Paiya.
Paiya is a nice village overlooking a small tributary of the Dhud Kosi. We chose “The Beehive Lodge” which can only be described as delightful – Here I took my first proper hot shower since leaving Kathmandu (100NPR and worth every rupee) – OK – I Really needed it ;-)

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Most of tourist come in nepal to see its natural beauty & himalays of Nepal,there are lot of place from where they can see natural beauty of nepal but now all the trekking routes in nepal are popular & crowed many people go on the same route, yea those all routes are amazing and very nice but for those people who like to have treak on wild out of crowd following a beautifull green mountains with nice views of himalays,on this treak u can find only few small village on the way and what those few people do for living.
A total 12 days of trekking Including 2 night stay on lodge and all the other time slepping on tent, a campining trekking where maximum 6 people can treak at once and trekkers would have porter,cook & guide.
Its a virging trekking route which is unknown to all the trekkers that have travelled in nepal.
This trekking can be good for all those natur lover who like peace on their travel.

Read more: http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/p/m/21c6c3/#ixzz1n67ClIAW

Start off your trek as per The Annapurna Circuit as far as Manang where you will spend an extra night to acclimatise – Then the next night at Khangsar and from there to Tilicho base camp lodge (There are 2 possible routes, High and Low level so make enquiries at Khangsar to which one is the best as landslides keep changing the paths)
Then spend two nights at to Tilicho base camp lodge and visit Tilicho Lake on the day in between.
Then you have two options
1) Trek to Letdar and pick up the route to cross Thorung La
2) Return the way you came

If you wanted to cross over then passes form Tilicho lake to Jomsosm you would need a fully supported camping trek as this takes at least 3 days from Tilicho base camp lodge with no further accommodation available,
One other thing is to be aware that a lot of the paths in the Tilicho lake area shown on trekking maps don’t actually exist on the ground ;-)

Good Luck and Happy Safe Trekking
Rob
This photo is “Borrowed” from the net

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On my first visit, I didn't even noticed it. It was on my fifth visit to Pokhara that I noticed a white patch on a mountain near Fewa Lake. I asked my Taxi driver, what's that? The answer came, You didn't know about it. It's the world famous Peace Pagoda. I was little amazed that why until now I didn't noticed it. So, my next visit to Pokhara after that was to visit Peace Pagoda. World Peace Pagoda is situated on the top of a hill on the southern shore of Phewa Lake. Before it was a long and upward walk to Peace pagoda but now you can go by Bike (more then half the way) and hike a little to reach there. Well. it's a gain for all that effort and SWEATING! :D The World Peace Pagoda is situated at Minthumki and the height is 1100 meter from Sea level. Height of the pagoda is 115 feet and the diameter is 344 feet. You will get spectacular views of the Annapurna range, Phewa Lake, and the Pokhara city. You can cross the Fewa Lake and start hiking. It will take 2 hours of walk if you hike only.

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Kusma is in the Parbat District, one of a district among 75 districts in Nepal, which lies in the western part of Nepal just about 57 Km away from Pokhara. Kusma Bazaar is the main attraction of Kusma which lies in the liable thin band on the top of two river banks, Kaligandaki and Modi. Kushma Bazaar is connected with the national road system by Pokhara Baglung Highway. Buses are the chief mode of transportation in Kushma. Some small size vehicles and jeeps are used as of cab services within Kushma Bazar area and some nearby places. Motorbikes are popular too.

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Dear MrBill,

Namaste!

How are you? I hope you are well there and I am also fine here in kathmandu. How days are going on please keep in touch and here am sending itinerary for you as fellows:

Thank you.

Yours’ friend,

Pasand Dawa sherpa



Day 01: Arrival kathmandu hotel

Day 02: Kathmandu rest

Day 03: Kathmanud – Lukla – Ghat

Day 04: Ghat – Namche

Day 05: Namche – Lukla ( for high altitude sickness)

Day 06: Lukla – Chhuthanga

Day 07: Chhuthanga – Chhtre

Day 08: Chhtre – Kothe

Day 09: Kothe – Thaknag

Day 10: Thaknag rest

Day 11: Thaknag – Khare

Day 12: Khare – High camp

Day 13: High camp – Mera peak summit and sky back up to Mera la

Day 14: Mera – Khare

Day 15: Khare – Thaknag

Day 16: Thaknag – Kothe

Day 17: Kothe – Chhetre

Day 18: Chhtre – Lukla

Day 19: Lukla – Kathmandu

Day 20: Kathmanud rest

Day 21: Departure to country

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Ten days of hiking. Fifteen days total. Approximately of 180-200 kms trekking. Level of technical difficulty: easy to moderate. Level of recommended fitness: good to excellent. Drop-out rate: 25% due to altitude sickness and related health problems. Non-participation rate for some of the peaks: 50% due to lack of fitness or the symptoms of altitude. Chances of diahhrea or other stomach problems: almost certain. Cost of evacuation helicopter flight back to Kathmandu: $US6000. Summary: Doable for most experienced hikers that are in good physical condition, but must not be under-estimated.

Sample itinerary

Day 01

Arrive in Kathmandu. Elevation 1400m. Local luxury hotel such as the Park Village Resort.

Day 02

Shopping and sightseeing around Pashupatinath and Bouddhanath as well as Durbar Square. Buy any outdoor gear or clothing you may be needing for the mountains.

Day 03

Fly to Lukla. Elevation 2840m. A 4 hour walk to Farakpa Resort in Phakding.

Day 04

A 4 or 5 hour trek to Namche Bazar. Elevation 3440m. Stay overnight in the Khumba Lodge. Your last chance to buy any outdoor gear or clothing you may have forgotten.

Day 05

Based in the Khumba Lodge in Namche Bazar a day hike to Khumjung and Kunde through the Syangboche.

Day 06

A 4 hour trek to Thame. Elevation 3900m. Cross several hanging bridges for those afraid of heights. Stay overnight in the Thamo Hotel.

continued....