The bus
moved at 8:15 a.m. from Satdobato on 11th
March, 2017. At 8:45 a.m., we started to walk from Kirtipur. Our plan changed because of rainfall. The previous plan
had been to go to Champa Devi hill.
But now we decided to go to Bagh Bhairab and Uma Maheshwor temples, then go nearby Mata tirtha and return back the same
way—limiting ourselves to less uphill and downhill.
So we
visited the temples and continued walking through Kirtipur. Suddenly, we could see a ray of sunshine over the sky. We
kept walking and reached to a point where the ways separated. After discussing with the group, it was
decided that the first destination be followed although we were unsure of the
weather. Locals said it would take about 3 hours to reach there.
We
headed upwards through the wide road, pausing at times for long deep breaths,
turning behind to look at the distance we had covered and resumed with our
walking. Soon after, we were surrounded by trees. Climbing was difficult. At
times, we were confronted by big stones and had to put a good effort to pass
through them. There were a few times we walked on both hands and legs, very
carefully. Due to the morning rainfall, the dried leaves’ way had become
slippery.
We
reached Bhasmeshwor hill at about
12:45 p.m. In about 20 minutes, we reached Champa
Devi Temple. It had been the highest altitude of our travel that day (2236
m). I visited the temple for darshan and
then had the healthy Nirogdham lunch.
While
having my lunch, I could feel my hands go cold and the fingers all numb. I
could hardly hold the spoon to eat. Amazingly, the fingers went pale. After some
time, they turned blue. It was the first ever experience I had. I rubbed my
hands together to generate some heat but in vain. I asked others what I was
supposed to do. They just told me not to worry and that it would be fine after
sometime.
We were
uncertain how the day would turn out to be. The weather was cloudy and chilly
too. As we could see the rainfall approaching, we collected our belongings
quickly and left the place.
We then
headed downhill from a different way. This way was far better than the one we
came through. However, we had to carry an umbrella because of rainfall and
hailstones. While heading down, all the fingers now had got a tingling
sensation. Unusual feelings again, because of the cold and heat fluctuations, I
guessed.
The
hailstones had stopped and we could see the sceneries of Kathmandu valley and Taudaha. A rainbow was visible and the
hills looked amazing in the sunshine after the rainfall.
We
walked for about 30 minutes and took a water break and a short interaction
program followed. The regular interaction program during the lunch had been cancelled
due to the weather. Then we resumed our walk, and after about 2 hours, we
reached the bottom, Boson, Chalnakhel. The downhill had again
become slippery because of the rain. We boarded our buses from Chalnakhel at about 5:30 p.m.
This has
been the most adventurous hiking till date. A mixture in a day of rainfall,
sunshine, hailstones, steep and slippery hills—muddy at times due to rainfall
–and the bodily responses to them—AMAZING!
