Sumit Shrestha
Winter had bid adieu to the valley and Spring beckoned. The weather was perfect for a “short” hike from Godavari to Panauti via Lakuri Bhanjyang. We had tea and light snacks at a local restaurant at Godavari before we started our hike. The sun smiled down at us promising a great day ahead. Initially, we had steep ascent that passed through a wilderness of nature. As we started gaining height, the sceneries became visible. After 1 ½ hours of ascent, we reached the peak, an open ground where mountain ranges were visible. After having some snacks, we moved further this time through a pine forest. The brownish paths were beautiful and when we took a shortcut to Lakuri Bhanjyang the descent was steep enough to terrify us in the beginning. After some time at Lakuri Bhanjyang, we moved towards Panauti which was still 3 hours away. Path from hereafter was through small villages, cattle, farming using bullocks, stream powered grinder, etc.. We crossed a bridge to enter Kavre district from Lalitpur. The human population started getting denser and muddy path was replaced by pitch road which was not hike friendly. So, we discontinued the hike four kilometers ahead of Panauti where we waited for our van to take us to Panauti. After having some food, we headed home with some of the sweet memories that would be hard to forget. Bishwas Bhatta We had planned to scale the Phulchowki hills but the route changed on the morning of the hike. Now we were going to Panauti from Godavari. The uphill climb from Godavari to Lakure Bhanjyang was full of scenes of lush green hills and magnificient himalayan ranges. We took a pit stop in a big field along a government school. Titaura, chips and water refreshed us all and the downhill journey towards Panauti started. It was fun for a while; walking through small villages and along mustard fields. But it started getting monotonous to walk the dusty road after few hours. When the pitched road arrived, we decided that it'd be boring to walk further so we called up our van. We took a food break in Panauti and then returned back to Kathmandu. Overall, the journey provided a nice opportunity to get far from city's crowd and noise and get along with nature and old ways of life.
Sagar Maharjan Destination kept changing from one place to another. Finally we settled for Godawari to Panaute via Lakure Bhangyang. It was quite an amazing route with narrow but semi motor-able road. The hike was also fun and pleasant experience with loads of jokes and songs, in particular, CHURAKE DIL MERA GUDIYA CHALI.... :) :D
