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Title	Deerwalk Team Hiking: Mude - Dhunge Bazaar - Kalapani - Sailung
Location	Sailung, Dolakha
Start Date	25 December, 2010
End Date	26 December, 2010
Distance (km)	16km
Coordinator	Bishwas Bhatta
Participants	Abanish Kayastha, Anjan Nepal, Ashay Thakur, Ashish Shrestha, Bikram Lal Shrestha, Bishwas Bhatta, Nimesh Deuja, Nishant Karki, Sagar Maharjan, Saroj Bhandari, Suraj Pant, Sushanta Pokharel, Vinod Gnawali
Photos By	Sushanta Pokharel and Anjan Nepal
Report By	Nishant Karki
Creative Support	Ashay Thakur, Nimesh Deuja

सानो, मीठो, शान्त, सुगन्धि, अनुपम - बस ! मेरा निमित्त त्यही हो नेपाल ! Anupam is peerless. And Nepal, in words of our greatest poet, is Anupam. You marvel over beauty and walk a hundred miles for that one view that defines earth. But you will be hard pressed to find a better specimen than one you get from Sailung. The sea of clouds that carpet the floors beneath the mighty mountains to tread on, and the grasslands of Terai on the opposite end, define the beauty of our country - Shangri-La. The night before the ascent is a cloudless black velvet curtain, one though, that has so many bright stars; you could not take your eyes off. The sunset and sunrise next day are so colorful, even the staunchest of atheists would want for once to believe someone actually meant to create this beauty, it could not have been an accident. Deerwalk's hike to Sailung was like any other; camaraderie the most important of all. The view this time though, would have pipped friendship to the pole. For just that one half hour during sunrise, being a witness was all that mattered. After a brief lunch at mudhe, the thirteen of us began our walk towards sailung. The panoramic view was a panacea to our eyes, sore from pollution in the capital. After about 4 hours of walking we finally made it to Dhunge bus stop. The noodle soup a-la-carte at Dhunge was finger licking good. From there on the “hike” started. The journey got treacherous with stairs winding on for a difficult incline. Some of us went on ahead only to find that there was no lodging at Kalapani. The others, struggling to keep up, got even more desperate. As the group bringing up the rear neared Kalapani, we knew we could not hike beyond. Lo and behold, we got a warm place to stay and a meal. We called it a night. Early the next morning we began our shorter hike to Sailung from Kalapani. It was still dark and that was good, for we could not begin to fathom if the path was challenging. The view at the top, was, well you already saw what we saw, at the top of the page. The other group descended from Khola kharka and we met up at Dhunge. The bus journey back, well you gotta try it before you write it off. Swaying to and fro, it was a ride on the back of an Elephant, only the roads were narrow and the falls, horrifyingly steep. One could ramble on and on, but it is easiest to enjoy the pictures, and hopefully get back up again. Memoirs Bishwas Bhatta Imagine this: atop the highest hill, pitch-black night, strong wind, clear sky with millions of bright stars, flapping of prayer flags and a faint orange gradient of the setting sun far far away in the horizon. It felt like one of those dreamy scenes from a movie or novel. In every trip I say to myself, what can be more magnificent than this and on the very next trip, mother nature proves me wrong. Enthusiasm of the group was really high for this trip and was clearly evident in all those shopping runs, we were going nuts over hiking apparels. Decision of new hikers to brave the tough trail was really commendable and I hope this trip has inspired them for future trips too. I was one of the 4 unfortunates who missed the sunrise but I'll go back there again for sure. All in all, a great trip with unmatched natural beauty and fun all along the bus ride.

Anjan Nepal When we reached the height of 3146m in Sailung, all the surrounding hills were below us providing us with a magnificent 360 degrees panaromic view. The experience of viewing the red hot ball coming out of the fog, its reflection on the mountains and the gradient of natural colors in the west all at once was truly awesome. This was one of my best hiking experiences and the best sunrise and sunset view I have ever seen.

Sushant Pokharel I had heard the name of the place "Sailunge" in songs and often wondered what it would be like. Don't know whether Sailung is the same place but it deserves equal honor. The hike itself was full of surprises. The plane motorable road at the beginning and then the abrupt steep climb; The smoky room where we slept and the freezing cold; Abnormally tasty food, probably because of hunger; Harder time riding the bus than walking; Dusty roads we had travelled but the absolutely beautiful sunrise at the apogee. Out of it all, only the memory of the sun rising above the clouds and the mountains, rendered golden by it, while I clicked at it through my camera, would be the one that would last in my memory till the end.

Sagar Maharjan Trekking to Sailung was the best experience I had, so far during my stay at Deerwalk. I tried hard to keep up with the Deerwalk Daredevils but it was of no use. So instead, I joined elite group of Ashay and Abanish, which turned out to be very amazing and helpful as we could take frequent breaks and snacks Abanish Dai had carried. The nature and environment were beautiful. The early sunrise and the wind hills were a treat for sore eyes. And who could forget the bus ride on its hood. For me, Sailung trek was really unforgettable. Thanks Deerwalk.

Saroj Bhandari Sai is a hundred and Lung is windy hills in Tamang Language. We expected the windy hills and the chills it would accompany. On the sunny Christmas afternoon, after finishing our lunch at Mude, we start walking toward the Sailung enjoying and exploring Nepal's remote areas. After 6 hours of walking, we reached Kalapani at around 6 pm and stay at a local hotel. We devoured a local rooster with ever so frightened sips of Tiger and Nigar. We woke up at around 5 the next day and it was one of the coldest morning; we start climbing towards Sailung. The scenary atop the hill was the most amazing, what with the clouds below us and looking like a big lake ending up at the himalayas. We had a stunning view of Sunrise at the Himalayas. We stayed for around an hour therebefore we trekked back to Dhunge Bazar from where we took a bus to Mude. The hiking was good, the view absolutely amazing.

Abanish Kayastha If there is heaven on earth - it has to be here, there is no better view of the mountains than from Sailung. You could move your head 180 degrees and see the entire Himalayan range. It’s simply amazing. Uphill hike from Kalapani (2800m) to Sailung (3200m) was a tough one and ascent never seemed to be over. All of a sudden, you were above the thick dense cloud and White Mountains on top of it. It appeared to be a huge lake with waterfall on the other side. If you like seeing beauty, you've gotta see this once. We started our hike from Mudhe at 11:30 and reached Kalapani around 7 in the evening with small breaks in between. It was freezing cold there, finally we managed to find a small hut and everyone cuddled up in their sleeping bags after having so called ‘Ram Baan’ and chicken-rice for dinner. Kalapani to Sailung was supposed to be one and half hour hike and we didn’t want to miss the sun-rise and we didn’t…it was awesome. Rest; let the pictures speak for themselves.

Suraj Pant I was exhausted by our trepidations on Saturday night. Under two layers of warm clothes, a sleeping bad and three pairs of socks, my legs were still cold as ice. But next morning at the summit of Sailung I felt that I was blessed. The scenary up there was something to behold. All my exhaustion disappeared with sun as it started to appear from the depths of the mountains and Sagarmatha was golden, not white anymore. And then I realized that all the climbing and suffering was nothing in-front of such a gorgeous view.

Ashish Shrestha 'Mathi mathi Shailunge ma chauri dulaune lai', heard this song in my school days. Finally got a chance to go Shailung, the place where 13 colors of the sun can be seen in a day. The panoramic views of the surrounding hills and mountain range was spectacular. In morning the view of cloud below the hills was looking like we were in sworgalok. If you really yearn for heaven on earth, look no further; pack your bags and you are ready to roll.

Bikram Lal Shrestha Fun began only after ascent of Dhunge started, till then it was just walking on dusty roads. When I reached the Sailung height with very few pauses on the way, only Ashish was walking along. I was exhausted by then but we didn't know how far Khola Kharka was (we didn't even know the name of the place yet) and it was getting dark so had to drag ourselves till we could find a place to save us from the cold breeze. Before we started the downhill trek the sunset view from the height was beautiful and when descent of Sailung danda was finished, Ashish was able to identify smell from kitchen somewhere nearby (Seriously, what's the secret dude?), it was run by a nice family and had a lodge nearby too. We ordered food and reserved room for seven people but only Vinod and Biswash were able to join us. Travelling back to Mudhe was also memorable. I have only one suggestion to hikers going to Sailung: Don't stop yourself at Kalapani, reach Kholakharka on the first day itself. You will love the hospitality from the locals

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