Bidhya Karki
On September 22, we, nine people, embarked on a journey for Manang Trek, leaving Kathmandu behind, in an electric vehicle. Though we were ten people for the trip, one of our friends, Amir Sir, failed to join us due to his exigency. The destination of the Day I was Besisahar, Lamjung. At 11:30 am, we departed from Deerwalk Campus, and some of our friends were picked up from Kalanki. The day was well-spent with our excitement and joy at its full swing – music, jokes, and personal sharing in the vehicle. We arrived at Besisahar at almost 9:00 pm because of the heavy traffic on the way. We checked in our hotel and spent the night there, exhausted yet excited for the adventure that lay ahead.
At sharp seven in the morning, we left Besisahar in a Bolero van. After the typical breakfast (Chiura-dalmoth-chana with kalo chiya) on the way, we headed towards our destination of the day, Manang Valley. The frightening condition of the road added extra feelings of fear and adventure in us. We cracked jokes together, and listened to romantic Bollywood and Hollywood songs to get the good mood on during the travel time. One of the fascinating things on the route was the Octopus Jharana (waterfall), where we had a little rest, took some clicks and clips, ignoring the chilly splashes that nearly drenched us. We had lunch quite late at Chame, district headquarter of Manang. The drinking water looked delightfully pure, and the food was very delicious. After lunch, we walked for about three hours to Pisang Valley. The large cliffs on the both sides of the way were truly stunning. We enjoyed the unique beauty of the scenes around our way. We spent almost forty-five minutes at the calm waters of Blue Lake. The weather significantly kept changing with the rise of altitude from Besisahar to Manang Valley – warm and humid to cool and windy to too cold and dry. Finally, we reached Manang Valley as the sun was setting at 6:00 pm. After hotel check-in and a quick refreshment, we hiked to the local stupa, took pictures and returned to our shelter. We enjoyed the special food of the place aaluko dish before the dinner in the cozy setting of our hotel.
The third day! A magnificent golden sunrise welcomed us on the roof of the hotel in the early morning. We started off our two-hour trek to the Chongkor View Point, which is located at the altitude of 3,751 m. The breathtaking view of Gangapurna Lake, bubbling stream, and snow-capped peaks like Pisang Peak, Annapurna IV, Tilicho Peak and Gangapurna left us awestruck. The serene atmosphere of the place offered us a meditative state of mind. Two of our friends visited Manang's core village. We had a quick refreshment at the hotel room and packed our bags. We took a Bolero van and returned to Beshisahar. Then, on the way, we had lunch in Chame. We had a visit to beautiful places, Green Lake and Jholungepul. The heavy downpours deteriorated the road conditions even more while returning. Nimjala and I were terribly scared as we were seated at the front by the driver's seat – even questioning ourselves whether we would survive the trip or not. I still have goose bumps on my body when I now remember the terribly narrow road and the way we were shaken by the movement of the van. We decided to stay at the hill town, Bandipur, at night. We reached late around 10 pm, had a hearty dinner and went to bed.
The last day! We got up early, had a quick morning tour of the historical town, created funny tiktok videos, had breakfast and left for Kathmandu at 9:00 am. We had lunch at the Hamlet Hotel of Galchhi, Dhading, at 4:00 pm. The lunch was really good. Finally, we reached Kathmandu at 6:00 pm bringing our incredible trip to a close.
The four-day and three-night trip to Manang Valley was a rewarding and cherishing experience. Every encounter we had added to the trek's exceptional experience – the frightening road, thrilling drive and breathtaking beauty of the mountains, the serene-silent-blue Lake and our lively company of the friends and our activities. Our bonding, mutual-understanding, humor and cumulative grit made our trip not only successful but also unforgettable despite the fact that weather and the road were testing our perseverance and patience. The journey itself, which was full of natural splendor, cultural connection, and lasting bond, was just as important as getting to Manang. I really enjoyed this trip, basically the company of my friends and the natural beauty of Manang, including all the problems we faced and all the fun we created. I am remembering and reliving those beautiful moments of four days while writing about it. I will cherish all these memories. Thank you all for designing this trip and making it happen. I strongly recommend all readers to explore Manang once in their lifetime even though visiting Manang once is not enough, I feel.
