Upama Pandey

If you ask me to describe the hike I would probably say a formidable walk along the trails enjoying the beauty of nature. Every weekend is like another waking up late and doing nothing productive but the Sunday morning of May 23, 2022 was something different as we got a chance to hike from Changu Narayan to Nagarkot. It was a morning when there was a strong breeze with light drizzle and thunder all around. All the employees from Deerwalk Institute of Technology and Deerwalk Sifal School gathered at the office premises at 7:15  in the morning.

As we were about to depart for our hike, it started pouring heavily, so without wasting any further time we hopped inside the vehicle heading toward our hiking destination. After having our breakfast which was typical Nepali food (Jeri Swaari and Tarkaari) and buying the essentials for the hike, we reached the Changu Narayan Mandir and started off our hike with the blessings of Lord Vishnu at 8:50 in the morning.It is one of the world heritage sites built in the 4th century located in the Changu VDC of Bhaktapur and one of the oldest Hindu temples.

As there was a light shower of rain with the breezy weather the hike offered us a magnificent view of the village as we went on, though the roads were a little slippery due to rain.  During the hike I noticed women walking with big doko’s on their heads even in the rain, the hardships of the village life are commendable. The hike was comparatively easy with the gradual uphill and after walking for about 2.5 hours through the rich and deciduous forest we finally reached Telkot Chowk and saw a signboard that said Nagarkot 3 KM ahead, the rain had stopped and the sun was shining out making it a bright sunny day after the rain. We had to take 30 minutes steps via the staircase and reached the Jalpadevi Mandir and rested for 10-15 minutes enjoying the beautiful range of the Himalayas seen from the temple. Everything about the hike was wonderful: the hills, the trails, and even the exhaustion. One thing that happened constantly, regardless of how tired people were, was posing for the snaps. We also had some local golden Himalayan raspberry (Aiselu) and some plum fruit (Aloo Bukhara) directly picking it off from the tree while singing songs during the hike which made it even more enjoyable. After the grueling hike of nearly 4 hours, we reached Nagarkot all the way from Changunaryan covering a total distance of 12 Kms. The cool breeze, the hillside, and the beautiful scenery all the pain of walking up there was worth it.

After reaching Nagarkot we headed for lunch at Berg House Cafe and Hotel and had to wait for lunch for like half an hour. Finally, we had our lunch at 3:00 in the afternoon and headed towards our office vehicle, and drove off towards Kathmandu at around 5:00 in the evening. The overall hiking experience was enjoyable and memorable and the weekend was spent well.