Samjhana Wagle
Hike to Chandragiri! The very thought was exciting. Early at 7 am, we all arrived at Deerwalk premises to start our journey. After having some tasty breakfast at a small café near Kalanki, we moved to our destination: Chandragiri. Reaching Chandragiri station, we picked up some snacks to ensure that if needed we could recharge our energy on the way. The hike started at Chandragiri station. With a lot of enthusiasm, we trekked uphill. When my friends showed me the trail, I found out it went through the forest. As soon as we hiked, we spotted a deer. The trail was so tough. Yet we didn’t give up. We took some photos inside the jungle, climbed some trees to get perfect shots, and yeah! we wolfed down the snacks and restored the energy. After walking for 3 hours, we reached the Chandragiri Temple. As soon as we reached there, a drizzle welcomed us. It started freezing when the drizzle turned into a downpour. One thing that surprised me was many small cubes that looked like ice but not exactly hailstorm kept falling down. We went to the temple and waited until the rain stopped. We were so unlucky: the rain obstructed the view of the mountains. When the rain stopped, we marched downhill. While returning, because of rainfall, the path had become slippery. Yet we walked and found it a genuine fun. After wandering and wondering for what seemed like hours, we finally arrived at the same place: the beginning of our journey. We all were so tired, and none of us would talk as we all were hungry too. So, we got on the Haice and searched for a local restaurant. We found a place where they served us khana set. Waiting for food felt quite long even though they served us within 10 minutes. We had our most delicious food, and we went to our home sweet home after that. I’d say this was one of the most amazing yet equally difficult hikes that I have ever been to.
Chandragiri has long been a religious destination for Nepalis. At a height of 2,551 m, it offers one of the best views of the Himalayan range and a beautiful view of the Kathmandu valley. As planned, everyone had to reach the Deerwalk premises by 6:30 am on 22nd February, and the bus would then leave at 7 am from office premises. With a feeling of great excitement, I woke up, got ready, and waited for other hikers to pick me up on the way. After a 20 minute wait, I got picked from Kalanki at 7:45 am. We stopped at a small cafe near Naikap to have some breakfast. After breakfast, we left for our destination. After 20 minutes of the drive, we reached the cable car station above Thankot. We brought some food and water and distributed them to each. The hike got pleasant right from the beginning as a deer welcomed us as soon as we started walking into the jungle. The first-quarter of climbing hills of Chandragiri was very tough. The route was difficult and slippery because of yesterday’s heavy rain. I had a hard time climbing the hill. Anyhow with a periodic rest between and with the help of uplifting fellow hikers, I started enjoying the hike. By then the hard path had already crossed, and the route was easier than before. We clicked photos between our brief rest, climbed the trees on the way, while some of us played the Ukulele, and the rest of us joined the chorus. Enjoying the views of the cable car, the smell of the leaves that had fallen down, rays of sunlight penetrating through the trees, we had almost reached the Chandragiri Temple. After climbing the two more hills, we had found a plane ground to stop at and had our snacks. Now everyone's energy was spurred as we could see the destination: the Chandragiri Temple, and we also had energized ourselves with good snacks. On reaching the temple, it started raining. We couldn't enjoy the magnificent view of the Himalayan range and the beautiful view of Kathmandu valley. However, we went to the temple and got some blessings and waited until the rain stopped. After clicking a few more group photos around the temple premises, we descended to reach Thankot. This time the path had become slippery, so we were cautious about climbing down the hill. After a lengthy walk and many memorable moments, we finally reached the cable car station. Reaching down, the first thing we did was google an excellent place to have lunch because we were all exhausted and starving. Finally, we found a place at Kalanki. We all hopped into our vehicle and headed to Kalanki. We had our delicious lunch there, and we started our journey back to the office, dropping some hikers on the way. I will forever cherish this memorable hike to Chandragiri with my Deerwalk colleagues.
