Numa Subba
On 16th October, Sunday, Middle School educators along with one of the admins gathered at
Deerwalk Complex. This time we were to hike from Pharping to Dakshinkali. We started our
journey at 7:30 am, we were driving towards the destination where we had to start our hike from.
The morning orangey sun accompanied us along our way.
We stopped by for breakfast at Taudaha. Taudaha looked glorious as it stood still in solitude. The
Taudaha Pokhari was shining as a drop of soft sunshine had fallen upon it. We had our breakfast
in a local stall that had no name for it. Our intention was purely to support local businesses
around. After our breakfast, we left the place for our next destination.
We reached Pharping Bazar, the place we had to start the hike with. We paved our way towards
Pharping Dam, the first hydropower in Nepal and second in Asia. Guess what, we were offered a
beautiful view of mountain ranges like Langtang and Gauri Shankar on our way to Pharping
Dam.
We had walked a rough road to reach the place and I tell you, the walk was worth it. We saw
little monks running around green pastures; that day could have been their washing day. They
looked happy, we were happier! Mountains, yellow fields, blue sky and birds dancing with the
clouds, the view was clearly spectacular. I was reminded of the song ‘What a beautiful world…’
(Louis Armstrong).
Our final destination was Dakshinkali, as we walked up the steep hill, we came towards a
beautiful traditional house of ‘bajai’. We were overwhelmed by her welcoming smile. We took
some pictures of the house with her permission and thanked her for letting us invade her
soliloquy and tour her house from the outside.
After a stifle pause, we continued our journey. On our way, we came across a suspension bridge.
It looked flawlessly beautiful. We were excited, like really! I guess that one was the highest
suspension bridge that I ever had crossed. River was flowing below amidst forests and tall trees.
Leaves were fluttering along with the music of the river. We could see places like Pharphing
village, Bauntol, Chau Dara, Dakshin Godawari and more right from the bridge. We took
pictures and video shots whilst crossing the bridge. Did I just forget to tell you about the
whistling wind? Well everybody would want it especially if you live in a city!
We kept walking and after a while we stopped by and took a bite of cucumbers along with
‘dallay’ paste. We kept taking pauses and kept talking on different topics. At times our opinions
matched and other times we tried to prove our points. All in all, deep down we knew
everybody’s opinion mattered. The talks, selfies, videos and every little thing along with every
step meant so much to us.
As we crossed the last hill, we reached our final destination, Dakshinkali Mandir. We hiked until
the top. We made it quite easily. Our colleagues offered some pujas and we decided to get back
to our homes. But, there was a twist, we decided to visit a monastery while returning back.
Benchen Sungrab Gyunpel Khang monastery is located in Dakshinkali itself. I think for
wanderers it’s one of the must-to-go places.
We returned back to the valley and had our late lunch at around 3 PM. We did our Sunday well.
We came back with lots of pictures and videos to reminisce the memories we had during this
lovely trip. I hope you visit these places and meet the footprints we left behind.
