Sushant Pandey
The hike was initially planned from Taudaha to Champadevi but we thought that the route was far too common. So in the final hour we decided to change the plans to Lele – Pathibhara - Taukhel. Starting from the office, the van took off and picked up all the hike participants from their respective pick up points. After all of us had gathered, we made a brief stop at Lagankhel to purchase some of the basic requirements for the hike before heading off to Lele. After reaching Lele we stopped nearby for some breakfast and then the calorie burning started. We started the hike at approximately 9:30 AM and walked through the ascending and descending roads to Pathibhara. We had walked for about an hour when we came across a local animal husbandry farm where a windmill was used to generate electricity. This not being a very common sight in Nepal and mainly in Kathmandu valley, we were quite enticed by it and queried the farmer about it. The farmer informed us that the windmill was capable of generating a power of 1400 watts, which was enough to sustain his basic electricity needs. Besides the windmill he also had quite an odd collection of animals including turkeys and rabbits. From there the farmer kindly showed us the shortest route to Pathibhara which we followed then on. Moving ahead on the hiking trail we came upon a short suspension bridge. We deviated from the planned route and headed towards it. On our way to the bridge we came across a dog. The special thing about the dog was that it had its head stuck on a milk jar and was struggling to take it out. We were informed from a local that the dog was paying its price for being a milk thief, even so the sight of the dog struggling was not very pleasant. Sawan and I volunteered to help the dog and we succeeded :). After the successful dog rescue we headed back towards the bridge. There we took some snap shots, ran across before continuing the trail back to Pathibhara. Climbing steeply up the dense forest of the hill towards Pathiabhara we had lots of fun along the way. We finally reached the peak of the hill where lied the Pathibhara Temple. After walking for about 3-1/2 hours we were at our first destination. We all sat down for a small picnic enjoying the panoramic view from the hill top. Another difficult trail towards Taukhel awaited us. Now the effect of exhaustion was beginning to be seen on our hiking team. Once an energetic group of hiker, was now limp, slow and the uneven flow of ascending and descending routes was beginning to take its toll. The sun was up high and sweats were running down our cheeks. The series of steep uphills and the dense pine forest had taken away our legs. But our spirits were high and we were determined to complete our hike. The beauty of the trail kept pushing us further. After about a 3 hour walk, we reached a local tea shop near Godawari. There we spent about half an hour, had our rest before descending down a hill where lay our destination point. :)
Kabindra Shrestha April 28th, 2013 was a fine day. This was the first hike for me with the Deerwalk family. I was excited to visit new places with new group of people. I woke up at 6 a.m., and got ready for the hike. Office van left Deerwalk premises at 7:15 a.m and all of us were picked up at different points. We stopped by Lagankhel to buy water, snacks and some fruits before being dropped at Lele. It was an uncertain hike, no one exactly knew the route. We only knew where we had to go, and that was Pathibhara Temple. As we were not sure about the trail to reach our destination, we had to do a little survey with the local people to know about the hiking route. Surendra was really experienced to do this kind of survey. After having breakfast at Lele we finally headed to our destination. Lele was a place of greenery, miles away from the polluted and crowded Kathmandu city. We visited Saraswati Kunda in Lele, which is one of the historical places in Nepal. The place is famous among students, as Saraswati is the God of Knowledge. At the beginning, it was tough for some of our friends to climb uphill, but they got reenergized by the sheer beauty of the place. The cool air was supporting us to walk in the sunny midday. On the way we got an opportunity to help a dog who had its mouth stuck inside a milk pot. Sushant and Sawan helped remove it. It was a life saving task, cheers to them. A wind mill was used to generate electricity in one of the places in Lele, it was awe inspiring. After 3 hours of uphill walk, we reach Pathibhara Temple. This temple is well known for fulfilling any pilgrim’s desires. It was located at the top of a hill from where we could have the clear view of the green villages below. Also the trees, like cheery blossoms, were giving an extra effect to this place. Relaxing our tired legs we had our snacks at Pathibhara. We still had a long way to go, now it was Taukhel our final destination. With little chatting and singing with our hiking mates, we started heading back to Taukhel. Enjoying the eye-catching views of greenery around, recording it in our minds and hearts, we completed our hike for the day at Taukhel. This was one of the adventurous and incredible hikes of my life. Thanks to the entire team and Deerwalk for making it possible.
