Aaron Singh
Aaron Singh
On Magh 19, my school planned a hiking trip for the students of elementary school. The fourth
graders, would go on a hike to the Jhor-Surya Chaur-Jhor route.
This was my first school-organized hike and I was super excited about it. There were many
reasons for my excitement but going out with my friends for the first time and creating good
memories to share with my parents after returning home was one of the major reasons. We
reached the school normally and had our lunch around 9:20 AM. At around 10:00 AM, we left
school in two vehicles, because we couldn't all fit in one. We sang songs and enjoyed the view
through the bus window. Our class teacher, Ankita ma’am and the school nurse, Aarati Ma’am
were with us on the bus. Sushila ma’am, Rajan Sir and Bimala didi were on the other bus.
It took us about an hour to get to our hiking spot. The spot was Jhor checkpoint which lies in one
of the Shivapuri areas. Rajan Sir and Ankita ma’am did the necessary entry at the checkpoint and
we headed off to the place where our other friends were waiting for us to join. They had reached
some time ahead of us.
Then, we lined up and walked in a line towards Surya Chaur and admiring the beautiful view
was really fun. Some parts of the path were slippery, so we had to be careful. But I liked walking
in nature because it was different from the city. I saw big trees, even though I didn't know their
names. We might have walked for about 2-5 kilometers. When we reached Surya Chaur, we sat
in a circle and shared snacks. It was fun eating with friends, sun basking and watching the view
of mountain ranges. We ate much more than we do on normal days. I had brought a diary to
write down what I saw and even drew a picture of the pretty view.
After spending some time at Surya Chaur, we walked back to the bus and enjoyed the ride back
to school. It was nearly 3:30 PM when we reached the school. Then, we all again had another
meal together. Overall, it was a really fun and memorable day. The hike from the entrance of
Shivapuri Park, Jhor to Surya Chaur is my favorite hike so far.
Aarushi Prasain
Deerwak Sifal School organised a hike for all the elementary school students on 19th Magh,
Friday. My joy knew no bounds when I got to know that the place chosen for our hiking was
from Jhor Checkpoint to Suryachaur. Thank God, the weather did not show any signs of rain. It
was really scary when it rained on Thursday as we thought that our hike would get canceled if
the rain didn't stop.
It was about 10:20 AM when we left on the bus after having our lunch at school. Our teacher,
Ms. Sushila Kafle, had asked us to eat well because we had to walk a long distance to reach the
destination. As there were 44 hikers for the day, the school had provided us with two buses to
reach the checkpoint.
We sang songs and talked throughout the way. I also enjoyed watching the people and shops that
we passed by. We could see some road constructions going on. The traffic was too busy and we
had to slow down. I was reading the sign boards at shops to know what places we had reached.
After some drive, we passed the busy traffic area and the bus took us towards the hill. The road
was curvy and surrounded by tall trees. We could feel the fresh air around us.
After some time, we reached a place where we could see a gate and some army personnel. Rajan
sir told us that the place was called, “Jhor Checkpoint”. As we had reached earlier than another
bus, we waited for them to reach the checkpoint. When the bus arrived, our teachers made the
entries and we were aligned up ready for the hike! Ankita ma’am told us that it was 11: 45 AM
when we began our hike. She also told us that the place belonged to wild animals so we had to
make sure we did not disturb them. Sushila ma’am, Aarati ma’am, Rajan sir, Ankita ma’am and
Bimala didi were there to take care of us.
Our teachers had already told us that we had to remain together while walking. Watching the
dense forest around and walking together with all of our friends was a beautiful experience for
each of us. Some of our friends had even brought mobile phones with them to click pictures and
make videos. Some of them were trying to guess the names of trees and plants that we saw
around. The road was good but somewhere we had to be careful as it looked like it had rained
there too. We were scared if we would encounter leeches but thankfully, we didn’t.
After walking for about one hour, we reached Suryachaur. We had also stopped in between for
water breaks. Some of us were already tired and we felt that we had to start walking little by little
every day to make sure we get stronger by the time we go for another hike. We also saw some
horses on our way up the hill. Once we reached Suryachaur, we felt relieved as we sat down. The
place was windy but the sun kept us warm. We could see ranges of mountains from there and we
clicked some group photos.
We all were hungry and thirsty. Our teachers asked us to be in groups and start having our
snacks. We all were too excited about it because we had been planning what we should bring and
share on that day. We talked, laughed and shared our snacks. We made sure we collected the
dropped food and wrappers to leave the place clean. Ankita ma’am made us sing Shiva Tandav
and other slokas in our loudest voice. She then asked us to play “Chinese Whisper” and it was
really fun. After some time’s stay there, we planned to get back and were ready with our
belongings. We headed back to the place where the buses were waiting for us. The way seemed
shorter when we got back.
We reached our school at 3:30 PM and had another meal we had brought from home. The hike
was really fun. We all made good memories together.
Aiden Man Nhuchhe Pradhan
The hiking adventure with my grade four friends along with teachers from Sifal School was one
of the most exciting and memorable experiences of my life. All excited for the day, we had our
lunch at school right at 9:30 AM and waited for the bus to arrive. We had brought some light
snacks and a heavy meal with us to have on the hiking. Two buses arrived at the gate at around
10:30 AM and we went out on our journey on two buses. The way and time on the bus filled me
with eagerness and excitement, imagining the findings of the day. Our bus ride was really
exciting. It was filled with silly talks and songs like "Believer" and "Kalo Kesh Ma Relimai". We
also sang some Sanskrit Slokas.
I don’t know the exact time when we reached the starting point- Jhor Checkpoint. Ankita ma’am
was narrating the time and place’s name where we had stopped but I was too busy looking at the
view. We had our class teacher, Ankita ma’am, theater instructor, Rajan Sir, our school nurse,
Aarati ma’am and a school staff member, Bimala didi to guide us. My excitement rose as we
prepared to start our hike after a group photograph in front of the school bus. Our bus driver
Santa dai clicked some pictures and videos of all of us together. As we began the hike, we could
see tall trees, some places were damp and some had sun rays. The excitement among my friends
grew, and we joyfully kept exploring everything around. We also took some thick sticks to use
them as walking sticks from the side of the forest. Some of our friends had carried trekking sticks
too. We were allowed to bring mobile phones but we had to take care of it on our own. Though
some carried mobile phones, I hadn’t as I don’t have one. But I missed my iPad. I think it was
okay too because I could watch everything more clearly with my own eyes.
The beautiful scenery of the hill, trees and clear sky caught my eyes. I kept smiling throughout
the way. After a long but exciting walk, we reached Surya Chaur. It was at the top wide area
from where we could see the beautiful view of the Himalayan ranges. We took some group
photos again and then started having snacks. To my bad luck my snack box turned upside down
when I was trying to open it, scattering all the food I had brought. I felt bad but my friend
Somanshu shared his food with me. I felt really happy having him as my friend. In return, I
offered him some of my snack bars thanking for his friendship and kindness.
As we were having our refreshments, a sight of swirling paper caught our attention. We could
see the wind was moving in circles and we named it a mini tornado just for fun. We also tried
getting into the mini tornado to experience how it felt. It was fun chasing that wind. After some
time of fun games and songs, it was time for us to get back.
We made sure we cleaned the place before we headed off the same way where the bus drivers
were waiting for us to take us back to school. I was eager to share our tales with loved ones. This
hiking taught me the value of friendship and the beauty of nature. We got back to the school,
microwaved our food and enjoyed it once again together with each other.
