Rojesh Shrestha After a busy week at the office, finally the weekend arrived. Everyone was excited as we were finally going for an office hike to Kalinchowk. The place of hike was new to me and the thought of escaping the busy life of Kathmandu for the weekend and explore the heavenly mountains was a treat to all of us. We planned about the destination and other hike routes as many were unsure about the hiking route and the challenges that we may face around the hike. Finally the day of the hike arrived. Everyone arrived early for the hike except our organizer who seemed to have overslept. We finally left the Deerwalk premises around 6:45 am, After picking everyone on the way, we started our journey, to the majestic mountains of Kalinchowk. Weather was a treat, as along the way we were greeted by mountains on every twist and turns of the highway . Along the way we sang and even danced to show our excitement level. When re-reached 0 kilo ,we stopped by to grab some breakfast at Sarmila’s didi restaurant. After a long drive, we finally reached Charikot which was our starting point of the hike. The hike from Charikot to Kuri began around 12 noon.

The weather of Charikot was a little colder than expected which made our hiking at noon bearable. The long journey to Kuri began with lot of laughs and excitement.

The weather of Charikot was a little colder than expected which made our hiking at noon bearable. The long journey to Kuri began with lot of laughs and excitement. The hiking route was little rough, as roads were under construction. The dust and pollution of Kathmandu seemed to have followed us here in our hiking routes as well. Only with the help of a face mask the hike was bearable. Furthermore, the view along the way helped to rejuvenate the body and motivate us to move further. After continues hike and no sign of reaching Kuri we were getting a little worried as no hotels were booked in advance and the sun was about to set down. After hiking around 5-6 hours, everyone of us were too tired to walk. As we were about to give up and search for a place to stay at the night we found a local jeep on our way. We managed to sweet talk the driver to give us a lift to Kuri. We finally reached Kuri the intended destination for the night. We quickly search and settled down on our rooms. The tiredness was seen in everyone’s face but that didn’t stop anyone from exploring the Kuri’s bazar that night. Sitting around fire and relaxing at the night helped to overcome our fatigue. The next day everyone was ready to conquer the mountain of Kalinchowk. We left early morning around 4:30 from the hotel. It was very cold and pitch dark and as the whole valley was out of electricity. Our path was brightened and guided by the bright stars shining bright over our head, along with everyone’s cell phone’s flashlight to guide. The steep mountain climbing was a difficult challenge as everyone was tired of previous day hike. As we were climbing the steep stairs the strange feeling of excitement to reach the top and tiredness of body was seen in everyone’s face. The primary goal of hike to Kalinchowk was to observe the sunrise from the top, so keeping that in mind we walked like there’s no tomorrow to conquer the mountain. We finally reached to the top in nick of time, as within minutes the sunrise had began. The view of sunrise and other beauties seen from the top made the whole trip worthwhile. Everyone was greeted with a warm sunrise and the view of the whole valley and crystal clear view of Himalayas was like piece of heaven itself. We returned back to our hotels after capturing every moments in our hearts and some in photos as well. We decided to hire a jeep to return back to Charikot as everyone was already tired of continues hike. While returning to Kathmandu we all got to taste the lovely honey at Umesh dai's village.Some of us tasted chaka as well.Then capturing all the good memories associated with the hike in our mind we all returned back to Kathmandu.The journey of our hike to Kalinchowk may have ended but the memory and bonds formed during the hike will remain forever. 

Sushant Prajapati Early in the morning , suited and booted to go hiking , was waiting for the pickup at the bus stand at around 7:10 AM .Really excited to visit Kalinchok , first time for me though .Feeling's such great as that of doing something new or going somewhere new . Got picked up at around 7:30 AM , and the heart pumped up even high , to see all my colleagues getting excited . On the way , we sang songs along with the music being played in the van . Seated in the back seat reminded me of college days as backbenchers ,where we cracked jokes sang & teased others.

Of all the singing and sight seeing , we needed to replenish ourselves , hence made a quick stop at sharmila didi's restaurant at 0-Kilo, had breakfast and got back to the road.

Of all the singing and sight seeing , we needed to replenish ourselves , hence made a quick stop at sharmila didi's restaurant at 0-Kilo, had breakfast and got back to the road. After a long drive, we finally reached Charikot which was our starting point of the hike. We were all hungry by that time so we walked into the local hotel of Charikot and had lunch there. After resting around 10-20 minutes we decided to start hiking by not wasting any more time as we had to cover a long hiking distance .The hike from Charikot to Kuri began around 12 noon. The weather of Charikot was a little colder than expected which made our hiking even more fun with the shivering body. The hiking route was little rough, as roads were under construction hike was worth it for .I got to see the hills so up close , never had I seen before . After continues hike and no sign of reaching Kuri we were getting a little worried as no hotels were booked in advance and the sun was about to set down. After hiking around 5-6 hours, everyone of us were too tired to walk. As we were about to give up and search for a place to stay at the night we found a local jeep on our way. Fortunately we got one jeep going to Kuri and we asked the driver to drop us to Kuri. We finally reached Kuri ,our destination for the night. We quickly search and booked our rooms in local hotel . The tiredness was seen in everyone’s face but that didn’t stop anyone from exploring the Kuri’s bazar that night. Sitting around fire and relaxing at the night helped to overcome our tiredness. Ready to conquer the Kalinchok mountain , we marched early morning at around 4:30. It was freezing cold and pitch dark at that time as the whole valley was out of electricity. The water in the paths were all frozen , walking on top the the small ice and cracking them , and hearing the ice crack sound , got me even excited. The steep mountain climbing was a difficult challenge as everyone was tired of previous day hike. I made many quick stops and took rest , although I was asked not to by our coordinator , as it makes it even harder for our body. We finally reached to the top in nick of time, as within minutes the sunrise had began. The view of sunrise and other beauties seen from the top made the whole trip worthwhile. Greeted by the beautiful sight of the sun rise ,we could see the mountains so bright and with clear white snow. We all stayed in the queue for worshiping Kalinchowk Bhagwati mata. After that we clicked some photos there to capture the unforgettable memory of this hike. Everyone of us were shivering with cold but the happiness of getting to see the mountains and snow was taking over it. After spending few minutes, we decided to go back to Kuri as we had to return back to Kathmandu without being too late. We came back to hotel at Kuri, had tea and light breakfast and left for Charikot. We decided to hire a jeep to return back to Charikot as everyone was already tired of continues hike. After around 2 hours we reached to Charikot bazar. We were hungry and stopped there for lunch and after lunch we moved towards Kathmandu. We stopped at Umesh dai's home for around 10 minutes to taste the local homemade honey. Then we returned back to Kathmandu with lots of good memories.The journey of our hike to Kalinchowk may have ended but the memory and bonds formed during the hike will remain forever.