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6:00 pm – Back to Square One Finally, the tough and adventurous hike came to an end when we reached Muhan Pokhari at 6:00 pm. Taking a sigh of relief and patting ourselves for successful hike, we looked at our watches. It was a 9hrs trip up the hill and down leaving us exhausted, thirsty, tired and starved. The next destination, to quench our thirst and fill our tummies, was a good restaurant. After driving for around 15mins from the place we started the hike, we met a restaurant on the way. The hungry souls were unleashed. Having a bit of snacks along with chilled beers & cold drinks followed by hot dal bhat tarkari helped us rejuvenated on day that was mostly filled with jungle thrills. Finally, at around 9pm we reached the office and headed towards our homes after bidding adieus. All of us were really tired and looking forward to hit the sack resting on the reminiscences from the day’s hike. 4:00 pm – Running down the hill The steep rundown at this time felt as if it would never end at all. The difficult trail created by rainwater gave a torrid time to our tiring legs. The entire team was forced to split into a number of groups. We were reliving the saying “A herd of buffalo can only move as fast as the slowest buffalo” as we dragged ourselves down this passage. The brisk walkers, among us hikers, were completely out of sight down the hill.  Some of the groups that followed them, spotted several signs along the way, which were created by the galloping group so as to provide directions towards the base. While some other were unlucky enough to have chosen a wrong path, thereby making their experience even more treacherous.

“A herd of buffalo can only move as fast as the slowest buffalo”

2:00 pm – Peeping into the clouds, at the amazing view point The trail covered with wet leaves was not manmade and travelling through it reminded of bygone days. Moving slowly towards the valley, the team got divided into two. Those who could move fast in the lot galloped ahead while the remaining moved slowly taking refuge of little rests on the way down.  Since Manish had cramped his both legs, those coming at the back moved even more slowly by taking cautious steps and ensuring that Manish was not straining his legs. But the trail was tough. We literally had to run at times even when we knew Manish was seriously crippled. It was fun though. We jumped from one rock to the other while at other times we took cautious steps fearing of slippery surface underneath our feet. 1:00 pm- Abode Shivapuri Peak @ 2732 meters Spending about an hour over the spot at 1:00pm we then ascended towards the Shivapuri peak , 2732 metres from sea level. After about a minute away  Bag Dwar, we reached courtyard of a hut where some Babaji (yogis) had stayed upon for their ‘dhyan’. After some time chatting with them, they showed us the way uphill to shivapuri. To our utter dismay, we barely saw a trail that would lead us to the way. Hence we decided to consult with some other ‘Babas’, whom we met along the way. These consultations turned out to be quite misleading, since each of them had their own opinion regarding the correct trail. These conflicting opinions created sparks of agitation among us tiring hikers, and in the moment of desperation, we chose the path that was initially chosen. The zigzag trail towards the peak was surrounded by tall Oak trees, and was relatively different from the steep path that we had ascended on our way to Bag Dwar from Nagi Gumba. Everyone talked about the toughness of the road as well as the number of leeches that had attacked them. Crossing few stone steps after all the slippery trails with withered leaves we reached the peak of the Shivapuri. Unfortunately, we were surrounded with mist when we reached there. So we couldn’t see anything beside them. We were soaking in sweat, taking sighs, laying on backs. Reaching over the 2nd highest hills around the valley, we felt overjoyed. Had it been around April, the forest would have been covered with rhododendrons. The 5.5hrs of uphill marked the halfway of the day’s excursion. After taking short rest and few group snaps we started to descend. 12:00 noon – Bag-Dwar, the origin of Bagmati & home of Todke Baba After 2 hrs of climb at 12pm, on descend of few steps we reached our second destination, Bag Dwar. The place is named after the Nepali term for tiger, and has a stone spout resembling tiger’s face. It was like a small courtyard in between two hills with a small pond amidst which a small sculpture of Lord Shiva stood. The water from the place is said to be the origin of the holy river 'Bagmati', thereby making it an important place for Hindus as well as Buddhists. It was so silent and delightful that we forgot the world outside. The water from the spout so chilly that we could feel its chill as it down poured into our stomach. We reenergized ourselves with the foods, snacks and fruits that remained with us.

“The water from the place is said to be the origin of the holy river 'Bagmati', thereby making it an important place for Hindus as well as Buddhists.”

11:00 am – Walking through the lush green jungle Midway through the passage to Bag Dwar, laid a dense jungle covered with rain dampened leaves and fallen trees. The walk through such passage was accompanied by a ‘playful’ sun, which was busy playing hide and seek with the clouds and the trees that stood overhead. The lush green jungle cooled the temperature to a pleasant range, hence making it easy for us to move ahead. We made brief stops along the way to recharge ourselves with snacks and water, and also to add reinforcements to our protection shields against the leeches.

“The walk through such passage was accompanied by a ‘playful’ sun, which was busy playing hide and seek with the clouds and the trees that stood overhead.”

10:00 am – NagiGumba, the second base station We had our fair share of rest at the Nagi gumba premises and thereby proceeded to our second base, Bag Dwar. The plain fields at the gumba premises quickly disappeared, as we marched in unison along the steep trails. Anup Sharma took over the role of being the pacesetter for the rest of the hike. The level of difficulty of the trail that followed escalated from ‘easy’ to ‘moderate’, thanks to a stirring combination of steep climb and sporadic booby-traps formed by leeches.

“Little did we know that the first stop we chose happened to be a safe haven for the leeches as well.”

09:00 am – Square One, Shivapuri National Park gate @ Budhanilkantha After a brief stop at the Buddhanilkantha temple area for our breakfast, we were headed to the starting point of our hike, the Shivapuri National Reserve. The guards there collected our names and provided us with the tickets to our destination. Within an hour, we had entered the peaceful premises of Nagi Gumba. The monks, residing there, were engaged in their daily activities.  We rested there for a while and energized ourselves with the Red bull tonic carried along by Anup Dai. Little did we know that the first stop we chose happened to be a safe haven for the leeches as well. The mere sightings of such leeches enforced us to take proactive actions in order to prevent ourselves from being ‘sucked’ along the way.

01 Tea (Jeri Puri) time	02 Chana - Energy for the long distance runner
03 This is our roadmap	04 Time to kick-off
05 Nagi Gumba - 3kms... Shivapuri is 9kms	06 Muddy trail under the Sun
07 Be at the good pace_ Don't look at the camera it should look natural	08 Rest & Retrospect
09 A purple bloom	10 An Innocent Whitey
11 my wallpaper	12 The Object_ Hey is the pose alrite or U need some kung fu as well
13 The Subject	14 The anti-leech campaign
15 Meditation	16 Beside the flags
17 A misty perspective	18 Im Sudeep..get me outta here...
19 Stand, Look back & Relax	20 Cheese Time ... oops White-Rabbit time
21 I knew it... the red bull was not original	22 Micro plants
23 Following the water trail	24 The lonely man takes the greener trail
25 Unbelievable!!!	26 They call me a rookie hiker..and i'm lovin it
27 Makin a way -Thank god Anup didn't fart	28 lush green trail
29 this looks good...	30 leaving the leaves
31 Taking cloud's cover	32 Men at Walk
33 trunk, tags and branches	34 Pinky greets with a smile
35 a.n.d we kept walking with the clouds..	36 hiking with the clouds
37 first stop at the burial ground	38 lost in the lush
39 zzoooommm in	41 and we kept walking..
41 dude..where's my leech	42 Todko..but where is baba
43 jay desh..jay shiva	44 saroj striking a pose
45 one legged hikers	46 the mouth of tiger
47 dissolution	48 Bagmati at the origins
49 Resting at Bag Dwar	50 Let me see....
51 the open mantra	52 can you guess the brands
53 Jay Shambhoo	54 here he is..the Todke Baba
55 Sudeep says it has a deeper meening	56 the three wise men
57 guess what...the five wise men	58 hiking got serious after meeting Todke Baba
59 Suke Dhara	60 deserted Baba Ghar
61 damn... we must be cautious of this slippy path	62 brief respite at the summit
63 oh lord..i am tired...lemme stretch	64 striking a pose atop 2732m
65 the father figures lead the way	66 Saroj on his way to the clouds
67 Retro Pose @ view point	68 biaatch..i got the leech
69 moon is shining on a sunny day	70 Bob the hiker
71 heaven on earth	72 _ ..and the devils in heaven
73 as you like it	74 whoz leading the way
75 light in shade	76 the arrow shows the way
77 tired of going downhill	78 the crawling hopper
79 valley view	80 oh lord wont you buy me a mercedes benz
81 friend with weed is friend indeed	82 reservoir at muhan pokhari
83 finally..back to square one	84 crimson sunset
85 finally..back to cube	86 burning flag atop the candle