Surendra Nath Adhikari
This week, the Everest Uncensored team had planned to make the hike shorter and easier in contrast to the regular hikes. So the team started from Surya Binayek thinking we would end the hike at Lakuri Bhanjyang climbing down to Lubhu. When we reached the Country Kitchen Resort at the Lakuri Bhanjyang we had a little rest thinking the hike was coming to an end. However, after taking some refreshment at the resort some of our team mates desired to ascend further. We all agreed to go further towards Godavari.
The team sets for hike At 8:00 am we got off from the van at Surya Binayek and had a lovely breakfast at one of the local restaurant comprising famous yoghurt of Bhaktapur along with urban traditional “Jeri” and “Swari” which was appreciably delicious. As soon as we finished the delightful breakfast we all set out for the hike of the day. At the beginning we walked through developing town of the Surya Binayek area. After half an hour of walking from the starting point we were inside the Surya Binayek preservation jungle. In the next half an hour we reached the village called Gundu.
The trio As soon as we passed the village we had the option to take the short or longer route to Lakuri Bhanjyang. We took the short route which was steep and not so clear trail to our destination. This short but challenging ascent took us about one and half hours. By 11:00 am we found ourselves at the Country Kitchen Resort at Lakuri Bhanjyang. The resort is famous for viewing four of the cities of the Kathmandu valley from one spot along with the panoramic view of the Himalayan Ranges. Some with coffee and others with beer we enjoyed the view for full one hour. Although the day was clear for the most part, the view of the Himalaya was shrouded with clouds with only some peaks visible. Having enjoyed the breathtaking view of the valley and covered Himalaya ranges inspired us to go further.
Bhaktapur landscape We left the resort at 12:00 noon and walked for another half an hour where we saw an unknown trail that looked like it was descending towards Godavari. Feeling adventurous, we decided to take a chance and hike down the unknown trail. For half an hour the trails was straightforward and clear enough. And then the trail seemed to end suddenly and we found ourselves climbing down abrupt slope full of thick thorny bushes and lost trail. In the hope to regain the regular trail we kept on climbing down making our own trail through the harsh bushes. After another struggle of about an hour we finally found a trail that seemed to head towards Godavari. At 2:00 pm we reached at the top of Kaprechhap village, where we had some fruits and water. There on we took an earthen road constructed by Village Development Communitymade that headed towards Godavari.
The Bhaktapur city We reached Godavari at around 3:30 pm. Then we landed at the Bhrikuti Resort for meal. The hike was over after a wholesome Nepalese set meal consisting of Mutton curry, mixed vegetables, fried daal, fried green spinach, fried papad along with green salad and Rice followed by some freshly chopped fruit dressed with yoghurt.
