Nepal – Bhandar to Jiri

Bhandar 7,198ft to Shivalaya 5,905ft

It’s another leisurely start to the day. Breakfast outside in the sunshine again and we were joined by the female lodge owner and some of her family. No porridge on offer so had boiled eggs instead and I have never seen such a Yellow yolk before. Got some pictures of birds on the wall and a great picture of a little girl who wandered over to see who the strange, scruffy and smelly white guys were.

The trail headed up from the very start today, through green terraced cultivated fields and small homes. After a couple of hours the fields turned into woodland and again we came across a new road being built through the forest. The temperature now is very warm and the sun shines in a blue cloudless sky all day. Walking uphill for hours in the sunshine I know I am losing pints of sweat and when we stop for lunch at the top of the Deorali pass I am literally soaked through. At 8,875ft the pass is the last highest point of the whole trek. The trekking is nearly finished and we are starting to have ‘endings’. I had my by now regular lunch of coke, lemon pancake and a snicker bar and we sat outside in the sunshine at a lodge at the top of the pass. Over lunch I took my soaking base layer off and let it dry on the wall. As we sat eating lunch we saw our first motorised transport since flying out of Kathmandu, a lorry negotiating its way round the Gompa in the middle of town.

In the far distance there was also a JCB perched perilously on the hillside, making the new road. After lunch, the trail dropped nearly 3,000ft down the Khimti Khola valley all the way into Shivalaya, which is on the road head. Arriving at this small town felt a little strange. It looked shabby and dirty and seemed so different to what we have experienced over the last three weeks since starting our trek. There was a bit of a ‘Wild West’ feel to it. Certainly the road makes a difference, its dirtier, noisier and busier with a road and after being in the clean air of the mountains, with only yaks and donkeys for transport the noise and diesel smell is noticeable.

Whatever it was, it made me feel slightly uneasy, like my ‘Shangri La’ was slowly vanishing as the real world started to encroach on my life once again. We stop in a lodge at the far end of town and near to the bridge crossing the river that we will be taking in the morning. In the evening we sat outside for the first time on trek, under a canopy in the lodge, eating dinner and chatting. It’s nice to hear the sound of a river again, the Khimti Khola this time, rushing past the lodge on it’s way to the Bay of Bengal. The Crickets, not heard since Jubing have also returned and I fall asleep to sound of the river and the crickets in competition with each other.

For map and route details of this walk click ‘learn more’ below. 

Shivalaya to Jiri 6,250ft
 
We have been walking for twenty two days and today, the twenty third is our last day. There’s intrigue and deception at the start of the day as we have to make it past a checkpoint and over the suspension bridge in order to avoid paying another 2000 rupees in National Park charges. As 2000 rupees is about £12 it wouldn’t have broke the bank but we all make it safely across the suspension bridge, the last one we will cross and away up the trail.

The trail heads up the last incline all the way to our last pass before heading down into the town of Jiri our stopping point. There was no lodge at the top of the pass so we head off straight down the trail all the way to Jiri. On the way down I saw a Snake on the path, it was black with a yellow underbelly. In Nepal snakes are said to bring good luck but I give it a wide berth regardless. We walk into Jiri at 2pm. Jiri, much like Shivalaya is a rather grubby looking place, full of the sound of people and traffic. We walk into the town square, I’m actually first there and as the guys arrive I shake each of their hands in turn. In genuine thanks for their company, companionship and friendship on this magnificent three week adventure I have have had the privilege to enjoy. Finishing the trek I feel an immense sense of peace and self satisfaction in achieving what I came to Nepal to do. A long walk, through some of the finest scenery in the world with no injuries or illness and many, many happy memories and experiences to look back on. I have seen Mount Everest with my own eyes and have had the most fantastic time. And with that, the trek and the walking, is over. Time to go home.

For map and route details of this walk click ‘learn more’ below.