Trekking in the Langtang Himalayas - April 2009

For my second trip to the mountains in Nepal - I headed to the delightful Langtang Himalayas in April. These are the mountains which I can see from my apartment roof top in Sanepa, Patan (Kathmandu) which lie only about 40 km north of Kathmandu as the crow flies but take some time to get to due to the incredibly hilly terrain and poor state of the roads.

The Langtang mountain region is less visited than the more popular Everest and Annapurna regions, possibly because of the long bus journey to get there but it is a totally lovely area of small trails through Tamang (the local ethnic group) villages, steep terraced farmland, a variety of jungle and pine forests full of birds and wildlife, rhododendrons, Yak pastures and close up views of stunning snowy Himalayas peaks and glaciers. The peaks in Langtang aren't as high as some of the famous 8000m giants but Langtang Lirung which dominates the area is well over 7000m and when you are up there you certainly have the feeling of being surrounded by towering peaks and there are views of Manaslu and Shishapangma (over in Tibet)which are both over 8000m.

Again I hired a guide, this time Dhan Gurung from the Annapurna region, who looked after me very well and was great company - and we took to the trails. We combined three trekking routes together, a few days on the Tamang Heritage Trail, a newly opened trail through traditional Tamang villages, a trip up the Langtang valley to see the snowy Himalayan peaks and a route back to Kathmandu past the holy alpine lakes at Gosikund and over a high mountain pass and back to Kathmandu through the hilly farmland area of Helambu. My holiday was 16 days - we trekked for 15 days plus an exciting day by bus to get to the start of the trek. I carried my own stuff in a 50 litre pack apart from my toiletries and library (!) - which Dhan carried for me .

Day 1 - Kathmandu to Saybru Besi - by public bus!

Met Dhan at Balajul Bus station in Kathmandu at 6.30 am for our 100km plus bus journey to Sayabru Besi the start of our trek. The 10 hour bus journey was probably the most stunning, perilous, vertigo inducing and bumpy ride I have ever been on in my life! We headed out of the Kathamdu valley at 1300m, over the valley rim at 2000m and down to Trisuli Bazaar at 500m for lunch and to stock up on final bits for the trek. The first part of the journey was beautiful and on a tarmacked road. The second part was more interesting! Our bus struggled up a dirt road snaking its way up steep mountain sides on switch back bends to bring us onto a road with a good 1000m unprotected drop to the river below. The views were truly amazing but I really understood what it meant to be living in a developing country and why the people have a fatalistic outlook on life. Looking at the mountainside in front of us - there were huge scars from recent land slides which had ripped down the mountain - imagine lying in bed at night and listening to that going on ! The traffic had trundled over these landslides making a level path for our bus - Now the monsoon season is approaching again in Nepal there will be more landslides - closing roads, and wiping out more villages and taking more lives. Also if people want to travel anywhere up here they are having to rely on dodgy old buses that are mechanically way past their best! And they are miles away from decent healthcare too. Fortunately on our journey we had a very careful driver! When we were nearly at our destination we stopped in Dunche at about 1800m to buy our trekking passes for the Langtang Conservation area - people here looked so different to those in Kathmandu in terms of their faces and their dress - more Tibetan looking. We then descended 400m down more switch back bends to Syabru Besi for a restful night at the Hotel Pleasant.

Day 2 - The Tamang Heritage Trail - Syabru Besi - to Tato Pani (Hot Water)

After a great nights sleep awoke to bird song and hazy blue skies - got up and did my early morning yoga routine in the hotel garden (I have to confess it was both the first and last time on the trip!)- and I wasn't alone in doing this - a couple of Australians who had just finished their trip were doing their yoga in the garden too! They joined us and we chatted over breakfast - the nice thing about these trips is meeting new people - and then Dhan and I headed off towards Tato Pani on the Tamang Heritage Trail.

The Tamang Heritage trail was set up with help from international donors to help alleviate rural poverty in the area by enabling villages to cash in on the tourist dollar and there is a 5 day trekking loop that you can do that takes you through farmland, villages and forests and provides snowy mountain views. We did a shorter 3 day variation on the trail and visited the mountains to the west of Langtang heading towards the Ganesh Himal before rejoining the trail up the Langtang valley.

We climbed about 1200 metres our first day and it started off rather hot. We climbed up through farmland terraces where locals were ploughing up small impoverished pockets of land by oxen. We stopped at the first village we came through for a cup of tea and were greeted by a large crowd! As we were short cutting on to the Tamang trail not many tourists came through the village and so we were quite a novelty for the locals! I have to say at first I felt a bit awkward as they seemed very poor. The folks were all in traditional dress - the men with knee length coats and large Kukuri knives tucked into their belts and the ladies with felt hats. We supped tea and chatted to the locals and shared our fruit and trail mix with the children. The village houses were typical of the area - made of stone and had flat roofs held on with rocks and large colourful Prayer flags flapping around outside as this is a Buddhist area. The trail was amazing no other tourists just local people going about their business, herding cows, ploughing fields, or just on the way to the next village. In the next village a few hours further on we found a local store where we bought some noodles and eggs that the lady next door cooked up for us and then we pushed on to Tato Pani by early afternoon. Tato Pani is a few lodges perched on a hillside next to a fantastic hot spring used by locals and tourists - who seemed to be monks from a nearby monastery and a few Nepali tourists here to cure their ailments in the hot springs. We enjoyed the hot water for a while - great after the first day trekking and then a huge thunder and lightening storm broke. Had dinner back at the hotel and Dhan and I sat round the kitchen fire with the host family in the evening - up at 2600m it starts to get a bit chilly at night! Chatted to the lodge owner who explained the help that they had received to set up the lodge by the poverty alleviation programme in terms of loans and training in hotel management, cooking and 'sanitary ways' - (probably food hygiene).

Day 3 Tato Pani to Thuman

Awoke in the morning to clear blue skies and views over the snowy Ganesh Himal and went for another soak in the hot springs before breakfast. After breakfast had a lovely walk through a beautiful tall mossy evergreen forest with lots of bird calls, woodpeckers, red rhoddies and a few languors and squirrels. After a few hours we came out the forest and stopped for tea in a small village before pushing up to the top of the the hill at Naktali at 3050m. I could feel the effects of altitude and the climb was hard work. Passed bushes of bright pink rhoddies on the way to the top of the mountain. At Naktali there were good views over Langtang Lirung and we should have had good views over the Ganesh Himal and Shishapangma but the weather had turned bad ! I put on many layers and then we sat round the kitchen fire at the mountain view lodge for healthy portions of mixed pasta. After lunch we descended back to warmer climes down through yak pastures and forests back into farmland and to the Tamang village of Thuman. After finding a place to stay and having a drink in our host's home which was a good 100 year old solid wooden building - Dhan and I went for a wander round the village to explore local life and take photos - women and children fetching water from a far away spring, pounding grain and getting wood and men sitting around and doing not a right lot. It was overall a fairly prosperous village by local standards - solid houses, chickens and livestock round the house and big supplies of firewood, but on the edge of the village there was a shack with big holes in the roof where a Dalit (untouchable) family lived who had absolutely nothing. There was another big thunder storm in the evening and we sat around the kitchen fire with the other guests who were Nepali NGO staff out in the field to do some training on women's rights in the village.

Day 4 Thuman - Sherpagaon

Woke up to a beautiful clear morning with wonderful mountain views - it had been chilly in the night and there was snow on top of the mountain at Naktali where we had had lunch the day before. After breakfast Dhan and I headed down the mountain towards (from about 2500m to 1600m) Ling Ling on the other side of the river (this was supposed to be a short cut!). We descended through farmland and the locals were out again with their oxen and ploughs making use of the previous nights rain fall. We kept asking for directions but some how lost the trail to Ling Ling and ended up going down a very steep slope towards the river where we thought we would meet up with a trail! However there was no trail, but we did meet some woodcutters who told us we had to go back up the way we'd come because the route traversing the river was only suitable for Nepali's and not tourists! It was up a v steep hill and it was a v hot day - and I really did not want to climb back up hill - I told them I could do anything the locals could do - so a little woodcutter took us along a trail above a tumbling mountain river - with Dhan and I following behind hanging on to rocks and tree roots and anything else we could grab to avoid slipping into the raging river below- it was a bit more adventurous than I'd anticipated - but we made it safely! After climbing up to Ling Ling we had morning coffee and I chatted with the first international tourist we'd met - Brenda a Phd student following in the footsteps of an Ancient Buddhist Lama across Nepal. After coffee we pushed on uphill to the Tamang village of Bridim for lunch and had Dhaal Bhaat in a traditional Nepali home.. We then sat out in the sun looking at the local crafts that the village ladies had made and brought along to sell including jewellery, clothes, woolly socks and hats - I bought a green bangle to match my fleese. We then pushed on to Sherpagaon (about 2500 m) climbing higher and higher up through the pine and red rhododendron forest and traversing around the hillside up into the Langtang valley. In the late afternoon we could see the distant snowy mountains high up in the Langtang valley. We also saw a couple of trekking pole wielding super equipped trekking groups with large beefy tourists that looked a bit cumbersome and out of place after just seeing locals going about their business round the hills for the last few days. We were getting back on to the main Langtang trekking route - though it was never that busy on the whole trip. I would certainly recommend the Tamang Heritage trail for any body wanting to get a way from the main tourist trail and see traditional villages of the Nepali mountain folk. In Sherpagaon we stopped in a small friendly lodge - 'The Superview' where we were the only guests - and a visitor from Langtang invited us up to a 'Puja' at Langtang monestry the next day which is a celebration to send a dead person's soul to heaven. After some Sherpa soup I headed to bed it had been quite a long and exciting day!

Day 5 Sherpagaon to Langtang

We set off up the delightful Langtang Valley through pine forests and then joined the main tourist trail at Rimche and Lama hotel where we climbed up the valley along the tumbling mountain river. We travelled through moss covered forests with birds and languors and higher up through silver birch forests and Rhododendrons We stopped for coffee at Riverside and had lunch at Ghoretabala - making full use of all the chances to stop and admire the view and spot birds and monkeys. It was interesting to see the changing vegetation as we got higher. After lunch we climbed on up out the forest and into scrubby bush and farmland and then called in at the monestry for the Puja. We had some hot drinks and left our bags at a friendly Sherpa's house and then climbed up the hill to the monastery where hoards of people were gathered. At the monastery Large quantities of dhaal bhaat was being prepared for all the guests, women sat chanting and the male lamas danced and played the drums and the deep earthy Tibetan horn. Butter lights shone and there were lots of ornate colourful butter carvings in the monastery We stayed a while drank wonderful milky tea and soaked up the atmosphere before pushing on to Langtang and the hotel ecolodge. As we were now quite high up at 3400m and it was rather chilly the dining room had a wonderful wood-stove and blankets to keep us warm - In the evening Dhan and I met the guide and porter of and English family and we played some crazy card games with them- where the rules kept changing - still I managed to win. As I went to bed saw that it was snowing quite hard and there were several inches of snow on the ground!

Day 6 Langtang to Kanjin Gompa KG (and back down again!)

After a late start (I was told not to get up too early as it would be very cold) Dhan and I headed up a beautiful snowy Langtang valley under blue skies. As we walked the Langtang giants started to reveal themselves. We passed long walls of Mani Stones - carved flat stones put there by their early settlers in the valley - to commemorate their dead. The locals were ploughing up their high altitude fields to plant barley and potatoes and flocks of snow pigeons were flying round the valley stopping to feast on grubs from the tilled soil. We stopped to take many photos and I thought it was one of the most beautiful walks I'd ever been on! We climbed up the valley along the river to KG at 3900m - the altitude made it hard work - we also passed lots of alpine choughs that were getting drunk on Raksi (local brew) the locals were putting up a new prayer flag and there was a bit of a celebration going on. We arrived in KG about midday and sat in the sun and had lunch - as it was my first ½ day trekking I was happy to sit in the sun and be lazy. Unfortunately I had a worsening headache from the altitude and after having a short wonder up to look at the monestry in the afternoon Dhan and I headed back down the valley again to lose height and cure my aching head! We stopped in a village above Langtang and I felt immediately much better. We stayed in a guest house where the lodge lady was making Raksi in the shed outside- and there was another tourist from Italy with her guide so in the evening we sat round the wood stove eating dhaal bhaat and playing cards.

Day 7 Back up to KG and Langshisha Kharka

After breakfast outside in the sun Dhan and I headed back up to Kanjin Gompa, bought a picnic (bread and yak cheese) and headed off further up the Langtang valley beyond KG to Langshisha Kharka and views over Morimoto Peak. The walk up the valley was stunning the skies were clear blue and giant 6000m - 7000m snowy peaks towered above us - new peaks revealed themselves the further we went up the valley - Ganchempo, Dho ge lapsa and others (infact I think it is these peaks I can see from my bedroom window in Patan on a clear day!) . We walked on small footpaths along the valley floor past herds of fluffy grazing yaks just meeting one other group the British family and their card playing guide and porter we'd met in Langtang. As the valley narrowed we climbed glacial moraines to the small hill above Langshisha Kharka (yak pasture) - at about 4100m and views further up the valley and Morimoto peak. It took nearly 4 hours to here. After a picnic and a sunbathe here it turned chilly and we headed back - it was getting quite late as we headed back and the mountains were turning pink with the setting sun. We arrived back after dark and headed straight to the family kitchen to warm up round the fire.

Day 8 - trip up Tserko Ri Peak 5000metres - Easter Sunday

Another long and really super day. We headed off early under clear blue skies with a picnic to climb up Tserko Ri - a peak about 1200m above Kanjin Gompa to get some close up views of the surrounding mountains - It was an estimated 4 hour climb. We started off climbing quite steeply up the side of the mountain and were making good progress til we reached a shoulder about half way up where the snow line was - and from here we had to wind our route through a snowy boulder field up on to the final ridge line. Nearer the top the air became thinner and the going tough - the snow near the top was also quite deep and it was a bit icy in places and you wouldn't have wanted to slip - a pair of crampons would've come in handy! After 3hours and 40 mins we arrived at the summit to the usual flutter of prayer flags. The views were absolutely stunning - we were surrounded by large glaciated peaks in all directions. After photo shoots, consuming our picnic and chatting to the half dozen or so other people that made it up the mountain we headed back down on the east slope which had less snow and rocks on. On the way back we sat and sunbathed way above the valley floor and watched various birds of prey flying by - also saw little fluffy mouse rabbits. Eventually made it back to the guest house and after pizza and card games with the British family round the wood stove headed to bed for a sound nights sleep.

Day 9 Kanjin Gompa 3800 m to Rimche 2600 m

Had a lie in - Dhan brought me a hot drink in bed and hot water to wash with - I got up and got ready for our decent back down the valley. Took photos with our host family and their one well behaved and one hyper active monster child before heading down. On the way down we saw loads more birds Himalayan Monal (pheasant the national bird) choughs, eagles and flocks of snow pigeons - and also some spring flowers that were coming into bloom since the last snow storm including miniature iris. In Langtang we explored some of the alley ways and saw ladies making yak wool - and then stopped for apple pie. We also bumped into some of my VSO colleagues (Gordon, Miranda, Simon and Laura) who were making a shorter trek up the valley. On the way down we also stopped to sample the local yak curd and have a big lunch - stocking back up on our reserves that we'd spent on the way up the valley. Continuing down we came back into the forested zone through bright pink Rhoddies. We passed lots more birds - several large groups of laughing thrushes - in the langtang valley you do not have to look hard to see birds they are just there. Back down in the forested zone we also stopped to watch a large troop of languors playing and going about their business by the river. In the late afternoon we arrived in Rimche our destination for the evening -and had some beer and snacks to celebrate 2066 the Nepali New year! In the evening we chatted and played cards with other folks we'd met en- route - including 2 Swiss guys we'd met on Tserko Ri who were driving from Switzerland to Thailand!

Day 10 - Rimche to Thulo Syabru

Got up and went for an early morning wander to look for birds ( saw sun birds, fly catchers and exotic long tailed magpies amongst others) After a breakfast in the balmy sunshine headed back down the valley through forests buzzing with sikardas, climbed over landslides and wandered through bamboo growths. We had morning coffee at Bamboo and lunch a little further on, a hill above the river. On the way to lunch we passed cliffs covered with yellow honey that had flimsy rope ladders hanging down which the 'honey hunters' had erected to reap the honey. After lunch at about 1800m - we left the Langtang valley and started our climb up to the village of Thulo Syabru and the start of our route up to the Gosikund lakes and the trail back to Kathmandu. We climbed up through jungle and Barley fields before reaching the tourist orientated village on the ridge - where we checked into the hotel Peaceful. Here I had a top floor room with amazing views, a hot shower and there was even a washing machine to deal with our smelly clothes. After pancakes and honey (afternoon snack) it is about this stage in the trek that I developed a bottomless tummy - we went to look round the village - the monestry and to look for yet more birds -this time red and yellow minevets. In the evening we had more beer and snacks to celebrate the Nepali new year again - as we couldn't decide which day it should be celebrated on! Dhan and I were the only guests in the lodge - the owner said that there were less tourists than usual - probably due to the global ressession. Had a lovely Dhaal Bhaat here with mountain (not magic) mushrooms!

Day 11 - Thulo Syabru to Cholong Pati

Woke up to yet more sunny blue skies and views over the snowy Langtang mountains. After a big bowl of porridge started our long days climb up to Cholong pati at 3600m. We started up wandering on random trails through farm land stopping to look at various birds including cuckoos, shrikes and more laughing thrushes to name a few. Eventually the trail headed up into rhododendron and pine forest and then into a cleared farming area where we stopped at a lone new lodge for lunch. The lodge was like a mini farm and they had two beautiful big black glossy dogs to protect their livestock from the bears and leopards in the forest - the chickens were also big fat and glossy and had a problem with Dhan and I (maybe as we were eating their eggs!) and were very cheeky - they kept pecking at me (and drew blood!) and trying to steal Dhan's lunch! After lunch we climbed up through more forest - here we were getting into the domain of the red panda. The trail was terribly steep in places and it was a long climb and I kept thinking about reaching Cholong Pati for pancakes while Dhan did his useful guide duties pointing out deer and Himalayan Monals en route. At Cholong Pati there were a couple of pleasant lodges overlooking the Gosikund mountains which were dusted in snow - and after sitting in the sun and eating pancakes we went for a wander up to a view point and spotted more birds. We saw two spotted laughing thrushes just a few meters away- these are very pretty birds and it must have been mating season as they were having a good call out two each other for well over an hour -

Day 12 - Cholong Pati to Labaurina Yak and a side trip to Gosikund and Labaurina Pass

After an early morning bird watch and breakfast in the sun - we set off up the hill 300m to Labaurina Yak where we left our bags - and went for a day trip up to the Gosikund lakes - I had a bit of a headache and didn't think I could cope with sleeping any higher! From Labaurina Yak we had wonderful views over the Manaslu and the Ganash Himal ranges. As we climbed higher towards Gosikund at 4400m we first passed through scrub land of Sunpati an orangey - piny smelling scrub - unfortunately large areas of this had been destroyed in recent fires on the mountain. We then headed up on a levelish airy trail traversing the mountain sides, in to the wild rocky mountain tops and the alpine lakes of Gosikund. The area is home to snow leopards and is a sacred spot for Hindus as this is where their God Shiva came to quench his thirst after being poisoned - there is also a spring by the lake coming from where Shiva is said to have speared the rock. In July each year there is a Hindu pilgrimage to this spot. We stopped for lunch at one of the lodges in Gosikund and then headed up towards the Labaurina pass - past other mountain lakes. It was a day for photos and sunbathing. The lake near the top of the pass at 4600 m was still frozen. Late after noon we headed back to our digs at Labaurina Yak - getting back just before a big storm broke.

Day 13 - Labaurina Yak to Ghopte

Awoke to a pretty white world as the storm had brought a few inches of snow over night. We made an early start - about 7.30 ish as we had a long day ahead of us. We headed back up to the Labaurina pass stopping off at Gosikund to pick up a picnic. Everywhere was white and sparkly. On the Labaurina Pass at 4600 m we had a celebratory mars bar (wow did we know how to celebrate!) and then headed down into a menacing dark cloud riddled Helambu. On the way down the clouds lifted slightly and we stopped for a picnic and a sunbathe and then headed further down to Phedi High camp at 4100 m run by Mr Ram Sherpa. Poor Mr Ram Sherpa doesn't get too much business as the people in Gosikind tell you that there is know where to buy lunch en-route so you have to buy a picnic from them! We stopped at Phedi High Camp for a cup of tea and watched lots of royal blue Grandala birds and their drab brown missus flying around - they looked like some exotic birds from the tropics! We then headed down to Phedi a small settlement by a gushing waterfall and had more tea and then pushed on to Ghopte - just over the ridge - or so we thought - ha ha - ! It seemed to take forever to get there - but it was a beautiful walk through bamboo and pine forests and there were lots of purple primroses. After following trails through the forest hugging the craggy mountain side we came to the 2 huts which made up Ghopte at about 5 ish in the afternoon- (height about 3400 m). Had a hot bucket wash and than sat round the wood stove with some other pleasant guests and shared stories over dinner. Despite a long day - I couldn't sleep as my legs were still keen to keep going - I think I had restless leg syndrome!

Day 14 Ghopte to Kutumsang

Guess what - another beautiful morning with clear skies and amazing views. After breakfast out in the sun looking down upon the hill zone and the rhododendrons - we continued along the forested path hugging the mountainside climbing over boulders and tree roots to reach Therpati and joined the Helambu circuit trail. At Therpati we stopped for coffee and looked back up towards the Labaurina Pass we'd passed the day before. We then descended down through pine forests on more level trails - with occasional surprise views of the snowy Langtang Himalayas. Stopped for lunch and then descended even further down through rhododendron forests sporting white flowers and then down further still through tall deciduous trees covered in moss and then down further into meadow land. Late afternoon we arrived at a delightful spot called Kutumsang in the saddle of 2 hills basking in the end of the day sunshine - and stopped in the final hotel on the way out of the village. There were great views over the valleys below - and we were now back in farming land with terraces of potatoes, veg and barley and Buffalo. Kutumsang is at 2200 m - we still weren't in the rice growing zone as this grows further down. Didn't have a great night sleep as there was a small camping party and their porters were celebrating the end of their trip! (infact it was a German family who had taken their 6 and 8 year old daughters over the Labaurina pass at 4600m!)

Day 15 Kutumsang to Chisopani

Awoke early to balmy weather - it was such a lovely morning one couldn't help to be in a good mood despite not much sleep! After a hearty breakfast we headed over the hill top through more scrubby temperate forest spotting sun birds and exotic magpies as well as families of laughing thrushes on the way. We saw orchids and more red rhododendrons. Over the hill top we descended to Gul Banyang - here the trail became more eroded due to larger numbers of locals using the trail - including mums and their kids heading over to the new health post in Kutamsang (actually the flashiest building in the village - and like many other tourists we'd also tried heading there yesterday afternoon thinking it was a hotel!) Gul Bhanyang is a bustling little hill village catering for locals rather than just tourists. Past here the trail became wider - as if to accommodate jeeps - but we passed no traffic. Stopped for lunch on the hill above Chipling and then descended down further through villages and terraced hill sides - this time listening to buzzing sikardas and passing through countryside filled with dragonflies. We were also in Isaloo country - small yellow raspberries - and after a couple of weeks with no fruit - we stopped and picked lots of berries - or rather Dhan did and I just ate them! Chatted along the way with Dhan about village beliefs n despite him having a Bachelors degree and having lived abroad - he still believes in Boxi - witchcraft and village spirits! We walked a while a long a larger trail with the odd truck travelling along delivering building materials. These remote hill areas are starting to became more developed. At the end of a day mostly descending we climbed up the hill towards Shivapuri national park and Chisopani - for our final nights stay. Here, as it was our last night - we had celebratory beers and snacks on the terrace of our hotel.

Day 16 Chisopani - Sundarijal and Kathmandu

The final day - Dhan and I started out with Kei a guy from Japan - (Kei was being paid to do this trip by a travel magazine) - who we'd trekked with on and off for the last few days. We bought our permits to get into Shivapuri and climbed up through scrub land and into deeper forest. We saw bulbuls, magpies, barbets and laughing thrushes en route and deep in the forest 2 black c*** . Stewardess buzzed away. Most of the other people we met were locals going about there business. We passed over the top of the hill at about 2300 m and then descended down through villages and farmlands. After stopping for lunch at a good cafe that I normally stop at when I go mountain biking in Shivapuri - For the final part of out trek - we wondered down hill at the side of the Bagmati - a tumbling mountain stream - before it becomes the polluted stinky river come rubbish dump that flows through Kathmandu. Dhan and I said our goodbyes to Kei - who wanted to walk back to Kathmandu proper - to Pashupati temple a UNESCO world heritage sight. Having travelled this stretch several times before on foot, bike, and by bus I didn't feel the need to walk! Dhan and I headed back to Kathmandu and went to Himalayan Java for a capacinno and said our goodbyes. It had been a fantastic trip and Dhan had been a great guide. I hopped in a cab to get home (I normally take buses but I considered myself to still be on holiday!) Kathmandu was in chaos - there were very long queues for petrol being supervised by the army and a road block with a demonstration - can't remember what it was about as there are so many - different ethnic groups wanting their own state, students wanting cheaper travel on the transport round town etc... After sitting in noisy polluting traffic for ages - I got home safely. After being in the peace and quiet and clean air of the Himalayas it was certainly a big contrast to be back in Kathmandu - (though it was nice to have a comfy bed and a hot shower) I am planning another trip to the mountains this autumn!