Trek to Rara Lake : Part 2 - in pictures

Day 1

I was particularly taken with these horns

looking back down the hill we'd just ascended - you can't see those mountains from Nisha's village

this is the path up

final stretch to barren Kali (3642 M/11,948 ft)

Day 2

if in doubt, just follow the donkeys

amazing Laxmi, running the guesthouse in Bulbule with two small kids (and neighbour's)

Day 3

Ghurchi Pass  (3446 M/11,305 ft)

mandir (temple) at Ghurchi - looking towards Mugu

I was going uphill, completely out of breath while he smoked his pipe carrying a heavy load

We were told there was a place to stay in a small village called Jhyari (although the conditions couldn't be vouched for),  but upon arrival, we were informed that it wasn't suitable for us and we should go '15 minutes' up the hill to a place on the road. An hour later, I was dragging myself up the hill at a snail's pace as light faded and the 'hotel' was still nowhere in sight. As I joked to Nisha that we were about to stumble across a 3 star hotel, we heard the sound of children singing. We approached what could generously be described as a hut with a shelter to find an old woman and two small boys around a fire. They had just taken most of their pots and pans down to their house down the road as they weren't planning on staying the night but upon hearing of our plight, the old woman, Jaumati Budha, sent the boys running down the hill to their house to fetch pots so she could make us dinner.

As she prepared our meal (they had already eaten), she told Nisha her story. The boys were her grandchildren, her daughter's sons. Their father had gone off to India and never returned. When their mother remarried (apparently to a man who had raped her), the sons were offloaded on to their grandmother who had taken them in and was raising them. She was an incredible lady, facing a very tough life in her golden years. Very inspiring and kind woman for we would have been stranded had she not taken us in.

Hajur-aama (grandmother) and the boys slept in the back part of the room while we slept on a rather unstable assembly of planks, with my legs dangling off at the calves. We slept surprisingly well, probably out of sheer relief. It was a wonderful refuge from the cold and quite a memorable night.

our bed - although there was a padded matt(ress)

Day 4

our "3 star" hotel in daylight

In the morning, we walked on up the hill eventually reaching Rara Lake - a stunning body of water surrounded by snow-capped mountains.

we made it! -  at Rara Lake

 

 

Day 5

 the 'airport' in Mugu

 Nisha plays carrom (on a very wonky board) while we wait for lunch

the road winds around the valley and loops back on the other side

 you can see the road across so rather than going all the way around, we went down and up the other side!

 children gather to stare at the bideshi (foreigner)

as we made our way through the village of Topla

Day 6

looking back, you can see the road - we went down and up

and where the road ends on the right, is the runway

 donkey jam - back down the hill as we head up the the Ghurchi pass

Day 7

 moon in the morning

 

our host making roti for breakfast

the snowy, muddy road had actually dried up a lot on the way back

 donkeys on the road to Kali

Kali pass - also much less muddy just 6 days later

We approached Kali just before 4pm and were thinking we would sleep in Patmara as although downhill, we still wouldn't make it back to Urthu-Chautara before dark (it had taken us 6 hours on day 1 in the other direction but it was uphill all the way 1100 M/3608 ft). When we arrived in Kali, it turned out the tractor of Nisha's neighbour was there having just delivered goods. I still wanted to walk as we were in the final stretch but was happy to give them my rucksack (relieving myself of the shooting pains in my shoulder). Since we knew that we could jump in the tractor when they eventually headed back, we set off, and continued on past Patmara.

As darkness fell, just as I was pulling out my headlamp, we heard the growl and rattle of the tractor and its trailer, shuddering down the hill. It was a pretty slow and incredibly jerky, bumpy ride,  but eventually we were driving through the village and pulling up outside home. It had been a great week, after the initial trauma of day 1, we had settled into a nice leisurely rhythm. But it was great to be home again too.