Nepal day 7 and 8: The most beautiful and exhausting days of my life

Day 6

I got up at 6am, so early! I slept well and only woke up once or twice during the night, there was some overnight rain as well. I settled for an omelette for breakfast, food has started to get more expensive the higher you climb.

I set off on my trek again at 7am hoping to make it to Tal. Which is approximately 20km away. It was a downhill start and I was feeling good, however I kept slipping on the wet rocks getting my shoes and trousers muddy after just 10 minutes. There were so many waterfalls on the way, some small that you have to cross and larger ones across the valley.

On the way I bumped into Li and Yu (might’ve made their names up) who I had met at the last lodge. We trekked together for a while, they are both from China and are work colleagues in the public sector. Li has also travelled India twice. We reached Ghermu in good time, around 9am, then we crossed the suspension bridge which was a little scary!

On the way to the next village there were 7 other trekkers one group of 4, a couple and a solo. I stopped in this village called Jagat where I had Dal Bhaat for lunch. Which is basically rice and lentil soup, but it also came with papad, pickle and vegetables. I had a little headache beforehand but that was gone after lunch. From Jagat I was trekking solo for a while because I was the only one to stop for lunch.

The journey to Chamje the next village was very difficult! It was a long uphill stretch through the jungle with many stairs and I was quickly starting to question why I was doing this. At the same time I had to keep reminding myself to stay positive and walk slowly. It was really tough as it was getting hotter, however after two hours I finally glimpsed some houses and I was so happy to have finally reached Chamje at 2pm.

I kept going with renewed belief I would reach the next village Tal before it turns dark at 6pm. After crossing another suspension bridge I caught up with Li and Yu again and we trekked together from here on in. The trail started okay but quickly started going uphill again after a gradual downhill. We could see the trail up ahead zig zagging upwards. At the start I was keeping up with my Chinese friends but I fell behind since I was taking more breaks.

My shoulders were hurting and my legs were gone. But I climbed slowly, refraining from negative thinking. Finally I reached the end of the switchbacks and there was Li and Yu taking a break up ahead. I was super exhausted now but I took in my surroundings in the valley with some crazy views. We started off together again and after ten minutes we reached an opening and it was one of the most beautiful sights I saw!

The cascading river below opened out to a wide plateau and in the short distance was the village of Tal. I couldn’t help but smile widely. The long hard path was super worth this view. After ten minutes of walking on the beach next to the wide river we reached the first guesthouse just after 5pm and we had a look at the rooms and bathrooms and it was clean so we decided to stay here for the night.

Coming in I noticed a waterfall close by and I asked the owner if it was possible to visit and come back before dark and he said it was just ten minutes away. The owner’s daughter Busa said she would show me and we talk and short walk through the village and then through someone’s backyard and reached the huge waterfall. It was beautiful but there was a lot of spray also. After a quick picture we headed back to the guesthouse. Busa was very shy but I found out that her favourite subject at school was Nepali, I tried to tell her maths was the best but she wasn’t having it.

I had chicken fried noodles for dinner and it tasted great! But maybe that was just because of my very long day. I got into bed at 8pm.

Day 7

I woke up at 6am and promptly had breakfast, I had an omelette again, maybe I should change it up. I started walking at 6:30am but really slowly because my legs were hurting from the day before. I probably exerted myself yesterday and in hindsight maybe I would have stopped in the earlier village.

It was raining slightly which added to the misery because the rocks were slippy and the path wet and muddy. The Chinese duo soon overtook me and I wouldn’t see them again. I met a guy from South Korea who was trekking with a guide and we trekked together for a little while. The path climbed a lot as we passed the village of Karte.
The stairs were long however eventually the path got slightly easier and I could see the next village Dharapani. I had to cross the river which meant descending and then ascending again to the village which was kind of a pisstake!

I met a lot more trekkers in Dharapani from Switzerland, Russia and Iran. I decided to stop here for lunch even though it was only 11am. I had the most amazing lunch, I got the dal Bhaat set (it varies from place to place) and I got rice, lentil soup, potato curry, greens, papad and pickle, it was so delicious!

After lunch I had a renewed sense of energy and although the next two villages were an uphill trek I scaled them in good time, reaching the latter village Danaque at 2pm. I should’ve stayed here but I kept going to the next village. At one point I took the wrong path 2 times! The first which showed up on maps.me led to the edge of a cliff which I nearly fell down… I had to go back on myself and find a different path or take the road. However the road crosses through a waterfall which is difficult to cross by foot. Thankfully there was another path with a bridge which I crossed fine. It was difficult to keep track of emotions but I took plenty of breaks to stay calm.

After the path joined the road I was supposed to go back on myself a bit to find another trail but I followed the road which added an hour to my journey! On the road there was a tractor stuck in the middle, but thankfully I didn’t have to stop since there was a path for me. It was an arduous never ending uphill trail to Timang where I stayed for the night, made it! My feet were hurting so much I laid down in my bed for an hour and I couldn’t move at all.

For last two nights I’ve had no WiFi which kinda sucks but it’s nice to switch off I guess. I ordered chicken for dinner but they didn’t have any… I took veg noodles instead. I’m at a height of around 2300m now and it’s really cold in the evenings, there’s no heater just a thick duvet and I’m sleeping in a jumper and joggers. It’s going to be really cold the further up I go, maybe I’ll wear my coat to bed!