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will come
duffel bags, food, kitchen
equipment and tents, and our
trek will begin.
This trek has been fully scouted
by our guide and very few other
trekkers were seen on these
treks, so you can count on this
being a trek to an area not yet
spoiled by hoards of trekker as
are the Everest and Annapurna
areas.
The trek starts with a 2500 foot
climb through Hindu villages
until we are high on the slope
of a ridge over looking one of
the many river valleys in Nepal
that are equal in depth to the
of the Grand Canyon. Our second
day痴 trek will see us reach our
first Buddhist villages and
Gombas/ Monastery. On this day
we will also see the forests
change from oak to rhododendrons
are Nepal痴 Nationals Flower and
are not
bushes but trees up to 60 feet
high and are covered in red,
pink and occasionally white
flowers in spring days. These
rhododendron forests are to be
found at elevations between 6500
and 1,2000 feet.
For many of you the first three
days of the trek will be the
hardest of the trek as we
steadily climb to Tinsang La
Pass (10,900 feet) which we get
our first view of the Himalayas
which, although still somewhat
distant, are breathtaking. The
tower of Chobo Bemare in Tibet
is visible along with the peaks
of the Rolwaling. We will
descend from the pass through
alpine meadows ringed with the
rhododendrons in a riot of red
and white blossoms until we come
to Bigu Gomba at 8,200 feet
elevation. Set among juniper
trees, Bigu is one of the most
fascinating Buddhist nunneries
in Nepal. Built in 1933 it
houses about 35 nuns, most of
them Sherpas. The walls inside
the gomba are lined with
interlacing statues of
Avalokiteswara, each with eleven
heads and 1000 arms, hands and
eyes.
Our next two days will see us
pass many small villages and
hike up and then down seldom
used trials through rhododendron
and magnolia forests. We are
sure to seegroups f monkeys in
the forest as we make our way
over several ridges between 7000
and 9000 feet and finally come
to the valley of the mighty
Bhote Kosi river. We must drop
all the way down to the village
of Congar (4100 feet) on the
Bhote Kosi, and our camp on one
of its tributaries will give us
our first of many opportunities
for swimming on this trek.
Heading up the Bhote Kosi the
valley becomes V-shaped and very
rugged as you pass a beautiful
waterfall on the opposite bank.
You are now on one of the
historic trade routes to Tibet.
To reach the Rolwaling Valley we
leave the Tibet trade route and
cross the Bhote Kosi on an
exciting suspension bridge
before we begin a zigzag climb
up to the village of Simagaon
(6400 feet) populated by Sherpas
and Tamangs . Simagaon, besides
having many Buddhist chortens
and mani stones, also has a
small gomba. We climb to the
ridge summit above the village
and get our first close-up view
of Gauri Shankar (23,442 feet),
the Rolwaling痴 most famous peak,
as it looms above the valley of
the Rolwaling Khola.
Gauri Shankar has deep religious
significance for both Hindus and
Buddhist. Jumbled rock
escarpments sweep upwards into
knife-edged and corniced ice
ridges which finally merge at
Gauri , the south summit. So
prominent is Gauri Shankar from
the Ganges Plain that legends
long claimed it to be the
highest mountain in the world.
The Rolwaling Sherpas call it
Jomo Tseringma and throughout
Buddhist Lamaism, to as far away
as Sikkim, Tseringma is
considered the most holy
mountain of the Sherpas.
After several days of trekking
through rhododendron forest on
the slopes high above the lower
Rolwaling valley, we drop down
to cross the Rolwaling Khola.
Views of Gauri Shankar are
plentiful as are spring
wildflowers especially
primroses. We come to the first
human habitation since leaving
Simagaon as we make our way up
the valley to the only permanent
village, Beding ( 11,900 feet) .
Beding is a small
villages of perhaps 200 Sherpa
families living in stone houses.
There is a monastery here and a
small hermitage set in a cliff
above the village. Here Guru
Padma Sambhava is said to have
meditated 2000 years ago. Beding
is located in a narrow gorge and
boasts a school built by Sir
Edmond Hillary. Yaks are
plentiful.
From Beding we will hike up the
upper Rolwaling valley which is
a stark moraine amid a confusing
tangle of ice peaks, glaciers
and little used passes. Along
the ridge to the North is the
Tibetan border. Views of
Menlungtse (23,500 feet) appear
as well as that of the beautiful
fluted ice peak of Chobutse
(21,900 feet) , one of the more
prominent peaks in the upper
Rolwaling. The valley becomes U
shaped as we pass the potato
fields and houses of the summer
village of Na. All moving days
past Beding will be short to
allow for acclimatisation, and
we will make camp by lunch. We
finally reach our final
objective, Tsho Rolpo, a large
glacial lake at almost 15,000
feet dammed by the great Ripimo
Shar glacier. Our highest camp
at the base of the great
ice-wall of Chobutse. Mountain
vistas of the mountains
surrounding the Ripimo Glacier
and of Chobutse from this camp
are unsurpassed.
On our return we retrace our
route for three days until we
reach the Bhote Kosi river again
at the village of Congar (4100
feet). Continuing down the warm
Bhote Kosi valley we reach the
Hindu village of Suri Dhoban
(3400 feet). A half-day rest
here will allow us to escape the
heat to be found at this lower
elevation by taking a swim in
the pleasant clean waters of the
Khare Khola. From Suri Dhoban we
trek for three days to the end
of the trek at Jiri. First, we
must climb our of the heat of
the Bhote Kosi valley passing
many small villages and finally
crossing a ridge at about 9200
feet. Descending through meadows
and villages we reach Jiri (6100
feet), the terminus of the new
road from Lamasango built with
Swiss aid. Our last camp at Jiri
will include a party with the
porters featuring lots of local
singing and dancing and
consumption of rakshi the local
firewater.
Our charter bus will take us
back to Kathmandu from Jiri
after 16 days exciting trek. |
Included
Daily itinerary as described,
all inclusive camping or lodge
trek with English speaking guide
and porters, all meals on trek,
tea, all fees and land
transportation, coffee and
boiled water, camping gear such
as twin sharing tent, mattress,
toilet tent, dinning/kitchen
tent, necessary staff.
Does not included
Bottled beverages, tips, items
of a personal nature, delay due
to weather, equipment failure or
situations beyond our control. |
