First
of all, once we reached Tsho-Rolpa lake, all of us got busy doing things like
burning incense sticks, meditating, sitting by the lake shore, capturing the lake
and its surroundings with our eyes, etc. Our guide told us not to spend too
much time at the lake as we had to make it to another lake as well.

I
sauntered along the rocky shore until I came to John, who was saying that the
best view of Tsho-Rolpa could be seen in all its glory. We could see the frozen
lake spread for miles around. We took pictures and videos of the lake as it was
glorified for a moment before it was engulfed by newly born clouds. Then we
were called by our guide to have some snacks in the newly made tea house near
the lake before we headed to Dhudkunda. It was the only tea house in
Tsho-Rolpa. There were no other tea houses. As I had a headache, I thought I
could not make it. Instead of snacks, John and I took a cup of tea and refilled
our water bottles. Once we had our tea, fellow trekkers decided to make it to
Dhudkunda. Despite my headache, and knowing I might regret it later, I decided
to continue with our group. After all, we had come a long way to make this trek
happen. When would we have the opportunity to visit this place again? Now,
there were ten fellow trekkers along with our guide and his friend, who would
be making snacks for us once we reached Dhudkunda, walking along the trail with
us.

We
all got ready for another 2-hour walk to an elevation of 4850 m, where
Dhudkunda is situated in all its complete wilderness. The trail follows a
mountainous route characterized by rugged terrain varying in elevation, passing
through alpine meadows and glacial meltwater channels. It involves ascending
and descending along mountain paths, traversing rocky terrain. As we were
walking along the alpine meadow, our guide showed us his passport and
citizenship, which he kept in his backpack, and shared his life journey in the
Himalayas. He said that he started working in the Himalayas at a young age.
Although he did not have his guide permit, he seemed confident in his ability
to guide on the Himalayan trails. Once we reached the glacial meltwater
channel, also known as a glacial moraine, the path became uneven, littered with
deposits of rocks and sediments ranging from small pebbles to huge rock
boulders, making it difficult for us to navigate the trail. We followed the
green trail marks, as instructed by our guide. As we were passing through the
meltwater stream, I stumbled upon a small rock which I took and kept in my
pocket as a souvenir. On the way, our guide wanted to exchange his backpack
with mine as he thought I would have a physical problem ascending the rocky
path characterized by boulders with a heavy load on my back. How
kind-hearted our guide was! As the landscape was shrouded by heavy mist, we
were unable to see the snow peak mountains around us. But the feeling of
walking in a place like that was surreal. It reminded me of my solo Manaslu
circuit trek. For six hours, I walked alone in the Larkye Pass covered with
heavy snow; even the trail marker iron poles were buried in heavy snow. It was
one of my greatest achievements and fondest memories as a hiker/trekker,
perhaps even as a good mountaineer.

Once
we reached the top of the mountain, it resembled a ridge where the trail to
Dhudkunda was established. There, another fork in the road appeared, prompting
our guide to use his ice axe to mark the trail indicating that we should
descend down the mountain using that path. We took some rest and enjoyed the
view from there. The sound of rockfall echoed around us, a high-pitched, sharp
noise. The Himalayan mountains were veiled in heavy clouds, indicating that
snowfall could occur at any moment. Moraines stretched into the distance, the
only visible landmarks. The Himalayan gusts blew fiercely, perhaps the
strongest wind we had encountered on our journey. From the top of the mountain,
I observed down into the moraines and spotted one of the large holes. I
wondered how it was formed as I saw the water flowing into it turn into ice.
This added to our curiosity as we continued along the trail.

Around
4:30 PM, we arrived at Dhudkunda. It was a fantastic feeling to reach the spiritual lake. The lake was frozen as far as the eye could see. Upon reaching
it, I circled the Buddhist Mani Arch three times and took a moment to
appreciate the place, despite the headache. The lake appeared white, almost
milky in color. I wondered if it had earned its name due to that characteristic. We decided not to linger at the lake due to the poor weather
conditions. Instead, we quickly took pictures and videos of the frozen
landscape. Walking on the frozen lake gave us an incredible feeling, as if we
were walking on water. Then, we returned to the tea house near Dhudkunda, just
a few meters away from the lake, and ordered noodles along with hot water.
After enjoying our snacks, we hastened our pace and initiated the long journey
back to Na village.


As
the trail and the surrounding landscape were covered in heavy mist, we did not
want to spend more time in the trail. While descending down the rocky
mountains, I filled my pocket with leaves of Himalayan Junipers so that I could
use them in my home as incense sticks. The aroma is so strong that it gives the
Himalayan vibes in the room. Soon, we reached alpine meadows covered in the
mist where we all gathered in front of a huge rock and prayed for a while. Our
guide read some mantras of positive vibes and energy. Thanking our strenuous
journey to the lakes, we turned back and looked towards the Tsho-Rolpa,
Dhudkunda trails, we hastened our walk. It was a great way to say goodbye the
lakes!

Around
7 o'clock in the late afternoon, we returned to the Na village. Once we arrived
at our tea house, we all wanted to celebrate New Year's Eve. After finishing
our cleaning and changing clothes, we gathered in the dining room and ordered
our meal for the night. There, we had great conversations about how we managed
to visit both lakes! Since there were other foreign trekkers present, we didn't
want to speak too loudly. After they had their dinner and retired to their
rooms, we enjoyed talking with each other. We planned that tomorrow, on New
Year's Day, we would make it to the Chet-Chet no matter what! Once the
discussion was settled, we had our meal. However, due to headache, I couldn't
eat much. I ate what was on my plate, and I didn't ask for more. After dinner,
we all gave money to our guide, who had done a great job guiding us through the
Himalayan wilderness. We all went to sleep around 10:00 PM.
DAY 4
Tossing
and turning, we couldn’t sleep well. Our brains weren't accustomed to sleeping
at such high altitudes. 4000 meters isn’t usual for us. Around 5:30 AM, we woke
up and packed our backpacks. After settling the bill and wishing everyone
there, including our guide, a happy New Year, we set off for Beding, where we
planned to take a tea break before continuing along the trail to Chet-Chet. We
were unsure where we would stop for lunch.
John
and I fell behind because we wanted to see the place one more time with our own
eyes, a memory for a lifetime. We didn’t take many photos but relied on our
eyes to capture the moment. Seeing with our own eyes, rather than through the
lens of a camera, offers a more immersive and authentic experience and foster a deeper connection and understanding of
the moment, creating memories that are rich and vivid.

Along
the way, we noticed that there was no snow on the trail, even though it had
snowed the previous night. Around 8:00 AM, we arrived at the same tea house in
Beding and ordered breakfast. Making phone calls to our homes, we felt
relieved; the phone network didn’t work up in the Na village. We encountered
the same old couple from Germany whom we had met in Simigaun and wished them a
Happy New Year. After breakfast, we quickened our pace as we descended from
Beding. We had a full day of walking ahead of us. We all headed down a few
meters apart, knowing we would catch up at Surmuche for lunch. Looking back on
the scenes left behind while going up last time, we walked down like never before.
The pace was great, and we had to cover around 40 km that day to reach
Chet-Chet; we walked down the trails. Taking a few breaks on the trail and
having our snacks, we reached Kyalje around 12:30 PM, where we decided to have
our lunch. We thought reaching Surmuche would be late for food, considering the
distance to cover in that time.

After
our lunch, we were ready for Chet-Chet. The food was awesome, especially the
organic spinach. After walking for about an hour or so, we stumbled upon a
spring pool where we decided to swim. John and I had previously planned to swim
there. John dived into the pool first, followed by the three of us, while the
rest of our fellow trekkers watched our swim from the suspension bridge located
above the pool. It was an awe-inspiring experience to dive into a pool like
that. It felt like a glorious ritual cleansing, washing away our physical pain and negative vibes. However, the water was too
cold to stay in for a long time. Refreshed, we continued down the trail,
advising our trail friends to take a shorter path once we reached the suspension
bridge between Surmuche and Simigaun. We would be skipping Simigaun and taking
the Riku village trail instead.

Out
of the blue, a local dog that we met in Kyalje while having our food followed
us. We gave him meat, and that's why he followed us, we thought. He got ahead
on the trail, as if he wanted to show us the way. Suddenly, it started to rain.
We took some time to put on our raincoats at one of the rest stops. There
was a man, too, with a 'Khukuri' strapped to his body, looking after his oxen in a shed. We noticed that he was disabled. We felt sorry for him, but we
couldn't give anything except some snacks from a backpack, which I gave to him.
I wondered how one could live there, in a shed with oxen and a fierce dog
chained in front of it in the middle of the wild forest.

As it
started to rain with thunder in the sky, we hurriedly walked on the trail,
taking care with each step. We reached the suspension bridge around 4:30 PM.
The same dog was waiting for us near the bridge. He was urging us to follow his
trail that led straight to Simigaun, as we noticed from his tail wagging and
low barking. Unfortunately, as we decided to skip the Simigaun trail, we
crossed the suspension bridge and couldn’t follow the dog’s trail. As we were
crossing the bridge, we had to say, "Go to your home," to the dog. We
were unsure whether he understood us or not, but we left from there. As we crossed
the bridge, a few of us were left behind. For them, we marked the trail with an
arrow on the path so those who were left would know that we had taken that
path. As we were walking along the Riku village trail, the rain got so heavy
that we all got drenched. We had to take shelter at a rest stop for about half
an hour. The lightning strikes were so bright that we could see them hitting
the mountains. When the rain began to slow down, we continued down the mountain
trail. After crossing the suspension bridge, John, I, and the rest of our group
scattered along the trail, unaware of our exact location. It was late
afternoon, still raining, and visibility was poor.

 |
© Aayush Chhetri |
One of our fellow trekkers got ahead on the trail. I tried to follow him but lost sight of him. I waited for a while on the trail for the others who were behind me. After some time, another trail friend appeared, and we walked together, discussing where John and the others might be. He assured me they were following behind.
A few
minutes later, we arrived at Chet-Chet where fellow trekker who had gone ahead
was waiting. The rain worsened, and we grew worried about those still on the
trail. John tried to call me, but the mobile network was unreliable. He made
several attempts after losing track of the correct path.
Eventually,
they arrived, and we were relieved to see them despite the difficulties they
faced. The tea house was crowded, so we looked for another place to stay, which
was arranged by the lady tea house owner. We were impressed by the kindness of her! We managed to book four rooms.
After
cleaning up and changing clothes, we gathered in the tea house's dining room to
enjoy our last night of the trek, which coincided with New Year’s Day. We felt
very content with our trek. We ordered dinner, and while it was being prepared,
we enjoyed tea, hot water, snacks, and some of our fellow trail friends had
drinks to celebrate the final day of our trek.
As we
chatted and had a good time, we asked the lady owner to book bus tickets to
Kathmandu. She booked six tickets for us. After a while, our meal was served,
marking our final meal on the trail. Even after dinner, we stayed in the dining
room, knowing we might not see each other again after leaving Chet-Chet for
Kathmandu. Eventually, some of us, including myself, went to sleep while others
stayed up enjoying their drinks and conversations.
DAY 5
I
woke up early at 5 in the morning and did my morning routine. As I was having
my morning tea, John and other fellow trail friends popped in. Once we finished our
breakfast, we all waited for the bus to arrive. Around 6:15 AM, our bus to
Kathmandu arrived. Coincidentally, it was the same bus we had taken last time
to Chet-Chet for the trek. Since the bus was crowded with passengers and their
belongings, we had to put our backpacks in the rear storage area. We also took
the backpacks of other trail friends who were leaving for Kathmandu on their
motorbikes. We decided to take their backpacks to Kathmandu where our four
trail friends would meet us at our stop in Kathmandu to retrieve their
backpacks. As we had formed a friendship, we thought this was something we
could do for them.
Around
6:30 AM, six of us left for Kathmandu while our four trail friends stayed
behind, coming on their motorbikes.
Abstract:
Setting
out on a Himalayan trek through the Rolwaling Valley was a journey that
transcended mere physical exploration; it was a profound odyssey of
self-discovery, team-spirit, and connection with the majestic natural world.
From the moment my friend John and I set foot on the snowy trails, we were
enveloped in a world of breathtaking beauty and untamed wilderness.
Our
trek began with a moment of uncertainty, as we deliberated whether to brave the
snow-covered trails amidst the wintry weather. Seeking guidance from a wise tea
house owner, we found reassurance in her words and made the bold decision to
press forward. Little did we know that the choice would set the stage for an
adventure filled with both exhilarating highs and daunting challenges.
As we
trudged along the snowy path, each step illuminated by the occasional lightning
strike, we were reminded of the raw power of nature and the fragility of our existence
within it. Yet, within the swirling snowflakes and swirling mist, there was a
sense of awe and wonder that stirred within us—a recognition of the sheer
magnificence of the Himalayan landscape.
Our
journey was punctuated by moments of serendipity and wonder, from encountering
the elusive Danphe, Nepal's national bird, witnessing snow leopard's footprints to stumbling upon a lone tree
cloaked in a blanket of snow. Each sighting was a tribute to the resplendent
beauty of the natural world and the magic that awaited around every corner.
As we
ventured deeper into the heart of the Rolwaling Valley, we found ourselves
immersed in a tapestry of cultural richness and historical significance. From
the ancient villages of Beding and Na, where we glimpsed centuries-old
traditions and the enduring resilience of the Sherpa people, to the sacred
sites consecrated by Guru Rinpoche himself, we felt a profound sense of
reverence for the land and its inhabitants.
But
it was not just the external landscape that captivated us—it was also the
internal journey of self-discovery and personal growth that unfolded with each
passing day. From the physical challenges of navigating treacherous topography to
the moments of quiet contemplation by the shores of Tsho-Rolpa Lake, we found
ourselves tested and transformed in ways we had never imagined.
Yet,
amidst the trials and tribulations, there was also the unshakable bond of
friendship that sustained us—a shared sense of purpose and adventure that
united us as fellow travelers on the remarkable journey. Whether huddled
around a fire in a cozy tea house or braving the elements together on the
trail, we found strength in each other's presence and the knowledge that we
were not alone in our quest.
As we
descended back towards civilization, our hearts heavy with the bittersweet
realization that our adventure was coming to an end, we carried with us
memories that would last a lifetime. From the ethereal beauty of the
snow-capped peaks to the warm embrace of the local villagers, each experience
left an indelible mark on our souls, reminding us of the profound
interconnectedness of all living things.
In
the end, our trek through the Rolwaling Valley was not just a physical
journey—it was a spiritual odyssey that touched the deepest recesses of our
being. It was a tribute to the power of nature to inspire, challenge, and
transform us, leaving us forever changed and infinitely grateful for the
opportunity to explore the wonders of the Himalayas.