TREKKING IN NEPAL

Why I chose to trek in Langtang with my 5 year old.

Wayfarers on the high road to Langtang

"....... the rain was coming down in sleets making the treacherous steps cut into the cliffside look like a nightmare of loose rubble, soggy mud and shifting sand on which we had to test the agility and tenacity of our feet and muscles.My guaranteed non-slip Clarks soles were certainly taking a beating as I stumbled and slithered on the tricky slope. The sound of waterfall crashing off the 800 foot cliff which we were ascending, would under normal circumstances been beautiful but was in this instance more of a threat and did nothing to soothe my jagged nerves. I was fighting a head cold, a bad throat and a raging fever equivalent to the raging heavens and torrents. Some fool traveler had described this part of the trek as 'a walk through a pleasant gully' The brochure's description of 'an almost vertical cliff, 800 feet in height' was more accurate but still wide off the mark in this foul weather. Guilty pangs mulled with fearful ones as I thought of my 5 year old somewhere ahead perched perilously on the shoulders of Klipa our cook......."

from an excerpt in my diary describing the misadventures on the fourth day of our trek to Langtang in the northern corner of Nepal.

Why I wanted to trek in Nepal, especially with a five year old in tow was one of those difficult to answer questions.Nepal can sometimes be viewed as an unsafe destination full of dreaded diseases, perils and unknown dangers to which you certainly didn't drag your 5 year old. But if the truth be told I was really inspired by this gusty Irish woman D. Murphy who had taken her 6 year old on a three month winter odyssey in the mountains of remote Baltistan. Her book Where the Indus is young was what really started me off.

In trying to emulate this adventurous stalwart, though on a very small scale (my trek was only of 12 days) I had gravely overrated myself. A citified Singaporean like me cannot quite measure up to the likes of Ms Murphy. I also did not bargain for falling ill, the incredibly punishing terrain, or the vast and daunting distances to be covered. My little boy however had less problems. He was certainly well entertained chasing all the chickens, goats and kittens that we came across in the villages. He had a fun time too, playing peek a-boo with the Nepalese crew though usually by mid afternoon black moods and tantrums were not uncommon.

Intrepid Hans, age 5

Our family of three and crew of nine included a guide, a sherpa, a chief cook, a sub cook a kitchen boy and 4 porters to carry our loads. Compared to Ms Murphy team of 2 we were indeed a pampered lot !

We had opted for the Langtang route because of it's nearness to Kathmandu, the acceptable number of days and because the Upper Langtang Valley had been billed as offering one of Nepal's most spectacular scenery. Langtang is a narrow valley which lies south of the Tibetan border sandwiched between the main Himalayan range to the North and slightly lower range of snowy peaks to the south. Langtang Village at 11,500 feet is just below the foot of the Langtang Himal at 23,776 feet. This high and isolated valley is inhabited by people of Tibetan origin.

Our Langtang trek was of 12 days duration. We took 6 days to walk to Langtang, including 4 hours of jeep ride to the trail head at Betrawati (this was before the days of the motorised road which now connects Kathmandu with Syabru) had a free day in Langtang and took 5 days to do the return journey.

TREKKING IN NEPAL DAY 6-12

Day 6-7 Langtang

Walking beside the Langtang Khola, in the company of firs and conifers, we slowly made our way until we were past the tree-line and the mountains were barren, rocky and cloud-swept.

A water-driven prayer wheel spanning a stream at the entrance of Langtang village.
"...spiritual purposes are served by many natural phenomena - not only wind, but also water and earth. A prayer wheel can, for example be driven by the current of a stream, where it will spin endlessly, imparting to the waters the aura of its prayers. Its spiritual influence will thus extend from stream to river, and thence to the sea, and may even return to the earth once more in the form of rain...." wrote Olivier Follmi in his wonderful book Where heaven and mountains meet.

A mani wall, composed of dry stone slates inlaid with Buddhist prayers near the village of
Langtang. The inscribed prayer is simply "Om Mani Padme Hum" or "Hail the Jewel in the Lotus" repeated over and over again, a most powerful mantra.

Langtang Village, 12,00 0 ft

Arriving at Langtang village, 12,000ft, we spent a quiet day relaxing, walking to the village monastery, lolling on the boulders and simply exulting with the mountains, rocks, stones and sky. In the evening our campfire dinner attracted the villagers,especially when someone struck the drums, many came running out for an impromptu dancing session.

Day 8-12 Return Journey

The return journey was no less of a penance. Going downhill doesn't hurt your lungs or put so much strain on your muscles but what it does to your knees is another story. Going downhill is also far more tricky than ascent as the not too infrequent bumps to my bottom will testify. We took 5 days to backtrek all the way to Betrawati. The alternative route involved going over high mountain passes which was not feasible for us. At trek's end we were several pounds lighter, blistered and bruised but still we counted ourselves lucky for having undertaken one of the most memorable trips of our lives.

Route Map