Two years of continuous work without a long vacation had taken a toll on me. I had been on both sides of Annapurna and wanted to be on mountains once again. Sunil and I had been working on our project Makalu, for a while and we desperately needed a break. We set plans to be at Annapurna Base Camp (ABC) and taking several days’ leave rushed to Pokhara leaving office around 3:15pm on a Friday. We stayed in Pokhara at my home for the night.

Phulchoki is situated at the height of 2782m from the Godavari. It is the highest hill in the south of the Kathmandu valley. Hiking to this area is most interesting because of its natural vegetation. It is said that the place is famous for the bird watching as over 250 species of the birds are found over there. Also there are many different animals like the barking deer, leopard, bear and the other animals. We don’t know whether it was our good luck or the bad luck we didn’t encounter any of these animals .Phulchoki is also famous for its winter snow fall which happens there for the short time on winter.

This is a travelogue of a soul that was yearning for a nice hike in Nepal. After joining Deerwalk, if there is a perk I can think of, the opportunity to hike with fellow colleagues definitely ranks at the top of my list. We couldn’t have chosen a better place- Sailung. Sailung (27° 33′ 42.12″ N 85° 58′ 29.58″ E), at the elevation of 3192M, was a summit from where you are able to make out with Makalu (5th highest mountain) on the east and dance with Dhaulagiri (7th highest mountain) on the west still keeping an eye on Everest.

Kulekhani is a village development committee in Makwanpur District in the Narayani Zone of southern Nepal. At the time of the 1991 Nepal census it had a population of 2972 people living in 535 individual households The Kulekhani watershed is located 50 km southwest of Kathmandu and is the source of water for the Kulekhani reservoir, which supplies water to two hydropower plants ($120 million total investment). When the reservoir was completed in 1982, it had a 100 year design life based on projected sedimentation rates. Unfortunately, due to high erosion rates and landslides in the watershed,

It was a brilliant Saturday morning when we gathered at the office around 7:30am and a few of the hikers joined us from Balaju. We traversed the Balaju-Bypass road and the beautiful scenery of mountain range and view of distant hills greeted us with a promise of an enjoyable day ahead. We arrived in the Ranipaunwa from Kathmandu after a drive of about 40 minutes. We had a breakfast there and heard from the locals that Sisneri was only a hour away. So in search for a tougher route, we decided to go to Nuwakot Durbar (about 5-6 hours on foot).
We started around 9:30 am and everyone was ready…

The group comprising of Abanish Kayastha, Bhuwan Shrestha, Kapil Pandey,Lava Kafle,Rudra Pandey,Surendra Nath Adhikari, and Sushant Pokharel (the great Photographer for the team) moved from kathmandu driven along the narrow black topped road curling down towards Okharpauwa Nuwakot District where whole waste of Kathmandu Valley is dumped. We were smelling the reality while analyzing the effects of Plastics that cannot be degraded by soil, and the Leeching black liquid that would fall into the river thereby affecting natural plants and animals surviving in the river and by its side.

The date was “11-11-11″ and it became significant because of one more reason. It was the day we celebrated very first Deerwalk Annual Festival “Fallwalk”. After Ashay kick started the show, our Executive Chairman Rudra Pandey gave his presentation to all employees of Deerwalk to let everyone know where we stand right now and where we are heading in coming days. He believes success should always be measured by number. It was the day we celebrated very first Deerwalk Annual Festival “Fallwalk”.

We probably might have been to Nagarkot on many occasions. I personally, have been to Nagarkot many times – for the sightseeing on bike, for picnics way back when I was still in high school and for its famous sunset (though on that particular occasion we had planned for the sunrise but we overslept because… anyways that’s another whole new story). We planned this hike to start from Naubise to Thankot but due to many reasons such as reluctance of the participants to show up on time causing delays in departure – we finalised the hike to Nagarkot.

Tatopani held intrigue for me even as a kid, and stepping into the scathingly hot water after a long day of hiking was an amazing experience. At about 8.30 PM, we reached zero kilo near Melamchi where we stopped for our breakfast. The hills and dales were absolute treats and as we moved along the river banks, I was mesmerized. 8 kilometers from Tatopani, we crossed a suspension bridge to kick off the hike to Tuhuro Gadhi. The ascent was decorated with beautiful stone walled houses that brought back years of yonder. Almost half way between the highway and the fort, as we neared a village, we ran into rain, and as we were getting drenched,

I believe this is the first hiking report ever written by a U.S. participant. I hope it will be up to the standards of the past. We got started bright and early with eleven total hikers. The first people got picked up at 7 am. It was a bit overcast and I was hoping it would not rain. As it turned out, there were just enough clouds to make the temperature extremely pleasant all day. By mid-day, a delightful breeze kicked in and it was extremely pleasant. We started out day with breakfast at the Bamboo Restaurant just across the street from the Monkey Temple where we would finish our hike.

So the morning of the hike I woke up early wondering what kind of day was in store for me today. So far my stay in Nepal had been fantastic getting to know the people and parts of the city but I was happy to get out and see some sights as so far I had seen the hotel, the office and the road in between (and a couple of restaurants). The van picked me up bright and early and we took off down the street. Very quickly we became stuck in festival traffic and after meeting up with the rest of the group we decided that it was going to…

It was a cool and soothing Sunday morning on 25th September when few of us gathered here at the office premises for weekly hiking to the Nuwakot Durbar, a place with a historical significance. After picking up others along the way, we headed North along Kathmandu-Kakani highway, an alternative route out of Kathmandu, to avoid any possible traffic jams especially with the festive season in the offing. Unbeknownst to us, the narrower-winding-worn-out highway waited for us and the thick fog reduced visiblity, which significantly slowed us down. But the scenery around the vicinity was breath-taking and we occassionally stopped by for some photo shoots.

It was a walk to remember, just because of how much fun it was. One of the more sedate trails that you would have, Telkot-Nagarkot hike still basks in the opulence that is Nepal. As the valley of Kathmandu starts looking green, you keep wondering what could have been. Jo Anne’s first visit to Nepal had us take her there! Next year, we go higher, and farther! Jo Anne Hunt — “On Sunday I had a chance of a lifetime to go hiking with experts. I knew it was going to be a challenge even though I was assured it was going to be “an easy one”. “

Everyone appeared dressed for the occasion with their hiking shoes, comfortable clothes and their sun-glasses. Sun glasses are an important accessory for any hike. We boarded Deerwalk’s van around seven in the morning and since it was my first trip I was visibly more excited than others.
The newly built road from Koteshwore to Suryabinayak was flawlessly smooth and it was joy to ride on that road for the first time. Everyone was in conversation with one another and time passed quickly as we sped along the road towards Dhulikhel. We stopped for light breakfast just before reaching Dhulikhel, and then continued the journey.

Kathmandu – Pokhara –Nayapul -Ghorepani – Poonhill