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Hiking from Okharpauwa to Thulokhola via Andherikhola
Hiking from Okharpauwa to Thulokhola via Andherikhola
Steven

Sunil Manandhar


Nuwakot Durbar was the palace of Prithvi Narayan Shah, and his ancestors, before he annexed Kathmandu valley. The thought of visiting this place itself brings back the memories of the glorious past of Gurkha warriors who united Nepal. On the foggy morning of 15th September, 2012, we set out to visit this historical site along Kathmandu-Kakani Highway. However, fate had planned a different destination for us. As we were passing along the highway thinking and imagining the difficult hike through Battar to the Durbar, we were suddenly stuck at a place called “Okharpauwa”, at around 9.30am. Our van couldn’t move forwards owing to the muddy and slippery ascended way. Kedar Dai tried several times but failed to make it up the slope. We had no option but to change our destination. After consulting with a few locals, we planned to hike from “Okharpauwa” to “Tarkeshwor Mandir” and then to “Thulokhola”. We had breakfast at Okharpauwa and then everyone were ready to walk, however we knew nothing about how tough the hike would be. No one knew about the location or the way. As we ascended higher up the hill the fog started to get more prominent making the weather really cool and moderate. The scenery around the vicinity was breath-taking and we frequently stopped by for some photo shoots. A serendipitous moment was when we reached the top of the hill and saw the view of Kathmandu Valley. It was like a cup with a bunch of fog floating by in the middle. It felt as if some fog had cleared up and wanted to show us the magnificence of the valley. We spent almost half an hour there enjoying the greenery of the adjoining hills and valleys. Following unmaintained trails, we reached a place called “Padheli” where we found an 8 year old boy named Amrit Tamang who was gathering firewood. We would have been lost without him. He guided us through the thick bushy forest, which attacked us with her spiderwebs, leeches and wild bees. We finally reached the place called “Andherikhola”, where we found a majestic and powerful fountain. We had to make a decision to go either across the fountain or all the way back. Dambar and Subash bravely crossed the fountain and also helped everyone else across. We all played in the water and spent some time for photo shoot. Further up we reached the trail leading to “Tarkeshwor Mahadev” temple. Although, the way to the temple was fairly straight forward from there, we decided to head back home. To say that the forest had beaten us up, and that we had barely an ounce of energy or patience left, would be a lie. We were actually really hungry and were dying to go find some warm, clean Thakali restaurant, away from this wild place. 


Hiking from Okharpauwa to Thulokhola via Andherikhola

1. Beautiful nature

Hiking from Okharpauwa to Thulokhola via Andherikhola

2. Green forest Nepal's Property

Hiking from Okharpauwa to Thulokhola via Andherikhola

3. Slippery road

Hiking from Okharpauwa to Thulokhola via Andherikhola

4. Desperate for finding new destination

Hiking from Okharpauwa to Thulokhola via Andherikhola

5. Salute sir

Hiking from Okharpauwa to Thulokhola via Andherikhola

6. Guess which traffic signal is this!

Hiking from Okharpauwa to Thulokhola via Andherikhola

7. Mutton smell

Hiking from Okharpauwa to Thulokhola via Andherikhola

8. Pyramid of Eggs

Hiking from Okharpauwa to Thulokhola via Andherikhola

9. Symbol of God

Hiking from Okharpauwa to Thulokhola via Andherikhola

10. Innocence at its best

Hiking from Okharpauwa to Thulokhola via Andherikhola

11. Butterfly butterfly which color do you like ...

Hiking from Okharpauwa to Thulokhola via Andherikhola

12. Colorful Grasshopper

Hiking from Okharpauwa to Thulokhola via Andherikhola

13. In search of peace

Hiking from Okharpauwa to Thulokhola via Andherikhola

14. Where are Kiran and Sawan

Hiking from Okharpauwa to Thulokhola via Andherikhola

15. Beautiful place

Hiking from Okharpauwa to Thulokhola via Andherikhola

16. Subash went crazy

Hiking from Okharpauwa to Thulokhola via Andherikhola

17. DW Posers

Hiking from Okharpauwa to Thulokhola via Andherikhola

18. Advertise of Nagarjun Drops

Hiking from Okharpauwa to Thulokhola via Andherikhola

19. Artistic weather

Hiking from Okharpauwa to Thulokhola via Andherikhola

20. New salsa step

Hiking from Okharpauwa to Thulokhola via Andherikhola

21. Unique structure

Hiking from Okharpauwa to Thulokhola via Andherikhola

22. I am not alone...

Hiking from Okharpauwa to Thulokhola via Andherikhola

23. Design by SubashA

Hiking from Okharpauwa to Thulokhola via Andherikhola

24. Too scary scarecrows

Hiking from Okharpauwa to Thulokhola via Andherikhola

25. Resting on the way

Hiking from Okharpauwa to Thulokhola via Andherikhola

26. Feel the difference

Hiking from Okharpauwa to Thulokhola via Andherikhola

27. Red Caterpillar

Hiking from Okharpauwa to Thulokhola via Andherikhola

28. Typical local people

Hiking from Okharpauwa to Thulokhola via Andherikhola

29. Rock rocks

Hiking from Okharpauwa to Thulokhola via Andherikhola

30. Wild bud

Hiking from Okharpauwa to Thulokhola via Andherikhola

31. Photographer posing himself

Hiking from Okharpauwa to Thulokhola via Andherikhola

32. Hide and seek

Hiking from Okharpauwa to Thulokhola via Andherikhola

33. Middle of nowhere

Hiking from Okharpauwa to Thulokhola via Andherikhola

34. Photographer around the bushes

Hiking from Okharpauwa to Thulokhola via Andherikhola

35. Almost lost !

Hiking from Okharpauwa to Thulokhola via Andherikhola

36. Into the wild

Hiking from Okharpauwa to Thulokhola via Andherikhola

37. Group Photo

Hiking from Okharpauwa to Thulokhola via Andherikhola

38. I am a Guide huh !

Hiking from Okharpauwa to Thulokhola via Andherikhola

39. Satisfied with the route

Hiking from Okharpauwa to Thulokhola via Andherikhola

40. The name suits itself (Andheri Khola)

Hiking from Okharpauwa to Thulokhola via Andherikhola

41. Rescue Team doing their job

Hiking from Okharpauwa to Thulokhola via Andherikhola

42. Water fall

Hiking from Okharpauwa to Thulokhola via Andherikhola

43. Happy at unexpected destination

Hiking from Okharpauwa to Thulokhola via Andherikhola

44. Wild pose in an unknown place

Hiking from Okharpauwa to Thulokhola via Andherikhola

45. Dragonfly-Call for Dashain

Hiking from Okharpauwa to Thulokhola via Andherikhola

46. Wild bud turns into wild flower

Hiking from Okharpauwa to Thulokhola via Andherikhola

47. Enthusiastic hikers

Hiking from Okharpauwa to Thulokhola via Andherikhola

48. Danger!!!

Hiking from Okharpauwa to Thulokhola via Andherikhola

49. Foggy weather

Hiking from Okharpauwa to Thulokhola via Andherikhola

50. Happy vs sad

Hiking from Okharpauwa to Thulokhola via Andherikhola

51. Tarkeswor temple road (under construction)

Hiking from Okharpauwa to Thulokhola via Andherikhola

52. Comm on i know the route

Hiking from Okharpauwa to Thulokhola via Andherikhola

53. Returning back

Hiking from Okharpauwa to Thulokhola via Andherikhola

54. Gloomy weather