This time I know I am tired,
Tired of aching soul,
Tired of messed life,
Tired of being lost.
This time I know I am strong.
This time I know I can conquer.
This time I know I can walk miles and miles.
Nepal is such a beautiful place, glad that I belong to this beautiful country. I was planning for 4 days trek with Krishna( brother). I had Mardi trek, Kapuche lake trek in my mind. When Krishna suggested Gosaikunda Trek, I replied — Why not?
And our planning started from there with a fresh cup of tea. I called Bhuwan(brother), he could not say no even though it was going to be his first trek. Krishna also included one of his known friend’s sister, Sanju. She is also seasoned trekker like Krishna. It was great to know her, a girl with full of life.
So, I started reading about the place Gosaikunda, lake.
I was aware of the fact that Gosaikanda was a religious pilgrimage but I was surprised to know how significant it was. It is believed that Lord Shiva, to save the Universe from a poison, drank the poison extracted from the sea and with a burning throat had to find some place to cool himself down. So, he struck his trident to release a burst of water, in a place now referred to as Trishuldhara which is the source of Gosaikunda as well as the famous river, Trishuli. In the cascade of same events, Lord Shiva is believed to have created multiple lakes(108 lakes), which includes the famous Bhairav Kunda and Naagkunda, among others. I am not so religious person, but I love the fact that Hindu culture is always associated with river, lake, Sun, Moon, every gift of nature.
Gosaikunda Trek
Day 1 ( Kathmandu to Dhunche by Bus, Ghattekhola)
Hope is a good thing
So we four (Myself, Krishna, Bhuwan and Sanju) had morning tea at Baneshwor, Kathmandu. We took a Bus from Kalanki to Galchi, took 2 hours to reach. From Galchi we took another bus to Dhunche. We realized that there is already a direct bus from Kathmandu to Dhunche.
We jump into same bus which was coming from Kathmandu. It was 4 hours journey. We reached Dhunche at 2 pm. We had tea and snacks, and the journey started from there. It was about to rain, so we bought plastic raincoat, portable one. First lesson learned, always carry raincoat, do not rely on plastic one. But then something is better than nothing.
There was heavy rain that day, so we decided to take rest at Ghatekhola, mini Gosaikunda. Our trekking shoes were drenched, so we dried our clothes and shoes, socks in the firewood. Now imagine, in this Coronavirus outbreak time, when we must be very careful, cleaning hands whenever necessary, but we were carefree, not afraid of dirt, drying our shoes, socks. This was the exact Nepal before lockdown 1.0 and 2.0. Now we can barely come out of our own homes.
The hotel owner, Mr. Devkota, he was telling us how difficult it can be to reach Gosaikunda. In fact, he added, it is impossible especially when it is raining here. I did not want us to be discouraged, and we four had same feeling. Hope is a good thing. So, we hoped that by tomorrow, it will be a new day that can bring good fortune to us.
Day 2 (Ghattekhola to CholangPati)
Everything is fair in love and war and trek
We knew that second day is going to be very hard. Unexpected rainfall plus heavy snow on the way. Plastic raincoat was only hope for us. After walking straight up like 3–4 hours, weather started glooming, Sun was on the way, sky was blue and clear. It was the Sun, which gave us warmth and strength. It was hard for Bhuwan, because he was novice among us, plus his bag pack was too heavy. Thanks to Krishna, he exchanged his bag pack with him. That is what we call bonding while trekking. We had so much fun in the past as well while hiking.
Before reaching CholangPati lodge, we were told, it would be difficult to find the accommodation, as there were more people on the way. So, we hiked straight 1 hour 45 minutes without taking rest. We crossed 3–4 groups on the way. It felt like one heck of a real trek, where you must walk fast so that you can have food and take rest.
The moment when I could see CholangPati lodge, I felt like its heaven. Bhuwan had some troubling symptoms like high altitude sickness, so he chose to rest, skipped dinner that night. We hoped the next morning he will be fine.
Day 3 (CholangPati to GosaiKunda to return to ChandanBari)
God must be crazy!!!
So next day, each one of us were full of energy, excited and ready for that long religious walk (tirtha yatra). At the same time also, not sure how difficult would be this one.
That long hike with snow was hard and it was so cold, but once again thanks to Sun, keeping us warm and cozy that day. I was broken at one point, I thought we really reached the destination, but then when we were there, we could see that it’s not even half we covered. We were hopeless to reach the destination. To live up there one must have superpower. No wonder why we call those superpower of God, for they must be crazy that they existed in the place like that, so above, unreachable.
And seeing such magnificence, and experiencing it with all your senses, it really puts a lot of things into perspective.
I feel incredibly small, amidst the power and glory of nature.
Day 4 (Chandanbari to Dhunche to Kathmandu)
All is well!
While returning from Gosaikunda to Chandanbari, we realized that our body had already adapted the environment. We were not afraid of cold, we were relaxed. Sanju, she had fast on the same day, she asked lodge owner to take care of warm water, as she needed it for bath. A girl is not just emotionally strong but also physically strong, she proved that so well.
Like I said I planned for 4 days trek, so no doubt I am a good planner. We reached Dhunche with empty stomach at 12:30 pm. We wanted to fix our return vehicle before feeding our stomach. We reserved a vehicle, and we had food. And rest all is well.
Now that we are locked in this pandemic,we might feel hopeless and empty, but always know that we have those beautiful mountain, those forest, those untouched nature waiting for us. This time lets unlearn being selfish and relearn human spirit.
Gosaikunda is one of the holy experiences we deserve. Thank you, Nepal.
