I haven’t seen blue sky since arriving 2 months ago. And, I haven’t been away from a crowded city, except when I am at work. So, I want to go somewhere with no pollution and off the beaten track. I chose Rara Lake.
This is in the Karnali region which is in the western Himalayan foothills. It is about 3000 metres high and not easy to get to. Firstly, I had to take a 10 hour bus trip followed by a short flight to Jumla. Then; a 3 - 4 day trek through the mountains, walking about 6 hours every day. Then about the same amount of trekking over a different return route.
I hired a porter to carry my backpack ... and to prevent me getting lost!
His name is Dorje and he doesn’t speak any English. We managed to communicate with my little Nepali ... and lots of gesturing!
Here we are near the top of one of several summit passes we needed to cross to get to the lake..
Yes. You are right. He is only wearing an old suit and a pair of tennis shoes!
Our route took us along deep valleys before ascending steeply up and over a pass and down into the next valley.
We met locals on their way to attend their livestock or small terraced fields.
Our accommodation was in very basic ‘tea rooms’. These are actually private houses where the owners will prepare a meal and somewhere to sleep for travellers. There is no signage but Dorje seems to know which houses to stop at.
They are quite primitive. There is no plumbing. No electricity (except a few with solar panels) ... and an outside toilet. Cooking is done on a clay or forged iron wood-fired stove with room for one or two saucepans or a frying pan. Smoke is designed to go up a chimney flue ... but much escapes into the room. There is probably more pollution inside these kitchens than many busy streets!
Here you can see the lady of the house squatting by the fireplace, kneading dough to make roti breads. Everything is prepared on the floor.
These small houses cling to the mountain side either individually or in groups.
They are usually 2 storeys high with the family living in the upper level, above the animals. This is a good practical design since the warm air produced by the livestock will rise and remove some chill from the floor above during the winter months.
The roof can be flat to lay out hay or seeds to dry in the sun.
Rara Lake is serene and peaceful. It is Nepal’s largest and deepest lake.
The view is even better looking down from Murmu Top (3726m); one of the mountains that cradle the lake.
... and how about this one where the mountains are reflected on the surface like a mirror?
One one occasion, we met a weather beaten lady and her granddaughter when descending back to the lake. Dorje spoke to her and she produced a faecal pellet from a pocket hidden in the recesses of her dress. Dorje bought this for 100 Nepali rupees. However, I remain un-enlightened. No amount of gesturing between us could explain the reason for the transaction ... but Dorje seemed happy with his purchase. The pellet was bullet shaped and about the size that would be produced by a large rodent or very small herbivore.
One of the trek highlights was walking through ancient forests. These were a mixture of conifer and deciduous trees as well as cold weather flowers and local medicinal plants. The air in these forests seemed especially invigorating.
Here is an enchanting section of forest. Can you see the two wild boar grazing in the sunlight?
Almost at one of the tops:
This is where we stopped for lunch one day. The occupant earned her living from selling herbs she collected and mixed together to make local tea.
We passed lots of simple religions cairns on the way:
Dorje also enjoyed the trek tremendously and presented me with a cake on our return:
I was supposed to fly out the next afternoon ... but was stranded for another 3 days! So here are some more photos I took:
The End !
