Day 25 - Endless Stairways

Tatopani to Sikhha

In the morning I run onto the street to take pictures of Nilgiri before breakfast. Then I enjoy breakfast in the garden. I have to admit that, in spite of the room and food complaints I might have, the garden is beautiful. I couldn't see that last night in the dark, but I have to admit now that it's gorgeous. There are many orange and banana trees and lots and lots of beautiful blossoming flowers. A riot of colours.
The only good things about breakfast is the freshly squeezed orange juice, extremely sour and refreshing. Then, after breakfast, I decide to go try the hot springs. Coming to Tatopani and missing the hot springs is an incomplete experience so I'll give it a try.

It is shortly after 8 am when I go to the hot springs hoping to have some good views of Nilgiri from there as they are down next to the river. Except for a few locals sitting halfway dressed in the bigger pool I am the only foreigner there at this time. I don't really mind that, but...

The 2 pools are quite small and they're in the open. The new road under construction runs only some 20 m away, a bit higher. At least a dozen construction workers are at work. There is no fence, wall or anything around the pools. I have no choice. So I pay the fee and buy also an apple, then go to the edge of the little pool and try to undress as fast as possible, then step into the pool. For the 30 seconds or so that I am there in my swimming suit I know that all work was suspended and all eyes on me. What can I do? I sit in the pool and eat my apple.

At first the water feels really hot but then I get used to it. But once I finish my apple I can hardly sit anymore. It's boring. And hot water is not really refreshing.
When I jump out of the pool I try to dress up as quickly as possible. Then I return to my room and change and go in the garden to sit around a for a little while. But I'm determined to leave this place this morning. Its fame is misleading and I've liked other places much much better. I think Tatopani is way overrated. In terms of hot springs it's not something I'm interested in anyway.

Pipi and I are leaving Tatopani after 10 am. The trail goes gently up the green river valley with majestic and white Nilgiri behind us. It is sunny and already hot. After a section blasted into the rock taking us under a big overhang we pass a couple of older landslide sections. Fairly big ones. We then reach a suspension bridge that takes us to the left river bank and a little further we reach a small hamlet. Pipi is steaming.
From here a gruesome climb begins over thousands of slab steps. From Tatopani to Ghorepani we need to gain some 1800m elevation. Somewhere midway is Sikhha at 1935m our goal for the day.

I let Pipi rest and go ahead slowly. The trail goes up in switchback on the steep slope of a lateral valley but it's very hot, there's no shade and the steps are pretty high. The trail goes through a rhododendron forest, but it's not dense enough to offer any shade. It is not a pleasant walk though with my personal mantra (count 50/100 steps then stop briefly) I find I make good progress without getting very tired. The higher I get the better are the views of Nilgiri and the Kali Gandaki valley. High up on the valley slopes I can spot houses and nice terraces with corn.
Within one hour I climb 300m and I reach a nice viewpoint with a resting platform. Time for a break and time to take pictures.
Then I continue and reach a small hamlet after which the trail mellows and the vegetation becomes jungle-like. Dense, extremely green with ferns and lichens growing on trees.
A girl insists on selling me 3 green oranges and I don't want to disappoint her. When I reach a trail junction a little farther I know which trail to pick: the one with scattered biscuit wrappings. Obviously that's the trekking route.
However, a little farther I reach another junction and I meet a trekking couple coming up the other trail from the valley. Oops, there seem to be 2 trails coming up.
I wonder where Pipi is. A guy with blue shorts? they ask. Yes. He's behind. He was sitting and waiting.
Well, that's nothing new. That me and Pipi take different trails all the time. But within the next couple of minutes Pipi shows up. That's alright.

We continue going up on some more tiring steps until we reach a col.From here we enjoy fabulous views over 2 valleys. The one we just came up is wilder, steeper and deeper. The valley ahead is stunning. The slopes are not so steep and there are settlements and beautiful terracesn laid out. A couple of villages and a few hamlets dot the otherwise green area. The firleds and vegetable gardens make for lovely patterns.

The small courtyards are overgrown with flowers. Marigold, bougainvillea, dahlias, canas and many more. We have long left the flat rooftops behind. Here the roofs are made of tin or dried grass. Some have a layer of thin slabs covering the tin.

We stop at the col to fully enjoy the views and take a rest. There is a small restaurant advertising yak cheese and I got an idea. I buy a slice of yak cheese and share it with Pipi. It's delicious. Then I peel for each of us one of the small green oranges. It is extremely sour but very refreshing. Pipi is not excited but he has no choice.
After the break we continue through the valley mainly contouring it. It is an extremely beautiful walk.The trail now just contours the slope with gentle ups and downs. We pass many people and houses with beautiful gardens. Buffalos, cows and goats share the trail with us. There are many trekkers coming the other way as well.
As I'm looking back I notice that Dhaulagiri also became visible.
I pass again 2 men I've seen earlier on the trail - maybe father and son. They're resting in a shady spot and the young one is singing with a beautiful voice. Lovely. So it's not just me having these sudden outbursts of happiness.

Pipi catches up with me sometimes but stays behind all the way. He is very grumpy for some reason. No smile whatsoever. A couple of times I offer him water. He basically drinks almost all my water.

We reach Sikhha on top of a col after a last push. There we stop at the Dhaulagiri lodge with great views of Nilgiri and Dhaulagiri to the West. The room I have overlooks the valley behind which Dhaulagiri, Nilgiri, Tukuche and Dhampus peaks rise majestically.
The shower is not hot as promised but the shower cabin has a window facing the valley. I love bathrooms with windows so this compensates for everything else. I also get to wash a T-shirt and some socks. That's something! Then I enjoy some delicious vegetable momos on the rooftop patio. I can't get enough of either views and momos.

Gunhild and Johannes arrive in Sikhha when I'm just about to finish my momos and they stop at the same lodge. Later we sit together and chat on the patio and watch the sunset. The views at sunrise must be even better, so in the morning we'll have to get up early for that.