Nena, the Wellness Fellow here at Kopila, found out yesterday that a few of her friends were passing though Surkhet and would have liked to see her. They did end up visiting today after spending several weeks trecking around Nepal. What did we decide to do with these weary travelers, you might ask? Take them on a hike up the hills behind Kopila Valley. These "hills" mind you, would most definitely pass as mountains in the United States. Some of the smaller Appalachians most likely, but mountains none the less. I have done this hike twice in the past and it gets easier every time I do it, but it is about a two hour hike full of steep inclines to the top where there is a small restaurant of sorts that makes chow chow (basically Ramen Noodles). We took a bunch of the kids with us as well, but kept it open to only the older kids. The younger ones start asking to be carried about halfway to the top.
After sitting on top of the restaurant for about half an hour, relaxing with a few of the faster kids in front of some spectacular scenery, and eating some chow chow, we began to hear some grumblings about going to this place that I have not heard referred to as anything other than, "the place where the Rhododendrons grow." It sounds like a Shell Silverstein poem and is even more beautiful, though for different reasons. None of the other volunteers wanted to go today because they had been recently, but 17 of the kids wanted desperately to go.
So after lunch on the roof of the mountaintop restaurant, 17 kids and I hiked up an even steeper peak for about 40 minutes. We came to a lightly wooded area full of tall thin pines and tall golden grass, with an old stone wall lining the ridge. We walked along it for a few minutes until a single red spot appeared in the distance amidst all of the brown, gold and green we were surrounded by. It was a single bright red cluster of flowers, Nepal's national flower, the Rhododendron. Everyone had spotted it and at that moment there was a flurry of children hopping over the ridge to run to the steep hillside which was the place known as, where the Rhododendrons grow.
As I came over the ridge the color scheme changed completely. It turned into a mix of deep greens and gold, all flecked with a very rich red. The kids were climbing tall branchy trees to get at these flowers like a troop of monkeys in a fig tree. Some of them took their shirts off and used them like bags to fill up with the flowers. Apparently you can eat them and they don't taste too bad. Its a kind of sweet flavor followed by a tart after taste. The kids whose shirts were being used as bags had red juices dripping down their chins and bodies, but their messes were accompanied by purest looks of happiness.
I soaked in the beautiful landscape for a while from where the Rhododendrons grow and enjoyed a flower or two before we decided it was time to go back home. The kids had their shirts stuffed with flowers making it look like they were carrying severed torsos down the mountain. They snacked on even more of the flowers the whole way down, which took us only a little under 30 minutes. Going down such steep terrain isn't easy, but we all made it down in one piece. Then it was about another hour to an hour and a half of hiking down the original mountain. We went down a different way and got to see some other areas of the mountainside I haven't seen before.
Now that I'm home with a big blister on the bottom of my toe I just have to say how worth it that extra very difficult 40 minute hike was. That was easily the most fun I've had in a while. Just looking at the pictures from today validates how worth it the blister is.
After sitting on top of the restaurant for about half an hour, relaxing with a few of the faster kids in front of some spectacular scenery, and eating some chow chow, we began to hear some grumblings about going to this place that I have not heard referred to as anything other than, "the place where the Rhododendrons grow." It sounds like a Shell Silverstein poem and is even more beautiful, though for different reasons. None of the other volunteers wanted to go today because they had been recently, but 17 of the kids wanted desperately to go.
So after lunch on the roof of the mountaintop restaurant, 17 kids and I hiked up an even steeper peak for about 40 minutes. We came to a lightly wooded area full of tall thin pines and tall golden grass, with an old stone wall lining the ridge. We walked along it for a few minutes until a single red spot appeared in the distance amidst all of the brown, gold and green we were surrounded by. It was a single bright red cluster of flowers, Nepal's national flower, the Rhododendron. Everyone had spotted it and at that moment there was a flurry of children hopping over the ridge to run to the steep hillside which was the place known as, where the Rhododendrons grow.
As I came over the ridge the color scheme changed completely. It turned into a mix of deep greens and gold, all flecked with a very rich red. The kids were climbing tall branchy trees to get at these flowers like a troop of monkeys in a fig tree. Some of them took their shirts off and used them like bags to fill up with the flowers. Apparently you can eat them and they don't taste too bad. Its a kind of sweet flavor followed by a tart after taste. The kids whose shirts were being used as bags had red juices dripping down their chins and bodies, but their messes were accompanied by purest looks of happiness.
I soaked in the beautiful landscape for a while from where the Rhododendrons grow and enjoyed a flower or two before we decided it was time to go back home. The kids had their shirts stuffed with flowers making it look like they were carrying severed torsos down the mountain. They snacked on even more of the flowers the whole way down, which took us only a little under 30 minutes. Going down such steep terrain isn't easy, but we all made it down in one piece. Then it was about another hour to an hour and a half of hiking down the original mountain. We went down a different way and got to see some other areas of the mountainside I haven't seen before.
Now that I'm home with a big blister on the bottom of my toe I just have to say how worth it that extra very difficult 40 minute hike was. That was easily the most fun I've had in a while. Just looking at the pictures from today validates how worth it the blister is.
The far side of the peak on the right is where the Rhododendrons grow. The restaurant is at the foot of the peak
The ridge
Over the ridge, and the kids scattering out to loot the trees
Some rice paddies amongst the Rhododendrons
Krishna Shahi reaching out
Taking in the view
Some of the boys stocking up
The group and their loot
The easy way down the Rhododendron peak
A new path down the mountain
The postings on this site are my own and do not necessarily represent Blinknow's positions or opinions.
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