Adventure travel and News from Himalayas

Every summer (July/August), the city of Nakchu comes alive to the sounds of horses hoofs galloping and the yells and hoots of the horsemen and the crowds. The annual Nakchu Horse Racing Festival is underway!

Nakchu, an important trading city, is situated on the Lhasa-Ziling highway. Lying in the midst of the rugged mountains, this city is home to the hardy Tibetan nomads or drokpas, and has been for centuries. It is a vast pastoral area bordered by rugged mountain terrain. Nakchu is popular throughout Tibet for its annual Horse Racing Festival. The Tibetan highlanders are adept horsemen, and in the month of July most of them weave their way to Nakchu to take part in the race. The city bears a festive look with the scores of appliquéd tents that are pitched up, bordering the Nakchu race course. This racecourse, at 4500 m(14763 ft), is undoubtedly the highest racecourse in the world. The Tibetans throng the racecourse looking grand in their traditional finery. The town has few hotels as most of the participants, mostly Tibetan nomads prefer to camp in their own tents, which are quite large and roomy and colorful too.

During the festival, shows of horsemanship skills, including archery on horseback and racing, are the main attractions. There will also be much revelry and merry making among the participants and the crowds. Tibetans rarely let an occasion pass without singing and dancing.

Over here the weather conditions are harsh and the facilities for visitors are quite basic. However the Horse racing Festival presents a great opportunity for both Tibetans as well as the visitors to participate in an age old festival.

In the early hours of 4th Sept. 2008, Explore Himalaya’s team went to see-off the four member Project Himalaya Manaslu Expedition group as they were about to leave for Arughat for their expedition. The expedition leader is Philip J.Crampton (UK) and other members include Valerie Parkinson (UK), Guntis Brands (Switzerland) and Stuart Gregory Smith (USA). There are two other Korean members: Mi Sun Go and Jaesoo Kim, who will be joining the team at a later date. The team will be supported by climbing Sherpas: Pasang Gombu and Tarke Sherpa. Valerie, who is also the base manager of Exodus Nepal Treks,UK seemed pretty excited. She said, “Though I have climbed Mera and Island Peak, this is my first real expedition, as the other two peaks are taken as trekking peaks.” She added that she had been to the major trekking areas and has been coming to Nepal frequently for the last twenty-five years. Guntis and Stuart have climbed Lhotse, Gasherbrum and Cho Oyu. Both of them had been planning to climb Shishapangma in Tibet, but because of the restrictions imposed by the Chinese authorities they had to give up their plan.

IT Department
Keeping in mind the unlimited opportunities that information technology has opened up for overseas business and e-marketing, Explore Himalaya has taken steps to strengthen and improve its IT department.
In this connection, Roshan Joshi has been given the entire responsibility of the IT Department. He is an IT expert and has worked in the field of website promotion for more than four years. Other members of the IT team include: Prabin Prajapati, Aneel Bhattacharya,  Amit Lamichhane and Choodamani Adhikari.

IT department: (L-R: Prabin, Amit, Choodamani, Aneel and Roshan)

Copy Writers/ Reporters
The two copy writers/ reporters of Explore Himalaya, Usha Rai and Bishnu Aryal, produce articles for the company’s websites and other promotional materials. Usha has been with the company for about a year, while Bishnu has recently joined. They work closely with the IT team, as the content designing and text uploading (on the website) is done by the latter.

Usha Rai

Bishnu Aryal

Sales & Marketing Department
This department was earlier headed by Bimal Chettri. Now the Sales department is headed by Kumari Malla. She joined Explore Himalaya as a Correspondence Officer four years ago. She had been promoted to the post of Assistant Manager, under Bimal Chettri’s tenure. After his departure, the management appointed Kumari to take his responsibility. There are four correspondence officers in Sales and Marketing: Samir Shrestha, Samundra Subedi, Sabin Thapa and Kisan Pun.

Sales & Marketing: (L-R: Sameer, Kisan, Kumari, Samundra & Sabin)

Finance Department
Nabin Luintel, the former head of Finance Department, left for Dubai recently after working with the company for four years. Now the Finance Department will be looked after by Munendra Khanal. Munendra has done his Masters in Business Studies and was previously working as an executive officer under Nabin Luintel. He has been working with Explore Himalaya for the last three years and is quite efficient and adept at handling financial matters. Others in the team include Roshni Shrestha and Prakash Subedi.

Finance Dept.: (L- R : Roshni, Munendra & Prakash)

Business Development Officer
Nirmala Shakya, who was previously working as a Tour Officer in the Operations Department will now be looking after the company’s business development as Explore Himalaya’s Business Development Officer. She has been with Explore Himalaya for more then five years and has vast knowledge about expedition operations and other programs. She also looks after the community service projects.

Nirmala  Shakya

The streets of Kathmandu were filled with ladies dressed in the festive Teej color of red as I made my way to Pashupatinath Temple to cover the Teej festival celebration on 3rd Sept.’08. All decked up like brides, the ladies young and old made a pretty sight in red sarees, green potey (Nepali bead necklace), colorful green and red glass bangles and gold ornaments. The color red is considered auspicious in the Hindu religion as red signifies shakti (power).  There was a carnival spirit around the temple as some of the ladies sang songs while waiting for their turn to pay homage to Lord Shiva and pray for their husband’s long life (the unmarried girls pray for a good husband).

A three-day-long festival, Teej is mainly celebrated by Hindu women during August/ September to pray for their husbands’ well being and a happy and fulfilling marital life. According to Hindu mythology the divine couple, Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati were reunited only after the goddess took one hundred and eight rebirths. She fasted and prayed for her husband before she was finally reunited with him. So on this day, like Goddess Parvati, Hindu wives also observe fasting (some without taking water or swallowing their saliva) to honor Lord Shiva and pray for their husband’s long life.
The first day of the Teej festival is called ‘Dar Khane Din‘. On this day, the married ladies are invited to their parental home to feast and prepare themselves for the next day’s fasting. There is much merry making and singing and dancing. On the second day they observe a fast and worship Lord Shiva. Married women pray for the long and healthy life of their husbands while unmarried girls ask for a good husband. The third day is called ‘Rishi Panchami‘. On this day, the saptarishis (seven sages of the Hindu pantheon) are worshiped by the ladies that they be cleansed of all sins.

When I reached the Pashupati area, there was long line of devotees stretching from the main road to the temple precincts. They were waiting for their turn to worship at the temple’s shrine. Some of the ladies said that they had been standing in the queue for more then 5 hours. But this is not unusual, because women from far off places come to Pashupatinath Temple(regarded as one of the holiest shrine of Lord Shiva) to offer their prayers on this day. Female devotees line up from as early as 4a.m. to offer their prayers. The temple lies on the bank of the holy Bagmati river and as I walked by the riverside, there were ladies putting down their offerings (flowers, incense sticks and coins) on a small stone shivalinga (sacred symbol of Lord Shiva) by the river.

[ Offerings for the “Shivalinga” ]

The ladies who had already offered their prayers could be seen making a beeline for the mehandi appliers to apply mehandi (henna)  on their hands. The festival of Teej is also regarded as a time when women especially take time out from their daily routine for shringaar (to beautify and adorn themselves). So this unique festival can also be taken as a kind of celebration of womanhood.

[ Women decorating their hands with mehandi (henna). It is believed that the darker the mehandi shade on the hands, the deeper will be the love between couples. ]

[ Colours of Teej ]

[ A lady finds time to do some quick household shopping ]

We have added photos of some of our past climbing expeditions. Please click on the picture to see the full gallery.

BROAD PEAK EXPEDITION IN 2007

 EVEREST EXPEDITION IN 2008

 THARPU CHULI EXPEDITION IN 2008

A huge number of visitors celebrated Janaipurnima festival on August 16 making their journey more dynamic and excited on the snowy laps of mysterious Gosaikunda. People throng at large number on trekking to view mountainous looks along with the religious ceremony.

Photo by: Valeriy Garkal

Gosaikunda, (kunda literally means pond or lake) the shrine for many deities of regular Hindu pilgrimage, that lies in Rasuwa district, north from Kathmandu, Nepal. One of Nepal’s most famous religious places of pilgrimage is Gosainkunda lake situated at an altitude of about 4,380 metres under the Langtang National Park where are 100 species of flora and fauna, many more wild lives, disappearing snow-leopard and red panda. A total of 108 glacial fed lakes small to medium including Bhairavkunda, Saraswatikunda and Dudhkunda (milk-pond ) are in this area and also the challenging Lauribina La pass 4,610 meters on its outskirts.

Surrounded by high mountains on the north and east, this lake is grand and picturesque, and the Trishuli river originates from the ponds of Gosaikunda. It is believed to have originated from the digging of the land by the Trishul (holy 3-pointed sword) of lord Shiva after he drank the poison from samudramanthan (sea- charning) and desperately wanted cold water to drink quenching the overwhelming heat of the poison. The large rock in the center of the lake is said to be the remains of a Shiva shrine and it is also claimed that channel carries water from the lake directly to the tank at the Kumbheshwar Temple in Patan of Kathmandu valley.

Every year during Janai Purnima that fall n full moon in August, thousands of Hindu pilgrims come to take holy bath in the lake. It is believed that if one prayed and bathed in those ponds, one would get fulfilled one’s wish and salvation in life. Whereas Hindu people from different parts of the country as well from abroad visit the sacred place for their religious and spiritual rituals of worshiping their ancestors, the people from other religions enjoy trekking and watching the very astonishing and wonderful activities of the different people.

Although it is known as Hindu pilgrimage, people from Buddhists community also take it equally important place for their own values and tradition of acquiring strength for meditation, enlightenment and cosmopolitan feelings. Local dances such as Syabru, Mane, and shamanism of typical Tamang (Buddhist) culture that performed on the occasion would enhance the fair robustly. In the area, majority of Tamangs who are categorized one of the very original and typical 70 ethnic communities of the country. Shamans perform the very tantric dance in their strange costumes representing of ancient and medieval ages.

Photo by: Valeriy Garkal

A bulk of weird shamans, who do not bathe in the lakes, visits the holy place each year believing that they would receive divine insights from praying to the lakes of Gosaikunda. Shamans also perform bizarre and weird dances in the fair. In a 10-days May-June cultural fair, at least 1000 people visit the place each day for the same spiritual journey. All the people who have heard about culture and traditions of Gosaikunda march on trekking to tread on its wonderful paths.

Gosainkunda trek links to the famous Langtang trek in the same district from where Ganesh Himal and Langtang peaks are visible. The lake remains frozen for 6 months from October to June. We need not worry about accommodation in the area as many good hotels, inns and restaurants are available along the route to Helambu trek. The best season to visit is June. However, thousands of devotees and tourists visit Gosaikunda on the Janaipurnima festival following the hundreds of years’ tradition.

Gosaikunda, the holy place is on the way of a popular trekking route of Dhunche-Gosainkunda-Helambu trail that takes about eight days journey. We can ride bus from Kathmandu to Dhunche, district headquarters and start the trekking. It takes 10 hours to two days to reach Gosaikunda.

Explore Himalaya Travel & Adventure is organizing special programs at Gosainkunda in August, 2009. Explore Himalaya has also arranged providing facilities to view the scenes from helicopters as part of the sightseeing.

24th August 2008 saw the grand finale of the greatest show on earth, the Olympic Games 2008 at the Bird’s Nest stadium in Beijing China. China, the host nation, emerged as a winner in the overall medals tally with a total of 100 medals: 51 gold, 21 silver and 28 bronze. China deserves praise not only for the skillful performance put in by its athletes, but also for organizing the games so very well. It is a matter of great pride for the whole Asian continent, that an Asian country has so successfully organized the world’s greatest show.

 
Copyright: (Axel Schmidt/AFP/Getty Images)

After winning the bid to host the 2008 Olympics, Beijing, the host city, underwent a lot of beatification changes. Now the pollution level in the city has decreased considerably.
If you have ever dreamt of making that visit to Beijing, now is the best time. The city is smog free and according to reports, the city is looking better then ever. In addition to the old monuments like the Forbidden Palace, the Great Wall of China and Tiananmen square, the city has acquired new and futuristic landmarks too. The iconic Bird’s Nest at the Olympic green: the (venue for the opening and closing ceremony of 2008 Olympics). The Bird’s Nest was designed by Swiss architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron. The Water Cube or the National Aquatics Center, built by the Australian firm PTW + CCDI + Arup is also another futuristic structure, that is sure to become a landmark.

Copyright: (Christophe Simon/AFP)

Explore Himalaya Travel and Adventure can organize a fun-filled and memorable trip for you and your family or friends.You can tour the city of Beijing and later on journey on the world’s highest train to Lhasa in Tibet.Taking a journey aboard the world’s highest railway, the Qinghai-Tibet railway, is an experience of a lifetime. Owing to Tibet’s high altitude the train has been equipped with oxygen-supplying equipments. Oxygen masks are available for those who are prone to altitude sickness. In the old city of Lhasa, you will be taken on a guided tour to all the city’s major attractions: Potala Palace, Norbulingka and Jokhang Temple.

If you wish you can extend your trip and take an overland drive to other Tibetan cities or visit the famous Everest base Camp from Rongbuk. From Everest base Camp you can have a close view of the world’s tallest peak Mt.Everest.From there it is just a matter of few kilometres before you cross the border and enter Nepal.

Copyright: Julien Van Loye

In Nepal there are scores of activites you can choose from:go trekking in the Himalayan foothills and view some of the world’s highest and magnificent peaks in the world, take a jungle safari in the tropical jungle of Chitwan, raft and ride the powerful rapids of the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli rivers, take a bicycle tour and explore the ancient villages and scenic spots, take a cultural tour and visit the medieval palaces and temples.Nepal has so much to offer and is an ideal destination for vacationers and holiday makers.For adventure seekers and extreme sports lover there is hot air ballooning, paragliding, mountain climbing, bungy jumping and skydiving.

For more details and information contact enquiry@explorehimalya.com.

The Dwarika’s – A Heritage Hotel
Kathmandu houses some rare cultural treasures. One amongst them is the Dwarika’s Kathmandu Village hotel. Located just a few minutes drive from Tribhuvan International Airport, the Dwarika’s can be said to be a labour of love of Late Dwarika Das Shrestha. Borne out of his love to preserve old wooden artifacts, the hotel is more or less like an old palace or museum with some artifacts dating back to the 13th century. Dwarika’s has a magnificent building of intricate carved wood and terracotta work created by the best craftsmen in Nepal. Every brick is handmade and every piece of wood work a centuries old original. For its relentless efforts towards conservation of priceless art works, Dwarika’s hotel received the PATA Award for Heritage conservation in 1980.

The hotel has come a long way since it was registered in 1977 with ten rooms, a cluster of brick cottages and courtyard. At present, Dwarika’s boast of   74 guest suites, each with an individual décor.  The special ambience of the hotel is ethnic Nepali. As you step inside a intricately carved   wooden door, you will feel as though you have stepped upon an oasis. A walk around the courtyard will lead you to discover interesting terracotta figures and a little shrine dedicated to the elephant headed god Ganesh. The soothing sound of water gushing out of traditional dragon headed stone spouts that feeds the aquamarine swimming pool is another cool spot of the hotel.

The hotel has a specialty Nepalese restaurant Krishnarpaan, where you get to dine on dining tables designed with centuries old lattice work. The chef at Krishnarpaan,creates an exotic meal from 6 to 22 courses.
Toranrestaurant offers international dining including Continental, Chinese and Indian specialties. There is also a Fusion Bar where one can listen to live jazz music every evening.Lohn Hiti hall with a seating capacity of 100 is ideal for business conferences and seminars.

Some of the suites  have private courtyards and all the rooms are furnished with hand printed fabrics and Newari traditional furniture which has been crafted without the use of nails and metal screws. Dwarika’s also runs a carpentry workshop where artisans and their apprentices get to restore and work on wooden carved pieces. For more information contact: Dwarika’s Kathmandu Village Hotel, PO Box:459 Battisputali, Kathmandu : Tel; 977-1- 4473725/ 4472328, Fax: 977-1-4471379:
Email: info@dwarikas.com

Last year (2007) in the month of July, two of our sherpas, Tarkey and Jumick, accompanied two South Korean climbers, Mr.Go and Ms.Kim to an expedition to Broad Peak in Pakistan. Their expedition was organized by a local Pakistani agency.
Broad Peak, the 12th highest mountain on Earth, is part of the Gasherbrum massif. It is located about 8 kilometres (5 miles) from K2.
It took the team around 35 days to reach the summit and get back. According to Tarkey, climbing the peak was very difficult and dangerous, as it involved a lot of technical climbing through steep and sharp ridges. View images of the expedition…

Dolpo located in western Nepal is considered to be one of the most remote places and known for its many isolated high Himalayan valleys. Deep in the Himalayan mountains, this hidden Trans- Himalayan region is quite peaceful. The landscape here is dry and arid, filled with ancient caves and nomadic lifestyle with big herds of yak, sheep and mountain goats. Even in the monsoon season, this region has blue sky and splendid mountain views as it lies in the rain shadow area. Surrounded by snowy peaks including that of Dhaulagiri (8167mt.), Kanjiroba (6883m) and Annapurnas, this region has one of the deepest lake in the world. Phoksundo lake, spread over an area of 200 sq.km, is surrounded by rocky cliffs and its turquoise fresh water, which is a complete wilderness setting. The region is sub divided into two parts ‘Upper Dolpo’ and ‘ Lower Dolpo’. Trekking to both the areas undoubtedly gives you a lifetime experience as this trek is very daring and challenging.

Climate, Flora & Fauna
Temperate to Alpine vegetation are found changing with elevation in this region. Usually the weather remains fine during spring season (March-May) although high passes still remains covered with winter snow. This region lies in rain shadow with desert-like barren tundra, barely getting 250 mm of annual rainfall. Monsoon rainfalls from June till September and the weather usually remain clear as it receive much less rain being generally high, dry, windy and cold even in summer. The dolpo area in particular, has rich variety of flora as it is filled with ground orchids, edelweiss, corydalis, campanulas, anemones, forget-me-nots, impatiens and roses. At the higher part of the regions, larkspurs, geraniums, poppies, sedums and saxifrages proliferate are found.Common vegetation in this region is primarily from the legume family, such as the spiny caragana and astragalus, and lonicera from the honeysuckle family.The region is the habitat of Himalayan black bear, Blue sheep, Himalayan tahr, spotted leopards, Jackal, wolves, exclusive snow leopard, rare cats and huge birds’ Himalayan griffon and other migratory birds. Yaks, horses, mountain goats, zos and asses are commonly found.

Kanjiroba Massif
Situated in the remote Dolpo region, west of Nepal, Kanjiroba massif is another major attraction of the region to the visitor. The Kanjiroba Himal provides you a panoramic backdrop to complete your experience. It truly provides a lifetime experience to those who are longing for a challenging and adventurous trek in the remote Himalaya. It offers a spectacular view of neighboring peaks such asTripura Hiunchuli (Hanging Glacier Peak) - 6,553m ,Tso Karpo - 6,518m Palta Thumba (Milchberg) - 6,126m ,Kangmara -5960m,Kanjeralwa – 6612m,Kanjiroba (main) – 6883m.

People & Places
Dolpo consists of an ethnic group called Bhotias with Tibetan origins, who are either adherents of Buddhist or the Bon religion (a Shamanistic religion that pre-dates Buddhism). The Dolpo-pa (people of Dolpo) are unique in their cultural and social tradition. The people living around the region are Bhotia and they have close ties with the people of Tibet. They are gradually becoming Hindus and Buddhist, adding Chhetri, Gurung, Sherpa etc surnames to their Tibetan names. They speak kaike language which is believed to exist only in Dolpo, as the Dolpo-pa are from Tibetan origins they speak Tibetan language too. Normally, people are farmers, traders and shepherds, often all in one because this is the only way to survive. Agriculture on a large scale is impossible because fertile land is scarce and most of them are depended on animal husbandry and trade. ‘Losar’ a Tibetan new year is their main festival which is celebrated on 18th of February and lasts till 14th to 16th of February. Another ceremony they generally celebrate is ‘Yul-lha’ ceremony which is a ritual to appease Gods.

Nepalgunj
It is situated in the western region, which is famous for the adventurous treks to Dolpo, Jumla and Mount Kailash. Nepalgunj is a district headquarters of Banke District in the Bheri region of Mid Western Nepal. It is the industrial and transport hub for western, mid-western and far-western regions of Nepal. Nepalgunj has a diverse culture as there are many ethnic groups living around. The region consists of highest percentage of Muslim religion.

Jumla
Located in west Nepal, Jumla is the zonal headquarter of the Karnali zone. Compared with other areas, the development process in the region is slow and tourism is yet to pick up. This zone is regarded as one of the world’s highest rice growing area. The people in the region are Thakuris, a Chhetri sect that has the highest social, political and religious standing. The origin of Nepali language is Sinja of Jumla. Therefore, the Nepali dialect “Khas Bhasa” is still spoken among the people in this region.

Shey-Phoksundo Lake
Shey-Phoksundo Lake is one of Nepal’s most spectacular and second largest lake. This lake is considered sacrosanct by the locals of Dolpo. The lake is 4.8km long, 1.8km wide and said to be 650m deep. It spreads in an area of 3627m. Ringed by snow-capped mountains and fresh turquoise water, this lake is purely a jewel of Dolpo. There is no aquatic life in the lake, which makes the water brilliantly clear. View of this lake truly gives you a satisfying lifetime experience.

Shey-Phoksundo National Park
The largest National Park of Nepal ‘Shey-Phoksundo’ is situated in Dolpo district, near Phoksundo lake which spreads in an area of 3555Sq Km. It was established in the year 1984 with an objective to preserve the unique Himalayan ecosystem with its typical Tibetan type of flora and fauna, and to protect endangered species such as the snow leopard and musk deer. Much of the park lies north of the Great Himalayan Range, locally represented by Kanjiroba Himal, at the southern edge of the trans-Himalayan region of the Tibetan Plateau. The park has 20 mammals, 176 species of birds, a total of 28 species of butterflies and various varieties one of wild flower.

Crystal Mountain ‘
Crystal Mountain’, one of the sacred mountains and the major attraction of Dolpo lies beyond the Tso Kava Le lake which is several days’ walk north of this lake. This mountain is known as She-Re Drugda translated to Crystal Mountain. Locally, it is known as “Shey”. According to the local people, there is a legend of this mountain which gives the origin of being sacredness. There are lots of marvelous sites around this sacred mountain as there are pilgrims at each place, ‘Dorjee cave’ where Senge Yeshi retreated for nine years and gained the highest attainment of enlightenment. ‘Chod Ten’ stupa where ‘Chod’ means ‘to offer’ and ‘Ten’ means an ‘offer to depend on’ is one of the most precious objects in the Gomoche Monastery which is located around the sacred crystal mountain, yet there are lots of interesting places to visit.

The Major Treks

Upper Dolpo
It offers an exploration to the Western Himalayan terrain, the people, their culture and their rugged yet beautiful surroundings. Trekking in this remote region is certainly challenging with high mountain passes and difficult terrain which leaves a fruitful experience worth taking the adventure.
Link

Dolpo to Jomsom (Lower Dolpo)
This trek truly provides an opportunity to experience the life in the remote highland. Lying in the western Himalayan region, battered by the high winds, arid and dry landscape, unbearable cold in the winter months and almost cut off from the development of the outside world, this region is a living example of a tough struggle against the harsh force of nature. The trail passes through some high mountain passes and scarcely spread local villages, with beautiful mountains towering above in the background.
Link

Lower Dolpo (Dolpo-Tarap- Shey-Phoksundo)
Lying north to the Himalayan mountain range is a high altitude arid land known as Dolpo to the rest of the world. Battered by the high speed gale of the mountains this arid land is true Himalayan wilderness. Blessed by the unprecedented natural beauty this region provides an opportunity to witness the nomadic lifestyle of the few men who dared to live in this harsh land.

Caravan Trek to Dolpo
This trek offers you to experience the whole surrounding of dolpo region. Those who are seeking for a challenging and adventurous trek in a remote area are highly recommended to visit this part of the country. The trek starts from Juphal and ends in Juphal. The trial passes through ethnic Thakuri villages in a high and remote alpine area, where you will witness and experience the lifestyle of people who are battling against the harsh force of nature. The route goes through high passes like Numala and Bagala and very remote area of the country, and finally ends to gorgeous Shey Phoksundo Lake (3627m). Eventually, we head back to Juphal.

Best time to visit
The appropriate time to visit this region is between March-May and June-September.