I had updated you guys in my last post that I went on an adventurous journey with the Theme Palace team. So, here I am, to tell you the whole tale! I went on a 9-day trip to one of the main tourist attraction in Nepal, Rara Lake.
Situated in the far northwestern part of Nepal, Rara Lake is the biggest lake in the country with an altitude of 2990m and covers the area of almost 11 sq. km. This scenic lake is located in the Mugu district of Nepal, inside Rara National Park. Breathtakingly beautiful, Rara Lake is surrounded by green hills and reflects the striking views of snowcapped peaks in its crystal clear water. The lake is not only surrounded by the wonderful woods of pine, spruce, and juniper but also features hundreds of species of wild flowers and herbal plants flourishing at its shores.
For the Annual Retreat of Theme Palace, which takes twice a year, we decided to visit Rara Lake. It was always in my bucket list to visit this beautiful Rara Lake and capture its beauty. Therefore, I was very excited to initiate my bike tour. It was a nine-day long tour and that’s why this post is going to be a little longer. So, brace yourself folks, ‘cause I’m about to write everything that happened on this adventurous tour.
Day 1: Kathmandu to Dang
On the very first day of our journey (22nd September 2018), we all gathered at Kumaripati and had our breakfast and a little talk before starting off our engines. We went in 4 motorbikes, Sachet Gurung & Gokarna Kathet in Bajaj Pulsar RS 200, Amit Subba & Sarvesh Shrivastav in Bajaj Avenger 220, Suddama Thapa in Bajaj Pulsar 150 and me in Bajaj Dominar 400. Since this was the first time we were visiting Rara, none of us really knew about the roads and routes. We just Googled the kilometers and decided to reach Surkhet on the first day which was around 600 kilometers. I know you guys must be thinking that we were over ambitious—which we actually were (sad). So, with the motive to reach Surkhet that very day, we left at around 5 in the morning and decided to meet at Mugling. And as decided, we met at Mugling for our lunch and left after we were done. From Mugling, we headed towards Chitwan. On our way to Chitwan, all of a sudden my motorbike stopped. I checked around but couldn’t find anything wrong with my bike. Then, I restarted my motorbike, however, only after a few minutes, it stopped again. The on and off process took place several times and I couldn’t tell what was wrong. Then, I decided to check my fuel tank. It was empty! Then only I realized that my indicator was broken and was showing a full tank even though it was empty. Sachet then handed me a bottle of petrol and we continued our journey. After this incident, I refilled my fuel tank every time I saw a petrol pump nearby.
Another incident that took place was with Amit and Sarvesh. Since the road was a little slippery, their motorbike skidded and minor injuries took place. After the skid, we all slowed down our pace and were riding very carefully. We stopped at Chitwan and had a short break. There were actually an ample of short breaks throughout the whole journey.
We reached Butwal in the evening but didn’t want to stop there, so, we again continued our journey. At around 8 P.M., we reached Dang and decided to stay there for the night. There were many obstacles (mainly two that I mentioned), because of which we couldn’t make it to Surkhet that day.
Day 2: Dang to Lower Dungeshwor, Dailekh
Our journey began from Dang on the second day. We left the hotel early in the morning, however, there was a coordination issue while we were on the road. We reached Birendranagar and came to know that there were two routes to reach Rara Lake. One of the routes was a little longer than of the other. Unfortunately, the bikes that were ahead of us had taken the longer way, so we had to follow them.
The roads were nice. This does not mean there were no off-roads; there were. A little off-roading is always fun and it was expected too. With off-roads, short-breaks, and scenic view, we continued our journey and reached Lower Dungeshowr. We stayed there for the night and decided to continue our journey the next day.
Here is the video of our ride from Kathmandu to Lower Dungeshowr, Dailekh.
Day 3: Lower Dungeshwor to Nagma
The hotel we stayed in Lower Dungeshwor was near a river and in the morning, all of us went there and had a little fun time. And again, with the motive to reach Rara that day, we left our hotel. And there it was—the extreme off-road. With many tea breaks, off-roads, and fun, we continued our journey to Rara. Since the roads were extreme off-roads, we had to ride slowly and carefully. Our journey was delayed by hours due to traffic and road construction works. We wanted to ride till Jumla that day, however, due to many reasons we reached Nagma in the late evening and we had to stay there.
A quick advice to those looking forward to visiting Rara—make sure you avoid staying overnight at Nagma. I am very sure that you won’t like it. The hotel we stayed there was terrible, the beds were not comfortable, the toilet and the hospitality were at its worst. All in all, I had a very bad stay at Nagma. So, I want to recommend you all that either you stay at Manma, or ride till Jumla. The hotels and hospitality are far better there than in Nagma.
Day 4: Nagma to Talcha Airport
With the confidence of reaching Rara that day, we had our breakfast and left for Rara. Again, the off-roads continued. This time the off-roads were more extreme and because of that, we were riding slowly and carefully. And since it was slightly raining, our ride was more delayed. As soon as we crossed Bulbule, we found out that the road ahead of us was congested due to a dreadful landslide. We were stuck there for around three hours. However, slowly and steadily, we reached Talcha. We were very excited as we were about to witness the much-talked-about lake. Alas! We were informed that the road to reach Rara from Talcha was completely blocked due to a landslide. We were then told that we have to walk downhill for around four hours to reach Rara Lake as the road was not suitable for bike rides. But because we were extremely tired and it was nearly dark, we decided to go in the morning the next day and stayed at Talcha that night.
Here is a video of our ride from Lower Dungeshowr to Talcha Airport.
Day 5: Talcha Airport to Rara Lake
We were excited, very excited, actually. On the fifth day, the hotel we stayed in was a great place to capture an aerial view. So, I asked our hotel manager if we were allowed to fly a drone in the area and he said there’s no restriction. However, a local (I thought he was) came up to me and told me to put down my drone. Later I found out that he was a policeman and he told us that we’re not allowed to fly a drone in the area. Then, we went to the police station and since we didn’t know about the restriction, they were not that harsh on us. However, very sadly, we were asked to delete all the drone shots captured in the area. So, this was a quick interesting incident that occurred on that day.
After breakfast, we then got ready for our long walk to Rara. After walking for an hour or so, the breathtaking view of Rara Lake was coming to our sight. We were mesmerized by the beauty of Rara. We then stopped at places for photo and video shoots.
We reached Rara Lake, but our hotel, Village Heritage & Resort was still around two hours away (by walk) from where we were. So, observing the serene environment, and the natural beauty of Rara, we reached our hotel at around 3 in the noon. Because we reached there a little late, we couldn’t go boating that day. The boating hours were only from 7 A.M. to 12. P.M. We couldn’t go to the view tower too as we had to walk 3 more hours to reach there. So, since we could go anywhere that day, we decided to just relax and observe the lakeside. We also went for an evening walk to refresh ourselves from the exhaustion.
I would like to suggest everyone willing to visit Rara Lake to stay there for at least two days in order to get the most out of the area. Also, make sure you go for an evening walk as well. You will see how beautifully the lake and the mountains change their color in the evening. It is one of the must-do things in Rara, as per my experience.
Day 6: Around Rara Lake and back to Talcha to Bulbule
We decided to visit the view tower in the morning. So, all of us got up and got ready to walk to the view tower. We went there and captured the beautiful view from the tower. It was around 12 P.M. when we reached back to our hotel from the tower. So, again that day we couldn’t go for boating.
Check out the video below to relive the moments that we spent in Rara Lake:
As soon as we reached our hotel, we packed our bags, had breakfast and left for Kathmandu. We wanted to ride as far as we could that day. We actually wanted to ride till Jumla. We walked for almost four hours while going to Rara Lake from Talcha. While coming back from Rara to Talcha, we covered the distance, surprisingly, in two hours. We had our lunch in Talcha and again continued our journey back home. We were about to reach Bulbule but were stopped again because of a landslide. After waiting for a couple of hours, we continued and reached Bulbule. As it was pitch-dark already, we didn’t continue and stayed there for the night.
Day 7: Bulbule to Lower Dungeshwor, Dailekh
Next day, we got ready and left our hotel. While coming back from Bulbule, we were confronted with the off-road again. The first 32 kilometers was extreme off-road and the rest 40 km to reach Jumla was black-topped. Upon reaching Jumla, I was very surprised to see the concrete houses, ATM machines, and other city-facilities. We roamed around the area for a while and continued our journey. We reached Nagma but decided to roll our wheels again and head towards Manma. We reached Manma at around 5 in the evening, however, we didn’t stop there as well. We started our engine, despite the fact that it was getting dark. Since we didn’t find any hotel to stay, we continued our late-night ride even though it was extreme off-road. We saw many wild creatures on our way, which made the ride more dangerous. We finally reached Lower Dungeshor, tired and exhausted.
Day 8 and Day 9: Lower Dungeshwor, Dailekh to Kathmandu
Next day, as usual, we got up, got dressed and left for Kathmandu. We stopped at many places and took many short breaks. With the continuity of breaks and fun, we reached Butwal in the evening and stayed the night there. The 9th day, this was the last day of our tour. After having a nice breakfast, we all left for Kathmandu. The roads were smooth and our ride was nice. Upon reaching Mugling, we had our lunch. We then continued our journey back home. As decided we went our separate ways to our respective homes.
Here is a video of our ride from Talcha to Jumla and back to Kathmandu:
All in all, this tour was an amazing tour for all of us. It was a great opportunity to make the bond stronger with the Theme Palace team. This trip was a package of everything; the adventure, the fun, the excitement, beautiful scenery, it had a taste of everything that we expect from a decent trip.
To relive the moments again, I have captured this adventurous journey in my GoPro. To make it less confusing for you guys, I have compiled the whole trip in four different parts. Head over to my YouTube Channel to see the whole video compilation. Also, consider subscribing to me if you enjoyed watching the videos.
For your convenience, I have provided the link to all four of my videos from the Rara Lake trip below. Enjoy Watching!
[catch-instagram-feed-gallery-widget title=”Catch Instagram Feed Gallery Widget” type=”tags” username=”sakin_rara” layout=”default” number=”6″ size=”standard_resolution” link_type=”load_more” link_text=”Load More” ]