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Trekking to Nagthali Gyang with Theme Palace Team | Langtang Valley

I wanted to go for trekking since quite some time now. And Langtang has been one of the places that has been clicking my mind ever since.

For the Annual Retreat of Theme Palace, which takes place twice a year, we decided to go trekking to Nagthali Gyang in Langtang Valley. We thought it would be a short trek and would be a very fun thing to do for the Annual Retreat. We came up with the plan for trekking in really short time, so, I didn’t really have much time to pack much stuffs.  I, personally was not much prepared at all. Thinking it would be a short and fun trip, I didn’t bother to carry much equipment with me other than the Motovlogging equips (Spark Drone, GoPros, and Canon 6D). But, I did carry a raincoat with me in case of rain, which I was very thankful for later on our journey.

DAY 1 – Kathmandu to Chilime

On 20th April, we all left at sharp 5.30 in the morning, setting a target to reach Thamboche of Chilime. The reason why we went so early was none other than to avoid the heavy traffic. And fortunately, we didn’t face any of them. The roads were very scenic as we rode up in the hills. I must say that the long bike rides that I’ve been a part of till now has always been an extraordinary experience for me. I love how Nepal is so rich in natural sceneries.

The ride to Chilime was very fun for me; the roads were smooth, the view was spectacular and the company of my fellow riders, of course added a cherry to an already sweet cake. We took a short break in Chhahare, Nuwakot. We had a light breakfast and continued our journey. After riding for almost an hour or so, we reached Kalikasthan and had our lunch in New Kanchan Hotel. We all were very much pumped up for the journey ahead of us. Little did we know the roads would not be as smooth as it had been till that time. Once we finished having our delicious lunch, we headed towards Thamboche. After riding for around 15 minutes on the fresh-tracks, we were on the off-roads and we were not quite sure about how long the off-road traveling we’d have to do.

The roads were so rough that it reminded me of my adventurous ride to Mustang, which was one hell of a hair-raising ride. We finally reached Dhunche and had some snacks. To ride on such a rough road and that too with a pillion, it was one exhausting ride. We all were quite tired when we reached Dhunche. However, the beautiful mountains and hypnotic sceneries kept us excited and pumped up.

Unexpectedly, it started raining while we were on the roads of Dhunche. Auspiciously, I did carry a raincoat with me and more luckily, my raincoat was a dual hooded raincoat. Now, you can possibly imagine the scenario; the roads were off-roads, it was raining heavily, and I had a pillion at the back. It was a very tiring yet exciting ride for me.

A quick throw-back incident from this tour: There was a big truck ahead of us and the road was extremely narrow. And suddenly, the truck driver started driving backwards without realizing that we were there. I was able to maintain a decent distance between us and the truck ahead of us. We were lucky enough to not get hit by that truck. You really need to be careful in these kind of roads while travelling. So, I just want to suggest every rider to always maintain a decent distance while you’re traveling in a narrow road.

Again, coming back to my experience, as we rode a little further, we realized that my bike’s rear tyre had been cut by something sharp on our way. But, because the tyre was a tubeless tyre, it consisted liquid sealants. The liquid immediately oozed out and dried up, sealing the hole (that was a relief!). We were on our way again, continuously riding on completely off-roads. We, then, reached Syabru besi. The heavy rainfall made our ride more dangerous and more venturesome as well. As we reached Syabru besi, we stayed at a cozy place for a while and had a short tea-break. We were waiting for the rain to stop, and while we waited, we played snooker for a while as well.

And after it stopped raining, we headed towards Chilime. That was when we came to know that our journey’s going to be more venturous now; the roads to Chilime were completely off-roads and was a very dangerous route for biking. We were very excited at the moment as we were there for some adventure. So, off we went and the roads were amazingly dangerous, slippery and you can imagine the rest. It was frightening!

Finally, we reached Chilime and we decided to stay at Paradise Hotel & Lodge for the night. At the hotel, we actually got a little confused about how many rooms we needed; as we were a total of seven men. So, ending our confusion, the Hotel Manager told us that they had a single room with exactly seven beds. Interesting, right? We all were pretty excited. We spent the night with lots of music, snacks and gossips followed by card-playing. After waiting for an hour or so, we were served with our dinner.

The next day we had to trek till Nagthali Gyang and therefore, after having our dinner, we headed off to sleep.

Day 2 – Trekking from Chilime to Nagthali Gyang

We headed off for trekking early in the morning. We didn’t know the route, therefore we asked the locals and kicked-off our trekking. Actually there were two trekking routes; the first one was the direct Chilime to Nagthali Gyang (9 km), which was quite steep, and another one was from Chilime to Tatopani and then Tatopani to Nagthali Gyang (12 km in total), which was just perfect for trekking. We wanted some adventure so, we decided to go with the first route, i.e. Chilime to Nagthali, the extreme steep way. Yes, it was a short way, but, the routes were too dangerous, too steep, too tiring! We didn’t know all this while starting off our trek. We thought it would be a little adventurous and short trek.

We were all very excited and boosted up with energy on the first phase; the first one or two hours. However, as we went up and up in the hills, it was getting exhausting, and tiring. We were running out of energy and the hills had a never-ending trails. Luckily, we found a small tea shop on our way up. We were very hungry, so we ate a little and took a short break. Then we carried on with our trekking.

Again, the never-ending trails, the steep way continued. We were getting tired, and we were running out of water as well. But still, we continued with our trekking. The situation was getting worse and worse. There was a point where we could walk no more and had to rest for a while. I had carried some energy bars with me, which was very helpful for us in a condition like that. We ate it and sure it gave us a little boost, but the bad side was that the bars actually made us thirstier. We, then, continued our trek; as we were very hungry, Suddama and Gokarna suggested to eat Rhododendron, which was blooming in the trails that we were trekking on. Everyone were so hungry that all of us agreed and consumed it. It was kind of a little sour but very tasty. Then again, we continued and we were in desperate search of a tea shop. Luckily, we found another tiny hotel at the top of the hill. We had some noodles and rested for a while. We hydrated ourselves and continued with our journey to Nagthali Gyang viewpoint.

After an hour or so, we finally reached Nagthali Gyang. The area was culturally rich and traditionally fascinating. The view was jaw-dropping; we could see beautiful snow-capped mountains around us. It was just mesmerizing and the feeling that you get once you reach the view point is worth all the pain that you’ve gone through to get there. The pain was so worth it! We stayed at Nagthali Gyang that night and decided to leave for Chilime the next day.

I have uploaded a video of our biking and then trekking to Langtang (Day 1 and Day 2) in my YouTube channel, so that you can experience it too. Consider subscribing for more from me.

Day 3 and 4 – Nagthali Gyang to Kathmandu

It was the time we return to Chilime. We decided to not return the same route as we came. So, we all agreed on taking the long route—Nagthali to Tatopani then Tatopani to Chilime. As we headed towards Tatopani, I was quite happy that we chose that way. The direct route—Chilime to Nagthali—was just too steep and extremely dangerous. So, I want to suggest my readers that if you’re also looking forward to go trekking to Nagthali Gyang, consider taking the long but well-maintained route than going for a shortcut. The long way is not only well-maintained, but also provides you that soothing energy that you need while trekking.

We had a decent lunch in Tatopani and spend some time there. Then, we headed off to Chilime from Tatopani. As we reached Chilime, the hotel that we stayed before going to Nagthali, we came to know that there were around 40 new guests. So, we thought our dinner might get delayed, therefore, we hopped on to our motorbikes and we were ready to leave for Syabru besi. We reached Syabru besi, but then again, for some reason, we decided to continue our ride and leave for Dhunche.

We reached Dhunche after a while and checked in to a hotel. We had our dinner and a little snacks in our hotel. We had a quite fun time there as well. We gossiped, played cards, and we were singing. So, overall, the night was quite fun. However, after all those thrilling experiences, I hardly slept that night.

The next morning, we left for Kathmandu. On our way to Kathmandu, some of our team members wanted to go for swimming in the river. Well, I am not a big fan of swimming in the nature, so, deciding to meet at Kalikasthan, I along with Sarvesh went on. Then, there came a two way road in front of us, I was tired and was carried away a little by the pain and didn’t really notice the two way road. We actually had to turn right and unfortunately, I went along with the left one (my bad!). We rode around 20 km from that turn, which was the wrong way. After riding for 20 km, I stopped and realized that we’ve made a wrong turn. We, then, went all the way back to where we left our team members. We reached Kalikasthan and had our lunch. We continued our journey back home. We stopped at Tokha for a short break and then went our separate ways to our respective homes.

So, that was it. I am very happy that I was a part of this great adventure. I loved each and every part of this tour (even though it got a little bit too dangerous for my liking). The tour was a great way to make the bond stronger with the Theme Palace team. Cheers to the team as well!

I strongly recommend all the thrill lovers to definitely go for trekking in Langtang. Just make sure that you carry all the equipment including water and power bars with you. Langtang is one of the best destinations in Nepal that is filled with adventure, excitement, mesmerizing scenery, and everything else that you seek (other than the luxurious food, of course).

I have also uploaded a video of our trekking to Langtang and then biking to Kathmandu (Day 3 and Day 4) in my YouTube channel, so that you can experience it too. Consider subscribing for more from me.

Check out the snaps from my Langtang Valley trekking with Theme Palace team below. Until my next post, CHEERS!!

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Author: sakinshrestha

Hello. My name is Sakin Shrestha, and I am a technology entrepreneur from Nepal. I am passionate about helping this sector grow, for many reasons. The technology sector creates jobs for many young Nepalis who would otherwise migrate to foreign countries. It lets Nepali professionals develop skills for a fast-changing global workplace, and compete at a high level with anyone, anywhere in the world. If it grows, it will provide a viable career option for many young Nepalis, and help us reap the benefits of a global economy.