Venturing with Guerrilla Trek in Nepal

• Baburam Gurung

Guerilla trek is both culturally and naturally rich tourist destinations. Taking a flight from Kathmandu to Pokhara can make it easy for the visitor to take lunch in Pokhara and then move forward in a hired vehicle up to Drabang through Beni on the first day.

However, taking a bus from Kathmandu to this destination might take a little longer time to reach here as the visitors have to make a one-night halt at Beni because it would be a tiresome journey.

Charming scenes can be observed while traveling between Beni and Drabang as you can see natural scenic sights of Tatopani, Babiya chaor, Myagdi river, and natural surroundings along this route.

Tatopani has a crowded village with few common hotels and homestays for the visitors to stay here and take a bath in the hot spring water.

Tatopani is also famous for the natural treatment of various ailments so a number of people come to visit this destination to take bath in natural hot spring.

Drabang is a business market elevated at 1070 meters above sea level which is located on the outskirt of Myagdi and Dajung river and it is the main market hub for the people of Myagdi, Dolpa, Rukum, and Baglung.

Few hotels and lodges are also available here. From Drabang we can reach Jaljala by observing the beautiful glimpse of Dhaulagiri Himal along with the charming scenes of Dharapani, Takam, Siwang, Muna, and Morani. The alluring sights of rhododendron, pine trees shrouded in natural beauty can also be relished along this route.

Jaljala is a good site to enjoy the panoramic sights of Dhaulagiri, Macchapuchre, Annapurna, and Gurja Himal. Myadgi and Baglung can also be seen from Jaljala.

Then Dhorpatan can be reached by traversing through upper Jaljala, lower Jaljala, and Gurjaghat. The Northern Ganga river can also be seen here. The region here resembles that of Europe as there are no high hills and mountains.

Dhorpatan is the only one protected hunting national parks of Nepal which is another attraction for tourists in Nepal which is beautified by natural surroundings. Falgune danda is as high as 3915 meters which is the highest pass of the Guerilla trek.

Panoramic view of beautiful pyramid-shaped and green colored mountains are seen from here. Dhorpatan, Thakur, Kayam, and Tatopani are the routes to reach upper Dolpa while the villages of Pelma, Maikot, Taka, Upper Sera, Lukum, Thabang, Rolpa Jaljala, Sukulbang, Jelbang, Narabang, and Sulichaur are the hinterlands of this trekking route which are enriched with the cultural heritage of indigenous peoples.

In local terms of Kham Magars, the term “Bang” means plain area. The area densely populated by Magar people also has few Dalits, Brahmins, and Gurungs. The region is very easy to travel through.

The tourist’s destination which is well known to the tourists earlier could not be resumed after the Maoist triggered the conflict. The local people known for their innocence, sincerity, ignorance, and poverty have been persuaded to follow Christianity as their religion and this area had been the hotbed of the Maoist war for these reasons.

The travel schedule for the visitors can be prepared to travel from Myagdi to Silichaur which may take around 14 days, 18 days, or 27 days. Most of the travelers like to go for 18 days. The following travel itinerary can be used.

Day 1, Kathmandu to Beni 830m by bus or Jeep

Day 2, Beni to Darbang by Bus or Jeep and Trek to Takam

Day 3, Takam to Moreni 2275m

Day 4, Moreni to Gurjaghat 3016m

Day 5, Gurjaghat to Dhorpatan 2870m

Day 6, Dhorpatan free day

Day 7, Dhorpatan to Thankur 3175m

Day 8, Thankur to Pelma 2425m

Day 9, Pelma to Maikot 2300m

Day 10, Maikot to Pipaldhunga 2005

Day 11, Pipaldhunga to Taka 2185m

Day 12, Taka to Lukum 2099m

Day 13, Lukum to Thawang 1975m

Day 14, Thawang free day

Day 15, Thawang to Jaljala 3090m

Day 16, Jaljala to Jelbang 1635m

Day 17, Jelbang to Sulichaur by Jeep

Day 18, Sulichaur to Kathmandu by Bus

The upper region has apple, wheat, millet, maize, potatoes, domestic animals such as sheep, goats, horses, and herbal plants are also found here. In the lower belt are found paddy, barley, and other cash crops.

The visitors who consider this visit as part of their educational excursion are worth saying as this is a social destination too and it can be done at minimum cost. The trekking to this area is possible throughout all seasons barring Monsoon season. Hotels and homestays are available here which gives you extra enjoyment. You can enjoy more if you go on this trek with your personal tents along with friends.

It’s a real inland, pure culturally, and naturally trekking destination for national and international trekkers. Excluding monsoon season at any time of the year can trek around this part.

–The writer is affiliated with Advent Himalaya Treks Pvt. Ltd.