Nagarkot: Epic Sunrise

I think this one speaks for itself.

Probably all Mount Everest

Nagarkot.  One of the most beautiful sunrises on the planet.  I was fortunate enough to see it on a clear day.  The village itself is a small, unassuming place.  Originally founded as an army base, it is now a tiny resort town, with most guest houses sitting on the East side of the hill to await the sunrise.  Nagarkot sits at nearly 2200m, 32km East of Kathmandu.  I felt the daytime temperature in winter was comparable to Kathmandu, except for the icy cold breezes that occasionally blew through.

Journey from Bhaktapur to Nagarkot

I started my journey by bus to Bhaktapur, a fairly short ride from the bus park in Kathmandu.  The bus broke down when we were nearly at the destination, and thankfully there was a kind Nepalese boy also on the bus who helped me find the way to the Durbar Square.  Nepal has 3 Durbar Squares - in Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, and Patan - remnants from the days of kings and kingdoms before Nepal was a unified country.  The kind young man walked me all the way to the middle of the main square before continuing on his way.  I'm never sure of etiquette here so I offered to get him a tea or coffee, but he said all he wants is for me to send my friends to Nepal.  Many people I've run into here love tourists and are happy for how tourism helps the economy.

Bhaktapur's Durbar Square and surrounding area is quite large, and there is a rather hefty entrance fee for this one.  Many elements are the same as other heritage sites I've been to.  There are a ton of temples, fountains, and other holy structures.  Bhaktapur has quite a lot of winding paths and it's easy to get turned around.  After feeling rather templed out, I headed to the bus stop for Nagarkot.  It's difficult to find a bus direct from Kathmandu to Nagarkot, so the Bhaktapur visit was a great stop on the way.

After hearing horror stories from friends about taking taxis at 4am to make it to Nagarkot for sunrise, I was more than a little worried about the winding road up the mountain.  I was one of the last people on the bus, so had to stand for the entire hour ride, keeping my eye on the nearest window in case I had to lean out.  Thankfully by the time I felt really nauseous we were already there.

Beauty and Confusion in Nagarkot

Apparently I wasn't paying attention, because the bus went through the main village on its way up and I didn't notice.  I got off at one of the army lookouts and headed up the hill at the suggestion of some of the other passengers to go to see the tower.  It was about a 3km hike to the top, with another amazing view of the Himalayas.

There was an older Nepalese woman who said hello and some other things she was very excited about but I couldn't understand on my way up, and I saw her again on the way down.  She grabbed me and hugged me and was inexplicably happy, and then got people who I assume were her family to take some photos of us together.  It was very sweet but made no sense.

Someone from the bus told me that the hotels were down from the tower, so I assumed I continue on the same road heading down the other side of the mountain to the village.  I followed the road for a bit and came across a dude who was a little *too* friendly.  He asked where I was going and insisted that this was the wrong direction, but he would be more than happy to accompany me back to Nagarkot.  I declined as politely as possible several times while he was insisting that the shortest way back was through this trail cutting off from the side of the main road.  I was getting a very bad feeling about this situation when a few guys on motorcycles came down the hill.  I waved them down and asked which direction we were heading and how to get back to the Nagarkot village.  They confirmed that it was indeed the side trail.  Creepy dude's phone rang at this same moment so I took the opportunity to grab my knife out of my bag (thanks, Dad!), stuff it in my pocket, and book it to the trail while motorcycle guys stood watch.  It was a fairly obvious path with just a little bit of bushwhacking, and I somehow ended up at one of the army camps.  I had to maneuver through some barbed wire and didn't get shot.  It was another 4km hike back down to the village the bus went through originally when I wasn't paying attention.

Party at the top!

I was really hoping to stay at the swanky hotel to enjoy the pool and hot tub, but both were out of commission so I secured a room at one of the other guesthouses for a much more reasonable price.  They gave me the best room, complete with mountain and valley views.  Oh, and stars like you wouldn't believe.

In the morning I got up early to take a little walk to a better vantage point for the sunrise.  Most places I've seen in Nepal lock up by bringing down sliding metal doors with a padlock on the inside.  Guess who was locked in!  I tried making as much noise as possible, but couldn't figure out where or which floor the hosts were sleeping on.  It was pitch black downstairs unless a car was going by, so I had to run up to grab my flashlight.  I feel bad snooping through all the keys, but couldn't find the ones for the doors, so I looked for another way to exit.  Entering the kitchen (I'm SO glad I didn't have dinner here after seeing the lack of sanitary procedures in this place) I saw the windows above the stove area.  Everything was coated in old grease, but I found a stool to climb up on, and managed to open the grease-jammed deadbolts on one of the windows and slip out.  Later when I returned, I laughed to myself thinking if they were wondering why I was coming back in when they never saw me leave.

Staying on the East side of the hill, I wandered up the road to find a better vantage point.  There was a building under construction that had no one in it, so I took advantage and climbed the stairs to the top.  It was actually a pretty good viewpoint.

Here's a couple more for good measure.

Trek to Sankhu

After the sunrise I checked out (which consists of giving a random guy around the guest house your key) and headed to the trail down the mountain for Sankhu, to catch the bus back to the city.  I consulted the big billboard maps in Nagarkot, and my guide book several times before heading out...I reached a fork in the path and knew that it was a left turn.  Or so I thought.  The path lead me into the jungle forest of the mountains.  I didn't even know they had jungle here.  After the clear path dwindled I figured I was too far in to turn around, so continued in the general direction of Sankhu finding paths here and there and following the river.  As the forest thickened the plant life got a little nastier, including these stupidly annoying prickle vines that dangle from nowhere, which I'll hereby refer to as Sky Prickers.  I trudged and trudged until I finally got down to the river level, then as I came around a bend I see the whole terrain descends MORE.  These mountains are gigantic.  After another battle with Sky Prickers I made it to a more clear path which lead to...more hills!  

At this point I'm a little freaked out, and am pretty sure this isn't the path the guide book talks about.  My hands are cut up, there's junk in my hair, and the way I came from is too far to warrant turning back.  I continue slowly, trying to think, and then I hear voices.  People!  People means villages and roads and buses and the way back!

In my haste to reach the voices I attempt going down a hill quicker than I should have.  The tree I was using as a handhold was not as sturdy as I first thought, and it snapped and I fell straight down a few metres right onto my left leg.  It didn't appear or feel broken, and being in the middle of the forest, I had no choice but to press on.  After another 20 minutes of pain I reach the people.  Three young ladies are in the hills harvesting grasses.  They spoke very little English, but enough to tell me to wait for them to finish their work and we can head to the road together.  I am so, so thankful I found them.  When their baskets were full, they strapped them to their foreheads and we pressed on, going up the mountain again.

We came to a little farm house at the top of the hill, and it connected to a road and trail leading down to Sankhu!  Turns out I really was going the right direction the whole time.  I take the path down, and down, and down, my leg is killing me by this point, and I eventually make it to a village that I assume is Sankhu.  No, they say, the town is another hour's walk away.  So, I keep on the road, hoping for a bus to come this way.  Nothing.

Out of the mountains.  Village pre-Sankhu.

But then I see a family I recognize from Nagarkot catching up with me on the path.  They wave hello and see that I'm limping.  I chat with the mom and the dad stops someone on a motorcycle and talks to him in Nepali.  He told him I need help and the guy offers me a ride the rest of the way to Sankhu.  My second helmetless motorcycle ride of doom here.  He even drove me all the way to the bus stop so I didn't have to walk anymore.  I gave him a little of the money I had left even though he refused a couple of times, and we exchanged contact info.  He was very excited about the prospect of possibly coming to Canada for work.  Everyone loves Canada!

The leg is kind of a mess now, swollen, and I think a pulled calf muscle, but nothing seems to be broken.  It's a miracle I walked on it for a few more hours, which was probably all thanks to adrenaline and that breakfast Red Bull.  If it gets any worse I'll have to make a trip to the tourist hospital for x-rays.  Right now Advil, ice, and "taking rest" as the Nepalese say seem to be doing the trick.

After catching the bus in Sankhu and a short taxi ride I arrived safely back at the house.  "What happened to you?"

"It's a long story."