Nepal 2025 - Day 9: Samdo to Dharamsala
Samdo to Dharamsala
After an exhilarating previous day, we were all excited to finally get to Dharamsala and cross the pass the next morning. It was supposedly an easy walk with a gradual gain of 600m to Dharamsala.
We woke up to beautiful crisp skies with magnificent peaks shining in the morning sun.
Had my bowl of porridge and made the final use of the best part of this facility, the toilet. it offered a $mn view!
The initial part of the trail was same as the previous day, going through Larkya Bazaar and the tiny hydropower station. We bid Samdo goodbye as it bathed itself in the morning sunlight.
Jangmu was very hopeful that we would get clear views of Manaslu, Naike Peak and Syacha glacier during the day. The whole route was just 9km with an elevation gain of 600m so we were enjoying our easy walk. As we gained elevation and exited the valley, we reached flat grasslands which revealed the Naike peak and the Syacha glacier slightly. Manaslu was well hidden behind the low cloud cover.
On this section of the trail, we saw a lot of Himalayan Griffon Vultures in the air. Watching them in flight has always been one of favourite things to do in the Himalayas and the backdrop of the stunning landscape took this sighting to the next level. I spent quite some time watching them fly and land until I discovered a few of them perched near a slope. I was a little inquisitive and wanted to get a picture of them on the ground. I climbed the slope a little and stumbled upon a Yak carcass which they were feeding on. It was a little gory but nature's recycling machine was working in full force. There were some idiots who were throwing rocks at them from a distance. After some intervention, they stopped. We just observed them doing their job and enjoying their meal. This was the second time I saw these vultures clean up a dead animal, first time at this height and a first time, a Yak.
There were no teahouses at Dharamshala. It was a settlement with basic facilities, tinroofs modified into rooms and on a triple sharing. We didn't expect any power or anything other than just a mattress with a blanket, hopefully. We were due to leave for the Pass at 3.30AM the next morning anyway. We reached around 11am and were surprised to see a cozy dining hall with two young guys running the kitchen like clockwork and better than most restaurants. Nepali hip-hop and rap blared from their stereo with multiple pressure cooker whistles adding to the soundtrack while they took orders, cooked and delivered food to about 40 people in under two hours like a well oiled machine. It was an amazing thing to witness while we had our food. The Dal Bhat was one of the best of the trip and we really didn't expect that here.
During lunch, we were all glad about the fantastic weather we got that day. That augured very well for the pass crossing the next day. We decided to retire to our rooms and try and get some rest as dinner would be early before we retire for the day. I am not sure who jinxed it, however, the change in weather over the next few hours was unbelievable. From bright sunny skies, it became foggy and cloudy and eventually, it started to rain and it continued throughout the night till about 2am. The raindrops on the tinroof sounded like falling stones and I barely got any sleep.
Comments
Post a Comment