Langtang Trek Diary – Day 5 (Kyanjin Gompa)
By this time I had accepted that to reach the destination safely, I had to walk really slowly. For every one hour for a regular person, it would take me one and a half hours. And that’s all right. Today’s walk however, was very pleasant to the eyes as well as to the knees. The trail mostly consisted of “Nepali Flats” with some ups and downs. Just 40 minutes from Langtang, lies the village of Mundu. Starting from there, to all the way to Kyanjin Gompa, the view was the most enjoyable. All the way through you can see a range of snowy mountain, small streams coming from many waterfalls and yaks grazing in the green fields of the valley. At around 12 pm, after walking for 4 hours, we reached the valley of Kyanjin Gompa – our final destination at 3800 meters (gompa means stupa).
After lunch, at 1 pm, leaving our heavy packs behind, we head out to climb Kyanjin Ri (Ri means peak). This 4800 meter mountain was right next to the valley and offered a panoramic view of the valley, the range of snowy mountains on 3 sides and a very scary looking glacier. Needless to say, I was the last one to summit and to return back. On the top I was a bit scared, as the summit was narrow, wind was very strong and my fear of heights decided to kick in. however, I took time to rest and heal my knees before coming down. It was 6:30 pm when I reached my lodge. (I did not remember the name of the lodge, so I spent 20 minutes looking for it).
The night at the lodge was amazing. Had wonderful conversations with the other guests, especially with Gerhard. When I asked the man, from where he was, he took a moment before replying. He was born in Germany but doesn’t have a home there. Gerhard had a wonderful career, and now lives in Russia when he is not traveling. He has traveled to more than 100 countries and has amazing stories and insights to share about countries, governments and its people. When I asked him what it takes to travel hundred countries, he replied, all you need is to be really determined and not just wait and wish. I agreed!
After dinner some of us went to the roof to look at the stars (among other socially unacceptable things). We discussed bits of our lives from back home before returning to bed.
What a long and amazing day it was!
October 6, 2018
Kyanjin Gompa
Read the other parts of the Langtang Trek Diary
About Irtiza
A small town kid, stuck in a big city!