Destination: Paanch Pokhari, Sindhupalchok

How to get there: A six hour bus ride from Kathmandu will get you to Chautara. Four hours if you are in a car or a bike.

What to take: Everything but the kitchen sink, and if you have space for it, then that too. Sleeping bags, mats, cooking utensils, enough edibles to last for at least six days, water bottles, hiking boots with crampons (or snow boots although the weight will kill you), a compass and maps.

Cost: If you stay for a day at Chautara and Lamidanda then possibly Rs 500, but while trekking, there are no shops to buy anything from.

The trail is not so steep but what makes it worse is the hard, packed snow. If you don’t have proper boots you could end up slipping along every step. Making it even worse is the fact that it runs alongside a steep cliff and a very long drop.

Walking for maybe ten to twelve hours will bring you to Bhanjyang, and a small cowshed. Despite having a Gobal Positioning System (GPS), a compass and a map, we happened to get lost along the way and wandered for four hours in the underbrush, surrounded by short bamboo. We had been following a small one-person wide trail, which disappeared beneath an avalanche of snow. While lost in the jungle, we crossed literal landslides with just footholds and handholds, in the dark, with just five headlamps among the eleven of us. We finally managed to reach Bhanjyang, the trail and a clearing where we camped for the night.

The cowshed at Bhanjyang had two people and those were the only people we saw for the entire trek up. The next day’s trek is steeper but you’ll have a choice between a straight 60 degree climb, scrambling over boulders, or a long and leisurely beaten path. If you choose the longer route then you will need to camp for the night at Hille Bhanjyang. There is nothing to tell you that you have reached Hille Bhanjyang except two empty, long rectangular cowsheds.

If you choose the shorter, more arduous route, you can reach Narsinghpati by six or seven in the evening, provided you don’t rest too much and that you started out fresh and early in the morning. Narsinghpati lies at the top of the Hille Bhanjyang hill. And from here, the mountains seem within touching distance. There is snow all around, not hard ice but soft powdery snow. There is a shed to sleep in, and even dry wood for a fire.

The view from Narsinghpati is one to die for. Especially in the evenings, when the sun is setting, it sends out bold rays of yellow light straight on the mountains, staining them in an ethereal yellowish-orange glow.

Three to four hours walk the next day will get you to Paanch Pokhari from Narsinghpati and a day’s walk from Hille Bhanjyang. The trail is easier, not as steep and the snow isn’t as slippery. Paanch Pokhari is magnificent. One big pond surrounded by four smaller ones, the five lie in a sheltered vale. There is a temple, from the base of which rushes out spring water. You can easily camp here for a day or two, if you manage to forage for firewood, although the evening winds can get really strong and chilly. Be prepared to run after your tent if you haven’t pegged it properly.

From Paanch Pokhari, a day’s hike gets you to Dudhpokhari and another day’s trek to Tillman’s Pass. Tillman’s Pass leads to the other side of the Langtang range, the Kyanjin Gompa and Dhunche route. From the top of the hills bordering Paanch Pokhari, you can see Tillman’s Pass with absolute clarity. Two massive peaks shelter the pass, a glacier that seems almost liquid.

From Narsinghpati and Paanch Pokhari, another perk is the night time sky. The stars came out in startling clarity. Huge twinkling masses, like fireflies strewn across a blanket of the darkest velvet. Lying there, on a yellow mat and staring up at the inky blackness of the sky perforated with a million twinkling globes, one realises how insignificant we humans are in the grand scheme of things.

Getting down is easier but not very. Snow makes it easy to lose your footing and slip. A walking stick should be your best friend if not, the foliage, creepers and shrubs. Coming down will take two days; a day to Bhanjyang and another to Lamidanda where you can recharge your batteries and interact with the friendly locals.

As enjoyable as it was, this trek was a battle for us. With no water and guide, we were relegated to drinking water from stagnant muddy puddles and eating snow whenever we saw it. Though never able to quench thirst, it only made our lips and tongues swell, crack and bleed. Getting lost in the jungle was no fun either, yet, the view made it all worthwhile.