i took these pictures between 13th and 17th march 2012 while travelling from surkhet via dailekh to achham and then back through doti and dadeldhura to kailali.
we drove from nepalgunj, past surkhet. i did not have a good view in this leg of the journey, on the first day of the drive... half of the back seat of the vehicle was piled high with luggage that i had to keep pushing back to place following every bump or turn! so i just took pictures of what i could see from the left hand window, other than when road blockage made us stop... while driving north from surkhet there were rows of houses that looked like birthday cakes...
the weather had been pretty gusty that morning. in fact the plane had bumped its way through from kathmandu to nepalgunj.. but when when we started climbing up the hills of surkhet and dailekh, it clouded up, and then it rained, hailed and we even got some snow!! visibility became so bad we had to inch our way forward...
.. and buses and trucks would suddenly loom up ahead...
our wipers worked overtime as the hail fell... see this link to the clip...
... and then suddenly we would round a bend and come across spectacular views.. either a hidden valley, or lali gurans tree putting its best display
even the water cascading down the drainage system looked beautiful
... misty valleys...
craggy cliffs...
migrating cormorants
by the time we reached tallo dungeshwar, it was pouring.. this wall in front of the toilet in the hotel where we'd stopped by for a snack collapsed a minute after i'd walked past it!
utensils pile up in front of the eatery
rich slush!
.. we finally meet up with karnali...
... slowly it started getting brighter.. even though the clouds were still hugging the mountaintops
terraces of wheat and millet
an indian roller bird (so says priya, the expert) spreads its wings to dry after it finds a bit of sunlight
wisps of clouds still linger on...
rocks get dappled with rainwater
what was dhulo in the morning became hilo by afternoon
and neath the slush karnali winds its way southwest
we had to wait for some time in this bend as a truck tried desperately to weave its way out of 2 feet deep mud... a man who lived nearby said that in the morning there was 2 feet of dust that got kicked up by every passing vehicle!
further up the emerald clear karnali gets diffused with the ruddy waters of paduka khola
a bridge being build over rama gad.
we crossed the river where there used to be a bailey bridge earlier.. see this clip...
piles of canisters of pine sap to feed a turpentine industry
a landslide delta that joins the karnali
at the point where the karnali widens and where the karnali highway hugs the river northwards.. the road that will now be part of the mid-hill highway in achham can be seen zigzagging across the hillside in achham. that is where last year we were waiting for many hours while boulders as big as our jeep hurtled down the hillside, pushed over by the excavator being used to expand the road. rain in the lower hills meant snowfall in the higher mountains...
near rakam we wait for the ferry to come over to take us across the karnali
locals have their own mode of conveyance...
wonderful sunshine next morning in kucchi of kalikasthan vdc in achham. trees shorn of leaves /fodder for livestock stretch their way skywards
heading for school
class in session in ambika secondary school in kucchi
more interactive learning process in another classroom
nice to see girls in school
physical exercise and sports often relegated to pages in a book
faraway hills laden with snow over manma in kalikot
a versatile fchv, tilsara bista, of kucchi
beautiful house belonging to top bahadur sunar in kucchi
the sunars proudly display family pictures over the veranda
top bahadurji and his wife bhabisara in his meticulous workshop
waiting for water in binayak vdc
mayal (wild pear) blossoms liven up the atmosphere
her work never stops
examination is session in yuvabarsha primary school in binayak
students eagerly greet us...
child friendly grade one in the school
little slippers all in a row in front of grade one
further down the hillside in maney gaon... a woman waits to scoop water from a kuwa
i later find her helping her sister in law dehusk rice for the evening meal
early next morning we are woken up by the dhikichyaun dhikichyaun noise that these two are making in the dhiki once more dehusking paddy and pounding corn for the day's meal. they said they spend 1.5 to 2 hours every morning in this routine. that is before they then fetch water, fodder, firewood, take care of the livestock, cook, clean, wash etc etc the whole day long....
as we headed up towards binayak bajar, more women could be seen on the dhiki...
.. a chhaupadi goth where menstruating girls and women spend their 'polluting' days
sunrise and cereals
we climb higher up
i wouldn't have been able to manoeuvre myself so easily up and down the slopes if it hadn't been for the stick that mr. prem kumar shahi of binayak kindly gifted me... jai hos!
pear blossom against the azure sky
fogged up karnali in the distance
the neat grounds of the shree vidyamandir higher secondary school in binayak.. very impressive school that serves as the resource centre for dozens of schools in the area
looking southwards as we head towards mangalsen. kamal bazar can be seen in the distance. below the hump is the airstrip, which is slated to open very soon. along with the reopening of the renovated sanphe bagar airport, it would make achham relatively easy to access
ancient pancha dewal temples being renovated in binayak
gentler slopes...
cause for many spinal injuries in nepal, especially for women. the higher the climb the greater the fall....
why o why doesn't the government say make girls wear pants after grade five?
snowfall in the hills
with a guard dog. also in the pack was a typical achhami 'naumuthi ' cow (looks like this dog, being nine fists tall only!!)
radio ramaroshan blares of this transistor at thulasain, above mangalsen
below mangalsen this imposing simal tree
in khatigaon of mangalsen vdc, this girl going back home after doing her laundry
khatigaon
and another fancied chhaupadi goth in khatigaon
picking mustard strands from amongst the wheat field in sanphe bagar
next morning we head out of sanphe and climb upwards.. great to see the snowy mountains again...
budi ganga valley and sanphe still shrouded in mist
view of seti river from silgadi
a closer view of the suspension bridge over the river
resting in the pipal chautari
this is life.. says the buffalo
stacks of hay that look like one legged ostriches
further up in dadeldhura we stop for lunch at the 'hotel jungle spa' in shakayal
as we drive one.. more terraced views unfold...
.. and these himals... far away from the tourists eyes... seem to say.. we're beautiful too.. come to our foothills
in budar, neath the pipal tree
driving down towards kailali, this tree atop a big rock...
.. and further down as we hit the plains.. a statue of pawan putra hanuman
..what a trip that was.. going to and coming from achham...
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