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| View of Surkhet Valley from the Top |
If someone asks me, “what is the most interesting think
that I would like to do?” I would definitely say hiking/trekking in the nature.
I am always amazed by the hiking trail constructed around the hills of
Kathmandu Valley. We could find specially handcrafted stoned, couple of century
old, paved route in the middle of the jungle so as to facilitate hiking. And I used
to wonder if such could be done around Surkhet valley also: now, the dream is
being fulfilled by the Karnali State Government. They are constructing a hiking
trail from Birendranagar to Gadhi. It is about 5 kilometre steep route, and
currently the work has been 40% completed. Unlike the handcrafted stones of
Kathmandu, they are using the factory made concrete blocks for the pavement.
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| Newly constructed Pavement on the hiking trail |
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| Newly constructed Pavement on the hiking trail |
It was amazing to see such a beautiful path in the middle
of the jungle. I grew up nearby the jungle; however, I had not been to that
route once in my life. We started our journey at 7: 30 and we had planned to go
up to where the pavement was complete; but, the overwhelmedness of the beauty
of jungle, morning glory, and our enthusiasm took us all the way to the top. It
takes 1.5 hours to 2 hours for a normal person to reach at the top of the hill.
We can literally see the combination of Chure and Mahabharat jungle during such
a short journey. We can see the vegetation changes as we climb up, the height
of tree of Shorea robusta called Sal
in Nepali decreases as we move upwards until there is no more Sal tress in the
jungle. Sal trees were replaced by pine trees; there is a border where the Sal
tree and Pine tree are together, it is an amazing sight for any forest lover
and botanist.
In the process we had to climb from 700 meter
altitude to 1600 meters altitude. We can feel the quality of the air changes,
the air in the pine jungle is so amazing I have a wish that my last breath
would be the pine forest. For wildlife lovers it is not much of an amusement;
since, there are only few verities of monkeys, birds, wild boar etc. People used
to claim they had seen tiger, leopard, and deer also, but it was an ancient
talk anyway.
Gadhi used to be the headquarter of Surkhet until
the last days of Malaria pandemic in the area. Later on people started to
migrate to the fertile valley converting the fertile land into the house,
roads, and other civil construction. It is located at the mean altitude of 1500
– 1600 meters from sea level, and the climate is so pleasant that every weekend
there are hundreds of people from the valley down there to escape the city life
and enjoy the natural beauty. We can clearly see the entire Surkhet valley from
there, and it was one of the strategic points during the monarch rule.
There are few restaurants to enjoy the local brooded
chicken and Kalij bird with your favorite drink. We can enjoy the local fruits
and vegetables also, with the facility of night camping and bonfire. It is a
great place for enjoying the weekend away from the city, and visiting local
farms. At the weekend, it is better to book the space at hotel before starting
to climb. If one wants to go by vehicle it will take only 20 minutes to reach
there, so it won’t be much any fun.
Things to do:
1.
Enjoying Martyr’s
Park at the starting of the trail,
2.
Hiking from the
bottom of the hill up to the top,
3.
Enjoying the
local brooded chicken and Kalij,
4.
Walking in the
village,
5.
Visiting local
farms,
6.
Enjoying the sunset,
7.
Enjoying the
view of valley,
8.
Camp firing and
barbecuing,
9.
Visiting the historic
Gadhi fort.
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