Helambu Family Trek during The Monsoon

Day 1: A mutual friend introduced The Thuene Family. After exchanging numerous emails discussing whether to take on the Annapurna Circuit clockwise, the opposite of 99.9% of the people does. It would have involved going over the Thorung La pass 5416 early on the trek. The Thuenes suggested a supposedly easier and shorter trek in the Helambu region instead.

We finally started the trek on the 9th of July. We picked up the family at an agreed pick-up point and drove for an hour to Sundarijal – the trek’s starting point. We met the rest of the team and were on our tour when the porters finished tying up the kit bags. We walked along a ridge through a forest of Oaks and Rhododendrons towards Chisopani. Being out of the hustle, bustle, and Kathmandu’s dusty roads was a relief. Just an hour’s drive away, we were in another world altogether. We enjoyed the tranquillity, remoteness, and green mountains. 

We stopped at Mulkhara at 1855 meters for lunch, where we had climbed approximately 400 meters. Pemba, our Trekking chef, was about to serve our lunch when he was stung by a bee without any provocation; Kishor, our porter, pulled out the sting from Pemba’s neck. A few minutes later, the opposite side of Pemba’s face was swollen – my first thoughts were that he had swallowed something huge, and then I realized that it was a reaction to the bee sting. I looked out for the following symptoms –

i) Rapid swelling around the eyes, lips, tongue, or throat.

ii) Wheezing or hoarseness.

I also asked if he had the following:

• Difficulty in breathing.
• Itching, cramping, or numbness that is severe.
• Dizziness.
• A reddish rash or hives.
• Stomach cramps.

Pemba said he felt slight discomfort on the swollen face but was fine otherwise. I asked the locals if they had seen anything like this before, to which they said they react the same way when stung by these bees. They told us the local remedy was to rub locally made hooch or a fermented drink called Chang, and the swelling would go away in 1-2 days. It was a relief to hear that.

Anti Leech pouch

We continued our trek upwards towards our destination. I heard a villager smile on the trail and told his friend one more was stung by the bees when he saw Pemba. A few minutes later, I saw a guy with an eye swelling and bright red swollen lips, which said: “so your friend has been stung too.” I felt terrible for him and Pemba but was somewhat relieved to see the local calm and collected – it meant it was common for this to happen. Later, we concluded that the bees must have had some intoxicating nectar of wildflowers to make them attack humans without provocation during the monsoon.

We continued climbing up to Borlang Bhanjhyang, 2430 meters, the highest point of the day, before descending to Chisopani. Unfortunately, it started to rain when we got to Borlang Bhanjyang. Fortunately, Chisopani wasn’t that far away. Unfortunately, the damaged and destroyed lodges by the April 2015 earthquake were left as it was. Upon asking the local lodge owner why this was so, he replied that the people running those lodges had illegally constructed and operated the lodges inside the Shivapuri – Nagarjun national park.

We would have witnessed the majesty of Gaurishanker, Ganesh Himal, Manaslu, and Annapurna ranges on clear days.

We woke up the next day on a windy morning. We started trekking downhill towards Pati Bhanjyang at 1830 meters. Then, we started climbing towards Chipling, 2170 meters, for lunch. We continued through sparse villages and forested areas. We witnessed many people living in temporary shelters after the earthquake two years ago. When we got close to Gul Bhanjyang, a village where only 2 or 3 rebuilt houses stood (it was thick with fog), it started raining around 3 pm, as it had done for the past two weeks. Our destination of Kutumsang was still 2 hours away. So we decided to stay at Gul Bhanjang for the night. The lodge was quickly built to temporarily cater to trekkers until they saved enough money to construct a bigger and better club. Pemba prepared “Himalayan Carbonara” as a consolation for dinner.

Day 3: It had started raining/drizzling right from the very start of the day. It looked like the monsoon had kicked in. We had to go through the leech-infested forest; they would wait stealthily on bushes, rock steps, and dry leaves stacks. We had a particular leech “repellent” made of rock salts tied in a piece of cloth. The rain made the red clay, stones, and roots sleek, and the leeches added to the obstacle for that day. We aimed to have lunch at Magengoth 3390 meters, as there was nothing after leaving Kutumsang village. The first lodge site relieved us to learn that it had been damaged and abandoned; we had to go on for another 30 minutes till we arrived at the other lodge. I had a quick discussion with the team and decided to stay here for the night again, 2 hours before our planned stop. We were fortunate to have a very kind hostess who kept us warm with a fire in the dining hall, where we dried our wet clothes. Leeches had bitten all of us. I had three on my ankles, one on my left elbow and one on the left side of my neck. We were grateful that this lodge saved the day for all of us.

Stream crossing on the Helambu trek.

Day 4: We woke up at our usual 6 am with a unique concoction of Ayurvedic and apple cider vinegar with a honey drink to keep us energetic and anti-inflammatory. 7.30 am, and we started trekking, hoping to get to our stopping point before 3 pm to beat the rain. We hiked through a beautiful green area, passing past several settled landslide areas. However, we were cautious and walked briskly in the landslide areas, as the rain-loosened earth could become another landslide. We got to Tharepati at 3600 meters after 3 hours of trekking. On clear days we would have been greeted by panoramic mountain views. We were delighted to have stayed at Magengoth the previous night as there was only one very basic-looking lodge here; a couple more were rebuilt. We stopped for a hot drink here before our steep descent to Melamchighyang. We realized that the regular trail had been washed off and had to take an off-route path over the rugged and uncomfortable terrain. Once on the main course, we soon reached our destination with a nice hot shower waiting. We were greeted by the fluttering of Buddhist prayer flags and ornate Chortens.

The afternoon was spent playing games of cards and other local tournaments with the children of the lodge. The Thuene children learned a game their mother played during her childhood in Nepal.

We treated our trekking family to dried yak meat, Thai green curry with potatoes, and stir-fried wild vegetables and herbs in oyster sauce for dinner. Helambu being a strict Buddhist region, doesn’t allow animal slaughter. A leopard had killed the yak a few days back. We were in luck.

Day 5: We started the day by descending the Melamchi river. The water from Melamchi will be brought to supply the residents of Kathmandu very soon. Next, we passed through Sherpa settlements. Finally, we reached Tarkeghyang for lunch. It has one of the biggest and oldest monasteries in the Helambu region. We had a relaxing afternoon after our showers. The lodge owners told us they didn’t even have eggs, let alone imported meat from Kathmandu, as it was the off-season. They didn’t keep stock of any canned food as their children would insist on eating it all. All they had was rice, potatoes, and very young cabbage. Fortunately for us, there was a shop in the village; we voted to have pasta with tuna sprinkled with the Parmesan cheese the Thuene family had brought for me from the U.S.A, which everyone loved.

Speaking of the off-season, we had an alone trekker on the first night who went to another destination the next day. As a result, we ran into less than ten other hikers in total on the whole of this trek.

Day 6: We went past beautiful prayer flags and walked on the fair-weather road for about 45 minutes before going on a mixture of hiking trails and the road. The monsoon rains had washed away parts of the road and track at certain positions, making those parts a bit tricky. On this day, we had to walk down 1000 meters to Timbu, a road. It got warmer and warmer, with each step bringing us closer to our destination. We felt so fortunate to have chicken with our lunch this day finally. Two of our porters and I were to head back to Kathmandu after lunch as I had to get ready for the next trekkers, arriving the next day. Pemba stayed behind with the Thuenes to look after them. He was returning to Kathmandu with them the next day.

Overall we were delighted that all turned out well during this trip to Helambu and back.

The 7-hour bus journey on a local bus was another adventure altogether. My team and I are ever so grateful for the monsoon booking.

Having lunch in Kathmandu

Hazards/annoyances of trekking during the monsoon:

1) Trekking trails are slippery

2) Leeches can be a nuisance when it rains or in moist areas.

3) Landslides could block Trails/roads or get washed away by the rain.

4) You might come across a thunder and lightning storm. (We don’t get as many thunderstorms as South East Asia.)

5) If you are waiting to fly in or out of remote airports like Lukla or Jomsom, flights can be cancelled for many days.

6) Landslides could block major roads.

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