Let's hike Champadevi!! You can do it!!

 

About Champadevi:

Champadevi is one of the beautiful sites in the south of the Kathmandu valley, which is at the elevation of 2240m above sea-level. Many people visit this small hilltop just to enjoy the natural beauty and the nature itself. Visitors have a wonderful opportunity to explore the countryside with the authentic and traditional houses of its wonderful local culture and the warm hospitality of the local people, too. One can also enjoy the spectacular view of different Himalayan landscapes, including mountain ranges Langtang, Gauri Shankar, Jugal, Dorge Lakpa from the natural trails and the top of the Champadevi hill.

Start Point:  Satikhel, Bansbari (1680m)

Destination: Champadevi (2240m)

Distance: approx 5Kms

Difficulty level: Easy

Cost: Rs 300 per person

We provide:

-          Light Breakfast at around 8am: 2 eggs, 2 slice of bread and a cup of tea

-          Light meal at around 12pm: chiura (beaten rice) and alu (potatoes), maybe choila (buff meat)

-          Transportation fare (local bus)

-          First Aid care

To bring along:

-          Comfortable sport shoes (please no slippers)

-          Drinking water (at least 2 litres), snacks to eat

-          Some extra pocket money (at least Rs 100 - 200)

-          Optional: camera, binoculars, hat, sunscreen, etc

Itinerary:

07:00 am              Start our hike by getting on the bus from Balkhu to Satikhel

07:45 am              Start our hike to the Champadevi hill top (approx. 3 Hrs)

11:00 am              Rest and eat food (Please don't throw any of your garbage here!)

12:30 pm              Hike down to the foot of the hill (approx. 2 Hrs)

02:30 pm              Return by bus to Kathmandu

Terms and Conditions:

-          No participants younger than 10 years old

-          Participants younger than 16 years old must have their parents contact Santos.

-          Participants must reach Balkhu before 6:45am. The group will leave at exactly at 7:00am.

-          Participants must remain with the group to which they are assigned

-          Participants must conduct themselves in an orderly manner and act responsibly

-          We are not responsible for any lost or stolen items (cellphones, jewelry, etc)

Please reserve your place by contacting Santos by October 27, 2012.

About the Hike:

There were 21 participants in all. The youngest participant was only 10 years old. The hike started after getting all the food and water ready from Dallu, Pharping. The group took the short cut uphill to reach our first view of the Kathmandu valley. The team ascended uphill and downhill, on the stone stairs to reach to Champadevi. It was so fun to enjoy the natural beauty and also see what the life of people in that area was. There were few other hikers that we met on the way. They were mostly foreigners. There were about 10 people whom we met on the way. Other than that some people were carrying water to the top for the plants they had just planted few days ago. It was so inspiring to see them carry water to the top for watering the plants.

 Finally when whole team was on the top, the team had food and drinks to gain energy. Hopefully no one was hurt while climbing up. There was excitement in everyone's faces. They were all wondering,"What is up there?" There were other hills nearby, that were higher than Champadevi. But we had to stop our journey and return back. Otherwise we would not be according to our plan. After some dance, chants and jokes, the team hiked back to the main place that we had started from. 

  

For Pictures:

Photos of Let's hike Champadevi!!

Camp of Delightful Wonders, Kathmandu, 2012

Tiny Hands Nepal is one of the NGO that is actively involved in the area of children and women. I had this wonderful opportunity to be a part of a program that they had conducted for the children in Nepal. Tiny Hands has 9 children's homes in Nepal. The organization just organized a camped called Delightful Camp of Wonders, Kathmandu, 2012. The camp site was Anand Kuti Vidhyapeeth. It is one of the oldest schools in Kathmandu. This school was established in the year 1952 AD. The school was chosen just because of the infrastructure.

The Camp was highlighted with lots of fun stuff for the kids involved. About 130 kids had participated. Most of the kids are beautiful and talented in many different ways. Some like sports while some loved music. They were into so much of music, they sang and played instruments so well. I was so much blessed to be in the midst of these beautiful kids. I pray to God that they are able to see their purpose in life.





I personally was a counselor of a group of boys between 13 to 15 years of age. They were known as the Brown Bears. There were other groups like Elephants ( girls of age 5 to 7), Ducks (girls of age 8 and 9), Penguins( girls of age 10 to 12), Dolphins(age of girls 13 to 15), Giraffes (boys of age 5 to 7), Crocodiles(boys of age 8 and 9), Sharks ( boys of age 10 to 12) and finally Bears.

It was exiting to have all the children around, the whole time. Their sounds of excitement during the games and during their free time. There were lots of games which involved all the children. They were liked by the children as well as the counselors. There were around 10 counselors and couple of Junior Counselors that were looking after the kids in the camp. I always enjoyed when all the participants meaning volunteers, counselors and children were participating in games like Monster Hunt, Bible Smuggling, Barberians etc.

Here are some of the pictures of the camp. We ended the camp with a camp fire on the final night with the sharing of stories, testimonies and jokes among the counselors and the kids in the camp. Everyone enjoyed their stay at the camp.