Heart Touching High Lake
Travelling to Tilicho Lake base camp was a meditative experience in itself. As a scout exploring different parts of Nepal, It had often embraced the rush of adventure. There are daily mini buses, Micro bus, and tourist bus to Besisahar. The bus start from 6am to 3pm every day. From Besisahar to Manang has seasonable road. The high altitude and the beautiful green scenery, it likes to recommend start trekking from lower altitude.
We took bus from Kathmandu at 7am to Besisahar. We arrived at 1pm and recently took another local sharing jeep to Dharapani. Upon arrival on Dharapani at 6pm took Kingfishar Guest house. The caravan route from Chame to Pisang and Manang. The trekking from Dharapani to Chame 2713m took 6 hours. We trek from Chame to Pisang 3100m 5 hours. Pisanag to Manang 3500m 6 hours. We highly recommend stopping one extra day in Manang for acclimatization. The Manang village, the Gangapurna Lake, monastery, the culture and custom was interested. From Manang, we stop one night in Khansar village and next day early morning trekking to Tilicho base camp. The Tilicho Lake is at the height of 4920 meters and is designated as the World's highest lake.
The trek was said to take 6 hours, but once we started, I moved ahead of my friends, a habit I don’t quite understand. I speculated if my friends would make it before dim. To my relief, their laughter and chatter soon filled the air, joining me. Then we set off into the landslide area, with rough rocks above hanging like wind doorbells ready to fall. We promised not to look up and persisted focused on the trail. We finally settled in, ate quickly, and fell asleep.
As I neared the lake, the solitude and distance overwhelmed me. With renewed spirit, I moved forward and finally reached a quiet pond that tricked me into thinking I’d arrived. Only after some guidance did I stand before the actual Tilicho Lake.
Strangely, I felt no rush of delight. The sight was regal, yet my reaction fell flat. I asked myself if it was okay to feel so indifferent. However, I accepted that sometimes it’s okay to feel nothing at all. A simple “I don’t know” was all the answers I needed.
I want to say to all who are interest to do one of the beautiful heart touching high lake trekking is Tilicho base camp. You should be careful with high altitude, the duration of the trek is depending on your time frame. It is possible to make short or long trek as well. The best time is the September to December or March to June fair weather in Nepal.
Finally, I like to give thanks so much to Asian Hiking Team (Suman), who organized the beautiful heart touching high lake trekking in my lifetime.
By Hayleigh Sanderson from Australia