From doodling the sketches on my mobile notes to sending it across to some creative folks across the world, here's how we turned around the Pride Nepal tees.
The audio streaming platform SPOTIFY only launched in Nepal in February 2021 but listeners have been busy! Spotify exclusively shared that "Nepal has listened...
Having received praise for being Nepal's first free boarding school, Maya Universe Academy is a model school. It's an education hub where children receive...
From doodling the sketches on my mobile notes to sending it across to some creative folks across the world, here's how we turned around the Pride Nepal tees.
The audio streaming platform SPOTIFY only launched in Nepal in February 2021 but listeners have been busy! Spotify exclusively shared that "Nepal has listened...
On a Tara Air twin-otter aircraft. Only Tara Air, Makalu Air, Air Kasthamandap and (maybe) Goma Air fly to Talcha, irregularly.
Such posts are dotted along the three hour trail from Talcha Airport to Rara Lake.
Talcha Airport/Airstrip from a distance.
First sight of Rara Lake! BEAUTIFUL! Felt quite emotional haha!
Was in KTM in the morning and by 2PM, in Rara Lake. Fucking brilliant.
My travel friend, former Miss UK Nepal Gaumaya Gurung. Through this and the previous trip, I learned that Village Love is very chilled, energetic, social and loves talking.
Hi! My name is Lex if you didn’t know and I have a blog called lexlimbu.com The water is literally clear! Very cold too!
Omgaah is it a beach, is it a beach? Nope! ITS RARA LAKE!
This path was so picturesque in reality! Imagine you’re standing there… like it? Now plan your trip to Rara Lake 🙂
To reach the Danphe Guest House, we walked around the lake. Definitely a 5 star view!
The mountains, the pine trees, the lake; where am I? Is this Nepal?
The view from the guest-house. Sunset time.
Boating: Gaumaya with her personal security personnel. So hifi!
Slowly running out of poses… that is the army camp behind me.
*Insert travel quote* : “Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.” ― Terry Pratchett (Lex: basically my trekking shoe now is not just a trekking shoe. Lol)
Apparently once upon a time there were human settlements around the lake until a certain somebody (maybe a King) came for a visit and decided the lake would be better off without human settlement. There are very few buildings in RNP, the buildings behind are occupied by park staff.
A place to read and chill with a fancy view. Just in front of the guest house.
Danphe Guest House – the only place to stay in Rara Lake.
Water. Reflection.
Might as well work the camera! Pheri kahile aune ho, ke thaha.
*insert travel quote*: “Not all those who wander are lost.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien (Lex: I knew where I wanted to go, when and how. Not a fan of the assumption that people make such as “oh you’re going to find yourself” naaah”)
They should rent that property out. I’d be more tempted to go back.
Hamro arko modaaal. Ma ta automatically photographer bhaihaley.
Stunning scenery eh!
*insert funky saying*: You know my name, not my story. (ROFL. JOKES.)
This is one of those photos where’ even I would click Like!
Serene!
Would love to do a BBQ here one day. Info: no camp-fires in the park. So, impaasssiball.
Not sure if this is a candid capture or a “take a candid photo of me” candid capture. Works.
#lexlimbu #traveller #raralake #mugu #lexinnepal
Water was freezing. I believe we broke the park rule by dipping our feet in. #RebelHeart
Dropping by the school near the Talcha Airport.
Visiting the school and giving a little something was the bright idea of our GG.
It wasn’t much but it wasn’t nothing.
Farewell Talcha Airport! Taken from the plane.
Flew over Rara Lake on the way back. Adios Rara! See you in the future.
I know it has been a while but the post is here now.
My friend Gaumaya and I visited Rara Lake, the biggest lake in Nepal in late November 2014. I shall try my best to write as little as possible. We flew from Kathmandu to Nepalgunj (regular flights) and from Nepalgunj to Talcha Airport (irregular flights – basically if you miss one flight or a flight doesn’t come, you’re screwed). From Talcha Airport the walk to Rara Lake is simple, straightforward and easy. It’s a three hour walk which is signposted well – basically follow the path. We still took one dai along with us, just in case. Around Talcha Airport there really isn’t much apart from few houses and few local shops that pretty much sell the same thing. Rara Lake only has one accommodation for visitors and that is the Danphe Guest House, next to the army camp. The room is around Nrs 700 per night, sleeps two people. Food is basic – daal bhat and kodo ko roti etc. Boating is allowed but you have to write a short letter of permission, buy tickets at Nrs 10 each and then hand it over to the army for their approval. It all depends on the mood of the army folks, sometimes apparently they take people for a longer boating session. Ours lasted maybe 15 minutes max – if you’re not Nepali then you cannot go boating due to insurance/safety, etc.
It would be better knowing someone who works in an airline company that flies to Talcha Airport or to have your return tickets confirmed, paid and ready. We had ours confirmed and paid but because of our own doing, we got there just a few minutes late and they sneakily let other people through instead of us. That basically led to us being stuck in Talcha Airport for three days which I tell you, is a very long time. I managed to read three books, ate tonnes of cooked wai wai and uncooked wai wai. NCELL is basically non-existent there. Few folks had motor biked up to Talcha Airport (there’s a fairly new road which connects Jumla to Talcha – no buses etc, just tractors sometimes) and their bikes weren’t in good condition.
Our wait for the airline to return to Nepalgunj really spoiled this trip. I would love to go back but after a really long time OR when I can charter my own helicopter and fly there and back. Rara Lake is beautiful, it is better than the photos and so much more than what I had thought of it. I didn’t feel like I was in Nepal. It’s a gem and I am so happy that we got to see it and experience it.
PS. When we went – the night and morning would get VERY COLD. Thank goodness I carried my own sleeping bag. We didn’t have enough time so we didn’t go to Murmatop, viewpoint from where you get a birds eye view of the lake. If I go in the future then I’d make sure I have a lot of free time and I’d probably go via Jumla, bus to Jumla then trek and maybe fly back from Jumla or something similar. ALSO – back in 2001 a helicopter carrying former Princess Prekshya Shah mysteriously crashed into the lake, ask the locals what happened, everyone has a different story and it’s not a favourite topic to talk about either.
COSTS
KTM – NEPALGUNJ FLIGHTS: NRS 11,000 Return
NEPALGUNJ – TALCHA AIRPORT: NRS 9065 One way
TALCHA AIRPORT – NEPALGUNJ: NRS 5000 One way
LODGES: NRS 700 Per Night
RARA LAKE STATS
MAX DEPTH: 160m
SURFACE AREA: 10.2 km2
ALTITUDE: 2990 metres
PHONE PHOTOS
Touchdown! All excited!
Para… Para… Paradise… Wo..oo..oaa..ahh
Shiva Himali Guest House where we spent our stuck days, Talcha Airport.
Nepal Airlines landing at Talcha Airport.
Literally RUM KI HASUM (cry or laugh) moment. After finding out that we’d have to wait another day for a plane. I went crazy.
The walk from Talcha Airport to Rara Lake. With Gaumaya and the dai who guided us, Narbahadur Dai.
Ahh. I hope this doesn’t sound too self-absorbed but I love this photo. Well if it does then it does.
Lex Limbu is a non-resident Nepali blogger based in the UK. YouTube videos is where he started initially followed by blogging. Join him on Facebook and follow him on Twitter.
Nice to see you in Rara,Lake. Rara lake is one of the most beautiful place I have ever been, literally Its paradise. I have read you article but its sad to see, you didn’t mention much more things about Rara National park. I think you haven’t collect lot more information about the Rara lake and National park. There is lot more place you can’t visit in your trip to Rara. I didn’t see your photograph from the opposite part of the lake from the hotel. If you don’t go up to the Murmatop then, you miss the best part of the trip. I recommended all of you to travel Rara National park in Spring Season ( Baishak, Jestha ). Its the time when this land truned herself in to Paradise. Trek from Jumla to Rara lake add more thrill and opportunity to learn lot more things about the People and culture .
Beside all of this, Travelling up to Rara is very hard if you only rely on Flights from Nepalgunj or Srukhet. As you mention, you guys wait for the flight in Talcha Airport for 3 days, but if you guys have treak up to Khalanga, Jumla for the flight. It might add more flavour on your trip to Rara. Flights in Khalanga, Jumla is quite often because of pitch airport and the land topography. It take 2 days to reach up to Khalanga, Jumla. Jumla has beautiful landscape I haven’t see this type of land topography in the whole county. Jumla has called you, but you haven’t listen to her voice. you miss it lex Limbu bro..
Hello there i see u knw a lot abt route to rara.. i an planning ti gi there in october..please could u tell me the me the best eay to reach there after we arrive to nepalgunj..we cant walk much..but also i dnt wanna miss out on jumla..it wud be very muc helpful..nad also some trip ideas..thankyou 😊
Good Neighbors organized Dental Camp at different villages of Mugu. The responsibility of the camp was given to Health and Development Society Nepal (HDSN). HDSN is a NGO that works in the field of oral health. I being part of HDSN was lucky enough to be part of their team and went to Mugu. We traveled almost all VDCs of Mugu and conducted camp at different schools which took us about 17 days.
We went to Rara lake after completion of the camp and yes it was truly amazing. We were so tired after walking almost every day for 5-6 hours and sometimes even whole day. But once we saw Rara we forgot all the suffering we went through. Rara is truly mesmerizer and once is not enough. I have a plan to travel Rara once again with my family and friend in future.
If u want to see other photos of the camp and Mugu find it in facebook page of Health and Development Society Nepal or log on to http://www.hdsn.org.np. You will also be impressed by seeing our work.
helpful info. 🙂 🙂
so well written note and very much helpful to know about the trip before you plan. thank you.
Talcha hotel lodge ko number xa vane send gardinu na
Nepalgung bata rara ko flight kati baje ko hunxa???
Nice to see you in Rara,Lake. Rara lake is one of the most beautiful place I have ever been, literally Its paradise. I have read you article but its sad to see, you didn’t mention much more things about Rara National park. I think you haven’t collect lot more information about the Rara lake and National park. There is lot more place you can’t visit in your trip to Rara. I didn’t see your photograph from the opposite part of the lake from the hotel. If you don’t go up to the Murmatop then, you miss the best part of the trip. I recommended all of you to travel Rara National park in Spring Season ( Baishak, Jestha ). Its the time when this land truned herself in to Paradise. Trek from Jumla to Rara lake add more thrill and opportunity to learn lot more things about the People and culture .
Beside all of this, Travelling up to Rara is very hard if you only rely on Flights from Nepalgunj or Srukhet. As you mention, you guys wait for the flight in Talcha Airport for 3 days, but if you guys have treak up to Khalanga, Jumla for the flight. It might add more flavour on your trip to Rara. Flights in Khalanga, Jumla is quite often because of pitch airport and the land topography. It take 2 days to reach up to Khalanga, Jumla. Jumla has beautiful landscape I haven’t see this type of land topography in the whole county. Jumla has called you, but you haven’t listen to her voice. you miss it lex Limbu bro..
Hello there i see u knw a lot abt route to rara.. i an planning ti gi there in october..please could u tell me the me the best eay to reach there after we arrive to nepalgunj..we cant walk much..but also i dnt wanna miss out on jumla..it wud be very muc helpful..nad also some trip ideas..thankyou 😊
Good Neighbors organized Dental Camp at different villages of Mugu. The responsibility of the camp was given to Health and Development Society Nepal (HDSN). HDSN is a NGO that works in the field of oral health. I being part of HDSN was lucky enough to be part of their team and went to Mugu. We traveled almost all VDCs of Mugu and conducted camp at different schools which took us about 17 days.
We went to Rara lake after completion of the camp and yes it was truly amazing. We were so tired after walking almost every day for 5-6 hours and sometimes even whole day. But once we saw Rara we forgot all the suffering we went through. Rara is truly mesmerizer and once is not enough. I have a plan to travel Rara once again with my family and friend in future.
Here are some glimpse of the Mugu on my blog.
http://www.suv101.blogspot.com/2015/01/reality-of-nepal-mugu-part-of-karnali.html
If u want to see other photos of the camp and Mugu find it in facebook page of Health and Development Society Nepal or log on to http://www.hdsn.org.np. You will also be impressed by seeing our work.
helpful info. 🙂 🙂
so well written note and very much helpful to know about the trip before you plan. thank you.
Talcha hotel lodge ko number xa vane send gardinu na
Nepalgung bata rara ko flight kati baje ko hunxa???