I had a chance to visit the Rolwalling valley in Nepal. Rolwalling valley trek is considered one of the most challenging treks in Nepal because the path is extremely difficult. The valley is no so densely populated and if you happen to go for this trek in January the weather condition is also extremely challenging. The trek is around 1 week long. You will have to walk for at least 5-6 hours per day to complete the trek within 1 week time. The beautiful Rolwalling river will follow along with you throughout the whole trek.
I started my trek from the place called chetchet at the remote part of Dolakha District. You can catch a but to chet chet at the bus park at Ratna Park bus park. From chet chet I walked towards Semi Gaun. It took me about 5 hours to reach there. Semi Gaun is a densely populated village where you will find good lodges and hotels to rest in. This area is mostly populated by construction workers.
I had my meal at Semi Gaun and then started walking from there to reach Surmuche. Surmuche was the only place to rest for that night that's why I had to hurry. It was a tiring walk but the path was enjoyable full of beautiful scenery. The path consisted of dense forest and beautiful waterfalls. It was a very steep rocky way. My legs started to hurt but I couldn't stop because I had to reach there anyhow.
After 6 hours of continuous walking, I finally reached Surmuche. The time was already 5:30 PM and it was already starting to get cold and dark by then. Luckily I found a small lodge to stay for tonight. The lodge was not that comfortable to stay because it was poorly managed. At night the temperatures fell to 1-degree Celsius and all I was provided was a single piece of blanket. I woke up early in the morning because i could not sleep that well due to cold.
Now the next destination was a place called Dong. It was already starting to snow since early morning and I knew this would be the most challenging day of my life. Dong is a small village where there is only one lodge to stay in. If i don't reach Dong by evening I would have to sleep in the cold jungle on the way. I packed my bags and left Surmuche at 8:00 AM in the morning. The snowy path was very beautiful but it was equally dangerous to walk. It was very slippery in some places soi had to walk very very carefully. The ice path on the way scared me out of hell, I have heard that many people have also lost their lives at this particular spot.
After 6 hours of hustling, I finally reached Dong. I had to rest there for tonight. Here are some beautiful pictures of this place.
Now the next destination was even more challenging because the temperatures were falling below zero degrees and the dense forest was full of wild animals like snow leopards.I didn't want it to get dark on the way soi had to hurry. I left Dong at early 7:00 AM in the morning. The beautiful snow and the sunny weather surprised me on the way because it didn't look like I would see any sunshine in the morning. I got hungry very early on the way, so I had to open my bag to get some food and water.
This trek was also very enjoyable, there were some bridges that i had to cross. The bridges were also full of snow. The river cover with snow was looking even more beautiful. The water from the glaciers was looking very neat and crystal clear. I had to take a sip from the river.]
Here are some pictures form this trek
After walking for 7 long hours I finally reached beding. Beding is a small village populated with around 200 people. There were very fewer people living there at this particular time due to cold. Many people had locked their houses and went down. I was agian lucky to find a place to stay. The maximum temperature at Bedding at that time was -20-degree Celsius. I had to go to the fireplace to keep warm. I meet one old sherpa lady who was kind enough to give me some hospitality for tonight. I was greeted by a hot coffee and some rice and deer meat that night. I was very tired so I quickly fell asleep at around 7 PM. At night the temperatures fell below -20. I had to keep my shoes inside because they would completely freez by the morning. I woke at the around 6:00 AM in the morning but again sleep because it was too cold. At 8:00 AM I woke up and started staring at the sun. It was very dim and the weather was challenging me a lot that day. It did'nt look like it was good weather for a trek. But at around 9:00 I saw some glimpse of the sunlight. So I decided to start my trek towards a place called NA Gaun. NA Gaun was completely empty at that moment because of freezing cold. There was only one place to rest there that day. To reach NA i had to walk for around 3 Hours. I left Beding at 9:45 AM.
The uphill climb in freezing temperature was very very difficult to digest for my body because I was not used to it. I started to feel dizzy up there. I had to take some rest and then slowly proceed further. The weather started to get more and more challenging as the height started to increase. After walking for around 3 hours 30 minutes I finally reached NA gaun.
It was not good up there because the weather conditions started to deteriorate and there were signs of a heavy snow storm. The snow and the harsh wind started to hit my face. The sun was completely dim. The diffucult ice path added to the challenge. Walking in such condition was risking my life.
I didn't think it was wise to risk my life for a trek so I decided to get back to bedding. Some villagers who lived nearby had suggested not to go to the top on the way. Soi thought it was a smart decision to quit. I came back to beding after walking for 2 Hours and decided to return back home. I am surely going to give this trek another try in a different season next time around.