Hyangja Hiking Trail

Darsing Dahathum, Nepal

I don’t care for maps, and I don’t often ask for directions. Suffice to say, I get lost a lot. As a travel photographer, getting lost serves me well. I got quite lost along Nepal’s Hyangja Kot hiking trail, a fantastic track some 40km from the city of Pokhara. I hiked for a few hours through some of the most pristine countryside I have seen in my life, and came upon postcard-perfect views of rural villages and unending fields being tended to by hardworking local folk. I had a wonderful time on this hike until I reaized that I was so lost it would be four to five hours before I could return to someplace that sold food or water. I came upon this friendly woman tending to her crops and made her a deal; I would agree to carry her yield in exchange for a glass of water and some rice. I’m sure she thought my offer was hilarious (she was stronger than me after all), but it worked out in the end. She even offered me a place to sleep, though I had to turn that one down, for fear that if I spent one night in the hills, I’d never want to leave. I suggest you get lost the next time you visit Nepal. You’d be surprised to learn how many people don’t.

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Hyangja Kot Hiking Trail, Kaski District, Nepal.

I don’t care for maps, and I don’t often ask for directions. Suffice to say, I get lost a lot. As a travel photographer, getting lost serves me well. I got quite lost along Nepal’s Hyangja Kot hiking trail, a fantastic track some 40km from the city of Pokhara. I hiked for a few hours through some of the most pristine countryside I have seen in my life, and came upon postcard-perfect views of rural villages and unending fields being tended to by hardworking local folk. I had a wonderful time on this hike until I reaized that I was so lost it would be four to five hours before I could return to someplace that sold food or water. I came upon this friendly woman tending to her crops and made her a deal; I would agree to carry her yield in exchange for a glass of water and some rice. I’m sure she thought my offer was hilarious (she was stronger than me after all), but it worked out in the end. She even offered me a place to sleep, though I had to turn that one down, for fear that if I spent one night in the hills, I’d never want to leave. I suggest you get lost the next time you visit Nepal. You’d be surprised to learn how many people don’t.

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