Nargarkot

I am officially a mountain girl.

This past weekend we spent three days in Nargarkot - a touristy getaway 7200 ft above sea level that offers the cleanest air, the clearest skies and the most satisfying days I’ve spent yet in Nepal. From sunrise to sunset, followed by my first night sky since Peru where I could actually glimpse the arc of the Milky Way, I was very, very happy (except after the dinner “sizzler” which brought up a different kind of not-so-happy memory.)

The sun shines differently at the top of the world. Everything feels alive when there’s no pollution, no honking, no dogs barking... nothing but birds flying through sky that goes on forever and jagged, snow-topped peaks marking the limits of the horizon. Waking up early isn’t a chore but a gift; walking nine miles is a joy rather than a pain. It was like taking my favorite pieces of past trips and throwing it into a single pot of exhilarating, hyper discovery: the early mornings of Peru with the hikes and clambering hills of Death Valley (plus a raucous game of Spoons which I admirably sucked at.) Trekking up and down the hills, I couldn’t stand still - if there was a side trail I ran after it, if there was a small ledge I had to jump rather than just step over it. Even just smelling sunscreen again made me grin. We spent our Valentine’s Day morning hiking to the next peak (about 10 km roundtrip) with a small tower/temple at the end. Following a small road up through the hills, each turn would bring a brand new glimpse at the mountains which we always knew were hidden behind the fog but never quite believed actually existed. Equipped with a generous heaping of chocolate from Banu-Ji as a VDay gift, I might just have been the most exhausted, happiest girl in the world.