Trying to get to the third highest peak in the hills surrounding the valley.

Quite a long title there!  From our terrace we can see some very big hills. One is 2622 m (Kathmandu valley is about 1300 m).  We decided it was time to try and get to the top. Last weekend  we walked from our place to the nearest foothill. We got to the top and discovered there is a big valley the other side! So we thought bikes were probably necessary.

Marc used his commuting bike  - the gears aren't that good and it's heavy, and I hired one (the gears did work and it was quite light so I was pleased that Marc had a bit of a handicap - it's been a long time since I cycled!). Only 600 rupees (about 6 GBP/12 NZ$) to hire a bike, including helmet and puncture repair for the day. Didn't even need to sign anything - just paid the money and cycled off!

The road out of the valley is quite stressful to ride on - lots of jeeps coming from India thinking they own the road; trucks belching black exhaust, motorbikes and taxis trying to overtake buses when there's an oncoming truck... and everyone beeping at everything all the time.

Out of the towns the traffic decreased, and all the vehicles coast down the hill to save power so it got nice and quiet for a while.

When we turned off the road and went up the track to the ridge, it was really nice - quiet, clean air and a bit of shade. It was pretty steep though. Lots of rests were needed.

Temple

Then on the ridge was a resort, so we could stop for a drink.

We didn't make it any where near the third highest hill, we would still have to cycle quite a long way along the ridge and then walk for a couple of hours I think. Still it was great to get up onto the ridge; going down was fun too - 3hrs to cycle up and 1 to get down!