Kalinchok is a sacred religious site for both Hindu and Buddhist. Especially on full moon day of August, every year there is a wonderful gathering of devotees. So we 3 friends also decided to go at the time of the fair. One day before the fair, we took a bus from Kathmandu to Charikot via Araniko Highway and then started trekking to Kalinchok.
We slowly climbed up, met many pilgrims one after another on the way. Although we didn’t have enough time, we took a break at Deurali for lunch. There were no villages after Deurali, just dense forest. But along the way, there were other pilgrims and visitors. So, some of them were singing and some were shouting. It was a kind of fun. Because of rainy season, as usual it was quite foggy, the forest was full of greenery and flowers of different species. After walking for about 3 hours, we reached a tea shop, there was no place to stay as there were many peoples inside, we had tea and biscuits sitting outside.
Then we climbed up again. It began to rain. Peoples were using umbrella and plastic which looked colorful scenes on the way. The cold weather, the uphill trail made it a little difficult for my friends to walk. I went ahead to book a room because so many visitors were going up. It took about 2 hours for me to get to Kuri bazar. It was not difficult to find a room even though there were many visitors. Actually, before Kuri was just a open pastureland for shepherds. Latter began to build up lodges also for pilgrims and other visitors.
About 1.30 hours later, my friends also arrived. I was busy for watching the shamans coming from different villages. After resting for a while, we headed towards the nearby Yak huts. As the shepherds were milking, we didn’t get a chance to taste the butter tea and cheese as we had hoped. After that we went back to the lodge. The main Kalinchok hill is about 40 minutes above Kuri Bazaar. The fair was going to start in Kalinchok from that evening. Because of exhausted, my friends decided to stay in the lodge, but I went to see the fair for a while. The road was not as smooth as i thought, it was muddy and slippery. Coincidentally i met 2 local boys. So, it was not difficult to know the way. When we reached the top of the hill, the atmosphere was different. There were some temporary huts of small shops. Irrespective of the fog and rain, the young men and women were dancing and singing in the groups. Because of raining, i didn’t feel interesting. So, I just visited the Kalinchok temple and returned to lodge at Kuri. My friends were doing body massage.
Fortunately, the weather was very clear the next morning. Other pilgrims and shamans started climbing the hill early in the morning to see the goddess on an empty stomach. We also hurried up the hill to see the view of the mountains from the top. The view from Kalinchok hill was truly amazing. In the background, to the north, Gauri Shankar, Pathi Bhar, Dorji Lhakpa and various other mountains were visible very closely. Even though it was far to the south, Shailung, the highest hill in the Mahabharata range, was clearly visible. In the lower part, thick white clouds seemed ready to rise up.
After taking a lot of photos, we also lined up with pilgrims to pay homage to the Goddess. The place of the goddess adorned with innumerable tridents and bells at the top of the hill is truly special. As usual, after sun rise gradually the clouds began to cover everything. Then we also got down to Kuri bazar and had our breakfast. After having breakfast, we came down the same way and stayed in Dolakha. On the morning of the third day, we visited to Bhimeswar temple and returned to Kathmandu by bus.
Note : Nowadays there is road access up to Kuri bazar. One can go to Kalinchok by Jeep also without hiking.