Journeying to Jumla

by DHRUBA SIMKHADA

FROM ISSUE # 149 (May 2008) | IN THIS ISSUE
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KUNDA DIXIT

Destination: Jumla

How to get there: A short flight to Nepalgunj and another short flight to Khalanga from Nepalgunj gets you to Jumla. If you want to feed the adventure bug in you take the 232km highway that links Surkhet and Jumla. Just a graveled road, it's infamous for being very uncomfortable and dangerous. Watch out for the steep hilly areas as well.

What to take along: Jumla is cold even in summers so pack accordingly. A jacket, comfortable shoes, a camera and an ample amount of sunscreen lotion if you want to avoid sunburn. A cap and sunglasses is also needed because of the harsh wind that could wreak havoc.

Best Time to go: May–June

DHRUBA SIMKHADA

The starting point of the trek to beautiful Rara Lake, Jumla is one of the highest rice growing areas in the world. Although my trip to the place was a professional rather than a recreational one, I couldn't stay unaffected by the beauty and the serenity of the place. A forty-five minute flight took me to Nepalgunj, from where I took  another early morning flight to Jumla. Most of the flights to the Karnali region are before noon to avoid the strong wind. Many traveling to the remote village opt for a flight to save time because of which a one way ticket to Jumla from Nepalgunj cost me Rs 4,400 whereas the return cost was half of that.  

Throughout my visit, always on the backdrop stood majestic mountains and green, deep forests beneath them. I was awestruck to see all the natural beauty our country was blessed with as all through the journey I was fortunate enough to witness them lucidly beneath a clear, blue sky. They can be seen from Jumla quite clearly due to the lack of smoke, and also because of their close proximity. These mountains mark the boundary of the Jumla valley, and the snow covered ridges are bound to put anyone in an optimistic mood.

KUNDA DIXIT

A refreshing spring welcomed me on the landing as the melancholic hills looked on. Having gone there to report on the election buzz, I went to meet a Maoist candidate but couldn't find him, but we did meet DEO Ram Bahadur Shahi and UN representative Norma De La Cruz. After talking to fellow reporters there, I went to the Chandannath Temple, one of the religiously and archeologically important sites in Jumla. According to numerous studies natives from Jumla were said to have migrated to different parts of the country making the valley an anthropologically important place.  But anthropology aside the most memorable aspect of Jumla for me is the delicious food. I feel that I could eat bean dal and kalo bhaat with chota (radish) pickle any day!

Almost 32km from Jumla's district headquarters is the Nagmagad village. After a three hour trip by jeep, we embarked on a trip to Kalikakhetu with some locals. On the way we were greeted by a beautifully carved wooden bridge over the Jaya river. On the bridge, we encountered the wooden statues of the late king Birendra, queen Aishwarya, crown prince Dipendra and princess Shruti with their bodyguards. Those statues were made by the locals as a tribute after the royal massacre, and even though the people were generally wary of the country's history with domineering royalty, they conserved this bridge because of their fondness for King Birendra. The bridge was artistically made and intricately designed. Creatively, the locals had thought of designing the bridge's supporting pillars as the family themselves, and they were perhaps inspired by how the late king represented hope for the country. When we reached the village of Buwa, Kalikakhetu though, we heard the laments of the displaced locals there. Impoverished children had no fire to cook their meals and no clothes to wear. The displaced villagers were finding it hard to survive from meal to meal.

Two days after arriving back to Jumla, we went towards Simkhada Gaon, which is perhaps 25 minutes from the district headquarters. We were greeted by an idyllic sight of the neat, snowcapped mountains aligned behind the village. However, the cutting down of almost the entire forest there was a pity, and a foretelling of Jumla's dangerous future, which could include natural disasters like flooding and landslides. 

In my ancestral village of Simkhada, I was greeted by a tasty dish comprising of kodo ko roti (millet bread), gheu, and maha. The next day was Holi in the Hilly Reigon. Numerous temporary policemen, called 'Bam Police' in the past were scattered about. After observing the local fanfare, we flew down to Nepalgunj. It was Holi, everyone in the streets was adorned attractively and painted with colours. Everyone was in a happy and merry mood. The trip ended on this mood of contentment and optimism, and I flew back to the capital.