The Hindu : International : Worth the wait on a trekking trail

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jul 22, 2004

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International

Worth the wait on a trekking trail

By R. Sujatha

JOMSOM, JULY 21. Trekkers to Muktinath in Nepal may be prepared for the difficult climb, with wind speeds that exceed 100 knots, but not for the uncertainties posed by the weather. For the 9,000 residents of Mustang district to which Muktinath belongs, it is a part of the routine.

Their livelihood depends on the flights that land at Jomsom airport. The weather conditions determine whether aircraft can land at or take off from Jomsom, which is also known as the windy valley. Jomsom is a two-street town, surrounded by five villages where yaks and ponies transport grain and cooking gas cylinders. The only means of modern transport to Pokhara, which is a beautiful green valley, is by air. Five companies fly two 16-seater aircraft each day between 6 and 10 a.m. If the weather is bad, by 10.30 a.m. the cancellations are announced.

Last week, trekkers to Muktinath, several of them from Chennai, were stranded in Pokhara for a day in bad weather. They flew to Jomsom the next day. For nearly a week after that, the flights remained cancelled, leaving the trekkers high and dry. It was an uncertain wait.

On a clear day, the snow-capped peak of the 6,940 m Nilgiri is visible from virtually anywhere in Jomsom. The villagers know that the flights will operate whenever the peaks of Nilgiri and Tilicho (7,134 m) are visible. The flights also carry their produce - greens, plums, peaches, apricots and apples - to Pokhara and beyond.

The helicopter arrived on the fourth day and took the waiting trekkers aloft, but they were unprepared for the view. Beneath them lay an ocean of green: rows of terraced rice fields, fruit orchards and brown trails along which ponies and oxen walked single-file. One could almost hear the bells around their necks. Brown rivers snaked through deep valleys and unexpectedly turned into waterfalls. The wait was well worth it.

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