Yesterday was our second-to-last Sunday in Achham.
Ever since we got here, I have been admiring a huge tree at the summit of the hill across the valley from where we are staying. It's massive, appears to be perfectly round, and is positioned at the very crest of the hill. It seemed to be calling me. I learned from my friend Umanga that these trees are called "Buddha," "Bodhi," or "Pipal" trees, and have been planted for thousands of years for people to sit under. They are remarkably cool and are thought to have antihistamine properties. This type of tree is sacred to Buddhists as it is said that it was under such a tree that Buddha achieved, or received, enlightenment.
Yesterday Nardi and I set out to walk up to the Buddha tree, which we learned is in the village of Nawathana. What a great adventure we had! We set out at 11:30 AM and walked down the hill to the river that feeds the Buddha Gangi for the first part of our trip.
Once in the valley, we had to walk across rice paddies. Nardi took a little spill and his camera wound up in the rice paddy, but we're hoping the pictures can be salvaged and the camera is covered by insurance. We had to cross the stream, which was running much higher than our last hike in this direction a few weeks back. During the crossing, Nardi lost a shoe (which was recovered by a little boy who was bathing downstream) and a sock (which wasn't). So my intrepid hiking partner walked the rest of the hike in a wet shoe and one sock. What a trooper!
As we gained height on the opposite slope, the way became steeper, the sun stronger, and the hospital gradually came into view. What a wonderful perspective we had on our little community! We passed two homes with enough English to confirm that we were on the right track, although the path at times was so steep we weren't sure we were going the right way.
After several rest stops and more climbing than we had counted on, we made it to the Buddha tree. The views were astounding! We saw our home for the past three months, Bayalpata hospital, from a completely new perspective, we shared great conversation, and we had a great workout. The hike to the summit took about 4 hours, and we hiked back down to Sanfe Bagar in about 2 hours.
Ever since we got here, I have been admiring a huge tree at the summit of the hill across the valley from where we are staying. It's massive, appears to be perfectly round, and is positioned at the very crest of the hill. It seemed to be calling me. I learned from my friend Umanga that these trees are called "Buddha," "Bodhi," or "Pipal" trees, and have been planted for thousands of years for people to sit under. They are remarkably cool and are thought to have antihistamine properties. This type of tree is sacred to Buddhists as it is said that it was under such a tree that Buddha achieved, or received, enlightenment.
Nardi pointing at the Buddha tree on the far slope
Yesterday Nardi and I set out to walk up to the Buddha tree, which we learned is in the village of Nawathana. What a great adventure we had! We set out at 11:30 AM and walked down the hill to the river that feeds the Buddha Gangi for the first part of our trip.
Once in the valley, we had to walk across rice paddies. Nardi took a little spill and his camera wound up in the rice paddy, but we're hoping the pictures can be salvaged and the camera is covered by insurance. We had to cross the stream, which was running much higher than our last hike in this direction a few weeks back. During the crossing, Nardi lost a shoe (which was recovered by a little boy who was bathing downstream) and a sock (which wasn't). So my intrepid hiking partner walked the rest of the hike in a wet shoe and one sock. What a trooper!
Nardi in the river that ate his sock. The boy to his left retrieved his shoe.
The shoe rescue made the river warrior band quite proud.
After several rest stops and more climbing than we had counted on, we made it to the Buddha tree. The views were astounding! We saw our home for the past three months, Bayalpata hospital, from a completely new perspective, we shared great conversation, and we had a great workout. The hike to the summit took about 4 hours, and we hiked back down to Sanfe Bagar in about 2 hours.
Bayalpata hospital from the Buddha tree - the hospital is in the clearing on the opposite slope
The Buddha tree
Panorama from under the Buddha tree
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