On the third day of our trip we would emerge from the flat Terai region in south into the mountains and on the fourth we would have to drive on roads so poor, that it took us 8 hours to drive 35 kilometres.
At times the road would be too narrow for two vehicles and either one or the other would have to back up several hundred meters to find a spot with sufficient room to pass. Seeing people sitting on the top of busses and jeeps in this setting plainly seemed extremely dangerous.
Mountain side terrace-farms were everywhere on the way. We came across numerous small villages and we met many local people. We came across some view points as well and several times Sisne, the tallest peak in Rukum of 5916 metres, would reveal it self in the north. At one of the viewpoints we were lucky to catch an absolutely beautiful sunset over the peak.
We reached Rukumkot, the last location in Rukum that can be reached by car, in the dark at about 9 pm. We received a warm welcome in the village where we stayed with relatives of Dr. Justin Jung Malla.
Classic road-side/traditional kitchen
Road-side village
Road-side village on the.
We didn’t have to bring any water along as there we’re plenty of clean water sources along the way
Local farms and agriculture
Local family walking to the nearby village.
Ready to go once again
Ready for the third day of driving
Road side village
Local kids
Due to many accidents it’s now illegal to sit on the roof of busses. If people heard of police being nearby that area quick to jump off.
Classic village. This is in Salyan, the district before Rukum.
Every family owns a piece of land
Traditional Nepali houses
Mustard flowers and traditional Nepali farming house
Our driver Mr. Govind found these fruits, that turned out to be quite bitter.
Local farming
Local kids.
Traditional Nepali house
Mountain view towards south.
Traditional way of crying crops, firewood and other goods.
Fields of rice. Rice terraces.
Kids were learning to swim using empty water bottles to keep them floating.
Repairing a jeep. Any driver working in this terrain needs quite good mechanical skills.
The large wheels of trucks spoiled the roads.
Even with the jeep these roads were difficult to cross.
Crossing waterfalls
We had to cross numerous waterfalls.
There was only just enough room for two cars on the road. We had to fold in the mirrors to be able to pass.
Watch from 3:55. Apart from the fact that we will need to get around to many places locally in Rukum, this is a good reason why we are going to there by jeep.
Nepal is know to have the most dangerous airports in the world. According to this video, this one is the worst.
"It needs to be done, and not enough folks are doing it."
