Ruby Valley, an underexplored gem

After strolling for a few days, I finally arrived at the village of Tipling. My birthplace, Ruby Valley’s Chalish village, was now only an hour’s wander. Even though I was bodily exhausted, my coronary heart was brimming with joy and exhilaration.

This was my very first vacation back dwelling in more than 4 years. Compared with my previous visits, I experienced each specialist and private factors for generating this journey this time.

As a vacation entrepreneur, I required to check out the valley’s likely as a trekking desired destination. For a tourism-reliant state like Nepal to keep on attracting website visitors, it is pertinent that it carries on to come up with new destinations and encounters for site visitors. And as somebody pretty common with Ruby Valley and who shares enormous pleasure in calling it dwelling, I have in no way had any question about my picturesque birthplace’s tourism potential.

My journey to Ruby Valley commenced from the town of Syabrubesi, which is a seven-hour bus ride from Kathmandu. The town is commonly identified as the gateway to the renowned Langtang location. Soon after halting for a evening in Syabrubesi, I trekked to Gatlang, a sleepy, conventional Tamang village.

In just an hour into the trek, Syabrubesi light into the qualifications, and the hustle and bustle of the town disappeared. I observed myself on a snaking trekking trail with amazing views of Ganesh Himal. Immediately after I crossed a tributary of the Budhi Gandaki river, the path meandered into a forest, which signalled Gatlang was nearby. 

It took me 6 several hours to eventually arrive at Gatlang. What instantly caught my awareness were being the residences. They had been all connected with just about every other, probably for improved insulation. This designed feeling simply because winters in the village get notoriously chilly. The roofs of all the residences were being built applying wood planks, and these planks had been held alongside one another by rocks.

I resolved to remain in a homestay for the night. My host informed me, “Our ancestors (Tamangs) truly came to Nepal from Tibet to get associated in the horse trade.” That meal, when the host household served a scrumptious regional meal, I couldn’t assistance but wonder if the food traces its origin to Tibet. At dinner, the host knowledgeable me that Parvati Kunda, a lake, was a have to-visit internet site around the village, and he advised that I go to it.

So, the adhering to morning, I left Gatlang and headed to Parvati Kunda, which is named right after the goddess Parvati, the consort of Lord Shiva. This lake, positioned at 2,550 metres above sea amount, drains into the Parvati river. The freshwater lake also serves as a resource of ingesting h2o for the locals.

I discovered from the locals that the little temple in the vicinity of the lake hosts a large spiritual collecting (mela) on Shrawan Purnima (Raksha Bandhan). A further attraction near the lake is the ruins of a palace that at the time belonged to a Ghale King.

From Gatlang, I headed to Somdang, a different Tamang village. Not so extended in the past, the persons in the village mined the land for ruby. Even however mining ceased a few several years back, mining routines have still left an indelible mark on the area’s landscape, and it is this quite mining observe that gave Ruby Valley its identify.

When I arrived at Somdang, it was already night, and I determined to commit the evening at a homestay in the village.

I woke up early the adhering to early morning and bid adieu to Somdang. Following trekking for 4 several hours, I reached Pangsang La, a 3,850-metre move. The pass, which commands breathtaking sights of rolling hills and mountains these types of as Manaslu, Ganesh Himal, and Dorje Lakpa, is 1 of the largest attractions for trekkers heading to the Ruby Valley. Given that there weren’t any people on the go, I had a great time soaking in the place’s tranquillity and mesmerising views. By crossing the Pangsang La Pass, I successfully entered the Ruby Valley.

Just after descending for about 3 hrs from this go, I reached Laptung. Given that it was nonetheless early, I determined to head further more and make Tipling my quit for the fourth evening.

The next early morning I still left Tipling, and as the village of Chalish came into perspective, I bought a glimpse of how ethnically assorted Ruby Valley is. The upper sections of the village had been populated by Gurungs, Tamangs, and Magars, even though Brahmans, Kshetris, and Dalits principally inhabited the lower areas. Several Gurungs in the Ruby Valley are recruited in the British Gurkha Army. My grandfather was also a Gurkha soldier.

Being in my village after all these a long time brought again many fond memories. Every calendar year, on Lhosar (Gurung’s new year’s working day), we have a large Gurung gathering in our village. But we also celebrate Dashain and Tihar with good fervour, full with standard Gurung dances these types of as Maruni and Sorathi dances. I am specially fond of the Maruni dance, wherever young boys disguise by themselves as girls and dance to the tune of classic tunes. I also overlook the Ghankri (shaman) dance, which I utilised to observe in the neighbouring Tamang villages.

This trek created me realise that Ruby Valley has nevertheless held its old-entire world charm intact. The villagers nonetheless count on animals to plough the not-so-fertile fields. People stay side by side with their livestock, and the majority of the homes however retain their traditional factors. Given that tourism is attaining a foothold in the area, most villages have homestays.

This trek more reaffirmed my religion in Ruby Valley’s tourism opportunity. Ruby Valley need to be on your listing for people looking for a rather unexplored still very easily accessible trekking place in Nepal. The trekking trail offers pristine wilderness, wonderful mountain views, ethnic villages, and hospitable individuals. If you make Syabrubesi your setting up place for the trek, the overall trek can be accomplished inside of a 7 days for as tiny as Rs 25,000.