Manakamana – 21 December

Heading down to the Manakamana cable-car

Next day, day four of our journey, we got up extra-super early (not really, compared to school days, but early for vacation days!) and got on a bus for Manakamana to take Asia’s longest cable-car to the Manakamana temple. The cable-car is half way to Pokara, and it took about four hours of careening and honking up and down narrow mountain roads, competing with dozens of other “tourist” busses and loaded freight trucks. We saw step farms and rock factories as we gripped each other’s hands around each narrow-ledged turn.

The cable-car was terrifying. It was newer than everything else we’ve seen in the country, but swooshed up the side of the mountain, wobbling every time it went over the cable guides that were on each and every tower.

There is a village of stairs at the top of the cable-car, and after climbing a maze of alleyways lined with shops selling plastic toys and various offerings, we found the small but crowded temple. Apparently this is where newlywed couples go to sacrifice a goat, hoping for healthy baby boys. There was also a line of elderly shamans putting red spots on pilgrims' foreheads in exchange for small donations.

We checked into a hostel and explored the village. After the excitement died down at the temple, we met a group of little local children and we bought them each a Kit Kat bar. They were so friendly and cute, and we could tell that meeting us and getting chocolate was the highlight of their week. We then walked around the village to find a pharmacy that was surprisingly well-stocked, considering the remoteness of Manakamana. 

When we got back to our hostel we were greeted by an unexpected guest: there was a pigeon in the corner of our room roosting for the night. Katt donned her hiking gloves to prevent any bird flu from getting on her fingers and she put him safely on the ledge. He didn’t even wake up. Tomorrow we are going to hike for three hours (15km) through the mountains to Gorkha to see what else these mountain villages have to offer the trekking tolleys.