all videos, text and photos by Suzie T.
Panch Pokhari Trek for Mosoon Janai Purnima, Nepal | August 2023
Good Afternoon, Suzie’s Epic Shiiiiit! in Nepal.
Late August, this year 2023, me and my friends went to trek Panch Pokhari (4200m) that lies in Langtang National Park of Sindhupalchowk district. Last year, we went to trek Langtang valley and Gosaikunda lake of this National Park during Autumn. If you are lucky, you can see Red Panda in the trail. I had never hiked above 3000m in Monsoon season. So when we planned for this trip, we wanted to do in the rainy season witnessing the greenery, flowers, mist and clouds. Along the beauty of nature, we also want to see the ritual of Shamans.
Panch Pokhari means 5 lakes in Nepali. There are 5 lakes in this trek which are sacred for Hindu-Buddhist culture. Every once a year, on full moon in the month of August, there is festival in Nepal called Janai Purnima during which people from all region of Nepal celebrate differently. In holy lake situated near mountain area like Gosaikunda and Panch Pokhari, the locals, shamans and people from other region travel these lakes from a week before from their house. Shamans in their custom and drums travel up in these lake singing and dancing, they dip in the lake, carries the water of this lake and travel back to other holy small lakes located downhill like 1800-2000m of different places and pour there. Shamans and their song and dance reflect their love for the nature, Mahadev (God Shiva) who resided those lakes, the power of universe. If you cannot make up to such holy lakes in mountain area at the time of Janai Purnima, you can also go to those holy lakes which are not far from Kathmandu and witness the culture and festival.
We started our trip from Kathmandu catching the Bus from Narayantar early 6:20 am. We had a six hour drive and reach to the Chimti. After having lunch there, we started our trek, observing the waterfall, greenery. Around 5pm, we reached at place called Rato Mato, had our lunch and spent our night there. In second day, we started to walk from around 6am, after waking 5hr uphill, we reached to Panch Pokhari, took bath, had lunch and walked to the view point to see mountains and sunset. We saw the clouds and mountains, fog and clound playing hide-and-seek from the view point. We went to heliport hill around 7pm and saw beautiful stars.We saw Shamans there, they danced. We reached Panch Pokhari few days before koJanai Purnima. In festival day, there are thousands of people visiting there and hotels, lodge get full.
On day 3rd, after having breakfast, we then walked down to Chimti that took around 10hr. we met many groups of Shamans, people returning, going to the lake during the trip.
We finished the whole trek in 3 nights and 4 days. But for some people, it may take more days. The trail is not that easy , there are many uphills and steps while walking up and down.
It’s better to carry some snacks during the trip, there are limited dishes especially Nepali Dal Bhat. And also important to carry the power back ups. (You can charge for few hours only).
~ All photos, text and videos property of Suzie and Friends ~ Printed with Expressed Written Consent ~
***Vocabulary***
Bonshō, also known as tsurigane or ōgane are large bells found in Buddhist temples throughout Japan, used to summon the monks to prayer and to demarcate periods of time
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Stupa
In Buddhism, a stupa is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics that is used as a place of meditation. Circumambulation or pradakhshina has been an important ritual and devotional practice in Buddhism since the earliest times, and stupas always have a pradakhshina path around them
Janai
On this day, Hindu Nepalese men of Brahmin and Chhetri group perform their annual ritual of changing Janai.
Janai is a sacred thread made of cotton worn across the chest by Hindu men, especially Brahmin and Chhetri. They change this sacred thread after taking a bath in the holy river of Bagmati or Vishnumati or nearby rivers or the five holy Hindu lakes (Panch Pokhari) in the Sindhupalchowk District of Nepal.
Background: I’ve been Mentoring Suzie since 2015, when I met her doing ReCon for hiking the Himalayas. She wanted to be a pharmacist to supply the least fortunate of her small communities with more localized medicinal and holistic remedies that were less harmful to their bodies.
She was 14.
Big thanks and CONGRATULATIONS to Suzie on this first fantastic chronicle of DOing EPIC SHIIIIIT ~ Looking forward to many more educational, entertaining and highly impactful pieces of your amazing world!
Edited Sept.-Nov. 2023
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