Exploring Champadevi and Bhasmasur Danda
City life can feel so heavy sometimes. Endless work, crazy traffic, responsibilities piling up, noise everywhere. But then come those magical moments that suddenly make your heart feel light again… like a cool breeze on a hot day. For me, those moments almost always happen when I’m traveling with my friends.
True friends don’t judge. They don’t expect you to be perfect. They just accept you, laugh with you, sit in comfortable silence with you. And when you’re with them, your worries become smaller, and your heart feels light like it has grown invisible wings.
That’s exactly how I felt on Saturday, February 7, 2026, when Bidur, Chhongba, and I decided to conquer Champadevi.
Bidur isn’t always the punctual one, but this time he was. He reached Balkhu at 7:00 a.m. sharp and sent us a message:
“Guys, just reached Balkhu. Where were you guys?”
I was still lost in deep sleep. Chhongba too!
Bidur’s call yanked me out of dreamland. Half-awake, and I quickly called Chhongba but no answer.
I told Bidur, “Please wait a bit. If Chhongba doesn’t show up, we’ll go hiking just the two of us.”
A few minutes later, Chhongba finally called back. “I’m up! I’m coming!” he said, sounding sleepy but excited.
Bidur waited patiently for over an hour. That’s the kind of friend he is calm, kind, never angry.
When I finally reached him, his smile said everything: “I waited a long time… but I’m really happy you’re here now.” There was also a tiny question in his eyes: “Are we really doing this today?”
We rushed to a tiny tea shop, ordered steaming hot tea, soft bread, and delicious curry. Just as we started eating Chhongba burst in, out of breath, smile on his face. Perfect timing.
We ordered everything again and laughed about how late we were. After breakfast, we jumped into a super-packed local bus to Hatiban; the starting point of the Champadevi trail. No space to move, but we squeezed in happily. The conductor kept pushing more people inside without any complained. That’s Kathmandu life; we adjust, we smile, we go.
30 minutes later we stepped out into fresh, clean air. Wow! Freedom.
We quickly bought water, juice, biscuits, and chips. The shopkeeper warned: “No shops on the way, take enough!”
We filled our bags, looked up at the big green hill, and shouted in our hearts: Let’s go!
Three friends. One epic trail. One perfect morning.
We took the first steps together laughing, talking, sometimes quiet, sometimes joking. The path was steep, the sun was gentle, and the air felt clean.
At the entrance gate near the resort, we registered our names. So many people were hiking today, its huge crowd!
Every few minutes we stopped to breathe, to take photos, to point at something beautiful in the distance.
It had been 7 or 8 years since I last hiked Champadevi. Everything felt new again the smell of pine trees, the sound of birds, and the wide view.
Suddenly, we saw small tea house; total surprise! I asked the owner. He smiled and said, “This tea house has been here for four years now!”
We sat by the warm fire, ordered hot tea and noodles. Then we kept going. Three hills to cross before the top. Some parts of the trail looked like the Great Wall of China, narrow, exciting, adventurous.
We enjoyed every tiny moment sitting on rocks, sipping water, sharing snacks, eating fresh local cucumber. That light, peaceful feeling came back strong being exactly where I’m supposed to be… with the right people. Finally, I spotted prayer flags fluttering.
“We’re almost there!” I shouted.
And yes there it was: Champadevi Temple! We made it. But we weren’t ready to go home the same way. “Let’s go to Bhasmasur Danda!” we decided.
Bhasmasur was a big devotee of Lord Shiva. Shiva gave him a powerful boon; whatever he touched would turn to ashes. But he became proud and tried to touch Shiva himself! Lord Vishnu saved the day by becoming the beautiful Mohini. She tricked Bhasmasur into touching his own head and poof. He turned to ashes. Just a fun myth, I think.
We took the route to Bhasmasur Danda, down a bit, and then up, up, up to almost 2500m, the highest point. Very few hikers on this trail. After a long climb we reached Makwanpur district. We stopped at a local shop for milk tea… but wow, the price was almost like Himalayan Java coffee. Super expensive! Other tea houses were fair, but this one was fancy-price.
From Bhasmasur we headed downhill through thick jungle to Matatirtha, just green forest all around. Bidur, our good boy, was getting a little more tired than us, but still smiling.
Finally, from Matatirtha we caught a local van straight to Ratna Park.
Tired legs, happy hearts, full memories.
What a day!
