When I paid him a morning visit, he used to serve me milk tea in his small cave-like lodge in the cliffs behind the Pashupathinath temple,. The milk he had milked himself from a cow that grassed on the top of the hill, next to a beautiful little Krishna mandir.
The next morning, he had asked a friend who knew the mountain track very well, to give us some good advice for the journey. It would be a steep climbing the first two days, he told us, but then the track becomes easier. There are plenty of good lodges along the route. They are
equipped with beds and blankets, so there will be no need for carrying with us sleeping bags.The morning after, my sadhu friend followed me to the Tourism Board to provide the necessary trekking papers, and early next morning we set off by bus to the remote village Dunche at the foot of the Himalayas. Reaching the village in the evening, we took in at the Himalayan View Hotel, a small guest house at the upper end of the village. From here, we could see the steep
valley we were to climb next morning. After a morning tea and sweets, we set out on the path. First, we walked along a small river, the water as clear as in the Norwegian mountains. For the first time since I came to Nepal, I could enjoy drinking water out in nature! After a while, we passed a nice looking guest house, built solely in stone, and with small terraces overlooking the river. This would be a perfect place to rest before starting the mountain track!Good to know for a second time.Now, our hard climbing started. The path turned away from the river that disappeared in a deep gorge beneath us. Our route went into the deep forest that covered the hills on both sides of the valley. After some hours, we took rest on a small glen, surrounded by old pines and rhododendron trees. The sun was warm, birds were singing, and occasionally we could hear bucks roaring – or was it bears? Looking up to the impenetrable forest on the hills that surrounded us, we could very well imagine that this was a home for
both bears and tigers . . . .Our aim for the first day was a small gomba or monastery, mid-way up the hills - more than one thousand metres above the Dunche village. The village itself was located at two thousand metres altitude. In the trekking guide, we were recommended to stop overnight at this gomba, to acclimatize ourselves in order to avoid altitude sickness. We followed the advice and continued climbing upwards the next morning. Now, the path was less steep and we soon came into a forest of old, moss covered silver spurs and flowering rhododendron trees. The entire hillside was dotted with red, pink and white flowers – a unique spectacle! Then, along a ridge of the hill, the landscape on the northern side
opened and there: The Langtang Himalayan mountains in all their splendour appeared to us! Further along the ridge, a guest house was built on a glen, giving a perfect view of the magnificent mountains. We just had to make a stop for a tea and some refreshments to enjoy the spectacle from the terrace!Looking east, we could see the path up the steep mountain side, finally disappearing in the clouds. This climb would be even harder than the one we had behind us!
I had a knee that troubled me a little, so I got a stick to support me from the kind guest house keeper. She told us that on the top of the mountain ahead, there is a small stupa. Here we will reach an altitude of four thousand metres. Along the steep track, the vegetation became more and more scarce. Instead, small, yellow mountain flowers covered the stony landscape around us. Soon, spots of snow could be seen in the shady areas. The fog enveloped us, and a cold wind blew. 
Then, the shapes of stupas became visible above us, and soon after, we made a stop by the stone buildings. Now, we found ourselves above the clouds! All around us, an ocean of white clouds covered the lower landscapes,
just the snow clad mountain peaks reached up in the blue sky.The ringing of small bells reached our ears – a group of yaks and horses passed us, heavy loaded with goods for the mountain lodges at Goseikunda. The keepers told us that we were just half an hour away from the famous place.
Turning around a curve of the path, we saw the first lake. On the top of the mountain pass above us, we could at last see the stone buildings of the Goseikunda lodges. We took in at one of the guest houses, in a nice, little room - both ceiling and walls made of pine boards.
A window gave us the view of the largest of the Goseikunda lakes, half hidden in the fog.
After a light evening meal, we made our way down to the shore of the lake. My friend had decided to take a ritual bath in the cold water. The bitter cold and an ice corn shower did not stop him! Wrapped in blankets, he lighted a fire, and we performed a holy ceremony, reading from the Upanishads and the Vedas.
Going to bed that evening, I had a headache – we were now at four and a half thousand metres. My breath and pulse were near the double of normal!I wondered how the night would be like. Anyway, after crossing the mountain pass behind the lakes tomorrow, we would soon come down to lower altitudes.
The next morning I felt a little better. The sunshine and the deep, blue sky cheered me up even more. After a breakfast of roti bread and gee butter, I felt strong enough to continue our route. We walked along the lake, now coloured deep blue, reflecting the sky. Due to the thin air, the colour was considerably darker than in the lowlands. The lack of oxygen forced us to make frequent brakes to regain our breath. The water along the path had frozen during the night. Due to my headache, I felt I could not climb so much higher. But then, we
reached the pass, and the stupa covered with Tibetan prayer flags! In Kathmandu, I had bought a string of prayer flags, to set up at this point – nearly five thousand metres up in the Himalayas! Soon, the line of flags waved in the cold wind, whispering their prayers to the gods.From here, we started our long way down to the lower region of our route. In the evening we reached a desolate guest house, overlooking the valley beneath us. No sooner than we got inside, a
sudden ice corn shower started, hammering on the roof and leaving a white layer of ice corns on the ground. The night was cold, but I opened the windows and sat on the bed, meditating and looking out on the moonlit landscape. Out in the dark, the Himalayan night was filled with the cries of owls, foxes and 
other animals - one of the unforgettable moments of this Himalayan pilgrimage!
