Day 72 Mon 13 November, Nagarkot to Damen , Nepal

Beautiful misty sunrise with shifting panorama of mountains, early breakfast before descending via a rough track through rice terraces and pretty villages, pine and rhododendron forests to Kathmandu, where we make a pit stop for coffee at the Hyatt. Then its round the congested ring road and down towards the Terai or plains. We miss the turning to the Rajmarg, the direct route and make a 30km detour. The Rajmarg, or Tribhuvan Highway looks much shorter on the map but is a narrow twisting road which instead of sticking to the valleys, climbs over ridges and around spurs, through tiny villages clinging precariously to the hillsides, giving spectacular views over the Mahabharat Hills which form the first range of Himalayan foothills. We climb up to passes at 2300m and abandon plans to reach Janakpur on the plains that evening as we are barely making 20km/hr. Fortunately as the sun starts to sink giving the mountains a spectacular pink glow, we arrive at Damen, 2488m and stop at the Everest Panorama resort. It’s seen better days and certainly isn’t worth even half the USD80 they ask but the alternatives are few. The mountain views in the morning better be worth it.

Weather: 9C Sunny
Distance today: 135km
Distance from start: 14,240km
Scary Road Index: High