Jungu, Dolakha, Nepal

Jungu (pronounced joogoo) is one place I have never heard of ever since.  I didn't have the slightest idea what awaited me in terms of sights or culture. The most I knew of it in my research was the temperature at this time of the year, which could range from 5 – 21 degrees Celsius.

The maps below show where this remote place is in relation to the country where I come from.

the red line is the Airasia route that brought me from 

flat Bangkok to steep Kathmandu

That's Nepal in relation to its neighbors: Tibet up north, 

India in the south and Bangladesh and Bhutan to the east

Jungu is at the Gaurishankar reservation in the Rolwaling 

mountain range. Mt. Everest of the Annapurna range is next 

to the Rolwaling range.

You may note that the highways (yellow lines) are limited compared to India. It can also be seen that Jungu is not anywhere comfortably near a highway. So what was I expecting?

I got into the Tribhuvan International Airport at Kathmandu at about 8 pm of November 1 and was met by Pastor Kaji and Gunraj Praja (below). 

That night I was briefed with the activities, which started with the departure at 6 am the following day and arrival at Jungu after 10 – 11 hours, granting that the bus survives the rugged trip and that no landslides happen that night to obstruct our passage.

The entire medical team of 30+ persons inside a 30-seater bus. At this point I wasn't yet introduced to them and my acquaintances were limited to the church folks who numbered about a dozen. I soon discovered that the majority of the team were Hindu and were connected with the Dr. Iwamaru Memorial Hospital and school of medical arts at Bhaktapur.

 we traverse through the Araniko highway linking Kathmandu 
to Tibet, China with the view of the beautiful Sunkoshi 
river taking my breath away...

 ...and then leave it behind at the junction in Kadichaur to make

the steep climb to the mountain town of Charikot/Bhimeshwor.

this stretch of highway (Lamosangu-Ramechhap) is one-lane 

with designated areas where you can pass slow vehicles 

or stop to let the oncoming car through.

main street Charikot - a city set on a mountain

the dizzying descent to the Tamakoshi river that drains the 

melting glaciers of the Annapurna mountains.

 The bridge across the Tamakoshi river

and then a muddy/rocky stretch of about 15 km

The final climb from the Tamakoshi to this spot on a ridge

with the village of Jungu (center of photo) in sight at last . But mind you, it will still be another 2 hours from this spot and under the cover of darkness before I finally set foot on ground zero.

sunrise the next day revealed this spot where we had

set camp.

Medical camp would commence after some ceremonies and preparations and this would be my home for 3 breezy days and 4 bone-chilling nights in the land of the legendary Sherpas and Ghurkhas.