Remember the idyllic island in the Andaman Sea where Leonardo di Caprio played in The Beach. Once it became famous, it sucked in hordes of backpackers and the lagoon lost its virginity. Or, I could follow Eric Valli\'s example. Long before he became famous for Caravan, Valli wrote a book called Tsangbou. In the preface, he says the name of the place was fictitious, and he gave no clue as to where it actually was: all you could tell was that it was in Nepal and inhabited by a Tibeto-Burman people.
But, no, I will tell you about Panch Pokhari, although I am worried that you will grab your gear and head out the door as soon as you finish reading this. I have to share with you its beauty, and I can only hope that the difficulty of getting there will protect it. If there is one place that is in the line-of-sight of my house in Patan and totally remote, this is it.
You start early morning at the northeastern end of the valley at Sundarijal, and make the climb up to Pati Bhanjyang, keeping the oak-covered ridges of Shivapuri on your left. You cross the Melamchi at Talamarang and follow it for the whole day until you come up to the monastery town of Tarkeghyang. By now the entire vista to the north has transformed itself: the crags of the Gosainkunda Lekh are so close you feel like you can touch them.
You avoid the trail that takes you up to Ganja La towards Langtang Valley, and take the right fork down to the Larke Khola to Yangri. Thick pine and rhododenron all the way, and a steep ascent of one and a half days will finally take you to your destination-Panch Pokhari, the five divine jewels of Jugal Himal. You feel holy enough to take a dip in the freezing waters.
Up here at 4,100 metres, the air is thin and crisp, and at your feet to the southwest is the haze-shrouded Kathmandu Valley. On a moonlit night Dorje Lakpa glows with an inner radiance above you, and you can sense the peak as you would sense the presence of a god. Phurbi Ghyachu looks like an albino bat about to take flight. Far off on the eastern horizon, I spot Gauri\'s shoulder of Gauri Shankhar.
You can continue on north from here and trek up behind Gang Chenpo to cross Tilman Pass into Langtang Valley, but this is a difficult glacier traverse and only for those fit and well-equipped.
The walk down from Panch Pokhari towards Chautara is one of the most spectacular ridge walks in Nepal. Danfes flap and glide parallel to the slopes, and in this vertical world you feel like soaring yourself. Further down, the rhododendron jungles are so thick you have to part the branches to find the path. And then it suddenly it hits you: ever since you left Tarkeghyang, you haven\'t seen a single trekker.
Still walking along the ridge, under the omnipresent gaze of Dorje Lakpa and Phurbi Ghyachu, you camp at Hile Bhanjyang. Here the first yak herders come into view. You have reached the outer boundary of Langtang.
