Dolakha. Our last trip from Kathmandu before returning to the States. The district is just east of Kathmandu, up in the mountains – or “hills” as they are refered to here. After many hours bumping along through the windy, and sometimes unpaved, roads of Nepal, we reached the town of Charikot and were immediatly rewarded with a breath-taking view of the Himalayas from the Panorama Hotel where we would be spending the night.

Early the next morning, we set off on a hike through the gorgeous scenery to a near-by town to visit a temple. The town was a medievel village that sprang up along the road which used to serve as a major trade route between China and India. Although previously it was nearly deserted, today it is a bustling town once more, and even a bit more developed than other mountain villages we have seen in our travels.

This last experience of the physical beauty Nepal has to offer was a great way to remember and appreciate all that we have seen; but we must not forget that Nepal is still a country struggling to rebuild after war and, like the bumpy, windy roads we travelled on, there is still a tough journey ahead.