Ram Dai (www.pokharacity.com) seemed very excited when he heard for the first time about eating bat's meat. He is not only a Sukuti (dry meat) lover but also a trekking lover so we both decided to trek the newly developed Chepang Hills Trail in Chitwan  and finally taste the bats. As Amrit Bhadgaonle (Kantipur Daily) set us up for this trip, we trio prepared ourselves to trek this unique trail under TRPAP of Nepal Government.

We then climbed into a microbus from Prithvi Chow, Pokhara and we set off for Hugdi Bazar along the Prithvi Highway of Dhading where our funny guide Tilak Giri received us.

As we were walking uphill, we met a guy named Rajan Upreti who was carrying kerosene gallon in one hand and books without a bag in the other. Yes it was the cause of peace that he freely could carry a gallon with kerosene but I remember, we could hardly see such activities in Maoists insurgency period.  I didn't see even a single student in our whole journey carrying a bag for their textbooks. I then later knew the cause behind the scene was poverty.

As we distributed sweets and chocolates to the village children on the way, they seemed very jubilant an as soon as we arrived at hattibang in the evening, the villagers with colorful garlands welcomed us. We enjoyed the songs and dances performed by Chepang and Giripuri community. Here we could enjoy Magar culture as well. We took Dhindo (a dish which is cooked mixing millet flour and water), Gundruk (beaten and dried radish leaves) and rooster's meat as our dinner.

The very next morning we enjoyed sunrise from Siraichuli (1945m) and reached Jandala, which is a pure Chepang village of Chitwan District.

We completed our whole trekking within 3 nights and four days. Our first two nights stay was in Upardang Gadi and Majhbang. In Shaktikhor we visited Chepang museum and knew little Chepang culture. Tourists have to stay in the villagers' home and there are no hotels in this route. It is a concept of village tourism by which TRPAP aims to uplift the economic standard of village people especially of Chepang. There are more than 20 homes in different spot along the trail where tourists can be accommodated. TRPAP has trained six guides for this trail and some villagers have been provided the training of hospitality.  

In our trekking, we ate the local Chepang dish and enjoyed their culture to the most. Since it was not a season of bats we could hardly see any bats. Chepang people stored food grain only for 6 months in a year and rest of the months they collects their feedings by Fishing, hunting and collecting wild roots. Most of the Chepang don't know even the name of Nepal's king and prime ministers.

We enjoyed green forest, misty environment, glooming rhododendrons and the village life style on this unique trail. Animal husbandry, poultry and handicrafts was the way of their daily lifestyle. Majhbang is another Chepang village where we could feel the proper Chepang culture.

Chepang population dwells in the remote and sparse contours of Makwanpur, Chitwan, Gorkha and Dhading. Chepang is one of the most isolated tribal groups of Nepal. The Chepang used to live a nomadic life, doing some fishing and hunting. At present, they cultivate crops such as maize and millet. They still have customs akin to nomadic life; such as using traps to catch birds and gathering various forest products. According to the 2001 Nepal Census, the population of Chepang is 52,237. There are lack of sanitation, electricity, drinking water, road services and family planning in almost all the chepang villages.

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Itinerary

5 Days

Pokhara-Hugdi Bazar-Hattibang
Hattibang-Jautesh-Changa-Dinglang-Jyandala
Jyandala-Siraichuli-Chisapanitar-Gadi
Gadi-Shaktikhor
Depart for Ktm or Sauraha

7 Days

Pokhara-Hugdi-Hattibang
Hattibang-Jandala
Jandala-Gadi
Gadi-Shaktikhor
Shaktikhor-Majhbang
Majhbang-Chitram-Majhbang

7. Majhbang-Shaktikhor-Katm or Sauraha

Rup Narayan Dhakal