Nepal (October 2017): Simikot to Kolti via Mount Saipal
2. Village of Chala
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At and elevation of ~3690m Chala is a beautiful traditional village built on a steep slope and surrounded by buckwheat fields. Chala′s houses are old, but cleverly built. They have survived the 2014 earthquake without any damage. When we visited the village, a large fraction of the population was still in Ranikharka (which we were going to visit a few days later), a monsoon pasture on the eastern side of Mount Saipal. Most people remaining in the village were busy collecting hay and buckwheat stems, and packing them of the roofs of their houses. I was told that 32 families live in the village.
Map: The topographic map below shows the configuration of the terrain around Chala. Consecutive blue vertical and horizontal lines are spaced by 1km.
(Reminder: These 50K topographic maps are available in their entirety at https://jemecasseausoleil.blogspot.fr/2017/07/cartes-du-nepal.html.)
View of the main part of the village toward the south-west.
View of the other side of Chala. The second photo below shows that the village is divided into two parts separated by an area of rock slide.
Characteristic haystacks of grass (yellow) and buckwheat stems (brownish) erected on house roofs. They will be used to feed the animals during the coming winter. The five photos below face the south-west direction.
[The trail on the left side of the photo leads to the valley of Karan Khola that we will visit next.]
The following three photos face south-east toward Chhote Kang (5527m peak) and Sakya Lagna (the 4709m pass that separates Chala from Ranikharka).
Other side of the main part of the village.
The smaller part of the village located beyond the area of rock slide.
Other photos of houses.
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Children (first photo below) and men (second photo) carrying bundles of buckwheat stems.
[Here the man on the right is our muleteer helping one of his friends in Chala.]
Inside the house of the village′s head, where we had been invited to drink coffee and Tibetan tea.
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Smiling children of Chala.
Statue of Padmasambhawa (″Lotus Born″), in the small gompa of the village. Also known as Guru Rinpoche (″Precious Master″), Padmasambhawa is venerated for having spread Buddhism throughout Tibet and the Himalaya.
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