Kudra (Kubdra) to Nabji (4,000′): 7.5mi; 5-6 hrs; small ups & downs.
If the humidity hadn’t been about 99%, this would have been a lovely walk. The air just seemed to hang with the clouds, dark and heavy.
The vegetation in areas cleared of trees but no longer farmed was thick with brush.
I saw my first hornbill,
more marijuana,
waterfalls,
and great views down to the Mangde Chhu.
The trail reminded me of the Appalachian Trail–lots of leaves, rocks, and tree roots.
The elevations were higher than the AT in Maryland and Pennsylvania where I’ve the most miles, but the vegetation was far more tropical.
Banana Palms
Enormous Philodendrons
With two breaks and a lunch stop, it took me about 6 1/2 hours to reach Nabji, which was very different than the small Monpas villages of Jangbi and Kudra. The people of Nabji live in a cluster of homes on a small hill above their extensively terraced rice fields.
From the point where these photos were taken, it was another 3/4-hour walk downhill to the village as the fields extend quite a ways to the right of my photos, and it was down!