Hello!! This is Lilit. I hope you enjoyed my previous article “Way to Hananoie”. This time I will tell you about Hiking to Astam Village.

During the training, Mr. Durga, a hananoie staff, took us to Astam Village, where he was born. Astam is a small mountain village of which population is around 300. Farming is the main source of income.

We walked uphill, passing through the green terrace paddy fields. The green scenery cooled us from the hot sunshine. After 10 minutes, we reached a narrow stairway with many trees on both sides. It was a beautiful green tunnel that leaded us to the village of Astam. We saw the villagers spending their daily lives.

We kept on going uphill and reached a primary school on the top of the hill. This was the only school in the village. Mr. Durga’s wife was the headmistress of the school. When entering the school, several grade-1 students came out and took me into their class. It was the dancing lesson. The teacher sang a traditional mountain song and we were dancing together. It was a fun and unforgettable experience.

After joining the lesson, we walked to the cliff where we were able to see a town of Milan Chowk where it was the trailhead to Hananoie, and a plenty of paddy fields. We walked to the other side of the hill passing through corn field and reached Mr. Durga’s house. His father was sitting on the veranda with a cat. Mr. Durga told us that his father moved to the town of Pokhara but last year but did not like. So he returned to the village with his mother again. I agreed that this peaceful village might be the best place for him.

We walked down passing through the village and returned to Hananoie on the other way. It was a fun and interesting 1.5-hour hiking course. If you come to Hananoie, please ask the staff to take you to experience the village of Astam. I believe that you must like it.