Gosainkunda

[Suginami]

:o Has any one been up to the lake and could you share any photos. Its is of strong interest to birders who cross this way to see breeding birds after trekking in Langtang but I have never seen the lake itself. Is it still there?

[julia]

:o Has any one been up to the lake and could you share any photos. Its is of strong interest to birders who cross this way to see breeding birds after trekking in Langtang but I have never seen the lake itself. Is it still there?



I found a couple of links that may be of use, it looks a great place to go.

http://images.google.co.uk/images?sourceid=navclient&hl=en-GB&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4ADBF_en-GBGB266GB278&q=Gosainkunda&um=1&sa=N&tab=wi

http://nepal.saarctourism.org/gosainkunda.html

http://www.uniquetreks.com/nepal/trekking_in_nepal/langtang_region/gosainkunda_trek.php

[un-j]

You can find my few shots here:
http://www.pbase.com/unjay/nepal

And to be corect: it's Gosaikund, not Gosaikunda, as kund means lake.

Regards

[Escher]

Not sure if there is "correct" spelling of Gosainkund as the roman alphabet version is often a phonetic spelling of the Nepali word which would be in Nepali script originally or is - passed down, and an often incorrect version - from an old western map. A local told me that Ghyaru and Ngawal on the AC are not named that at all but the names have stuck due to an old explorer/cartographer getting it wrong and it being quoted wrongly ever since. And of course Everest is pronounced Ee-verest not eh-verest, but we all get that wrong too. I thought Gosainkund is pronounced with an "uh" on the end like "bandh" (pronounced similar to bunduh) so the spelling of GosainKundh relates to that pronunciation. That is how I understand it and the two spellings Gosainkund and GosainKundh or even Gosainkunda are interchangeable IMO. I also thought that Kund and Kundh are interchangeable too as are lots of spelling of subcontinent words and I assume in other places too where the roman alphabet is not the source.

[Suginami]

Thanks Julia I got some great pix from there. I should have looked it up myself. But I noticed on Trek Info that no one talked about this lake and its extremely mysterious transformation.

Gould's Shortwing lives up here.

[Sharon]

That was my first trek. Hard to imagine all the pilgrims up there to bath in the lake. At that time the altitude seemed so hard as it was the highest I had ever been.

[Oli]

I am a bit surprised that you have not been up there Sugi.
Next time you are in Dunche make the pilgrimage up the hill.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2117/2756594394_c236b1bfe4_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeff-bauche/2756594394/in/set-72157606683011094)

There are some great panoramas up there, you can see right into Tibet and west over to Manaslu and Annapurna.

[Suginami]

They told me it was too hard to go straight up from Dunche to G because of the altitude change so I kind of went up the Lama Hotel way and got very distracted by something. Also it was winter. But, yeah, I think this is where I should head to next. I wonder if I can drag my reluctant neice up there?

[julia]

Thanks Julia I got some great pix from there. I should have looked it up myself. But I noticed on Trek Info that no one talked about this lake and its extremely mysterious transformation.

Gould's Shortwing lives up here.


Your'e welcome!

I thought the name sounded interesting, I have not heard of it before, so I looked it up. Somewhere else to put on my ever increasing list of places to visit!

[Suginami]

it would be really interesting to go there in pilgrimage time and bathe. it would be interesting to do a test of the water to see what`s in it.

does anyone remember the story going around about all the lakes in Nepal that were likely to pour down the mountains and flood everything? Has that threat been forgotten?

[Oli]

This is one corner of Nepal that makes me think of home. Looking at a few views of the lake I am struck by some similarities with the Lake District, in particular I am thinking of Stickle Tarn in Langdale. They are both a glacial tarn with a similar approach from the road and that imposing rocky peak behind and a pass to the next valley (Jack's Rake on Pavey Arc is epic fun). Of course the scale is a different, but there are many aspects where a defocused view and hazy memory make the almost alike. Looking through Flickrs cache of photos of the two places there are a few that at a causal glance could be either one :)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2296/1757306302_6534cc5a21.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jnebmz/1757306302/)
Gosaikund Lake, Nepal

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3267/2717398561_3a3c06677f.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/phlbns/2717398561/)
Stickle Tarn, Gt Langdale

[Sharon]

I don't have my map here but it is the lake that could flood the Rolwaling valley. The day along that lake and past along the glacier was the toughest day in mountains I have ever spent.324
Relentless...

[rich]

Apart from Tsho Rolpa (in Rolwaling), I recall that there was some concern over one of the lakes below Ama Dablam a few years ago. Perhaps it has been forgotten now.

In the late 1970's and avalanche at one of these lakes sent a wall of water apparently up to 10m high down the Dudh Kosi. You can still see traces of the damage on the valley sides, expecially on that walk by the river between Monjo and the Namche hill.

[thesilvertops]

We've been away for a week's hiking in the White Peak, Derbyshire so just picked up on this thread. We hiked in to Langtang from Sundarijal, Helambu and across Gosainkund in December 2000. We were lucky with a couple of the lodges as they were about to close for the winter. It's a great trek as you see the mountains getting nearer every day and then you're in amongst them! It was misty almost all the time that we were at Phedi lodge before crossing the Pass. This was the area where James Scott was lost for 42 days (Lost in the Himalaya) and was finally found on the very last helicopter search. In the book, James recounts that at one point he hoped a plane would crash nearby as the subsequent search might lead to his rescue. Well, a year later a Thai Air flight hit the hillside by the lodge killing all on board. The wreckage is everywhere.

Oli - Love the photos and comparison with Stickle Tarn, Langdale.

The walk down to Laurebina Yak from the pass is excellent, especially so in good weather. The views from Laurebina Yak are just stunning on a good day. You can see from Dhaulagiri Himal in the west round to the Langtang peaks in the east. Tibet is directly ahead. Sunset and sunrise can be spectacular. Not to be missed!!.

We then went down the ridge to Sing Gompa and across to Syabru before heading in to Langtang. Afterwards, we caught the bus to Kathmandu from Dhunche.

http://www.pbase.com/thesilvertops/image/83345197.jpg

More pictures are here: Langtang 2000 (http://www.pbase.com/thesilvertops/nepal_2000_langtang)

[Oli]

about all the lakes in Nepal
That lake at the bottom of the Gangapurna glacier by Manang a new formation, as recent as 1972, its growing and the moraine dam is not strong.
Some locals estimate that it'll be a critical problem in the next 15 years.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2353/2142064587_563d21e166.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasminemali/2142064587/)

For citation see section 4.4 of this... Sustainable Development Plan Manang (2008—2013) (www.rrcap.unep.org/projects/nsds/meeting/sd_masterplan_Manang.pdf)
I just found that document, it makes for some very interesting reading, especially with regard to the road.

[thesilvertops]

There is real concern that a glacial lake may burst through a terminal moraine and cause devastation down stream. There was a team in Gokyo a few years ago doing studies there. A girl called Kat Hands from Dundee University was one of the group. In recent times (relatively), there was such an event near Thame and you can see the resulting scars as you trek past the Lukla area from Bupsa to Namche. I think the Imja Glacier lake is also of concern. There is a lot of water building up there fed by a fairly large glacier. You only have to stand on the lateral moraine and listen. Of more concern must be those glaciers where the water is building up out of sight. The Ngozumpa Glacier in Gokyo must be another candidate for concern. It's impossible to tell how much water is building up behind that terminal moraine. Something to ponder as you climb up the trail on the left side! I still hope to go again, of course!

[deserteyes]

Wow Oli, you're picture are amazing. Bursting dams or not, they definitely make me want to go there.

[Oli]

Actually none of the pics that I have posted in this thread are my own work. Click on them and they link back to their flickr page and you can see the real artists.

[jbagne]

You can find my pictures here :

http://www.pbase.com/jbagne

[thedang]

hi
I'm heading to Gosainkund in a couple of weeks time
anyone know what the weather's been like lately? ie much snow on the Laurabina? pass between Helambu and Langtang?
cheers
Ross

[Per]

Gosainkund and GosainKundh or even Gosainkunda are interchangeable IMO. I also thought that Kund and Kundh are interchangeable too as are lots of spelling of subcontinent words and I assume in other places too where the roman alphabet is not the source.

You are right on, kund and kunda are interchangeable. Though I believe Kundh (aspirated D) would be flatly wrong. It is a different letter in devanagri. Kund comes sanskrit and in sanskrit it is spellt kunda (sanskrit letters tend to be syllables). Means pond or lake. So one can use either or.

We never went there. Planned to go once, but then our Nepalese friends informed us that it was utterly inauspicious for couples to go there together. Apparently, some mythic figure had gone to the lake with his wife who disappeared up there.

There is a lot of Nepalese that go up for the Janai purnima, usually falls sometime in August.

[Sharon]

Kunda is a holy lake. Hindu pilgrims go to that lake in August. Apparently about 10,000 of them. I think there is a rock in the lake that is Shiva? I didn't have digital pics from back then to look up.

[Per]

The lake is supposed to be connected to Khumbeshwar a temple with a "pond" in Patan, where there is a simultaneous yatra at Janai purnima, the full moon of Shrawan. It is the day when the twice born, those who wear a sacred thread (janai) change it for the year all over India. This year it is the 16th of August.

http://www.nepalvista.com/cal/2065/shrawan.php



It is a nice time to be in Kathmandu and particularly Patan. There is quite a spectacle at Khumbeshwar. Gai Yatra is a lot of fun, later in the day, it is a kind of funny dress party when they mock everyone and everything. There is also Ghantakharna, when they chase out the evil spiritis that have come into the villages during the intensive work on the fields, kids will charge you toll to let you pass, etc. Out in the fields the women feed the frogs rice, beer and spiritis etc.

http://web.comhem.se/%7Eu18515267/CHAPTERIII-filer/image003.jpghttp://web.comhem.se/%7Eu18515267/CHAPTERIII-filer/image004.jpg

Offering boiled rice to the frogs