This is my story of how I met a guy (sorry we never exchanged names just experiences) along the trails of the Langtang Basecamp and how he gave me true and authentic insights into his daily life and invited us inside his stone hut. Story written on 21st May, 2026
It was back in 2013 when I did a trek to the Kyanjin Valley which is a 4-5 hours trek from the Langtang Valley. Once we reached Kyanjin, we decided we would stay there for an extra day and explore the areas around so we went to Kyanjin Ri in the morning and came back to Kyanjin quiet early. We were young and energetic so we decided we'd see how far towards the Langtang Base Camp we could walk and so we headed towards the Langtang Base camp. We walked towards the Kyanjin Gompa and took a left turn and could see a trail. We walked for maybe an hour or so and were a bit tired. So, we were taking it slow and on the way we met two locals who were resting. I started talking to them and asking them about their day and what they were doing in the middle of the trail and they told me that they had a small village up at the base of the mountain and that they were going back. I was quiet amazed to learn that even in such a desolate area people are not just living but there are entire communities there. We talked about life in general and from then the guys got up and started guiding and talking to us. One of the guys seem to enjoy the conversation and we got along pretty well but the other didn't seem to want to talk so he just walked ahead of us. Then as we walked for around maybe 30 mins, the guy said, come over to my hut, I have some fresh yak milk that I have gotten from my yaks in the morning. I was intrigued to see how they lived and what Yak milk tasted like so I immediately agreed.
As we approached his hut, I saw a few small sheds constructed from locally sourced mountain rocks. They were modest, with a temporary 'door' made of sticks propped against the opening and secured with heavy stones. He shifted the sticks, and we were invited in.
I was filled with a sense of wonder. I had set out simply to walk and enjoy the views, but now, I was standing inside a yak herder’s hut. The location was breathtaking! A crystal-clear river flowing right in front of the door, greenery stretching out in every direction, and the mighty Langtang Lirung looming as the backdrop.
Inside, it was incredibly dark; my eyes took a moment to adjust. The space was divided into two sections. The left side was for storing firewood, tools, and random items. The right side, separated by a thick, furry yak-skin carpet was his room. This was where he rested, slept, and ate. A fireplace sat in the very corner of this section.
I felt incredibly lucky. I walked over to the carpet and felt it with my hands. It was thick, soft, and you could feel the dry skin of the Yak underneath, but the density of the fur was mind-blowing. Yaks have a reputation for being aggressive to strangers, and I had never been brave enough to get near one, so this felt like my first real encounter with the animal. I think I must have mentioned to him multiple times just how thick and comfortable it felt
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| The Yak Hut with the Stick door and the mountain in the back. Picture of us in serious mode. Our bags on the outside. I don't really know why we did not just leave our bags at the hotel looking back at these images now. This is both of us in a serious mode. |
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Here we both are in smiling mode.
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| My friend Sharams also wanted a photo |
He had a beaten up dish made from aluminum covered with a stainless steel plate which he had on the side of the fire place. He lighted the fire and started heating the milk and poured two glasses for me and my friend. It was incredibly thick and tasted very unique. We then had a little bit more to chat and I had some biscuits and food with me (THANK GOD!) which I gave some to him as a thank you. We then went out and he told us that they move down towards Langtang and lower when it snows heavily and I asked him questions about how he makes his living in that place and he told me that he and his people raise and breed horses and yaks in the area and sell the milk to the cheese factory in Kyanjin. When I got out of the hut I realized that the surrounding area had alot more huts and there were people sitting around and saw some yak and horse babies. I was surprised because I am sure, I would have walked right past it without knowing there were people living there and even if I did see them I wouldn't really want to go and bother them for no reason as you never know if they like random strangers visiting them. It was one of the main highlights of my trip and I remember that incident once in a while when I think about some of my experience of my travels. Now luckily, I did take a photo with him outside his hut but I regret not taking the photo of how the inside of his hut looked or how his the area where he was living looked. Looking back at most of my travel, I think photos are always secondary and the experience always comes first but I do try to be more mindful to also capture those memories in a bit more detail during my travel these days.
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| The river right infront of the hut. |
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| I am glad I took this picture of the huts and the river. There were alot more on the right side of this area where the baby yaks and horses were but there were too many people too so I didn't want to point my camera at them back then. |
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| I wanted a photo of the mountain, landscape, river with me in it but I guess the focal length wasn't sufficient. |
I was also quiet tired and the altitude didn't help so I did not have energy to go and pet the horse and yak babies. A decision I deeply regret till this day. When the news of the 2015 earthquake came, I thought about all those people I met along the way. All the people that I interacted with on the trail and everyone who I sat down and shared stories and memories with. What are we but memories and stories of of our experiences. I never asked for his name and he never asked for mine. I think it wasn't important at all. But the moment we shared and the thing that I experienced will live with me forever.
All photos taken on the Casio Exilim G1
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