Down to the Tamor river at Mulghat

From Bhedetar the highway drops steeply north, through forest and farms, to Mulghat, a small riverside settlement where a bridge crosses the Tamor. The descent is dramatic: the cool ridge gives way to a warm valley floor in under an hour, losing roughly a thousand metres. Along the way, the road passes terraces, small villages and viewpoints over the deep valley of the Tamor and the hills of Dhankuta beyond.

The Tamor drains the Kanchenjunga region far to the north, and here it runs wide and green over boulders in the dry season. We walk along the banks, watch the traffic cross the bridge, and stop at a riverside stall for fried fish and tea. Our guide explains how the Tamor joins the Arun and Sun Koshi downstream to form the Sapta Koshi, the river you saw shining on the plains from Bhedetar.

Then we either climb back to Bhedetar or carry on up the other side to Dhankuta and Hile, making this a natural part of the journey north rather than a separate trip. In the dry months the riverside is pleasant and warm; in the monsoon the river is high, brown and dangerous, and we keep well back from the water. Either way, the drive shows how deeply the rivers cut these hills.