Heritage · Tumlingtar
Village walk across the Tumlingtar terrace
An easy walk across the flat tar through fields, orchards and farmhouses, with a local guide who explains farming in the warm Arun valley and introduces you to families along the way.
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The Tumlingtar terrace is flat, which is rare in the hills of Nepal. Paths run between rice and maize fields, mango and banana trees, and farmhouses with grain drying in the yard and goats tethered by the door. It is the easiest walking you will do in eastern Nepal, and a good way to see how families live on this warm, low land between two rivers, with the hills rising all around.
Our guide introduces you to farming families, many of them Rai, and talks about the farming year here: rice in the monsoon, maize and mustard in winter, fruit and vegetables for the Khandbari market. You may be offered tea, buttermilk or fruit in season. Conversation often turns to children working abroad, the hydro projects and the changes the road has brought to prices and daily life.
It is a gentle way to spend a morning before a flight, or a quiet day after coming down from Makalu, when tired legs want flat ground. We keep the pace easy, stop wherever there is something to see, and finish back in town for lunch. In the dry season the fields are golden after harvest; in early summer they are green with young maize and the mango trees are heavy with fruit.
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Questions
Is the Tumlingtar village walk easy?
Yes. The terrace is almost flat, and the walk is 5–7 km on farm paths and tracks, at an easy pace with stops. Bring a hat, sunscreen and water, as there is little shade at midday, and wear comfortable shoes.
What crops grow at Tumlingtar?
Rice in the monsoon, maize, mustard and vegetables in the dry season, and fruit such as mango, banana and citrus. The warm, low terrace grows crops that do not survive in the higher hills around it.
Can I do this walk on arrival day?
Yes. If your flight lands in the morning and you are staying the night, the walk fits well into the afternoon, ideally after 3 pm when it is cooler. It also works on the morning of a departure if your flight is in the afternoon.
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