Hilsa
Hilsa, the border town of Northern frontier of Nepal, lies on the banks of the River Karnali (also known as the 'Ganges' in India). The village borders the PURANG county of ALI prefecture (western Tibet), in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. Several hundred local inhabitants live in this remote village. The village is still in its early stages of development, as there is no electricity, school, or health post available. The majority of the people live there during the tourist season only, and in the winter they migrate to their villages in lowland area of Humla.
There are several basic mud-style guesthouse in Hilsa, where the group must spend one night on the return journey. Staying one night in Hilsa on the return leg will enable you to catch all scheduled flights the following morning..
It takes at least 5 days to reach Hilsa from Simikot on foot. The trek is not an arduous one, but the final two days are challenging, as the trail ascends a high pass at 4550 m (Nara-La). Since there are no hotels or guesthouses en route, we bring camping equipment and food with us while trekking.
It takes about 25 minutes to reach Hilsa from Simikot by Helicopter. The flight-route passes along the Karnali River gorge, which is breathtaking. On occasion the wind picks up during the day, which may require us to delay or cancel the flight for security reasons. Normally, the weather becomes windy and cloudy late in the afternoon.
