The sacred valley of Helambu: an adventurous pilgrimage in the reading week of 2017 fall semester.
(Photo credit: Tree: Emily Polar) In the middle of each semester at RYI there is a week long break called ``reading week.´´ Although some do use this time to focus on studying and reading, which is wonderful, it is also known amongst certain students as the retreat or trekking week. Not knowing whether I wanted to trekk or stay in retreat during this break, I ended up joining some friends who had plans of doing a pilgrimage to Helambu, also known as Yolmo. Which proved to be a great decision! It is surprising how such an amazing place lies within a few hours from Boudhanath, and how easy it can be to get there! It only takes one (crazy and cozy) Nepali bus from a nearby bus station, which took us around 5 hours leaving early morning to get to Timbu ( a smal...