Saldum Village
About the Village
Saldum is located at the base of Ganesh Mountain at the Hill of Ganga-Jumuna (The Twin Waterfall) by the side of Akhu river. Saldum Village is in hilly terrain. It is in Ward number 4, Ganga-Jamuna Rular Municipality, Dhading District, Province 3, Nepal. It is small village, full of agricultural land and a population of around 150, with more than 50 houses spread over the terraced rice fields. The rainy season June-July-August is the main agricultural season with the major rain fall during this period. Saldum is situated at an altitude of 1100 meters above sea level and has an easy, but hidden access to major trekking trails like Langtang National park (7234 metres) and Manslau conservation area (8156 metres). It is also the beginning and ending point of the Ruby Valley cultural trek and the Ganesh Himal trek. The village is also situated at the base of the holy twin waterfall Ganga-Jamuna which has one of the most amazing eagle eye views of the Himalayas from Langtang to Ganesh himal to Mansalu to Annapurna and further depending in the visibility. The village is also bordered by the flowing crystal mountain river Akhu, famous for its cold-water mountain trout found in the river and the small-scale hydro-electricity dam and lake. The village has one elementary school and two shops selling extremely basic products for the villagers. There are some small village restaurants and shops and a police station. This village also has a famous temple which is used once or twice a year to organize a special ceremony by the village people for their local Gods. There is off-road access to the village which is seasonal. You can reach the village by a 4-hour paved road drive then 7 hours off road drive and a half hour walk. A lot depends on the weather.
How to get to the Village?
Saldum village is only 130 km from Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, but it is not easy to get to. The journey begins in landing at Trivbhwan International airport in Kathmandu. Then there is a 2–3-hour bus or car journey to the regional capital city of Dhading Besi. After you reach there visitors need to prepare for the off-road drive of their life. Depending on road conditions, it can take up to 7 to 8 hours to reach Saldum Village. Then visitors need to walk for half an hour to get to the village. Due to adverse road condition during the rainy season (June/July/August) visitors might have to walk for several hours to get to the village.
As can be seen from the video the building work has largely been completed. To get the building into operation to benefit the community needs further effort.