Hampta Pass Cross over Day: You Never Know What Could Be On the Other Side.

This is in continuation of my previous articles, visit the Homepage below for links in the order of our journey.

Hampta Pass

The next day was the toughest day of the trek, and also the most spectacular part of the Hampta Pass trek, as we cross the Hampta Pass and then descend to our camp site in Siagoru. It will take us approximately 7-8hrs to reach Siagoru. We woke up early in the morning feeling much more active and after steaming hot cups followed by breakfast, people in the team started getting ready for the exciting day ahead. We were ascending our way through rocks. The rocks were everywhere, right from the beginning; the journey was tough and testing our endurance.

The water consumption too seemed to be much higher today. The last two days I hardly drank 3 bottles of water, but now in less than an hour I found myself at a water-stream filling the water bottle third time. Trekking will let you know what fresh water is which you can drink without any fear if you are carrying a bottle with you. At some places you will also feel that the streams have self-cleansing system in them.

After you visit Himalayas, you will come to know how fragile our environment is and we need to protect it for our future. Pure water of rivers, soft lush green grass and trees. We need to save everything to make these places look beautiful and for next generations to come and explore the beauty of nature.

 

The mountains at the far end were clearly visible, as we climbed higher the views became more majestic and the boulders which were there also had to be negotiated. After ascending quiet a distance, we were in for a surprise. There’s a ridge right before us, one of the greatest joys in the life of a backpacker is to walk along a ridge line.

The line that marks the very top of the mountains where you can climb no more and you get to enjoy the thousands of feet of space below. It is to experience the world from the top, to see the accomplishment of the last several days of climbing, to know that you are walking where very few have before you, to truly bask in the adventure of your life, this is what it is all about, and for me perhaps the greatest part of what we do.

We soon were walking along one of the most beautiful ridges. This was a whole new experience! As we looked off into the distance, it was easy to trace the route we would be following over an endless span of peaks. All of it, all of the rock, the outrageous climbs and drops, extended to the single most awesome mountain that we have laid our eyes on; we were excited to get there. On to your right you can see the mighty Mt. Indrasan. The enormous and mammoth peaks of Mt. Indrasan stand looking down on us.

As I trekked across the ridge looking at the snow peaked mountains, I thought how correct the statement of J.K. Rowling is

“The world is full of wonderful things you haven’t seen yet. Don’t ever give up on the chance of seeing them.”

After 4 hours of climbing we were at the Hampta Pass. The beauty of the pass is that it is a bridge that one has to use to cross over to lower lands. And, for a trekker, it is an absolutely mesmerising sight to be at Hampta pass and keep watching the beauty of the Himalayas. We had our lunch there before posing for a group picture and signing off.

From Hampta, it is steep descent to the Shea Goru campsite. The scenery had changed dramatically, we were greeted with a barren landscape and while descending, we could see the valley which looked like an arid desert. After a three hour descent we reached the shea goru campsite. We were completely surrounded with barren mountains giving us a desert kind of feeling except for the river which adds more depth to the existing landscape. This was definitely my favourite camping site.

Trekking on a trail for hours can be frustrating and shattering, but definitely you will get a high of yourself after reaching your destination. Your body might get tired, sweat might be dripping off your face, but completing a goal is a great thing to accomplish. Most of us will be living our lives in our comfort zones, but I feel getting out from your comfort zone and doing things that uncomfortable for some time is always gratifying. Letting your physical limitation to explore Lake, Peak or any high altitude pass will give you a feeling which cannot be describe in words.

“A comfort zone is a beautiful place, but nothing ever grows there.” – Anonymous

We had a lovely dinner sitting inside the warm kitchen tent that night. The cook who accompanied us was very good at his job; during the past three days I never felt that the food is bad. That night I had a sound sleep listening to the flow of water and gazing at the beautiful star studded sky. The next day would be the last day of the trek.

We woke up leisurely the next day, and now we have a bigger task at hand. We need to cross the river to start our descent to Chatru. It was early in the morning and the water was too cold. Even the length of the stream is big and it will take a minute or two to cross it. We formed a human chain and crossed the river. I couldn’t feel my legs for more than 15minutes. I had to do all kinds of jumping and rubbing for my feet to get back into this world. We started our descent after few minutes and then reached Chatru by afternoon. Finally we are done with our Hampta Pass trekking.

Every journey was an experience and a memory that you would remember throughout your life. Once you go on a trekking trip, you will discover the simple pleasures you have never felt before. The fresh air, beautiful meadows, dense forests, glacial valleys, and views of Snow mountain peaks will make you forget the polluted world so easily. The best education I can get is travelling. Nothing teaches me more than exploring the world and collecting experiences.

Hampta Pass has everything, from beautiful meadows, dark forests, glacial valleys and crystal clear views of snow mountain peaks. The trek takes us over to the majestic foothills of the Himalayas. The mesmerizing landscape that keeps on changing after a few kilometres is enjoyed with abundance of flora and fauna. This trek is a beginner’s delight. If you are thinking about conquering Himalayas then this trek is most suitable for you. Before saying goodbye I just wanted to leave this quote with you.

“Better to see something once than to hear about it a Thousand Times.” – Asian Proverb

So what are you waiting for, pack your backs and leave right now.

Hampta Pass: Hike Mountains, Run Through Meadows, Cross Rivers and Breathe the Wild Air

This is in continuation of my previous articles, visit the Homepage below for links in the order of our journey.

Hampta Pass

The next morning we reached the meeting point on time. Everyone was full of enthusiasm and their attitude showed it. We need to drive to Jobra before starting our trek. The drive with 40+ hairpin bends is extremely picturesque. We had our breakfast at Jobra and started trekking along River Rani who introduces the surroundings of big rocky hills and grasslands in absolute splendour. As these mountains unfold, the sunlight paints many shades of green across the huge landscape. We passed through deciduous forest of pine and maple trees, before entering into the open grasslands.

After trekking for around 2 hours we took a break. It’s time for lunch, sitting on a rock and eating lunch in a lush green valley, surrounded by mountains with rocks scattered across the landscape made life so blissful. We finished off our lunch and started back to our camp site. We reached the camp site Jwara around 2 P.M. and pitched our tents.

The climate started changing, from clear and sunny skies to complete overcast. There was a dip in temperature, and it started raining all of a sudden. Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add colour to my sunset sky. It rained hardly for 15 min leaving us some time to go around the campsite. We had our evening snacks and hot tea ready. I got my cup and sat on a rock with a beautiful view of the mountains. With every sip I take, I was losing myself in the nature.

Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better. –Albert Einstein

Those words by Einstein seem to make so much of sense at that point of time. We had our dinner early and retired to our tents by 8 P.M.

The next day was more of an acclimatization trek. After sleeping like a log, our trek leader’s morning whistle woke me up to a beautiful morning. Everyday we used to start the day with a small morning brief followed by some basic exercise. Soon we started our journey, walking through foggy mountain slopes, surrounded by layers of colourful wild flowers below and majestic mountains above.

After some time we came across a river and we need to cross it on foot. I was pretty excited about it. After all where do you get to cross a river nowadays on foot? I have crossed a few streams on my Manali-Leh journey, but that was on a bike. Here we need to remove our shoes and then cross the river which was freezing cold. By the time I was on the other side, my legs were all but paralyzed. The good thing about the crossing was the fact that rocks were not slippery and now looking back, it was a fantastic experience which I would love to do again.

We continued after the water crossing until we finally reached our camping spot for the day at Balu ka Gera. This was a better camping site then Jwara, we had huge mountains on three sides, a large enough glacier flowing beside. The sun rays were kissing the grass and the shadows of the mountains were a treat to watch. In midst of them our horses were grazing lazily. Far away the snow covered peaks shone brightly against the blue sky.

Suddenly at that moment you realize in the wilds out from civilization for a couple of days now. It is time to talk to your inner self. For most of us, our life is full of outside influences. We have parents telling us to work hard and find good jobs. We have teachers telling us to study hard and get good grades. We have bosses directing our careers. We have girlfriends/boyfriends swaying our decisions. We have society creating a mould and constantly pressuring us to fit into it. With all these voices in our head, our decisions are so heavily influenced that it’s impossible to figure out what we truly want. So I feel like travelling gives you a chance to decide what you want from life because it’s the only place where people will shut the fuck up long enough for you to think.

“The best day of your life is the one on which you decide your life is your own. No apologies or excuses. No one to lean on, rely on, or blame. The gift is yours – it is an amazing journey – and you alone are responsible for the quality of it. This is the day your life really begins.” –Bob Moawad

I was completely lost in my thoughts, before being interrupted by one of my trek mate. We had our dinner and went to sleep early. Sleeping in tents, crossing ice cold rivers and navigating through the dense forests were just the beginning of the adventure that lay ahead.

How I ended up trekking Himalayas with the help of Tripoto and IndiaHikes

Himalayas are most sought after and at the same time most elusive trekking destination in the world. If you have not trekked in Himalayas, you have not seen the most beautiful creation of God.

As usual, I felt writing about the complete journey in a single article will make the readers bored, so i thought of splitting them up. Below are the links in the order of our journey.

Hampta Pass: Hike Mountains, Run Through Meadows, Cross Rivers and Breathe the Wild Air

Hampta Pass Cross over Day: You Never Know What Could Be On the Other Side.

It was a lazy day for me, a day’s break from our routine work because of Ganesh Chaturthi. Living a bachelor life in a room with friends, makes all the festival days look like a normal weekend. I was around 10 in the morning and I got a call from my friend, asking me to drop by for lunch, advantages of having two best friends who were married to each other. It took an hour for me to freshen up and reach their home. We had our lunch and were chatting, when my mobile flashed with an Instagram message. I uploaded almost 100+ pictures but never received any DM. So I opened it up immediately and to my surprise it was from tripoto. My eyes were stuck on to the screen, I was not even moving a bit, I was in for a big surprise and guess it was visible in my facial expressions. My friend asked me what happened, have you won a lottery or what. I felt it was more than a lottery for me. Below is the message I received from tripoto.

“Hi, Venki! Congratulations, you’re the winner of our #TripotoTakeMeToHampta Contest 2.0”

Click here to have a look at the winning entry. I really wanted to thank Tripoto and IndiaHikes for providing me with this opportunity.

As far as I remember this was my second time I won any contest till date. The first one was in a painting competition way back in my school days. Everything was like a dream for me. I have won a trek in the mighty Himalayas. The tripoto team has sent me all the details of the trip and asked me to start my travel preparation. Everything was fine until they updated me with the travel dates. I had less than a week to start my journey, to be precise 3 days. I had to travel from Hyderabad to Delhi and then to Manali, from where the trip will be sponsored. Now there are many things running in my mind. I had to plan my leaves, mode of transportation, tickets booking, shopping etc. I felt that it is quiet impossible for me to travel via train from Hyderabad, as it requires additional 3-4 days. And the flight costs would be too high, considering the fact that I was booking them 3 days before, and I just finished my Manali-Leh bike trip which costed me a bomb. Also I need one week leave which I guess is very difficult, if you are working in a software company and that too with a short notice. At one point of time I felt like dropping the idea of travelling altogether. But then once the travel bug bites, there is no known antidote. I made my mind to take this opportunity and visit the Himalayas for the second time in less than a month.

Every time I read travel quotes, I feel some quotes were too cinematic, and won’t be applicable for real life. Here is one such quote

“Travel is never a matter of money but of courage.” – Paulo Coelho

But now I feel Paulo Coelho was spot on. Finally I started making my arrangements and my backpack is all set to rock and roll in the mountains again. I have booked a flight from Hyderabad to Delhi and from there a bus to Manali. This was my first solo trip, I’ve always been travelling with a group and they used to take care of all the planning. But now I have to take care of all the transportation and accommodation beforehand. Sometimes when you are travelling in a group, you don’t even realise who booked the bus tickets or who researched about the hotels and places to see. When you are alone, you have to look at everything.

The day has finally arrived. I reached the airport on time and took my flight to Delhi. The moment I turned on my phone I was in for a shock, I received a message saying that the bus from Delhi to Manali was cancelled. This is where things started to get more interesting. Delhi was completely a new place for me and the most important thing I can’t speak Hindi, though I can understand in bits and pieces. With the help of one of my friend I came to know that buses to Manali will be starting from ISBT. My friend advised me to take a metro from airport and follow the yellow line. Taking a metro is fine, but I couldn’t understand what the yellow line is. I just ignored that part and went straight to ticket counter and said ISBT. He spoke something really fast in Hindi and I could summarise that, they don’t have a direct train from Airport metro to ISBT. This is where things got really bad. My phone was dead and now I couldn’t even contact my friend for suggestions. I started asking people around and one of them was good enough to help me with all the details. He knew English and he guided me till New Delhi station and asked me to take a ticket to ISBT from there. He explained me about the yellow, blue and all the colours the Delhi metro has. I went to the ticket counter again and asked them for ISBT and the person behind me was also going to the same destination. I asked him a few questions like, how much distance is the bus stop from metro etc. He told me that he will accompany me till the bus stop and started asking me about my details, where are you from, where am I going etc. At that point I realised that you never really travel alone. All the people around you are your friends waiting to know about you and help you when needed.

After reaching ISBT, I came to know that all the AC Volvo buses were full, and I had to wait for an hour to check if someone cancels or doesn’t turn up, so that the seat can be allocated to me. But to my luck everyone was in. It was already 8 P.M. and so I have decided to stop looking for other private bus options and instead go for a ride on the ordinary bus. I knew it would be a painful journey of 16 long hours to Manali. I reached at 12 P.M. and got myself a room near the mall road in Manali. I haven’t booked my accommodation prior as I knew I could get something or the other over there. I met my fellow trekkers that evening and we had a small briefing session by our trek leaders.

Bhimashankar and its Beauty!!

It’s been hardly a month that I returned back from my leh ladakh trip, and I was already missing the mountains. I sat quietly in the office doing some boring work, but my mind is filled up with the thoughts of mountains. I immediately opened the meetup application in my mobile and went directly into the HATS group page. We have many treks scheduled, but one headline has caught my attention “Trek to Bhimashankar via Sidhighat”. My love for Western Ghats has no end it’s a journey forever and doesn’t end ever. So I made my mind to go on and trek the mighty bhimashankar. As a customary process, every time I go on for a trek, I ask my friends and colleagues if they would join me. But none of them ever accompanied me, guess they must be in love with the buildings more than the mountains. This time to my surprise, few of my colleagues wanted to join me. The moment i said we will be going to bhimashankar, they asked me if we were going on a devotional tour to the temple on top, which hosts lord shiva.

For HD Images Click Here

Bhimashankar Temple is a Jyotirlinga shrine located near Pune, in the Ghat region of the Sahyadri hills. When someone asks you where bhimashankar is and how to reach there, most people have the same answer, it’s about 160 km from Pune by road which takes around 4 hours to reach there. For trekkers like us, at an altitude of 3349 ft and a distance of 8 km it takes around 6 hours to reach there.

 

So finally it’s Friday and my legs started itching. Have finished off my works a bit early and have reached the railway station. We boarded the Mumbai Express and started settling, what happens when you have a batch of around 20 people? You end up making most of the noise in the train and sometimes you even get warnings from the TC. We had reached karjat the next morning around 11.30 and had finished our brunch there itself. From there we had hired local transport to reach Khandas from where we will be starting our trek.

We have two routes to reach bhimashankar, after a km from Khandas we get a bridge, a right at this will take you via Ganesh Ghat rout, and a left via Sidhi Ghat. We were going to ascend Via Shidi Ghat, this is a tough route which is a test of endurance for our muscles. Trekking in the Western Ghats during monsoons is like having a chilled beer on a hot summer night. With endless stretches of greenery right from the base, rushing waterfalls and gushing streams makes the trek a feast to your eyes. After having an introduction session we started our journey. The weather was completely overcast, the clouds were rushing and dropping off the load here and there making us wet. The complete landscape was filled with pallets of green, you get a feeling that you were walking on a green carpet. After walking for certain distance, we came across our first stream, because of the heavy rains for the past two days, the water flow was bit heavy.

One of our organizers has crossed the stream, one was in the middle of the stream and the other was at our end. They had a rope tied and with the help of that we crossed the stream. With every move you make, you enter deep into the dense forest. We came across a small plateau and realized that we lost our trail. Our organizers had decided to go back and check for the trail, leaving us enough time for clicking pictures. Once they are back we started and this time we were completely surrounded by trees. There was a strong fragrance of the wet soil that filled our souls with excitement and the gushing sound of nearby streams is like ilayarajas music to our ears. Now we were completely cut off from civilization.

Shidi ghat route was famous for its steep climbs and the ladder crossings. The ladders were affixed into rock surfaces. They were pretty long, rusty, shaky and even scary. Each step you take will give a chill down your spine. Past this point came two more ladders wedged in the narrow clefts of rock. At this point the clouds felt bad and started crying again, which made things worse. The water from the top is gushing through along with some stones that hit you hard in the face. So we decided to rest in the adjacent cave, which was covered by the streams of water that’s coming from the top acting as a curtain for the cave.

From there you can get a complete glimpse of the complete trail that we came from. It was a dense forest with no signs of habitation in the near eye sight. This place reminds us of the bahubali movie intro song locations. Once the rain stopped, we started climbing again, after few minutes of walk we reached a plateau and decide to camp there for the night. We pitched our tents and had our dinner with a bonfire in the middle.

I fell asleep, and suddenly some voices have started asking me questions. Is this journey worth it? Don’t you find any risks in this? How can we risk everything for travelling these kinds of places? More than excitement in the heart, there was fear in my head, said one of them. I came back to my senses all of a sudden. These were the questions my colleagues asked me during the trek.   It was first time for them and they were scared for most part of the journey. I don’t have an answer for them at that moment, I asked them to move on and complete the journey.

I came out of the tent, and a cool breeze hit my face as I stepped out. I could hear the sounds of leaves that are playing with the gentle breeze. I could hear the flow of water on the rocks. I could feel the grass below my feet. I am not in my comfort zone which I had back home, but this is what gives me the simple pleasures of life. Just don’t ever be afraid to take risks, for they make life worth living. Twenty years from now, you’ll be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than. So erase the borders, sail away from the safe harbour, explore and dream. It’s a wild, wonderful world out there, follow your heart and let the adventure unfold, coz adventures are the best way to learn.  Having said this to myself, I went back into my tent and fell asleep.

We woke up at 5A.M. and finished off our activities and started our journey. We were surrounded by fog completely, and there was no visibility. It was a steep climb from here on, you need a good shoe with better grip and being a rainy season makes things even tricky. The steeper the terrain, the smaller your step. This simple strategy is important for many reasons including your safety on the trail as well as for protecting your knees. We reached a beautiful forest trail. It felt like as if we were walking in a paradise. There’s also a lake on top of this mountain, we sat there for a while, before heading towards the Bhimashankar temple. After few minutes of walk from here, we could see the peak of bhimashankar. There were a few stalls selling hot Vada Pav, poha and Corn all of which tasted great. We had our breakfast there, before boarding a bus to pune.

So finally we had successfully completed our journey. This trek had it all, say it rock climbing, hiking, scary ladders, ropes for climbing a few steep rocky patches and river crossings, waterfalls, green meadows, caves, deep wild rain-forest, dense forest trails, never ending view of absolutely stunning green mountains, and so on.

Royal Excitement: Taking the road less traveled

This is in continuation of my previous articles, visit the Homepage below for links in the order of our journey.

Ladakh Diaries

When you say Leh Ladakh journey, then by any means this has to be on a motorbike. After all, it’s the Mecca of bikers, a road trip to the highest motorable roads in the world, a place that was scarcely inhabited by humans and more by mountains. With roads that open up for only a few months a year, the Manali-Leh road trip has epic written all over it. It’s a test of one’s grit and the passion towards travelling that drives you through the difficult roads, high passes, tough weather conditions and unpredictable obstacles. Also the Manali-Leh journey is a photographer’s delight. You drive through some of the most beautiful landscapes in the world.

I had been on the mountains before, but this one is different, the place is different, the climate is different, I know this trip would be completely different. The thoughts are making me restless, I kept twisting and turning on the bed, and suddenly the alarm starts singing. Yes, singing I said, guess when am travelling I feel like my alarm sings, else I feel it shouts at me, this is the only time I won’t be using the snooze option. After getting ready, we took the luggage down, to tie them on the panniers. Once everyone’s luggage is tied, we had a test ride, to check if the load is balanced or not. It took us almost an hour, to tie everything. So finally at 7 A.M. we started our journey.

There was excitement on everyone’s face. It’s just the beginning of a ten day long journey, the excitement that hit my heart was almost more than I could handle. I could not believe what am seeing right now and where am travelling the next ten days. I had always wanted to travel the manali-ladakh roads and now here I am lost in my thoughts just moments before kick starting my bike. All my thoughts were interrupted by a thumping sound, the sound of a Royal Enfield (RE) bullet on full throttle. We pumped heat into the heart of the RE engines in the cold morning, and the result is just awesome.

The heart beating thump of 13 bullets had added more to the excitement. So we finally started our ride, the group was led by one organiser Avinash and the other organiser Sai used to tail. We had some rules that we need to follow throughout our journey, the rules were simple, nobody will overtake the first bullet, and everyone will always switch on his bullet’s head light, and no over speeding.

Rothang Pass: Gateway to Heaven on Earth

This is in continuation of my previous articles, visit the Homepage below for the links in the order of our journey.

Ladakh Diaries

When you start your journey from Manali, you will be surrounded by lush green mountains all over, as the journey progresses you will be introduced to the snow capped mountains. The very first glimpse of the snow Peak Mountains brings a twinkle to your eyes! You get spectacular and panoramic views from the Rohtang Pass. Located 51km from Manali, at an altitude of 3978m i.e. 13.050 ft, the pass is open from May to November. It is not particularly high or difficult to cross on, but it has a well-deserved reputation for being dangerous because of unpredictable snowstorms and blizzards.

Just before getting to Rohtang Pass there is a Snow Point, you can find most of the honeymoon couples playing in the snow and posing for the camera here inspired by our famous bollywood movies. Slowly the climate starts changing, you feel a bit cold, even though every part of your body is completely covered. The landscapes make you go Awww, you can see the clouds hugging the mountains tightly. You just can’t ignore the scenic beauty around, but at the same time you need to concentrate more on the roads before you. The roads were good for most of the time, and the journey seemed smooth without any hurdles.

We reached Keylong our night stay location around 5 P.M. It’s a small village, where you can enjoy scenic walks or grand mountain views. The place is adored as an oasis of greenery and is a popular stop among the tourists for an overnight stay. We checked into a hotel and untied all our luggages. By the end of Day 1 we covered around 125Km. I know this was very less, but our organizers wanted us to get acclimatization to high altitude and get comfortable with the bikes.

Acclimatization is one of the important things to prepare for while planning trip to Ladakh. The fact that Leh and most of the places in Ladakh are located above the altitude of 10,000 feet, you may suffer from dizziness, headaches or even acute mountain sickness (AMS). So planning to acclimatise to the high altitude condition becomes one of the most important things to take into consideration while you are planning your trip to Ladakh. Everyone was quick enough to drop off everything from their body, making them free from the riding gear.

The hotel had a great view of the snow peaked mountains. Sitting in the open with hot chocolate in your hands and stunning view to your eyes, makes life so blissful. Most of them spent the evening looking at the beautiful mountains, and we finished our dinner by 8P.M. and before going to bed we had a brief discussion about our plans for day 2. The plan was to start early in the day so that we can reach Pang for night stay. The distance was approximately 185 Km.

Bumpy rides on the Broken roads of Manali Leh highway

This is in continuation of my previous articles, visit the Homepage below for links in the order of our journey.

Ladakh Diaries

The next morning we woke up by 5 and started packing and getting our bikes ready. No one complained about AMS till now, so we thought everyone is slowly getting acclimatized to the climate. We were to cross a few streams on our way to Pang, so everyone has slipped into their gum boots, adding a little more weight to our body. We started our journey after tying our luggage’s and test riding the vehicle. We came across our first water crossing, and by the very first look at it, my heart skipped a beat. There’s a group who were crossing the stream, by the time we reached there. Two of them were standing in the stream and guiding the riders. Those guys even helped us cross the stream. Even though I had gum boots, the water has reached inside making my feet wet and cold. There’s no time for drying them, we had a long day a head and we just started our journey. We crossed around 5 streams that day, some gentle, but some of them were deep and rude. We crossed Jispa around 9 A.M. from here the landscape starts changing. You get to see some of the most breath taking landscapes that the Western Himalayas can offer.

We reached Darcha where we need to register at the police check post. We are now slowly ascending and there was a steep increase in the altitude, we were at 3,360 m (11,020 ft) now. Once every one reached darcha we registered and started riding again. The roads were good till now. Finally we have taken a much needed break after an hour long journey, but instead of resting everyone was busy clicking pictures. These are the memories everyone will cherish for the rest of their lives. And the pictures act as a perfect time travel machine to take us back to those wonderful days. You were completely surrounded with some amazing landscapes. You just can’t pick one direction to shoot those pictures. You have a 360 degree view and everything must be covered, leaving me in a hurry, coz every time we stop I had a big task at hand. I have to hurry up take my DSLR out and start clicking pictures before everyone is ready to move.

After clicking somewhere around 100 pictures for half an hour I thought of resting for some time. But then I realised why we are not moving ahead and went to one of them and asked the reason. He updated me that some of them were yet to join us, so we were waiting for them. After 15 more minutes one organizer has decided to go back and check for them. He was accompanied by one more guy. They came back after 20 min, one of the bike was broke down leaving them behind. Once they reached we immediately started our journey, and crossed Zingzing Bar next, this is one of the highest roadside bars in the world. Well, don’t go by its name! And feel disappointed. After zingzing bar, it was a steady climb. We will be reaching almost 5,030 m (16,500 ft) to reach Baralachala pass. BaraLachala means “Cross Roads Pass” and this is the crossing of the Great Himalayas, the watershed between the Indus and the Chenab.

While we were preparing ourselves for steep height of Baralacha La, the last and biggest encounter with river crossing was yet to be accomplished. The noise of water was quiet enough to strike fear into your hearts. It was way big then any of the previous ones, but we managed to cross the river without any hiccups.

From here the road we drove on, sorry guess I better stop calling them as roads, they were completely broken and were too dangerous and even torturous to drive on. There were rocks everywhere, and you could listen to the sounds they make while hitting our bikes while riding. The ride was bumpy and the speed was limited to 20km/hr at the maximum. Even though the roads were treacherous, the landscapes were mesmerising.

The scenery gets more stark and barren from here, as we climb the Baralachala pass we get to see beautiful views of meadows and snow-capped mountains. But for the very first time, I felt that the landscapes were a bigger problem while riding here. Confused? Let me give you an example, even while riding on these broken roads I used to check on the landscapes now and then, but every time I did that I landed my bike into a pothole or stepped over a big rock, making my bike go off balance completely. This made the journey very painful.

We need to put our complete concentration on the roads now, just a blink of an eye and the very next moment you will be either in a pot hole or on the ground. Few of them have slipped on these roads coz of the sand. We finally reached Sarchu, which is a perfect destination for camping and overnight stay, but our night stop is not here. Wish I could have spent my night camping here in between the majestic mountains.

Kalavantin Durg – Day and Night Trek in the Monsoons

Monsoon!!! Finally the most favourite season for trekkers has arrived. My heart started to wander around the beautiful landscapes of the Western Ghats. I was day dreaming about the places, and suddenly my brain woke me up, by putting the end card to the movie that is being played in my head. So now I have to plan for a trek immediately. Speaking of this, I have to say Mobiles have completely changed the way we live our lives. Everything is just a tap away from our fingers. OK, so why am I talking about Mobiles?? Aren’t we supposed to plan for a trek?? So let’s continue, the immediate thing which I have done is open my mobile, log in to meet up and go find the HATS group. There you go, we have an event already planned for Jun, 24. So now you must be knowing why I spoke about mobiles :p

I have booked my slot for the event, and was waiting for the day to come. Once am done with this, I asked one of my friends about his plans for the weekend. He said, nothing much, we have the forecast showing some rains in the coming week, so not planning any where, just enjoy the rain from my balcony with a coffee in my hand. So I thought, if you say looking at the rain with a coffee in your hand is an amazing experience. Then what you call about getting drenched in rain, with a travel bag on your back surrounded by dense forest, mountains, and waterfalls of course. Drinking a coffee in this place, would be a magical experience. And then I thought everyone has their own ways of enjoying life.

It’s almost weekend and my legs started getting restless, that means it’s time to get out and explore the great Western Ghats! So I stepped out from my office and reached my room, and started packing things, if you have ready my previous article(Gokarna Diaries) then you must have known about my most important item to pack. In the next one hour I reached the railway station, from where we will begin our journey.  Did I mention the place where we were going to?? Guess NO, I forgot that out of excitement. It’s Kalavantin Durg!!!

Prabalgad Fort, also known as Kalavantin Durg (Kalavantin’s Fort), is located between Matheran and Panvel in the Indian state of Maharashtra, at an elevation of 2,300 feet in the Western Ghats. At a height of 2300 feet, Kalavantin Durg is yet another high peak in Maharashtra that beckons enthusiastic trekkers. It’s an uphill climb and takes around three and a half hours for one to scale and reach the peak. Making your way, through a road which runs a little away from the base village Thakurwadi you begin with the snaky road that leaps and bounds and leads you to the peak. Now you may ask me, what’s the fun in climbing it? The real excitement is in the dense forest, lush green mountains, slippery rocks littered with several waterfalls. Every step you take, you can listen to the tune of the birds chirping, water falling and the energetic voices of the fellow trekkers.

Everyone started reaching the station, we were total 26 members and everyone reached on time. Now you may ask me a question here, do you know all the people you are travelling with? I say NO. I had few friends from my previous trek and the remaining ones were all Strangers!! Travelling with strangers has its own advantages, you get to meet a lot of new people from varied backgrounds, you forge a lot of new friendships, and you meet lot of inspiring people who fill your life with so much of positivity. With 26 people around, you can imagine the magnitude of noise which we will be making. We boarded the Mumbai Express and started settling, we divided into three groups, as everyone can’t accommodate in a single cabin. As expected there was a lot of noise and we were in full flow, almost 3 hours passed chit chatting, and our organisers have started warning us about the noise levels. Most of the people in the compartment started sleeping but we were in no mood, to take a nap that soon. So we continued our gossips for 2 more hours, before going to bed.

Its morning again and we were waiting for the destination, we need to off board the train at karjat, we reached pune and my taste buds are dancing to the tune of WADA PAV. I had to taste them immediately, and guess what, am eating them after a gap of more than 2 years. By the time I satisfied my taste buds, we crossed Lonavala. If you have ever travelled to Mumbai in monsoon, then you would be knowing, what’s in store after crossing lonavala. We were completely surrounded by mountains with clouds kissing them on the top. The climate have changed, we have clouds completely taking charge at the moment. Am in confusion about which side to take a view. So I started jumping around both the sides, with a camera in my hand. We also crossed a few tunnels in between. Finally we reached our destination, Karjat. It was raining heavily and people with raincoats have taken them and covered themselves, the remaining ones decided to take a bath in the fresh waters. We had finished our lunch there and reached the bus stop. We had to catch a bus to reach the point where we had to start the trek. Before starting the trek, we had an introduction session. That is the time where I got a chance to take my camera again and click some pictures. I was very disappointed, as I won’t be able to take my camera out because of the rain. Once we are done with the session, we started our trek.

Initial path was easy. Whole trek was filled with greenery, fog and rain as well. As expected the colour green was the most dominant colour one could see in any direction. The mountains are lush green, the route is littered with waterfalls, and we were walking through the clouds. We were completely drenched in rain. The bags were getting heavier, our shoes were spilling water from within. I couldn’t take my camera to capture the beautiful surroundings or the rain filled faces of us. But thanks to Motorola, few of them had water resistant MotoG phones, so we had managed to get few clicks on our way. The path all along has patches of loose mud and rolling stones. Stop along the way at the many streams and baby waterfalls and splash on some chill water to freshen up or just take a quick dip and laze around in the flowing waters for a while. We had a few break points in between, but at one point we had a tea stall, and a big rock, climbing on to this had gave us an awesome view of the surroundings. We had managed to take a few selfies here. And the most thrilling moment here is, drinking tea with rain above and surrounded by mountains, clouds and mist.

After sometime we started again and have reached the base camp. Once you reach here, you are in for a treat at a small shack which provides not only chai but also dishes out meals and makes available stay and lodging. We ordered our dinner, so that they will be preparing it by the time we reach base camp back from Pinnacle.

Main attraction to Kalavantin Peak is to climb till the Pinnacle. Steps have been carved in the mountain in zigzag way, with no protection on one side. I had listened to and read a lot of interesting stories about the steps of Kalavantin fort and now it’s my turn, to tell the stories. We had mountain on one side and the other was completely exposed, while climbing the steps we can see the complete valley. One has to be very careful in negotiating them. You need to ensure your hands are holding to something while ascending the peak. Rock steps leading to Pinnacle are around 2-3 feet wide and are the best part of the trek. For many people trek ends here after looking at the exposure and size of steps. Monsoon time makes it more difficult, with rain and wind adding to the difficulty.

So now we had a discussion on how many will be climbing this. We had almost zero visibility, we were completely covered by mist and clouds. There were many drop outs in the beginning. We started climbing to the peak, and one by one have changed their mind, and accompanied us. Finally all of us did quite well and negotiated these steps without any hiccups. After climbing for almost like an hour, we reached a point where we need to climb a huge rock, to reach the pinnacle. So now it’s time for some rock climbing. We don’t have any ropes with us, to use them while climbing this rock. One of our organisers ascended ahead and the other one was below, guiding one by one. So with the help of these two guys, we had reached the top. The moment I reached the top, the whiff of the wild wind, the mesmerising view of the clouds will take you to another world. As the surroundings were completely covered with mist and clouds we couldn’t get the view of the neighbouring mountains. At the top everyone went crazy clicking photos, with all kind of poses, some of them were dancing, some jumping, and some singing. We finally called it the Bahubali moment, with one hand in the air and the other one holding the flag.

We started descending, and the Rain was pouring heavily and everything was surrounded by clouds and there was hardly any visibility. It was almost 7.30 P.M. and it was completely dark. Descending was difficult because of the slippery rocks and we had to help each other to negotiate the slippery patches. We finally reached the base around 9 P.M. only after reaching the base camp, we started feeling hungry suddenly. The locals served us with some hot chicken curry and chapatti. The taste was just awesome. We finished our dinner, and started gossip session again. It was raining heavily outside, so we couldn’t pitch our tents.

The next morning we were in for a surprise, there was no rain and the locations were looking absolutely stunning. I have taken my weapon out and started shooting. We spent almost 3 hours clicking pictures, before we started heading back. We had our breakfast Poha, at the base camp and then started our return journey. It took us around 2 hours to reach the bus station. From there we headed back to the railway station had our lunch and started clicking some candid pictures, while waiting for our return train back to Hyderabad.

On the whole, my journey to the top of Kalavantin, with some stunning panoramic views of mountains from the top and chilled night spent in the outdoors made this hike one of the treasured ones. This is what I call the magic of trekking which I feel everyone must experience if not regularly, at least once. Trust me you will be addicted to it for the rest of your life.

So, what are you waiting for? Come out of your comfort zone, and pack your bags.

Gokarna Beach Trek – Relaxing in Paradise, Chanting OM, and looking at HalfMoon

2days.. 13 strangers.. trek that goes thru edge of hill with a view of far stretching Arabian sea.. a swim in the beach.. a walk in the woods.. a night stay in the private beach surrounded by coconut trees.. sleep with the nature.. OK now don’t get confused, that’s a brief introduction of what I have done in Gokarna. The first thing that strikes you after reading the above one is 13 Strangers??? Yes you heard that right, “STRANGERS”. Strangers! People I have never met, never spoken! With anxiety clinched to my heart, I have made my mind to travel with some really cool, full of loving strangers, who I can now call “FRIENDS”.

I was completely bored and really wanted to take a break from my daily routine. Then I came across this MeetUp group Hyderabad Adventurers and Trekkers Group, in short HATS. Once I joined the group, I could see the very first post to be “Untouched Beaches – Gokarna – Paradise Beach”. Without a second thought I called up the organizer if they have any more slots available. And as you see in the movies, there was only one slot available and I filled it up. That’s how it began. I wasn’t too much excited about the trip. I really wanted to go somewhere and be myself. But then at that moment, I don’t know that am going to have an experience that I will cherish for the rest of my life.

It’s Friday, and I have packed my bags and the most important one my CAMERA. We left on Friday night from our offices, took the Volvo bus, from MGBS. The bus was a sleeper one, with good AC. Half of the bus was filled up with our trekking group. Am not that good at starting conversations or getting along with new people. So I had taken my berth and started sleeping. We have reached Hubli the next morning, where we had our breakfast and then started to Gokarna in a mini bus. It was around 3 hour’s journey, and during this time, we woke up the singers within. We had sung N number of songs, and that is how I got comfortable with the rest of the group. We reached Gokarna before noon, where we had our lunch and packed our dinner before starting our beach trek. Gokarna’s main attraction is its beaches, where people come to chill and soak up the sun. As Gokarna is one of the most sacred holy towns for Hindus in south India, there are also some important temples to see.

Gokarna town has its own beach that’s popular with pilgrims. However, the beaches that are of most interest to tourists are located one after another, a short distance away to the south. There are four of them — Kudle Beach, Om Beach, Halfmoon Beach, and Paradise Beach. Each has its own appeal. Om Beach is the most happening beach, and is the only one that’s reachable by a vehicle.  Halfmoon and Paradise are to the south of Om beach. They’re a scenic 30 minute hike away from each other through the hills and over rocks, or a short boat ride away. Paradise Beach, the last beach, isn’t much more than a tiny protected cove that’s a patch of hippie paradise. To get to the beaches beyond Om (Half moon and Paradise) generally you have to walk from Om. Om beach is so named, because the shape is like that of the Hindu religious symbol “OM”. We started our trek, walking beside the beach enjoying the view. The terrain was a mix of beach walk and hills. The best thing was that the trek trail had the best mix of beaches and hills, as soon as we felt tired trekking on the hills, there were beaches to relax.

At the end of the OM beach, there is a path going up the hill. Here one has to get around a hillock to reach Half-Moon beach. Take this trail, and when you reach a fork in the trail, take a right for the coast route, and left for the forest route. We had many hurdles even before we reached the hillock, some of them have started to feel the scorching heat of the sun, there were almost two bottles of empty glucose in the next 5 minutes. So, now the discussion started on to which route to take. As per our organisers the coast route is bit difficult to trek with the sun directly above our head, but we will be missing the beach view if we take the forest route which is shady because of the trees.

After so much of discussion we decided to take the coast route, as we don’t want to miss the beach view. So we started our trek again, and guess what. Just after few min of trek, we had this amazing view of the beach. We had to stop here for some time, to get those memories captured. After some time, we finally reached the Half Moon beach. In between one can take a diversion and take some rest below a palm tree on the edge of a cliff, from where one can try to catch a glimpse of the horizon. We had a small rock pool in the beach. After reaching here, the only thing that was in my mind was to get into the beach, and that’s exactly what we all did. But we had to cut this short to just 15 min, as we have to reach paradise before the light falls.

At the end of the half-moon beach, a small trail leads to Paradise beach. It’s around 20 minutes walk from Half-moon beach.  Pretty much isolated from the crowd, Paradise, the name suits this beach well. It’s an absolute PARADISE! It’s a very rocky beach, with sand in between.  Once we reached here, the very next thing we did was to jump into the blue waters of the Paradise beach. I can’t even begin to explain the reactions my friends and I experienced after stepping into this beach. The waves were high and we could see a beautiful view of the beach and the mountains from here. We were completely surrounded by beach on one side, mountains on the other two sides.

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DCIM100SPORT

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The light started fading out, so now we got out from the beach, the next thing on our list is setting up the camp, and we pitched our tents first and then started collecting some firewood to build a bonfire. Night camping won’t be fun, without a bonfire right? Sitting around a bonfire is the perfect time to know more about one another, and so we started telling stories about ourselves. Typically, it’s the most quality time we spend together as a group, actually enjoying each other’s company instead of shouting over loud music at a bar or party. With no cell service, phones are off, minds are present and the rest of the world just sorta fades away.

There’s nothing quite like looking up at the night sky to make you realise how small and insignificant you really are, and how grateful you should be for your life. Seeing the moon reflected in the water was something that I will never forget. Spread out a blanket on the sand and go to sleep right on the beach instead of in your tent! Happiness here is sought in simple things, like lying down on the sand and hearing the gushing sound of waves, looking up at the stars sparkling in the sky. The moon would be shining in your city as well, the same stars will be twinkling above your head back home. But it’s an overwhelming feeling looking at them from here. I suddenly realised that life is lived in these little moments, not in the cubicles around you.

We really don’t know at what time we slept, but woke up again at 6:00 A.M. and started packing up things. Our next destination was Sathodi falls, we started our journey again and it will take around 3hours from our place. We almost reached the place and to our surprise, the road was blocked for vehicles as it’s under construction. We had to trek all the way to the falls if we want to reach there. But we don’t have enough time, as we have to catch our return train. So we decided to turn back and visit Gangavali River nearby. We need to, walk in the woods to reach this place. It took us around 20 min.

Am not sure how Sathodi falls look like, but this place was really amazing. There was a river with clean and transparent water, and completely surrounded by lush green trees. And we could see those reflections in the water, which made the water look green.
There was a beautiful hanging bridge which was about 200 meters long, and built across this Gangavali River. People not only walk through the bridge but they even ride two wheelers as well on this. Oh boy!! I forgot to mention, there was a film shooting going on at this hanging bridge as well during that time. After spending some time in here, we headed back to the railway station to catch our return train to Hyderabad.

These trips always seem to go by so fast. I know after reading this most of you wanted to go for this trek, my suggestion for the first time travellers, Make your first experience easy and short like two days, one night and build from there. Oh, and remember to leave the campsite and any other areas you visit cleaner than how you found them. If we all do that, camping will be more enjoyable for all of us.

You can watch, our memorable experiences in the YouTube video. This was shot by Ravi, isn’t it Amazing???