I decided to participate in a trek to Roopkund. It’s a frozen lake situated at 16,000ft in the Garhwali Himalayas.
And I have never been to any serious trek. Other than single day long ones outside the city.
It wasn’t a beginners trek.
I didn’t know what could happen.
For someone who has lived in urban jungles all my life, I was expecting something different when I signed up for this. Yes, there wouldn’t be a single trace of the hustle and bustle of the city. There wouldn’t even be Wi-Fi, much less a busy crowd. But as I reached up at 10000 ft with the trekking group, it was surely different. You read about it in novels, in melodious poems, watch heroes relax in scenic hills on screen.
But there is nothing like experiencing it first hand.
Everywhere you look, there are sloping hills. Lush greenery abound on them. Coupled with those hills, there are mountains in the horizon. Snow capped peaks stand in the distance. These are famous tall mountains of the Himalayas reaching as high as 7000m.
All these mountains ensured a beautiful backdrop to the hills we were on.
Sometimes when the clouds cleared, you could see all of these mountains occupying the horizon. It was surreal, like a wonderful dream. What we were scaling seemed so insignificant to those abodes.
The local guides gave us company throughout the trek. When we were briefed in the first day in the base camp, they spelled out points that should be kept in mind.
One of the first things that were driven home to us was the unpredictability of weather. It can rain heavily for a few minutes. In the next five minutes, the clouds can clear to let sunlight strike the landscape. Then they will float back to make it gloomy and cool. There’s absolutely no way to anticipate what can happen. You have to be prepared.
I wondered how do the locals manage all this. Surely their ancestors had mastered living in here. They wake up at dawn and start working immediately. They will finish up till evening when the sun is about to set. They go to sleep very early, at 6pm!
And I thought I go to bed early at 11pm!
So the weather played spoilsport whenever it could. Oh, and it would spoil your elaborate plans after noon. So we completed our daily routes as fast as possible. Especially on summit day — everyone had to leave just before 3 am!
This place is heavenly.
If I can imagine what it means to be heavenly, that is.
There is an enshrouding silence in the mountains that will never be heard in the tumultuous din of the city. I could hear the tinkling of a mule’s bells from a long, long distance away.
When we entered the first village in Didna, a nice little hamlet welcomed us.
We rested there and had lunch. After that I went for a stroll with a couple of friends. I walked on paths cutting through fields and houses. I sat on the hedge facing a rolling field. There were children playing and seemingly enjoying it.
Suddenly the dropped everything they were doing and ran amok to a house. A couple of guests had stepped on the courtyard. The children immediately folded their hands and greeted them.
‘Namaste!’
Something about this whole scene was enchanting. It was inexplicable.
They are laid back and completely living the moment.
Besides all the scenery, we trekked and made the most of the hills. It was very tiresome and exhausting but it was rewarding. At the end of the day, we stayed in camps and helped ourselves when food was ready. Helped would be an understatement — We devoured the delicious dishes! The local help were always ready to take care of the camp. That is what I found admirable with the people here. Hard physical work is a daily ritual.
From lugging around buckets of water, cooking on stove to setting up tents, everything required plenty of hands. There is no electricity at night which made things even harder. But they did not betray any sort of struggle. They were always calm, relaxed and welcoming.
In the 6th day, we reached the base camp at Lohajung all revitalized — after reaching the summit.
I went for this trek because I craved adventure. I like the idea of climbing the Himalayas. But I received more than what I signed up for.
My trekking mates were great folks and it was a pleasure accompanying them in this journey. The leaders of the trekking company Yuvashakti, were supportive too.
Trekking to the Himalayas is a wonderful, one of a kind experience that I wholeheartedly recommend.
So if you were thinking of taking a chance — go for it!
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Cheers!
These amazing photos were clicked by Shaunak Kanikar and Ashok Vishwanath, check their profiles out for more.
