Trekking in Himalayas

The summers had arrived and it was time for a vacation and enjoyment away from the burdens of study. The college was close and me and my friends were just wondering about how to enjoy our vacation away from the scoldings of our parents and the burden of studies. Suddenly one of us, whom we call a book-worm, who was going through a weekly magazine, interrupted, 'Let's take up an adventure this time'. We were surprised, 'he and adventure'! But the idea was great upon which all of us at once agreed. We had heard a lot of the Himalayan mountain ranges in India, and unanimously decided to go for the same in the Garhwal region of Uttaranchal. 'But who would organize our tour', one of my friends queried. I immediately contacted Decent Indo Tours based at Delhi, whom my parents and their friends often book while visiting India for the world class travel services it provides. Decent Indo Tours agreed to plan the trekking trip at Binsar- Rishikesh route at a nominal charge. But we had a more challenging task before us and that was our parents' consent. They resisted but gave up reluctantly and we departed for New Delhi by a flight with lots of Take-Care wishes from our parents and elders.

It took us a few hours to reach Delhi and it was late in the evening when we arrived at the Indira Gandhi International Airport and headed towards the hotel where we had to spend the night. My friends who had come to Delhi for the first time were keen to explore the city, but due to shortage of time all we wanted was to start up with the adventurous trekking of Rishikesh the very next morning. The excitement was so high that I woke up early in the morning and was amazed to see that I was not the only person to get up that earlier, as all of my friends had already left their bed by then.

In the morning at 8, we left for Rishikesh by a small AC coach, provided by our travel agent. I was lost into the fantasy of trekking when my attention was diverted by what I saw! Thick trees, flying birds, blue sky, green fields and farmers working in the fields. What a beautiful place! I was mesmerized! We were coming closer to our destination. While my other friends were talking to each other, one of them was so keen to acquire knowledge about the places that fell on the way, such as villages, small towns,rivers, religious places like temples, mosques among many others, that he kept on throwing questions to the guide till we reached Rishikesh after 7 hours, and that poor soul never said no!

By the time we had some refreshments (milk cakes and the famous Raj Kachauris of Rishikesh), it was evening. We were then taken to the Parmarth Ghat for the famous Ganga aarti. At the moment when the sun's last rays reflected off the boundless waters of the mother Ganga, the divine light ceremony started with devotional songs and prayers. Like other devotees, I also offered an ornate oil lamp, burning in pure ghee to the mother Ganges. The mirror image of the diyas (lamps) formed into the water presented an aesthetic picture. The ritual filled the entire environment with a palpable sense of the divinity purified my soul. After the aarti we went to see the famous Lakshman Jhula. Rishikesh lies on the banks of the river Ganga and as it was our unanimous decision to stay in camps on the bank of the river rather than inside a hotel at night, we headed for the same. Inside the camp, when I was trying to sleep, the fast flowing current of the river roared as if wanted to say something!

The next morning was the time for which I had waited so long! My friends were equally excited. We had already been provided with the trekking equipment such as trekking shoes, compass, a first-aid box with other stuffs. We left for Pauri by the coach. I was captivated by the entire surrounding en route that was full of natural beauty and its inhabitants. The small water bodies along the road had visitors, the birds of different colors and size. The breeze was cool and gentle It took us around four hours to reach the Pauri city which was at a distance of 136 kilometers from Rishikesh. When we reached the Pauri situated on the northern slopes of the Kandoliya hill, I was spellbound by the panoramic view of the snow clad Himalayan peaks of Bandar Poonch, Swarga-Rohini, Jonli, Gangotri Group, Jogin Group, Thalaiya- Sagar, Kedarnath, Kharcha Kund, Sumeru, Satopanth, Chaukhamba, Neelkanth, Ghoriparvat, Hathiparvat, Nandadevi and Trisul. What added more to my delight was the fusion of golden Indian art and culture with religion in the famous temples of Durga Devi and Shri Koteshwar Mahadev.

Now we took a 13 kilometers trek to Piersain, our next destination. Our trek trailed through a very rich forest of deodar, silver fir, pine and oak. I was overwhelmed by the scenic beauty throughout the way. The mystic silence of the forest was being either broken by the songs of birds or our foot march. We crisscrossed many small streams en route and were totally captivated when we saw wild deers, standing along a stream but as soon as they heard the noise of our steps, we lost their sight into the dense forest. Not only animals and birds, but the hills also appeared friendly whose sensuous beauty in the evening enthralled me while the sun appeared to be hiding itself under the protective arms of the mountain. We camped at Piersain as it could be risky to move further at night. The forest was dark and the night made it more darker. We had lit fire outside our camp to protect ourselves from the wild animals, who though by now had appeared friendly but we had to take precaution.

As the trees around our camp reflected the first blush of the sun rays, we started trekking towards Binsar(at an altitude of 2480 meters), five kilometers away from Piersain. The entire trek was set amidst dense alpine forest, hanging moss, ferns and species of attractive colorful wild flowers. At an instant, I fell in love with the lovely views of the majestic Himalayas that stretched on a side of our trek. At Binsar, I was amazed to see people offering prayer in an old temple of Lord Shiva which though not well maintained, but still was a devotional centre for the villagers. After a brief pause in Binsar, we moved to our next destination, Gairsain(3020 m), 20 kilometers from Binsar. It was getting colder as we were moving on to higher place. I was now as excited as a child as the diversity in the natural beauty kept on drawing me towards itself. Now more wild animals were visible to us which at once frightened me but was relieved when the animals did not harm us. 'Even animals know when and whom to attack', said I and got consent of my friends, 'why would they harm us when we are not disturbing them'.

We halted at a camp at night and the next morning trekked back to our base camp at Thailisain. From Thailisain, we again drove back to Rishikesh. On our return journey, all of my friends were enchanting about their wonderful adventurous experience that they have had while trekking and this time even I, unlike earlier, joined them. But one thing was unusual, our talkative friend was quietly thinking of something, and when we asked him if something was wrong, he replied, 'I did not want to come back'!

The next morning, after breakfast we left for Thailisain, 134 kilometers away from Pauri. Unlike Pauri where I had come across green fields and forest as well, the way to Thailisain(5000 feet) was covered with the forest. At Thailisain we based our camp at a suitable place that had the rich deodar trees as our protector. We were having a rest after the lunch when my eyes fixed up at a group of monkeys, staring at us and making gestures as if wanted to befriend us. I stood up and kept some bananas for them, which they obliged when I came back.