My love for mountains began at a
very young age. Coming from an army background, I always got the luxury to
travel across India. From living in the dense forest of Chattisgarh to coastal
regions of South India. I had gathered several unique experiences of living in
the different landscapes, sometimes being subjected to the wrath of the weather
and on others drowning in its pleasures.
My fascination for the mountains
began when my father got transferred to the Pithoragarh region of Uttarakhand.
Being new to the region and filled with the zest to travel tempted me to
explore nearby hill stations. We were on our way to Munsiyari when I got the
pleasure to sight the radiant peaks of Nanda Devi. Although it was from a distance,
I could see how the sun rays were caressing the peaks. While gazing at the
mountains for quite some time, I saw the magical transition of golden to
tangerine shades appearing on the peaks. It has been seven years since the
incident took place but the episode is still fresh in my mind.
One day, when I saw the
advertisement of Asian Adventures conducting Nanda Devi Basecamp Trek, I
immediately registered myself for the tour. It was in the mid of October my
family was preparing for Durga Puja celebrations and I was preparing for my
Uttarakhand expedition. I boarded a train to Kathgodham station where all my
fellow travelers were present. The representative of the trekking company
escorted us to Ranikhet for the night stay. Next day early in the morning we
headed to Munsiyari, A place which is also famous by the name 'Little Kashmir',
it is also a starting point to initiate the Nanda Devi Trek. We were given one
day to acclimatize with the local surrounding.
Next day after having breakfast,
we drove six kilometers to Chilam Dhar from where the real journey began. Our
target was to reach Lilam village which was seven kilometers away from our
current location. We started trekking at 0900 hrs and reached the village at
1700 hrs. We walked in a straight path at first that gradually curved into a
steep descent till Jimighat followed by a steady three hours walk in the upward
direction before we entered the valley of Lilam, our campsite for the night.
Next morning, we started our trek at 1000 hrs, walking upward along the gorge
of Gori Ganga before we reached Naina Singh Top. We stopped there for a while
and then began descending to Bugdyar our campsite for the night. By this time
we had already entered the high mountain zone where the tree line disappears and
the alpine pastures become accessible. With every passing day, we were
approaching closer to the magnificent mountains.
From Bugdyar to Rilkot and from
Rilkot to Ganghar village after completing 21 km in 2 days we reached Pachu
village where the massive Nanda Devi was looming in front of us. For the first
time, I could see these majestic mountains in such proximity. We spent the
whole of next day in front of this magnificent location before descending back
to our base camp.
Phone: +918010450000
Email: info@asianadventures.in
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