Nanda Devi Base Camp Trek

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
https://linktr.ee/aatoursandlodges