Monsoons make the mountains so lively that I sometimes feel they are just about to get up and start walking.
My grandma asked – What is the need to climb a mountain? Has Sukadeb (my spouse) allowed you to go alone? This was her reaction when I told I am going on a solo trip this long weekend.
I took the late evening bus called Himalayan Nomads (they provide pretty good service) from New Delhi. Next day I got up to find myself surrounded by gigantic green mountains all around. The view brought a smile on my face and I thought what a lovely start of the day. I quickly freshened up when the bus stopped for early morning tea and had hot breakfast. I reached Kasol at around 10 AM where the guide along with a group of five girls were waiting for me to start the trek. I booked the trek through www.thegreatnext.com. We took a local bus to Baisharni which is the starting point for the Kheerganga trek. It is a 13km trek which will take you through a very scenic route, covered with tall pine trees, wooden bridges and many water streams. When you start the trek you will get a glimpse of the beautiful Tosh village.
The path is a mix of steep slope and uneven land. Because of monsoon it was bit slippery too. You will find many small instant noodle and tea stalls on the way where you can stop and rest for a while. One of my mum’s favourite track was playing in my mind “Ruk jana nahi tu kahin harke, kanton pe chalke milenge saye bahar ke” and the song kept me moving. Roughly translated this means never to give up and good things come with effort. Also, I was trekking with five super energetic future doctors (final year medical students) who were really fast trekkers and inspired me to move along with them. As we hiked ahead through the lush green forest the view became even more beautiful. If you are a fast trekker you can reach the top in 4-4.5hours but for me 13kms took around 5-5.5hrs. After reaching the top you will forget all the pain and difficulty you faced during the uphill trek. The surrounding mountains, the clouds, the alpine meadows, the colourful tents and the retiring sun rays were a treat for the eyes. I sat calmly on a rock to see the sun going down between the mountains.
I was having negative thoughts while climbing the mountain that I should not have come alone, it’s not an easy trek, I should have rested at home during the long weekend. But after seeing this heart-filling view all those thoughts vanished, all my tiredness went away and I felt like this place is no less than heaven. This was the view from my tent.
The view at that moment is something which I am going to cherish for this whole lifetime. Kheerganga is famous for its natural hot springs. A dip in the hot spring makes you feel rejuvenated. Dinner was served around 8pm – hot rajma-chawal with mixed veg and kheer. I was so tired and so hungry that the food felt like one of the best meals that I ever had. Then we all went to our tents to rest as next day again we were supposed to start the downhill journey back to Kasol. That night it started raining and there was snowfall on the mountains as well. I wanted to get up early to see the sunrise but it was cloudy and raining throughout. Still the cloudy morning view was beautiful.
Because of the rains we stayed back and started the downhill trek later in the afternoon. The downhill journey through Rudranag village was also very beautiful and comparatively easier than the uphill trek. We crossed the roaring Tosh river on the way. As I missed my bus, that night I stayed at Kasol and started the next day for Delhi. The Parvati river and Beas river meet at Kasol and while leaving the town I saw the turmoil in Beas river which had become brown because of all the soil that it was gobbling in its stream. Nature has its own way of showing its wrath. The flood siren was on and I saw the water level of Beas river almost touching the road. I was lucky to escape from the flood situation right on time. When I reached Delhi all news channels were covering the flood and I was just cherishing my amazing trip.
