Oh the HImalayas

There was a time that I went every year to the Himalayas..... but wrote about it only once.... now i wish i had follwed Krishnamurthys advice... that write every day... or at least once a week... that a way at least you have some idea about your life.....

Finding these articles and getting them typed out has given me an idea of what I thought at that time about such things... realise most of it was unwritten and am now trying to recreate... those were the days of Front for Rapid Economic Development... with Dunu, Javed and how can I forget the name of the person from Ganhi Foundation with whom we did those projects....

Any, a trip Javed and me did

                                                     TREKKING IS THE HIMALAYAS

                Is that what you call a holiday?’ is the aghast question of most who hear that we walked a hundred miles in the mountains, with food on our backs, freezing with cold, sleeping under the stars.   Moreover, a honeymoon!   Oh my god!   How can you compare a leisurely holiday, all luxuries at your fingertips to waking up early in the morning, cooking, putting your luggage on your back, walking five to ten rarefied mountain air, climbing thousands of feet, feeling tired, ready to fall down, yet keeping your destination?

               It’s the side benefits I guess.   Following a river which changes its character with almost every turn.   Sometimes ripping over little rocks; sometimes dashing into large boulders-rocks that have fallen at some time from the mountains thousands of feet above dashing against the rocks to carve out gigantic forms of modern sculpture.   The character of the river, as it changes …. As meadows turn into walnut forests, and later into tall thick green forests of fir and pine, and higher still, where no life can exist amidst dark black rock.   It’s the small mountain flower that peeks at you, the colourful butterfly, and the shapes of millions of leaves.   It’s the first ray of dawn and the rays of the setting sun that hit the mountains, covered with snow to make them glow, sometimes a blue, sometimes a pink, sometimes almost aflame.   It’s the swim under a freezing waterfall down a lonely valley.  The tiny waterfall which gets blown away when the breeze is swift.   The massage in a tent after a long day’s walk.   Stars as you have never seen them before.

                And the people of the mountains.   The deeper you delve in, the more beautiful they become.   There’s something about mountain people.   They live a hard life, little food for a lot of work put into the soil, cut off from all live for six months of the year …… and yet their openness and curiosity is amazing.   Come to any village at any time, just two of you, a girl and a boy, and anyone and everyone is anxious to take you in.   Food, whatever they are eating, and the local drink the nicer they become.   They’ll take you with them, wild strawberry picking; invite you for evenings of song and dance, tell you about their lives (how one wife is upset because the husband is marrying again.  A woman of the area told me that it was sufficient ground for divorce if the husband did not sleep hugging her close each night.   She’d just pack her bags and leave.  And this would increase her value for her next marriage).

               Walking in the mountains, camping in the mountains, or trekking as it is called in Europe and America, is one of the most enjoyable ways to have a holiday.   With one of the most beautiful areas in the world to trek in-the Himalayas – it is amazing how few are the Indians who do it.   One met more foreigners in the mountains than Indians.

            And the only Indians we met were Bengalis who, strangely enough, have a great love for adventure.   In fact, all the locals thought we were Bengalis as they are the only Indians who trek.

             Around Manali area there are many Buddhist temples, many of which are carvings on rocks.   Each settlement of Buddhists have colourful flags flying in front of each home to guard away evil spirits.   The river through the woods; and over the rocks.

              It seems to me that the only reason that people could have for not going trekking is that they think it’s horribly complicated; or they think it’s expensive.

              About fun.    It’s true that one has to put in a slight input, quite some roughing it out to get the outputs mentioned above.   Walking after all is an expenditure of your own foot or horse power; sleeping on Dunlop pillows; the food one eats is simple.    Carrying your own luggage on backpacks makes it even harder (but nothing that a man or woman in good shape cannot manage).  But all this can be adjusted depending on your temperament and budget.   It is possible to take short hikes and stay at government / tourist guest houses.   Or one can hire coolies to carry the luggage and yourself.

                                                        Organizing Treks

              And it’s not too complicated.  If you are going for your first hike,   I would suggest Manali as a good starting place.  Mainly because the Himachal Government is developing their tourist Bureau where they are placing special emphasis on hiking and trekking.   This means that there are competent people to help and guide you;   This means that there are competent people to help and guide you; to help you choose a hike that suits you best ……from one day to one month; help you with hiring equipment, coolies, ponies, guides, etc. Besides, Manali is a gorgeous place.   Situated in a thickly forested valley, there are several valleys that you can walk into from there.  From Manali-Simla; Manali to Leh and Ladhakh; Manali to Kashmir; to Jammu also.

               Is hiking complicated?   It depends on how you go about doing it.  If you are carrying your own stuff, you need backpacks, sleeping bags and a portable stove.   Packs, sleeping bags, rain proof wear and winter clothing can be hired in all major cities for a small sum (Rs.1 per day) from various mountaineering and hiking organizations that exist.   If you are travelling where there are villages with government huts. No tent is required.  And as you are carrying your luggage yourself, always travel light.  Coolies, who double up as guides, cost from Rs. 10-15 a day.   They carry a phenomenal amount ….. upto 40 kilos if you are not going over 10,000 feet, less weight as you go higher.   Ponies and mules usually don’t come out alone, but in twos or threes.   Costs vary with the length of the journey but average out at Rs. 50 a day.

             And if organizing food, coolies etc.  is also too much there are organizations which organize your whole trip for you.  Cox and Kings as well as the Himachal Government have a range of treks. 

You choose and just go.   All arrangements are made … all you do is walk and enjoy yourself.    Costs vary from Rs. 40 a day for a short hike to Rs. 100 a day if you plan a long one.

             Expense depends again on how you plan to do it.   Government and private buses run the mountain roads …. These are cheap, but the journey is an adventure/   it’s not very comfortable, buses are often two-three hours, sometimes a day late … but the cost is quite reasonable.   A day’s ride in the bus, covering 200 – 300 kms. Of mountain road costs about Rs.35. Cabs also run-on the main mountain routes (e.g.  Chandigarh-manali; or Rishikesh-Badrinath).   It costs Rs.250 per head for the return trip.   Accommodation is relatively cheap.   Forest bungalows, beautiful ones in the forests with fire-places, and usually placed in very beautiful surroundings can be had at Rs. 5 to 10 a day. Sometimes it is necessary to book in advance though we never had any trouble …. We never booked our accommodation and, since hardly anyone –hiked, it was usually available.  

                                                             Mystical Experience

              What else is there to say?   I was asked to write a diary of what happened …. But it’s almost like a private adventure.   Perhaps it’s got to do with the fact that the beauty is so overwhelming that you feel that nothing happens … it is the beauty, the silence, the magnificence of an awesome nature that overtakes you.   You absorb.   You are silent.   Your thinking changes …. It becomes slower, quieter.   There is a constant smile, constant wonder.

            You breathe in fresh air.   You take in beautiful scenery.   There is music in the rivers.   The mountains, rising 22,000 feet high, look down upon you in the dark.   The snow on the peaks can be gaze at for hours.    Couples probably talk about things they’ve never had time for before.

             It sounds awfully mystical, but it’s true.   And besides this feeling, what is there to describe in the small accidents (losing wallets, falling in the rain, punctured tires, and vomiting peasants) that happened. At that time the ‘happenings’ predominate …. Later, what you remember is the beauty, the magnificence, the calmness.

              There’s one snag about a holiday in the Himalayas.   And that is, once you have been there you will never want to go anywhere else again.    Whenever you have two weeks you may begin to think about going to a new place, but inevitably the call of the valleys will win.    With millions of valleys, with each valley different, the mountains are something that literally grows on one.

               If you are willing to take that risk, there is nothing like trekking in the Himalayas.