Himalayas always work as a magnet for me and I can never be away from them for long. Recently, I got an opportunity through my company to travel and familiarize myself with yet another trail popularly known as the Kuari Pass Trek, and later named after Lord Curzon, as he followed this trail in 1905. The magic of the mountains is such that the deeper you explore the better it gets. Kuari Pass provides one of the best panoramic views of the Himalayan peaks – Nanda Devi, Nanda Devi east, Nanda Ghunti, Hathi Parbat, Kamet, Nilkanth, Gori Parbat, Dunagiri, Rishikot, Changabang and Trishul.
We started off from Rishikesh - the gateway to the Himalayas - which offers opportunity for the two extremes - spiritualist as well as the adventurist. We drove for almost 8 hrs through the zigzag mountain roads to reach our first campsite at Sal Bagar. Sipping tea next to the river...
Himalayas always work as a magnet for me and I can never be away from them for long. Recently, I got an opportunity through my company to travel and familiarize myself with yet another trail popularly known as the Kuari Pass Trek, and later named after Lord Curzon, as he followed this trail in 1905. The magic of the mountains is such that the deeper you explore the better it gets. Kuari Pass provides one of the best panoramic views of the Himalayan peaks – Nanda Devi, Nanda Devi east, Nanda Ghunti, Hathi Parbat, Kamet, Nilkanth, Gori Parbat, Dunagiri, Rishikot, Changabang and Trishul.
We started off from Rishikesh - the gateway to the Himalayas - which offers opportunity for the two extremes - spiritualist as well as the adventurist. We drove for almost 8 hrs through the zigzag mountain roads to reach our first campsite at Sal Bagar. Sipping tea next to the river with mountains all around is enough to rid you of all the tiredness of the body and soul. The starlit sky, the mountain, and the river invoke the perfect mood for a dreamy and restful night, and the soothing tinkle of bells around the ponies’ necks lull you into a peaceful slumber.
At dawn, you are gently shaken awake by the cheerful chirping of the birds and you are loath to go back to sleep. Your best mornings in the Himalayas begin with watching the sun rise over the mountain peaks, listening to the chirping and leisurely watching the birds fluttering in the trees. You will never feel as relaxed and would never want to get this morning over. But, the rule while on the trek is to sleep early, wake up early and start the trek early. However, the crisp, fresh air and the majestic view will wash away all the tiredness. In addition, you will get to see the beautiful smiles of the villagers and cute children who will wave at you and will come running towards you, inviting you to talk to them. They are shy yet they want to meet you and that adds to their beauty and innocence. The locals are happy to offer you tea and are always happy to talk to you.
We started early next day with a steep climb passing through Sutol village and finally reaching to Ghunni. We covered 6 km within 4 hrs. We were also lucky to get invited by a local family for tea at their home. We spent almost an hour chatting with them about their daily life and life in the mountains. The steep climb uphill was interspersed with short breaks to admire the surroundings and talking with locals. We reached our campsite by lunch time, and it was all sunny. We relaxed for an hour watching the birds, the farms, the valley and the cattle grazing. Towards evening, the children would gather near our campsite, with their giggles ringing in the air. We then walked to the village collecting wood for the bonfire. We had some delicious food to round off the day – what more could one ask for!
Next morning when I asked for directions for our day’s trek, the trek guide showed me the mountain looming before us and while I was trying to figure out another way from the sides, he again pointed to the peak and said we need to cross the tip of this mountain. It looked impossible at first but then we trusted the guide’s instincts, as he said that this is the only way to reach our campsite. The rocky climb was quite steep, made up of natural rocks cut down and adjusted to make a trail. It was slippery too, because of the pebbles throughout. In patches, the normal trail was washed away by rain and an alternate route was devised, albeit a tad more difficult to tackle. You have to be careful with your foot grip.
Suddenly, black clouds began to gather above, strangely comforting as they blocked out the harsh sun. We reached the summit and discovered a beautiful meadow and thereafter, the trail changed from rocks and mountain to meadow and forest. Finally, after crossing Vinayak pass (3198m) we started our descent that finally ended at our campsite which was right in the middle of the forest. We were surrounded by tall trees all around and it was a fantastic wilderness experience. It was here where we first sighted a yellow martin. Our porters, unfazed by the drizzle and wet ground, arranged the badly needed camp fire, unmindful of the cold temperatures which were touching 1 degree.
While trekking, you will be riveted by the sheer beauty of nature in all its resplendence. The panorama alternates between mountains and meadows to snow-capped peaks, with the green of the woods emerging as the predominant hue. The trail keeps on changing and you walk over rocks, amble over meadows, gravels, trot by charming little hutments and farms, and traverse the ridges and the passes.
Every morning our guide showed us the next mountain we needed to climb. It looked near-impossible to climb but you carry on with grit and determination and feel a sense of achievement at the end. The mountains seem like the daily challenges we face in our lives, and if we start taking steps, we will overcome them in no time. The trek is a great learning experience and is the best thing to do for self-actualization, as it gets you closer to nature for introspection. It teaches you that the obstacles may look bigger than your capability, but when you start taking steps towards your obstacle they will be overcome in no time.
Once we reached the camp site, we had ample time to bask in the sun, and relax and interact with locals. On the way, we met a family from Bangalore who were doing the same trek and the most amazing thing was that there were 3 generations of the same family travelling together!
The third day of the trek as usual started early with a magical mist being chased away by a beautiful sunshine. We began the trek which started off as a rather gentle stroll but became a bit steep as we walked downhill. We reached Jhinjhi village that looked beautiful and rather organized. We stopped for half an hour at a local school where kids were studying. The lady teacher covers almost 12 km one way on foot on daily basis to come and teach there, as there are no motorable roads nearby, yet she had a ready, welcoming smile for all. We spotted a beautiful Magpie just a couple of feet away and rushed to take pictures, but it got startled and flew away.
Going further downwards on a steep trail, we finally crossed the old narrow suspension bridge and after this point we had a steep climb up till our next camp site above the Pana village. While we crossed the Pana village we were accompanied by local children who had come up to graze their cows.
From the top we had a beautiful view of the Pana village and snowy peaks further away. We were lucky to see two rainbows that started from the village and ended up on the nearby mountain. This was an amazing site and I was still gazing upon the wondrous sight until I was time to collect firewood for the campfire.
The fourth day of the trek was the toughest for us as we went up steep and then passed through the forest trail and then suddenly had to take a steep trail down. The trail was broken and on that downward trail we had to cross over slippery rocks that came down with a landslide, thus we had to be cautious with our foot grip, while frequently having to take the support of our hands. As we looked back, a feeling of amazement came over us as we realized that we had achieved yet another seemingly impossible milestone.
The worst, however, was yet to happen. It started raining and we took out our ponchos. It was a steep uphill walk for next 2 gruelling hours, with a steady heavy downpour that refused to let up. Our rucksacks felt heavier, and our shoes never felt wetter. All we did was walk on and on, to avoid the chilling cold overcome us. It felt like the longest day, but we finally arrived at our camping site at Dhakwani from where we could see our final ascent to the Kuari pass. It was a big meadow surrounded by mountains. We changed our clothes while the porters managed to conjure up a fire out of wet logs of wood – a minor feat which city dwellers would not be able to do. We set up our dining and kitchen tent and the cook was quick enough to prepare a masala tea to get us warm.
While on the way we saw beautiful birds that you will rarely see in the city. There are approximate 1300 bird species that are found in India, more than 50% of which are found in Uttarakhand. The best sight was of the Himalayan Monal Pheasant, found only in higher altitudes.
We carry in our minds stunning visions of meadows with a multitude of grazing goats and sheep. In summers the shepherds take them to the higher reaches for grazing and can spend almost 6 months crossing over from one mountain to another.
Finally before dinner time the cloudy sky turned into a starlit evening. The temperature was around 6 degrees but clear skies were a good sign for the next day’s journey.
Day five started early as usual. It was a fantastic site with many birds around and cattle grazing on the nearby mountains. We got a clear sky and a clear view of the pass that we had to cross. It was a steep upwards zig zag trail and the moment we reached the summit, we came upon the most arrestingly beautiful view of the snowcapped Himalayan peaks spread out before us – an almost 180 degree panorama. A sudden positive energy charged us up and we felt a sense of accomplishment of our goal. We further moved up Kuari Pass (3835m), the highest point of the Lord Curzon Trail. It took us another 1 hr to absorb the amazing view of the peaks all around. It was so quiet and peaceful that we lost all sense of time.
It was hard to leave but we finally began our descent through the pass, taking a lunch break and thereafter continued our journey towards our campsite at Tali. For the next 1 hr we were walking over the ridge and the view was stupendous. Soon the forest areas started and we saw that the patch of ground was dug up by wild boars. To see a wild boar was an exciting thought. Signs of him being in the vicinity carried up to our boar campsite and we hoped that he would pay us a visit later tonight. Our campsite was just facing the peaks in front – Dunagiri, Kamet, Nanda Devi, Trishul. We witnessed the best sunset of our trek watching the shades changing over the peaks. The whole evening was spent clicking pictures of the peaks. The temperature by evening was as low as 2 degrees and windy as well. It was the last campfire so we made a big one.
We woke early again for our last trekking day. This was disappointing but it was covered by our accomplishment of completing the trail that the famous British explorers like Lord Curzon and Shipton had done. It was a gradual downward trail and there were meadows all around. From Gorson meadow it was a steep downwards trail till Auli. We bid farewell to the trek and to our most energetic and amazing porters that ensured our comfort as well as managed to arrange campfires all through the rainy days. We had lunch at Auli and finally the trek came to an end.
It was quite disappointing as till an hour back we were in the serenity of the Himalayas and in next hour we are back to roads, honking, pollution, traffic. We were quiet through the route as it took us time to accept that we are back in our real life. We stayed at a hotel in Pipalkoti.
On the last day, we drove from Pipalkoti to Rishikesh and then back to Delhi. The journey may end but the memories remain and next few days were spent seeing photographs and sharing the experience. And a thought to be back to the mountains just struck my mind and I am back to look for another hideaway in the mountains…..
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