Dwali - The village by the river!

Dwali is about 11 Kms from Khati Village.The entire journey is done besides the Pindar River,through narrow manmade lanes cut across the hills.In fact,i strongly believe that a Khati - Dwali trek makes you understand the true beauty of the great Himalayan valley.

There are scores and scores of waterfalls on the way,water coming out of low lying holes,water falling from 100 ft,water flowing besides you as you walk and water flowing below you as you walk.The entire trek to Dwali is the easiest,full of visual delights...with the cool river breeze hitting you all the time!

There are numerous rickety wooden bridges that pass on the way,which creak precariously and freak you out as you are on them.I also want to say a thank you through this site to my Travel Mate - Mr Badru for his Never-Say-Die spirit.A quiet person in nature,Mr Badru was far fitter than me(A true desi ghee khaya hua Punjabi Mumda) who did the entire Pindari Trek terrain without a single complaint.

Evenings are a great time in the hills,when you can see the dim red light of the sun set across the nearby hills.You see the clouds pass by and rub your shoulders.It's a great time to sum up your life till now and think practically about the future.In the above photo,Mr Badru seems to be doing just that.

Dwali indulges you in the simple pleasures.As you can see from the video,even simple Dal,Chawal and a double omelette can taste like heaven...WHEN YOU ARE IN HEAVEN!

Myriad Dreams at Khati!

From Dhakuri top,it's a downhill trek of 8 Km's to the beautiful town of Khati.Khati lies at a height of about 7600 Ft,surrounded by all sides by the mighty himalayas.

Khati looks like a town...that's long lost in time.10 A.M in the morning and you will see people playing cards,snakes and ladders,Carrom and have the least care in the world about earnings and moolah.The best thing to do in Khati is to sit at the wooden benches besides the stalls and sip your tea as the clouds pass you by.

If you are bored with the tea and the sitting a wee bit,then take a 2 Km downward trek to the Pindar river,which especially during rains...looks scary to say the least...with rapids well above level 4.(ferocity of Rapids are are identified by levels : 1-5).

In the evenings,sit on the cottage balcony and take a look at the silence around you...the occasional cattle's grazing by...the stray mountain dog looking for pieces of food on the wet grass.

One of the scariest natural things that you see around Khati are the Landslides.Imagine,you are standing on the hilly landscapes and suddenly the ground beneath you collapses.Gives me the shivers even thinking about it.The villagers say that landslides can happen anytime and there are no signs...but any ground that's loosely hangs from protruding rocks is considered dangerous.

We stayed two whole days in Khati,as we were stuck because of perennial rains.It was a great soul searching time for me in this quiet easygoing town.Khati is the last town going ahead which has solar powered STD booths.So traveller's to Pindari,Kafni,Sunderdungha or the basecamp...do make your calls here because then you get completely cut off from the world.

Do visit by for my next travelogue on the village by the Pindar rapids - Dwali

Song,Loharkhet and Dhakuri - The Lost Villages!

The foundations of the Pindari Glacier trek that I undertook with Mr Badru,started from a place called Song.Song is a small and beautiful village about 199 Km's from Kathgodam(The place till where Indian Railways takes you).Kathgodam is a low lying workmanlike town and the real beauty starts once the jeep starts winding up from Bhowali(30 Km's).

From then on,you are taken on a picturesque yet topsy-tipsy-curvy ride besides river after river,stream after stream,crossing Almora(109 Km's) and Bageshwar(164 Km's) until you hit what looks like a dead end(See Photo)

The bridge adjoining Song to Loharkhet frequently collapses due to rains and landslides,and thus there's a separate solitary jeep which takes travellers 3 Km's up to Loharkhet.The ride is scary as hell as there IS no road...just a pile of rocks with a sheer drop on one side.The pahadi's(Mountain men) call this driving feature as "Mausam banake chalna"(Driving in one weather mode!).Beats me how they find humour in such situations:-).

Loharkhet gives a great view of what's to come - wave upon wave of green hills that we have to cross!Loharkhet has a forest rest house,and we halted there at night.The stay was more than comfortable(In case you are the kind of person who looks for a clean bed to be satisfied at the end of the day).Since Loharkhet is a halting place before the start of the trek,one sleeps early and gets up early,because the hardest part of the trek lies ahead - THE UPHILL TREK TO DHAKURI.

Loharkhet to Dhakuri is a continous 11Km upward trek.It's tiring,hard,neverending,but the cool air hitting your sweat buds keeps you pleasant....and Mr Badru in this photo epitomizes my thoughts.

The vegetation starts getting greener and greener as one treks up,with the temperature dropping accordingly.There are tea/maggi stalls every 4/5 km's so one can take a well deserved break.

Dhakuri top is my Switzerland of India:-).I was mesmerized when I reached here after such a long and winding road.All perspirations,fatigue and frustations vanished when I saw the above picture in real.

On a clear,non cloudy day,the great himalayan peaks like "Baijuri","Nanda Khat" "Changus" and Pindari Glacier" are all clearly visible from Dhakuri.In fact our guide told us that many people return back from Dhakuri itself,as they feel that they have seen what they wanted i.e the mighty peaks!

Obviously I amd Mr Badru did not do that and kept on going.My next post will talk about the further lost villages of Khati,Dwali and Purkhiya.Till then...keep reading this space.

The Hills are alive... - Pindari Glacier Trek (Prelogue)

Near the Pindari Glacier,the wind sings its own tune and the hills seem to orchestrate the entire melody.The rocks lie cold and bored with wrinkles formed due to years of wear and tear.

The Icy peaks stand proud and upright,defiant of storms and thunders and whatever beckons.They await the next brave men who will attempt to cross their icy path.

And then as one goes far,the valley and the peaks look even more intimidating from a distance,as if daring a novice like me not to come any closer.

It was not easy reaching all the way up there,as shown in the photos.It took 3 days of trekking and a bit of lady luck,combined and spiced with danger and the occasional adrenalin rush.Read this space for more on that.

Learning to fly!

Into the distance, a ribbon of black,

Stretched to the point of no turning back.

A flight of fancy on a cloudswept field,

Standing alone my senses reeled.

A fatal attraction holding me fast,

how Can I escape this irresistible grasp?

Cant keep my eyes from the circling skies,

Tongue-tied and twisted just an earth-bound misfit I...

I took these mesmerizing photos en route to Delhi for my Pindari Glacier Trek.Looking down at the earth below,with the sea of clouds...with the half shining,half fading horizon...makes us realise how inconspicuous we are...in the bigger cosmic scheme of things!