The highest peak in West Bengal is also it’s most beautiful. I still wonder in disbelief when I think about Kangchenjunga; the third highest mountain peak in the world, visible from my terrace in Siliguri on a clear autumn sky. Just a few hundred kilometres of straight distance. And yet how many of us care. […]
My Treks
Samanden- Gorgeous hamlet in Bengal straight out of a dream!
While supper was being served at the freezing dining room in Phalut, a fellow trekker started glorifying Gorkhey. ‘It is one of the most beautiful villages you will come across’, he remarked, lifting our expectations. We were to be staying there the next day. The tale of Samanden’s discovery Excited as we were, we bid […]
Camping at Khaliya Top – The longest night of our lives !
After what we thought was a decent sleep of around 5-6 hours, we woke up to the rustle of wind against our tent. It was dark and still snowing. ‘Should be another couple of hours to dawn’, I thought. At -15 degrees, we were now uneasy and fidgeting, desperately waiting for the first signs of […]
To Bhrigu Lake – A 3 day trek near Manali !
Another one of my solo treks. And with every trek, I am only realizing how much I love my company, the need to spend more time with myself, undertake more challenging treks, get fitter, inspire, experience the new and fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds’ worth of distance run. A trip to Manali is incomplete […]
Kareri Lake Trek- Pristine and less explored !
Hill stations nowadays are no more than crowded towns at high altitudes. Treks to Triund and Kheerganga are getting too popular and as a result are in the process of getting ruined by litter, noise and ignorance of ‘educated’ people from the cities (yes, that is us). Still pristine and lesser known is this 13 […]
Kuari Pass – The perfect beginner’s snow trek !
You don’t have to be a trekker for this. Need not have climbed great mountains. No prior experience required. Two weeks of jogging (2-4kms) everyday and regular exercise and you are ready. This is the minimum. Kuari Pass is one of the easy treks covering about 30-35kms in a span of 4 days and is the […]
Trekking solo to Deorital-Chopta-Chandrashila summit!
This was my first solo trek and it was better and much more than I had expected it to be. Trekking solo in India unlike the west, remains unknown, untried and unthought of and hence looked at with raised eyebrows, weird faces emitting amusement and scepticism; and also sometimes with an acknowledgement for some kind of […]
Valley of Flowers and enchantment- “The monsoon trek”
Valley of flowers is not just a trek, it is a walk amongst the floating clouds; a surreal experience of a slice of heaven. With the valley blooming with a plethora of colours on one side, the snow clad mountains on the other and the alluring river dividing them, the scenery is picture perfect. Add […]
Weekend treks near Delhi for beginners !
Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wilderness is a necessity. – John Muir And the numbers are only going to get better. Gradually, there has been an increase in the number of people taking up treks in India and learning that […]