My first rendezvous with Himalayas!

It was a decision taken at spur-of-the-moment. Now, when I look back at choice, I have made 2 years ago, I'm glad I did it! A decision to head to my first ever Himalayan trek - Sar pass. A trek, a journey that has changed my perception towards life. Always fascinated by powdery white, gigantic mountains, Sar pass was the perfect beginning of my trekking in Himalayas. Located in the parvati valley of Himachal pradesh, Sar pass is utterly famous amongst trekkers (especially YHAI!), for its stunning landscapes of mysterious valleys and humongous mountains.

A journey to the altitude of 13,800ft, starts from stoner's paradise - Kasol, a base camp for most of the himachal treks. After having to spend 2 days of acclimatisation, we finally begin our trek on day 3. My adrenaline was rushing to witness diverse moods of the nature that soon are going to unbox before us!

Day 1 - Grahan

Enveloped in the thick forests of deodar and cedar, trail to Grahan village unveils many small, unadulterated water streams and wooden bridges. Walking on the paved road, with sun kissing our cheeks, we covered most of the distance in couple of hours, with fairly good pace! (Whoa! My lungs surprised me!) We were welcomed by this hidden gem, with light drizzle, petrichor and few cute chickens running around and finding their way amidst too many feet. Scrumptious momos, a bonfire and ancient stories from the localites were awaiting for us. After gorging on our simple yet delectable dinner, we sneaked in our sleeping bag - our only comfort for next 5 days.

Day 2 - Padri

As we started our journey to the next campsite, our smartphones slowly begin to lose their connectivity to the civilisation, one bar at a time. After walking through dense forest , with sieved sunshine on our shoulders, we reached our second campsite - Padri. Tucked away in the lap of Himalayas, this campsite is a perfect example of surreal beauty meets tranquillity. One can feast on appetising Maggie, omelettes and hot piping tea, overlooking the snow capped grey mountains and flora and fauna that nature has to offer. It was a relatively relaxing day for us as we hiked shortest distance of the entire trek but it was ideally nature's way of preparing us for the bigger challenge ahead of us.

Day 3 - Ming Thatch

A stretch to Ming thatch seems to be never ending and made me compare it with ever growing tail of Hanuman, secretly in my mind!! After few huffing and puffing, we reached at one of the most beautiful lunch point - Ratapani. Imagine having a lunch, admiring the magnificent view of breathtaking valleys and august mountains wearing white hood of snowflakes! A mix of leisure walk and a steep ascent, took us to the grass fields (Ming thatch as locally called) on the edge of the mountains and there awaits one of the most mesmerising sunset, one can ever witness. While cozying up in the thick layer of our fleece, gazing at the lazy mules nibbling the tender grass, and that shining star painting the sky in saffron red, thawing behind the mountains, left us awestruck.

Day 4 - Nagaru

After hearing lots of stories about this notorious campsite, we finally reached the place, only to realise those stories have been true! Crazy hail storms and biting wind, make one hell of an experience for tents and the trekkers in the tents. Here on, one can see the clear transition from green ground turning into the white one. Brisking wind made it challenging to stay outside the tents any longer, so we swiftly squeezed our bum in the tents after an early dinner, with the taste of hot Gulab jamun lingering on our tongues! (YHAI has been too kind to provide such luxuries at the height of 12500 ft!) My journey from outside of a tent to plunging in the sleeping bag, merely covered in few seconds! Godspeed!

Day 5 - Biskeri Thatch via Sar pass

We scrambled out of our sleeping bags, at wee hours to begin our odyssey towards the summit. It was still dark and our headlamps and torches came to our rescue, illuminating our path. Moving bit by bit, we reached the summit, the frozen lake (Sar=lake in local language). Just in the time, sun was emerging behind the towering mountains and those gleaming mountains were waving at us. This is that moment! Those mighty mountains had me at Hello!!

As we trudged along the fresh and powdery snow, we hear some rousing voices and we presumed that we are approaching to one of the best part of the trek. Sliding down the snow! All you need is just a gentle "Push" and you'll find adrenaline rushing through your blood! We were "pushed" at least 3-4 times before we reach our lunch point and then our next campsite - Biskeri thatch. Oh boy! I'm head over heels in love with this campsite! Lush green meadows, glittering sunshine, refined breeze, amiable weather is just enough to leach out the tiredness of the previous day.

Day 6 - Bhandak Thatch

We started our voyage in the bright sunshine to our last campsite which also fondly called as "Switzerland of India" and no! I am not exaggerating! Bhandak Thatch offers panoramic views of luscious green meadows, competing cedar and deodar trees, with snow clad mountains at the backdrop. Next day, after soaking up in the sun for a while, we left for our base camp.

After an overwhelming sojourn in the lap of Himalayas, it was a time to bid adieu our beloved mountains. I knew something has changed and I will never be the same I used too. I've left a part of me with the mountains and brought a part of mountain with me. Just before my face off with the civilisation, I looked back one last time at them. They promised me, they would call me back again!