MAKHANIYO PARVAT - Mountains are calling us!

We hope that you are safe and sound at home and taking the necessary precautions. As per Charlie Mackesy, "We are tired, but dawn is coming. So hold on." This too shall pass. This trip was back in January, but it's so close to our heart. It was our first mountain climbing together.

It was a foggy, chilly winter morning and kids wanted to climb a mountain. Sheel thought of Makhaniyo parvat and I heard it for the first time. It is beautiful Rocky Mountain near Sukhi dam reservoir. The road up to the mountain is amazing, full of greenery.

We parked our car near the temple just at the base of the mountain and started our hike. You just need to pass a small bridge on the canal and few fields and then u will be at the base of the breathtaking beauty in form of you. It is entirely of rocks with scanty vegetation. Just like its name - Makhan means butter in Gujarati...

The only downfall of this hike was that I stopped after reaching at 3/4th of the top as my shoes were not supporting me. The hike is pretty steep at places and the rocks are quite smooth so it was slippery. And we really felt that when our tea thermos tumbled down...it was scary...

Sheel and the kids went up to the top...and we were so proud of them to finish their first hike so easily. I enjoyed my view and peace from where I was sitting. I could feel every second of that calmness in every cell of my body. It was so soothing.

It took me back to the lockdown days when I penned down this poem. Sharing it will all of you.

It’s like mountains are calling me

I am enjoying at home

This is my happy place

It gives me peace

It gives me sanity

Amidst all chaos

Amidst all noise

In the corner of my home

I am at ease

The comfort which is unseen

The comfort which is routine

I don’t want to go out

I don’t want to meet friends

I am not missing socialising

I am not missing any blaze

Among my pillows

Among my books and chai

There is nowhere

I would rather be

The comfort which is unseen

The comfort which is routine

But

When I look at the pictures

Of scenic Himalayas

I miss that serenity

I want that tranquility

The joy of that serendipity

pleasure in that odyssey

In the world of reality

They nurture us with lucidity

I get goosebumps here

By the feel of that breeze

Tears in my eyes

With joy, they appease

Their mesmerising beauty

Their charismatic charm

And here I am

In the corner of my home

I am at ease

There is nowhere

I would rather be

But

It still feels like

Mountains are calling me.....

                 - kajal shah

So to fulfill that call, that sound, we went on this trip, and surely it was accomplished fully!!!

Distance from Vadodara: 102 km from Vadodara, 2 hours 30 min.

- It is a lonely place. So better to go in a group.

- Good hiking shoes are better. I can definitely tell you from my experience

- You can take a local person as a guide with you. We didn't. But in hindsight, it would have been better.

- I think it will be difficult in the monsoon because of the slippery surface.

- Take the proper amount of water and fluids with you. U will need plenty.

- Plan ahead as it will be a tiring day with a 60-90 min one-way journey. But every second of it will be worth it.

We are definitely going to repeat this hike again this winter as I definitely want to go to the tabletop mountain and do camping there. What about you?