Brahmatal trek 

The day I had dreamed of and prepped for so long had finally come. I had been excited for this moment for the last 1.5 months. We had a wake-upcall early in the morning after which I got out of bed and stepped out of the room to be greeted by beautiful Himalayas looking like a queen adorned in golden crown!! I hadn’t noticed it at night but there were mountains in all direction and few of them were snow capped.I was sure lucky enough to wake-up at the perfect time when the sun was rising and as the rays slowly hit the snow capped mountains,they turned golden. What a sight to witness at the very start of the day! I couldn’t imagine how the rest of the trek would be if the basecamp itself was so magical.

After snapping out of my thoughts, my friend and I went to get our medical cards filled and had our breakfast after which we had small group session before the trek began.During this time I met two interesting people, one was MunnaBhai as he is affectionately called and other, ViruPaji. Initially I felt that the trek was difficult but I slowly got a hang of it and we completed 6.3 kms in 4 hours and that was good according to our trek leader Anuj. We saw snow around 2 kms before the campsite and this happened to be a forest trail and it was mesmerizing to see the huge trees and the snow covered ground which eventually opened up to a wide patch of clear land where a lot of tents were pitched, some blue and some yellow.

We woke up in the morning and went to get some hot chai because it was very cold. Cold weather and hot chai felt like the best things in the world and to me, a person who dislikes tea, that feeling was surreal. After freshening up and having our breakfast we were made to do warmup exercise and trust me it was so much fun. Our trek leader Anuj made sure that we had fun. We then headed towards Bekaltal.It was around 15-20 minutes away from the camp site and we were told that that day’s trek was easy, and we would reach the next campsite in 1 hour so we could spend some time in Bekaltal, the frozen lake.

The lake it was so big that I felt like a tiny little ant in front of it.It was frozen white and surrounded by trees. Everyone proceeded to take pictures of this mesmerizing beauty while I sat there listening to music. I closed my eyes as the wind brushed my face. I wanted to capture this moment forever in my mind.The occasional sounds of people laughing and slipping on the ice, filled the place.It was so peaceful and calm that all my worries and problems started to melt away.This feeling lasted until we were told by our leader to start trekking again and we all obeyed.

We were not gaining too much altitude as the trek was short and yet it was quite steep. We all struggled and staggered to reach the campsite with many breaks in-between. It was a forest trail with minimum to no trace of sunlight. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the forest trail ended, and we saw a wide patch of clearing with no trees visible for as far as my eyes could reach.After a short walk, to the left we could see our yellow tents placed in order behind which we could see hues of different ranges of mountains. The landscape was immensely beautiful. To our right was the most spectacular view of the snowcapped mountains stretching far and wide.There was a blanket of snow covering the whole place. A little ahead of the campsite we could see a steep slope and on enquiry I got to know that it led to Brahmatal Top our next destination.

This campsite was exclusive to Indiahikes hence we were the only group at the campsite.It felt like a private space with amazing views and I never missed my opportunity to take a tent that was right in front. We all dropped our backpacks and sat on the stone which was at the edge and gave clear views of the mountains and this is also the first time I was able to see Mount Trishul in its full glory. The surprising part was that we were getting network at that spot at 10000ft above sea level! Ogling at the mountains we went to have our lunch which again was super delicious. After lunch I retired to my tent to rest for a while, but my mind couldn’t cooperate with my body. So, I put on my gaiters and went outside and decided to build a snowman.That is how I realized that it wasn’t as easy as they show in the movies because the snow is powdery. After quite a hard attempt I gave up and saw a few people on the steep side of the camp, so I climbed there sat on a good big rock and chitchatted with them. After a few minutes we chose to be silent and just enjoyed the breeze and the view of our tents which bythe way looked really tiny.

Anuj our trek leader called us and told that we are going for a short walk to get the view of the sunset.We were made to climb in knee deep snow again and all of us were exhausted by the time we reached the top and what greeted us was beyond magical. I just sat there and watched the sun disappearing after shining all day. The sun was setting at quite a fast pace. The bright blue sky changed as it gave away different shades of orange and red as it played peek-a-boo, hiding behind the exotic mountains like a child and the sky slowly changed into a young woman in love blushing a deep shade of red while on the otherside the snow peaks turned golden , they looked like a princess adorned with gold . I was awestruck as I had never seen so many different shades of these colors and eventually the sun disappeared, and the sky turned a shade of dark blue like the stormy sea before turning completely dark as we walked back to our campsite completely mesmerized with the views and wondering what more was awaiting us.

After dinner we were told to meet because the next day was our summit climb and Anuj had to give us instructions. After the briefing we headed to the stone at the edge to see the glow of the silhouette of the beautiful Himalayas and looking higher up we could see the countless number of stars as though they are watching over us with great joy. The whole set up was so beautiful with the magnificent mountains and the shining milky way all in one frame and an occasional shooting made an icing on the cake. It was very cold that night, probably 0 degrees Celsius and extremely windy so we decided to retire to bed as we had to get a good amount of sleep and wake up early for the summit climb.

Day 4:Tilandi to Brahmatal-Top to Khorurai :

The D-day with 8hours of trekking! That day I woke up early and as I opened the tent I was greeted with a beautiful view of the mountains and icy cold breeze which made it so hard to get out of my sleeping bag. I had my tea which was now my favorite part of the trek. I freshened upand packed my bag with hotwater and my packed lunch and was all set to start the trek. We trekked the steep slope and reached what was called as the Jhandi Top. Throughout the trek we could see Mt.Trishul and it felt like we were walking right next to it at some point of time. The trek till here was sure painfully exhausting and after a short break we headed towards the Brahmatal-Top and this was a complete ridge walk with so many ups and downs, there were views of mountains on both sides and looking down on the way we could see Brahmatal lake.It was as beautiful as we expected, but we couldn’t go there as there was a lot of snow.So, admired it from a distance and went ahead.

The ridge walk was pretty adventurous as it was a narrow strip to walk on with steep slopes on either side. One slip and you will not be found ever. In some sections it was very slippery and had to put my whole concentration on the walk.Around noon we reached the Brahmatal-Top and we were so excited because we finally made it through all the odds !!! That moment was absolutely magical.We had a great view of Mt. Trishul, Mt.Nanda ghunti among the others.We also caught a glimpse of Ali and Bedni Bugyal. We were lost in taking pictures after which we even did a short dance and later sat down to have lunch. I just took in whatever views my eyes could take because I did not know when I’d come back to these mountains.

As I sat there, I felt the cold breeze caressing my face and my hair dancing to its tune. My thoughts flowing and my eyes reflecting the beauty of the mountains. At this point I realized that nature was the most amazing artist. And the creation of the supreme power was too amazing. I was filled with a sense of happiness and peace and it felt like I didn’t need anything in my life I just wished I could stay there admiring every inch of this beauty.But like all good things this also came to an end and we had to head back before dark.

We walked through the same ridge and finally reached the end and found that there was a small chai stall. I was super happy to see it as I could indulge in my chai mountain moment again =D. We started our trek again took a sharp turn and reached the forest trail which was very steep and since the snow had melted the ground was quite wet hence, we had to be careful not to slip.

After a very tiring downhill walk we reached the campsite called Khorurai, picked a tent and relaxed for a while. What came next was an absolute treat! We were served pasta which was so tasty that I gobbled up the whole plate within seconds and my heart and stomach were contented. We retired for the night and as all of us were extremely tired we fell asleep immediately .

Day 5:Khorurai to Lohajung

It was the last day of the trek and I was filled with mixed emotions I was happy, content and sad all at the same time. I was happy to go back and find a bed to sleep on and a normal toilet but at the same time I would miss the tents, the snow, the mountains and my mountain chai moments. I woke up to the sound of people leaving early in the morning, few of the trekkers wanted to leave since it was 31st of December n they wanted to celebrate the New Year’s Eve in Rishikesh, but my friend and I chose to stay back. Now when I think of it, I realize that it was the best decision we had ever made.

I woke up a little later to an empty campsite with quite a small number of people.There were only six of us and it felt like we had the whole place to ourselves. We had our breakfast in the kitchen tent.The kitchen staff filled us with food and stories and the fire cradled us with its warmth. It felt like a true outdoor camping and the people who were mere strangers on day one had become the best of friends. After freshening up and basking in the warmth of the sun we headed down to Lohajung. The trek was easy, and the terrain was downhill while we had to cover a distance of 3kms which wasn’t steep.So we decided to take the long route as we descended, MunnaBhai entertained us with a lot of stories.Most of them were creepy while some were funny.

I will narrate a few of them-It is believed that mount Trishul is the residence of Lord Shiva and as we know Shiva is worshiped by both the living and the dead. Around Mount Trishul, you tend to find a lot of bad spirits who come down and harm the mankind, so Shiva confined them to the upper parts of the hills according to the local folklore. It is said that if you see any suspicious person who appears out of nowhere you shouldn’t talk to them because if you do, you might end up speaking to one of the bad sprits and eventually you will die. He also said that one of his relative had gone up the hill to fetch some wood where she saw a man who looked like a lost tourist and out of concern she asked the tourist if he was lost and he replied that he was indeed lost and also asked her the way back to the village. Being the kind woman that she was, she directed him the way back and the tourist went a little ahead and changed his form into an animal and disappeared into the woods. Now the woman understood that it wasn’t a human she had spoken to and was visibly shaken.After a few months she was diagnosed with cancer and passed away battling for her life. According to the doctors it was cancer but according to the villagers it was the bad spirit.

Munnabhai told us many such stories and even showed us a haunted house where a guy had committed suicide and still haunts the place. The most interesting thing he told us was about a book that Lord Indra had written about black magic and how people who read it go crazy. We didn’t realize when we reached Lohajung! All thanks to munna bhai’s amazing tales.We reached Indiahikes guesthouse and the first thing we did was to eat ! After this we strolled around Lohajung. Lohajung is a small scenic place with a lot of shops and a huge tree in the center with a temple next to it. After exploring the village, we went back for dinner and played some card games.We had a lot of fun and at midnight we wished each other a happy new year and went to our comfortable beds which we didn’t have for a few days. And that night I slept like a baby satisfied and content.

Day 6:Lohajung to Rishikesh