Har Ki Doon : An Untouched Paradise To Discover Your Lost Soul

The idea of going for a trek (being the nature lover that I am) had been going around at the back of my mind for quite some time however this March I finally decided to make it happen; I was finally going on my FIRST trek

Har ki Doon, I would say,is the IDEAL trek for first timers like me

With dense forests,abundant streams and breath-taking extravagant landscapes, it's all you would want to ESCAPE your concrete jungle

However as we were going during the apparent off season,we *customised* our trek and that just added a local touch to our experience

So the itinerary goes as follows

Dehradun - Sankri : This entire day is required to reach the base camp that is Sankri. It is about 10-11 hour drive from Dehradun Airport

If you're traveling from Mumbai, the best option would be to travel by flight rather than train till Dehradun if you do not wish to exhaust yourself too much

If you're 10-12 people tempo travelers turn out to be the cheapest of all

We stayed at the GMVN guest house which was a little okayish but we just had to spend the night and hence there's no point in spending a lot on a hotel. There's another hotel called Orchid where one can find decent and clean rooms.

Sankri - Taluka - Seema : This day we drove till Taluka village which is about 2 hrs away from Sankri

THIS IS IT

We finally started our trek here

Believe me this was the TOUGHEST day for a first time however things got smoother as we proceeded

We covered about 15 kms that day from Taluka to Seema, where we stayed at a local home stay for the night as it was too cold to camp outside

The views that this route has to offer will just take you aback. Hearing birds chirp,breathing such fresh air, drinking such pure (stream) water, meeting the locals who have the nicest souls was something that I hadn't felt in like a decade

Here we also met a dog who we named Buddha; who became our companion for the rest of the trek

Seema - Har ki Doon Top : This was yet another challenging day. We again covered about 15 kms that day from Seema to Har ki Doon Top. Weather was one thing that added to our difficulty. Contrary to the forecast, it started snowing and soon there was a hailstorm

THAT was definitely one of my first experiences of actually living through a snowball. Moreover towards the end the track gets a little steep and difficult to cover quickly

After a great mental struggle ( more than physical) we reached the top before dusk and THAT feeling of seeing the sun set from the top is something that's etched in me for ever and ever

This was a rest day at the top. Being the early bird that I am, I woke up around 5:30-6 am and witnessed one of the most beautiful sunrises in my life till now. Seeing how good and peaceful things are around here; I was just speechless

Har ki Doon Top - Osla : We started quite early on this day at around 4:30-5 am due to the unexpected snowfall

We again trekked about 15 kms from Har ki Doon Top to Osla where we stayed at a homestay. This day was relatively easy as the trail was mostly downhill

Osla - Sankri : Unfortunately this was the last day of our trek

We trekked from Osla to Taluka which is again approx 15 kms

On reaching Taluka the feeling was amazinggg. We finalllyyyy DID it. We were ecstatic about completing the trek and more than anything else we'd come back as a different person

I truly believe that nature is the best teacher. The mountains tested our willpower; sometimes comforted us with sunlight and sometimes subjected us to harsh weather. The positivity up there is what lingers with us even today

Sankri - Dehradun - Mumbai : It was time to travel back to our city

Early morning we started from Sankri and drove back to Dehradun where we caught our flight back to Mumbai

We trekked for about 7-9 hrs each day and a covered a distance of approx 60 kms

PRE TREK REQUISITES

Buy proper trekking shoes preferably of Quechua or any other local brand if you don't wish to spend too much

Hire potters for your luggage if it's your first trek and if you feel you aren't that physically fit

Buy Dri-Fit clothes if possible and only 2-3 pairs are required for a 6-8 day trek

Head torches just ease things rather than a normal torch

Carry about 4-5 pairs of woolen socks

And most IMPORTANTLY I would like to say that travel plastic free; try carrying cloth bags instead of plastic bags ; try carrying small boxes instead of zip lock bags ; be as responsible as you can to keep the environment clean

Lastly I would like to say that

BEWARE trekking is ADDICTIVE and once you go you'd like to go forever; you'd feel that urge to go back to the mountains every vacation

Also you'll really realise the very purpose of life there

Thanks for reading :))

P.S. If you're having any difficulty to plan your trek ; feel free to contact