Mukta Top – 6 days on a virgin Trail in the Himalayas #Lockdown #MemoryLane

I love to spend time in the mountains, which are calm, peaceful and full of mesmerizing scenic beauty. Trekking in the wilderness is not easy, but it gives you a sense of joy and accomplishment which no other sport can. Thinking about my next adventure one day I decided to go alone for the Mukta Top trek – (a secluded trail in the Uttarkashi valley of Uttarakhand state) with Indiahikes.

HIMALAYAS IN WINTERS

I always wanted to experience the Himalayas in winters but had only had the opportunity to visit in spring and monsoons. So, this time I decided to give it a go, booked my tickets and off I flew to Delhi. Took a bus the same night to Dehradun.

I met two fellow trekkers on the bus and after reaching Dehradun early morning, we found a hotel to freshen up before leaving for Kuflon – our base camp. After a long wait, we finally left for Kuflon. The road from Dehradun to kuflon is nice and breezy, the moment you leave the city.

KUFLON – BASE CAMP

Amidst lots of sharp turns and food stops, we reached Kuflon – our first campsite.

The campsite was uphill and right in between the mountains, deep in the valley. Unarguably, one of the best base camps I have ever seen. On that evening, we got introduced to all our trek mates and our trek leader- Nitesh. Nitesh talked about the itinerary, safety and waste management in the mountains.

From the first night itself, the outdoor, minimal lifestyle was adopted by all twenty-three of us. We were washing our own utensils, living outside in a portable home(tent) and using bio-toilets. We watched the night sky at night, marvelled at the gorgeous views and slept inside our sleeping bags, hoping for a wonderful start the next day.

As soon as it was 6, our trek leader woke us all up. It was freezing cold outside and we had to get up and get ready for our breakfast. In the mountains, at high altitudes, even small tasks like getting up, making your bed seem difficult. Every small task is a challenge in such cold weather.

FIRST TREK DAY

At around 8am we were all ready to begin our trek. We warmed up a bit and started walking upwards. We were welcomed by some beautiful homes and their orange and rice farms. It was a nice steep walk uphill, everyone was soaking in the view and enjoying their first day in the mountains. We walked through thick, lush green forests and saw some amazing flora throughout the trail. The forests became denser as we went ahead.

This region in the Himalayas is full of different varieties of trees like bamboos(rare to see in the Himalayas) rhododendrons, maples, ancient oak trees and pines. This trek is a paradise for bird lovers because it has a variety of birds such as russet sparrows, blue whistling thrushes, Himalayan bulbuls, lemon rumped warblers and more.

We continued walking amidst the jungles, crossed a few streams and then came the surprise!!

MEADOWS!!

The narrow lanes suddenly opened up into a vast open area, where I could lay down for hours. This was our second campsite – Shiladhuni.

After 4-5 hours of trekking, we were now going to pitch our tents and stay here for the night. We all were super excited as the campsite was a huge open space, where we could play games and dance our hearts out.

The campsite was such that it felt like we were deep into the jungles now.

Tonight, the sky was clear, so we could see the stars clearly and enjoy the cold night. Temperatures in the Himalayas during winters easily drop to – 10°c to – 15°c which means you have to keep yourself warm enough for the night.

SNOWFALL

The next day we left for our third campsite where we were hopeful of seeing some snowfall. The trail towards this camp was through forests full of brown and white patches. A few hours into our trek and we were surprised with snowfall. First, it seemed like the rain, but soon we realized that it was snow. It was a beautiful trail already which became super special due to the snowfall.

By the time we reached our campsite, it had started snowing heavily and we had to quickly arrange our tents before the weather could turn worse. We had our lunch and then we all started playing in the snow.

I saw snowfall and felt like the happiest person alive. I wouldn’t have regretted going home at this point without the summit. Fresh snowfall felt amazing and the whole region was now pearl white.

SUMMIT DAY

The next day, was the most important day-the summit day. This was undoubtedly the most scenic day on the whole trek. It started snowing early in the morning and we left our campsite while it was the snowing. We walked in the snow, experienced a different world altogether. The snow-covered trees looked gorgeous. We saw the scenery turn into grey and white and it all felt like magic. After a tough 3 hour climb, we reached our summit, which gave us the best view of the whole mukta region. From here we could see all our campsites. It was unbelievable how we had climbed so far and experienced such amazing weather in these few days.

IN HINDSIGHT

Coming back to the base camp, I was thinking about how we all became such good friends and experienced something which each one of us will remember forever. Every trek is different and so was this one with all its uniqueness and amazing people and the locals who made it super special.

There is nothing quite like climbing mountains and experiencing the outdoors. I feel lucky to have experienced such a beautiful trek which awakened my senses and took me to an altogether different world away from the hustle and bustle of city life. I hope this region remains as-is for generations to come.

I would highly recommend this trek to anyone who is beginning to start trekking and is looking to experience the Himalayas in winters.