Tag: mountains

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Food and Lifestyle Travel diaries

‘There ain’t no competition between men; like a competition between a man and a mountain’- Kedarkantha trek

by Dhvani Nirmal, 3rd BPTh

Captured on the way to Juda Ka Talav Camp i.e. second camp of Kedarkantha Trek (Uttarakhand)

There is something about the mighty Himalayas that drives me there almost every year. Unlike the Alps where there are trains to take you everywhere, one has to climb for at least  3 days (depending on the trek) and sleep in negative temperatures to reach a height of 12500 ft, and that says it all about the terrain and grandeur of the Himalayan Range.

Luhasu-Kedarkantha Base (10500 ft)

From here starts the final ascend to the Summit which varies from 50-80 degrees of inclination. The toughest patch of the trail included both the ascent as well as the descent. The group has to walk in a straight line because the trail is so narrow that it does not accommodate more than one person standing at a particular place and because of that one has to walk continuously without stopping.

Sunrise from Kedarkantha peak (12500 ft) after a 4 hour ascend. One of the rare peaks in India from where one can see sunrise from below the level of horizon.

It’s not very common that trekkers get to stay on the top for more than 15 minutes because of the windy weather. There ain’t no competition between men; like a competition between a man and a mountain, where the final word is always the mountain’s. 

Categories
Food and Lifestyle Travel diaries

”Overwhelmingly beautiful!”- Tarsar Marsar Lakes, Kashmir

by Maria Dalal, 4th BPTh

To try and describe the beauty of the Kashmir valley is difficult- great writers have written odes to fill books but have felt they couldn’t do it justice. How does one surmise the overwhelming abundance? Mammoth mountains framed by lush rolling valleys, forests sprawling from edges of orchards, fields of saffron, the tinkling of streams and gush of rivers, the perfumed gardens, the lakes that reflect the endless skies- it is an assault on all senses. 

My parents and I planned a week of tourism by road followed by a 6 day trek to the Tarsar Marsar lakes from a small village (that looked straight out of a movie) called Aru near  Pahalgam (Bajrangi bhaijaan posters on every tea and bhajiya shack!). 

The first day of the trek was a gift in itself- traversing a pine forest that immediately cleared to the beautiful meadows of Lidderwat, trailing the river Lidder by our side. I will let the pictures do the talking.


A group of 20 strangers- from different cities, age groups and professions, quickly became friends to the common goal of ‘appreciation’. Of the gift that were these few days in the lap of nature, the gift of bright mornings, tiring trekking, the comfort of hot food, windy evenings that forced us into tents with card games, and naps under the open sky.


The trek put a lot of things into perspective. It let us acknowledge the magnanimous while appreciating the small things. And that steep climb in front of you- always, always makes you scared. Once you start, your breath catches and your palms sweat- was this a good idea? Am I sure? But a good guide and smiling company- becomes a pattern of one foot in front of the other, eyes wide open to the ever changing view.


In the month of January- a few weeks back, we received a phone call from the receptionist at one of the hotels we stayed at. He had a strange request, something we couldn’t understand over the phone’s rumbling. His son’s 10th standard board result was out and he wanted us to check it online of the official J&K Board of Secondary Education Portal. The internet connection services were still disrupted and everyone in the house was very anxious- mathematics had been a tad difficult. Aatif and his father trailed back to the hotel reception contacts ledger, saw our names and remembered we came from Mumbai- a conversation we had over an early breakfast. 

We checked the results on the website – and good news! Aatif had an above average CGPA and math was cleared by a safe margin. The only thing that came to my mind was how similar Aatif’s father sounded to my mother when we were waiting at our computer screen for my board result. The same nervous tone, the inescapable sighs and the yelling of my name at regular intervals.

It is always easy to highlight differences to establish one’s identity as separate from others. Many people, for their own means, will continue to reinforce the differences, will keep convincing us there is an ‘us’, and there is a them. But moments like these remind you just how much is common among every man, woman and child on this planet. 

We’re so human. 

We’re just human. 

Categories
Food and Lifestyle Travel diaries

Himachal- so much more than Shimla Kulu Manali!

by Dr. Prajakta Tilaye (PT), Assistant Professor

Himachal is so much more than Shimla Kulu Manali!!

Being born and brought up in the tropical climate of Mumbai, snow clad mountains of the North always held a special affection for me. When you decide to travel to Himachal, all the Google searches will show you multiple packages of crowded Shimla-Kullu-Manali. We decided to explore the non-commercial part of Himachal and that’s when Kasol and Parvati valley came into the picture. The advantage of travelling on your own without any tour companies is that you get to do whatever and whenever you feel like. We took a flight to Chandigarh and from there our road trip started. 

First destination was “Chail”, a small quiet town 50 km from Shimla which has beautiful chail palace (that’s where Ranchoddas Chhanchad from 3 idiots stayed) and a sprawling pine forest with one beautiful crystal clean marble Kali Mata temple on top of the hill.

Staying in homestays has always been our favorite thing since it gives you a chance to connect with locals and try authentic home made local cuisine. And this time- we found a beautiful bungalow on top of the hill with all of our windows opening in the valley, sunrise waking us up with a hot cup of tea and ghee laden aloo parathas. Do try their hot ghee and jaggery crispy rotis as dessert, they simply melt in your mouth.

Next stop was “Kasol ”, a 300 km drive from Chail is another hidden gem in Himachal Pradesh with the mighty white water Parvati river enhancing its beauty. This time we got the most beautiful colonial themed bungalow by ex military personnel on the banks of Parvati river. The whole night- a background noise of the river gave us a natural soothing lullaby.

 Kasol offers you plenty of variety in food with local foods like thukpa, momos and also some mouth watering desserts like apple crumble pie, freshly baked croissants and waffles at German bakery in moon dance café.

Kasol is also adorned with a beautiful small market where you can buy many hem bags and other hem products, some warm clothes and many small souvenirs.

5 km down from kasol is Manikaran which is a pilgrimage centre for Hindus and Sikhs with small temples and gurudwara inside. However, the main attraction of this place are the hot water springs in the middle of freezing surroundings. The reason for steaming hot springs is still unknown with many theories behind it, something proved when you can buy a small bag of rice and cook it within five minutes.

There is a small trek to a nearby village of Chalal that takes you right by the river Parvati and ending in quaint cafes with majestic views. 

As the trekking was not enough, we decided to stay in one more home stay in jari which takes you through 45 min steep climb down to the very banks of Parvati river, with no one around, no cafes, no shops, just friends, games and the bubbling river water as music. 

Well we hadn’t thought about the climb up with our heavy rucksacks at that time which pretty much took our next morning. 

All these places always offered the best ginger lemon honey tea to soothe the freezing winds and Maggi never failed us to accompany this.

So anyone traveling next to Himachal Pradesh, try to explore more than Shimla, Kullu and Manali. There is Dalhousie, Dharamshala, MacLeod gunj, Chamba, Kufri, Khajjiar, Kasauli, Sangla, Bir, Kanga and the list goes on for both commercial and non commercial places in Himachal to explore.

Happy travelling!!

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