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Finally had some time to make this post, so here are the remaining photographs from my trek to Dayara Bugyal, arguably the most beautiful meadow in India.
Prologue:
I wanted this trip to be totally unplanned. I didn't book any hotel rooms anywhere, started with no return tickets or preset return dates whatsoever. Traveled over 6000 km, spent nights in 5 different cities and in an abandoned hut in Barsu (village), made many unique friends along the way, saw random acts of kindness and fistfights on the same day for the same reason, changed my destination thrice on a whim, traveled with ticket, without ticket, in first class and in general compartment with hardly any space to stand (not repeating ever again).
The trek started from the village Barsu which, with an amazing Himalayan view and little pollution of any kind, has to be one of the most picturesque villages in India.
Barsu was the starting point for the trek, and there was only one hotel there. Unfortunately they were all booked out, as I didn't have a room booked in advance I started looking for alternatives. I rented a stove and some food items, and found an abandoned hut in the village. I spent the night there, a few curious locals kept an eye on me but thankfully nobody seemed to mind much.
Trek Starts:
I preferred a solo trek, and was followed from Barsu to Dayara by this puppy, who took a little nap everytime I rested.
The solitude up there after a 9 hour uphill trek was worth all the effort and every rupee I spent.
I pitched my tent in a way that the himalayan valleys were the first thing I saw when I looked outside the tent. The view from the tent was truly mesmerizing:
There's a saying in the hills, that Mumbai's fashion and Himalayan weather can change without any warning. The weather changed just as suddenly, and I had the opportunity to see such a weather change:
Rainfall:
The next day, after waking up to a perfect sunrise:
and having a light meal I found a herd of horses (not sure whether wild or not) out near my tent. Most of them ran away as soon as I tried to approach, all except one! She was gorgeous, we made good friends and she stayed near my tent the next couple of days I was there along with this beautiful mountain dog which came later on in the evening, we shared meals and a few jokes (we had the obvious language barrier, but we tried nonetheless). Both of them used to disappear before sunset due to the extreme cold weather at night, and reappear at dawn. We shared some beautiful moments, my guide gave me some memorable photographs too.
The last night of our camp, we faced a tremendous thunderstorm which almost blew my tent away, then it snowed and then just as suddenly the clouds cleared up. I was woken up by a loudmouth mountain deer outside my tent for a crystal clear view of the Milky Way Galaxy in the moonless, star studded night. The Himalayan view from my tent itself was worth all the effort, this was just that cherry on top of the cake as capturing the Milky way was at the top of my bucket list. I have shared these photographs earlier, so moving on!
I trekked on to the highest point of Dayara. Bakaria Top, standing at about 12500 feet, gave a clear view of the Himalayan valleys.
Here are the banderpoonch (literal translation, monkey's tail) and kalanaag (black snake) mountain ranges, the main attraction of this place.
Gujjars:
While camping, I made friends with many Gujjar kids(native to the mountains), all of whom, contrary to how "Gujjar" sounds, were extremely polite and well behaved. They are the natives of the mountains, and live a nomadic lifestyle, moving from one place to another depending on the snowfall.
A senior Gujjar:
The same person carrying the leaves to his hut in the second image.
I played a little cricket with some of the kids, and they took whatever residual food and oil I had when I was leaving. The kids were very polite, the second one even posed for the camera and made me feel very special when he told me that he usually never allows anyone to take his photographs.
This small kid, Ashraf, even volunteered to carry all of my items on his horse in return for a cup of tea and two eclairs toffee (worth Re 1 each). I carried only my rucksack and it took me 1 hours and 40 minutes downhill without any break, he led the way and reached well before I did, leading his horse all alone, with all the other equipment. I was told he was to go back the nine hour journey uphill the same day on his own, amazing how hardy these kids are!
The trip was memorable, but it was about to get even more memorable, just not in a good way. I realized again, that not having a return ticket was not a good idea. I had to travel in the general compartment, to spend 30 hours standing on one leg was not a pleasant journey to say the least, but it was an experience!
It was a memorable trip overall!
Prologue:
I wanted this trip to be totally unplanned. I didn't book any hotel rooms anywhere, started with no return tickets or preset return dates whatsoever. Traveled over 6000 km, spent nights in 5 different cities and in an abandoned hut in Barsu (village), made many unique friends along the way, saw random acts of kindness and fistfights on the same day for the same reason, changed my destination thrice on a whim, traveled with ticket, without ticket, in first class and in general compartment with hardly any space to stand (not repeating ever again).
The trek started from the village Barsu which, with an amazing Himalayan view and little pollution of any kind, has to be one of the most picturesque villages in India.
Barsu was the starting point for the trek, and there was only one hotel there. Unfortunately they were all booked out, as I didn't have a room booked in advance I started looking for alternatives. I rented a stove and some food items, and found an abandoned hut in the village. I spent the night there, a few curious locals kept an eye on me but thankfully nobody seemed to mind much.
Trek Starts:
I preferred a solo trek, and was followed from Barsu to Dayara by this puppy, who took a little nap everytime I rested.
The solitude up there after a 9 hour uphill trek was worth all the effort and every rupee I spent.
I pitched my tent in a way that the himalayan valleys were the first thing I saw when I looked outside the tent. The view from the tent was truly mesmerizing:
There's a saying in the hills, that Mumbai's fashion and Himalayan weather can change without any warning. The weather changed just as suddenly, and I had the opportunity to see such a weather change:
Rainfall:
The next day, after waking up to a perfect sunrise:
and having a light meal I found a herd of horses (not sure whether wild or not) out near my tent. Most of them ran away as soon as I tried to approach, all except one! She was gorgeous, we made good friends and she stayed near my tent the next couple of days I was there along with this beautiful mountain dog which came later on in the evening, we shared meals and a few jokes (we had the obvious language barrier, but we tried nonetheless). Both of them used to disappear before sunset due to the extreme cold weather at night, and reappear at dawn. We shared some beautiful moments, my guide gave me some memorable photographs too.
The last night of our camp, we faced a tremendous thunderstorm which almost blew my tent away, then it snowed and then just as suddenly the clouds cleared up. I was woken up by a loudmouth mountain deer outside my tent for a crystal clear view of the Milky Way Galaxy in the moonless, star studded night. The Himalayan view from my tent itself was worth all the effort, this was just that cherry on top of the cake as capturing the Milky way was at the top of my bucket list. I have shared these photographs earlier, so moving on!
I trekked on to the highest point of Dayara. Bakaria Top, standing at about 12500 feet, gave a clear view of the Himalayan valleys.
Here are the banderpoonch (literal translation, monkey's tail) and kalanaag (black snake) mountain ranges, the main attraction of this place.
Gujjars:
While camping, I made friends with many Gujjar kids(native to the mountains), all of whom, contrary to how "Gujjar" sounds, were extremely polite and well behaved. They are the natives of the mountains, and live a nomadic lifestyle, moving from one place to another depending on the snowfall.
A senior Gujjar:
The same person carrying the leaves to his hut in the second image.
I played a little cricket with some of the kids, and they took whatever residual food and oil I had when I was leaving. The kids were very polite, the second one even posed for the camera and made me feel very special when he told me that he usually never allows anyone to take his photographs.
This small kid, Ashraf, even volunteered to carry all of my items on his horse in return for a cup of tea and two eclairs toffee (worth Re 1 each). I carried only my rucksack and it took me 1 hours and 40 minutes downhill without any break, he led the way and reached well before I did, leading his horse all alone, with all the other equipment. I was told he was to go back the nine hour journey uphill the same day on his own, amazing how hardy these kids are!
The trip was memorable, but it was about to get even more memorable, just not in a good way. I realized again, that not having a return ticket was not a good idea. I had to travel in the general compartment, to spend 30 hours standing on one leg was not a pleasant journey to say the least, but it was an experience!
It was a memorable trip overall!
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