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Tungnath and Chandrashila - Communion with the Gods

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As the rising sun illuminates the clouds, on Chandrashila Top I definitely received far more than I sought, it was an ethereal trek, far transcending the corporeal  reality of just being there. I was destined to reach here, for I had no plans to climb this moderate Top, but  one thing led to another and here I was; as close to the edge of the world as I thought I would be. To begin at the beginning... Having come down from Ghangariya and the Valley of Flowers, I thought I would spend a day or two at Chopta nearby. Reaching Chopta at about 1500 hours, a local told me about Tungnath, one of the oldest Shiva Temples, which was about two hours climb away. So I hired a pony to take my baggage and began walking up the well laid out but zig-zag path. On the way it rained... heavily So I got out my poncho but quickly discovered that it would not keep me dry in a torrential downpour while climbing.  The rain water from the outside and sweat from the inside both serve to drench me.  In fact I re
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Hemkund Sahib Revisited

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The Journey begins at Govindghat which is a 9-10 hour bus ride from Rishikesh. There are many ways to do it, by  taxi (expensive), shared taxi, small bus; and  one can break the journey or do it at one go.  I  spent the night at Srinagar and so had a shorter journey to Govindghat the next day., here I spent the night so that I could start my walk early next morning. I have been to this region before and both times have combined a pilgrimage to  Hemkund Sahib with hikes to the Valley of Flowers.  My blog to the Valley of Flowers this year is placed  here .  For a blog of my previous hikes please see  Valley of Flowers and Hemkund -a Trek to Paradise  ;  the photographs I took are at  Valley of Flowers   , and at  The Flora Around Hemkund .   From Govindghat to Ghangariya is a journey that is now made easier by riding in a  shared taxi for 4.8 km until Pulna and walking 10 km from there to Ghangariya, which is to be my home for the next four nights. The walk is along an easy, well paved
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Who Says There are No Flowers in the Valley of Flowers?

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A sign at the Entrance to the Valley of Flowers (VoF) says it all The passionate forest guard at the gate told me that he had been scolded by a senior officer that the VoF had no flowers, and that he, the forest guard, should put up a sign warning everyone so.   The experience I had was entirely different, I saw a myriad flowers blooming and a tranquil Valley.  And I thought to myself that:  they are really blind those who  will   not see.  These flowers were very different to to those I had seen on my earlier trip in August 2015, view my photographs of the earlier trip at the link here  and my blog of that trip  over here Flowing water everywhere A kilometer after buying a ticket at the forest check post, I cross the steel bridge across the Pushpawati River and begin the ascent into the VoF. The ticket is valid for three days of which I will visit on two.  The mountainsides are striated with waterfalls fed by t he melting snow, which in turn feed streams, all flowing into the Pushpawa
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Off the beaten track in Satpura

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�We all have forests on our minds. Forests unexplored, unending. Each one of us gets lost in the forest, every night, alone.�  ?  Ursula K. Le Guin ,  The Wind's Twelve Quarters Alas, it is difficult to get lost in a forest in India, there are few unexplored forests left and it is difficult to be alone. However the Satpura Tiger Reserve is one such forest where the crowds are less and the resorts are sensibly made to merge into ambient nature. Our welcome by a leopard by the side of the road as we drove in at night was a wonderful precursor of the two days ahead.  The haughty animal, disdainfully looked at us and slowly walked away into the jungle.  Here is where we let go of  our  daily electronic cocoons and freed ourselves to the joys of  simply being at one with nature. The bridge and a hut at Reni Pani Resort... ...is a perfect example of being one with nature. Local material is used on the outside  to give a natural ambience to the dwellings and community areas. The passion o
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Another Time Another Place

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As the lyrics of  Another time, another place  go... "Bright morning lights Wipe the sleep from another day's eye" Walking at Matheran and at Bhuigaon, one a hill station and another a sea side village, I see the common thread of grace and dignity running each day through the lives of local people.  The work is physically hard, monotonous, the returns are meagre and sometimes non-existent.  They do as routine what we do as 'adventure',  but they are always pleasant, courteous and industrious. Done the washing It is morning on a beach at Bhuigaon, the sun is up and it is breeze-less hot,  these ladies have just washed clothes and utensils, they walk home, chatting as they go, but they are not complaining. Early morning bikers have criss-crossed the beach with trails before the tide comes in to wipe the slate clean before yet another day. The lady from below This lady has carried a heavy load up to Matheran from a village in the plains below. She has walked nearly t
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