Off beaten track

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, whi...

Kalsubai �Every mountain top is within reach if you just keep climbing.�  ?  Barry Finlay ,  Kalsubai is the highest peak in Maharashtra, but that is not saying much; as at 1646 metres it is hardly the "Everest of Maharashtra" it is made out to be. Nevertheless it is an invigorating climb and though not a technical ascent it is steep and tests ones stamina. The panorama from the top make the arduous climb worth it. Vishnu, the guide   There are many "how to" blogs on the net so I will refrain from a travelogue style, rather giving a potpourri of my experiences. Kalsubai is about an hour from Igatpuri and there are many ways of getting to Bari, the village at the base.  I drove from Igatpuri and taking a wrong turn finally ended up at Jahagirdarwadi, a few hundred metres short of Bari. It is possible to start climbing from here as well, so good luck for my guide Vishnu whom I found here, he was waiting and hoping for a stray tourist like me. I reco...

Continued from (Part 1) (Part 2) I woke up bright and early to take some landscapes from our campsite. Unfortunately the sun didn't have the same idea and it was a decidedly overcast and damp day that I woke up to. While the rest of the camp slumbered I wandered down to the river, camera in hand and amused myself by stopping my aperture down as much as possible and taking some long exposures. Sleeping camp; Gal Oya river at dawn Once enough people had woken up to provide some sort of rescue service in case of wild animal attack I wandered out of camp for some ablutions and then met up with everyone else for a morning river bath. Dry zone notwithstanding the Gal Oya is pretty damn cold early in the morning and rain appeared to be in the air. Following a late breakfast we powwowed as to what to do, finally deciding on a small walk to Makara , about a click from the camp site to where the river exits into the mighty Senanayake Samudra. A friend of mine (whom I have no reason to dis...