11 joys of trekking in the Himalays

Here are the 11 joys, the eleven pleasures that will entice you to mountains every time.

1. Drinking straight from the waterfall – You carried two bottles of water but they are both empty now. You can’t buy Bisleri along the way. But you are thirsty? Look for the next stream of water that falls on your way(…Make sure it doesn’t fall on the walking path for you don’t want to be drinking another man’s elixir). Ah! the sweet taste of mountain water, from snow melting at the top somewhere. Why has the water never tasted this great before? Because you hardly came to the mountains before.

2. The patchy mobile signals – You are on first leg of your trekking trip and already the mobile signals are weak. Nobody can reach you, not the boss, not the family, not the job, not your relationships, failed or successful, nothing can contact you. It worries you, bothers you and irritates you. But when the moment here and now absorbs you, you feel grateful that there is one place where facebook notifications don’t chase you.

3. The God sent noodles – Just when you are getting hungry, there appears a tent on the horizon and from within it appears a man with a pan in his hand and you ask him, “can I get something to eat” and he asks in return “will maggi do?” and you say with a desperate relief, “Yes!” And then you enjoy the noodles with oodles of greenery and a view to behold for a lifetime.

 

 

4. The wonderful smiles of the villagers – You pass by the villagers walking on the trekking path and wonder how come they are so much more energetic. They are not even wearing your fancy branded shoes. They are running up and down the path in their broken flip flops. “What do they eat?” you ask yourself. They make fun of you and your city life breaking your reverie, but you merely smile. You take a moment and reflect. They have little of what you have – cars, houses, gadgets and connectivity, but have in abundance what you wish to have – green space, fresh food, fresh water, peace and genuine smiles. With a twinge of envy in your heart, you continue walking.

5. Arriving home to simple dinner – You have been walking for what it seems like is forever. It is more than you ever walked in your whole life and you arrive into your night’s abode. It is a beautiful hut in the middle of a meadow with sheep grazing in the distance. You wash your face in the closest stream and prepare for dinner and then arrives your simple and light meal of dahl and rice with some vegetable on the side. Oh! The food has never been this delicious and you thought good food is only the pizzas and pastas you eat at fancy restaurants.

 

6. The Star gazing in the clear night sky –  After the dinner, you step out of the hut and look up to be amazed by the canopy of stars. You had learnt that there were millions of stars in the sky and now you can see all of them in one sight. Look, there is Orion up there, that is Ursa major, and that there is the shiniest star of all! Oh, there, oh no! you just missed the shooting star.

 

 

7. The guitar by the fire and unending antakshari sessions – And then your whole group gathers. Its getting cold, you light up a bonfire. Then you start humming songs and then play endless rounds of antakshri. That cool guy in the group with the beard and long hair brings out the guitar and the time flies faster than it ever has.

 

8. Shitting out in the open – You are woken up in the morning at the crack of dawn by the call of nature. Your body has never been in tune with the nature like this before. It always took multiple snoozes before you woke up and you were always late for work. But now its getting to six and you feel a sudden pressure. Where must you go to relieve yourself? Out in the open, my friend! Oh you find a good spot away from the grazing sheep and squat. Oh what a joy it is the poop out in the open, like all the rest.

 

 

9. The cool mornings and light sun – Once relieved, you now notice the cool morning uncovering the beauty of the valley, you see the mountains in the distance and hearing birds you don’t even know names of! You look for someone who could make you a cup of chai and sit and soak in the morning with several deep breaths and sighs and wonder if this is the most beautiful morning of your life.

 

10. The sweet pain of cramps in the legs -You walk back to the hut and notice the cramps in your legs. Does it not feel great, the joy of effort exerted and muscles worked. Its been a long time you worked your muscles this hard. You feel a surge of good health in your being and tell yourself you should do this more often.

11. The shepherd with the chillam – You walk furthur up, beyond all the villages where only few people go to trek, to find peace and to graze their sheep. You are now at the place where only the shepherd’s hangout and you find yourself sitting down for a break in the company of the man with sheep and chillam. He smokes and and talks deep stuff. He tells you he lives in the mountains half the years and takes his sheep back when it gets cold. He talks on while you wonder what your degrees and promotions are worth if your cannot have this man’s peace.

The pleasures of trekking the Himalyas are many. The question is which one will pull you to the higher side of life. Enjoy this summer with a little time away from the desk. Come to Himalayas and get a life!

And if you are ready to come in – check out the list of things you must carry with you and some easy treks you don’t need to carry a tent for.