So here we are, enjoying our new cool room, and thinking back to the last time we actually felt cold. It was during our last (and highest) trip to the mountains. Chandrashila Top peaks just short of 4000 metres and promises 360 degrees views of the Himalayas. With attempts to see serious white tipped mountain ranges so far thwarted by clouds, we had to give it a go one more time.
The 6 hour journey to the starting point was in itself an adventure. The road clung to steep mountain sides that followed the river Ganges north. In between the white-knuckle bends and climbs, we were entertained by stunning vistas, scenic toilet stops...
a collapsed bridge...
villages chiselled into hillsides, colourful market towns of holy significance,
... and the sound of Nepalese tunes chosen by our Nepalese driver. (And a very competent driver too - hooray for Muni on those roads).
Our hotel was at 2500 metres, and we were already cold at that height the night before starting the hike up. We slept in several layers of clothes under several blankets, and I have to say, I'd chose that any day over the heat of Rishikesh.
The walk to the top was very steep, but pretty easy given that it was paved all the way until the temple. Along the way we passed fields of rhododendron bushes...
met locals taking a more leisurely mode of transport...
and saw scores of Himalayan Griffons (a kind of vulture apparently) soaring over head.
I'm sure they could sense that I was starting to feel some signs of altitude fatigue at about 3200 metres (racing breath, funny head, spots in my eyes) and were just waiting for me to drop to my knees.
As we passed the small town surrounding the temple at 3200 metres, there was increasing amounts of snow! From 40 degrees to snow covered mountains overnight.
On we climbed, but stopped to make chai (spicy Indian tea) and porridge to warm ourselves up, and let me catch my breath. At about 3800 metres I told Erik to go ahead. The altitude was definitely having an effect on me. So up he climbed, but was back in minutes. "You are almost there," he panted. And since I felt better after the rest, I picked myself up and made it to the top. And was so glad I did.
The reward was awe-inspiring and humbling views of the great Himalayas.
There's nothing like the mountains to remind you how small you are, and there are no mountains like the Himalayas. We stayed up there for well over an hour, snapping photos, drinking more tea, and taking it all in. Then the clouds stared to come in and we headed down.
We were up before dawn the next day, scarcely wanting to come out from beneath our 17 layers of clothes and bedding. (This is what we have to look forward to in Sweden, we reminded ourselves.) But we were soon cheered by the clear blue skies and crisp mountain air. Perfect conditions for the day's shorter, but still super-steep walk.
We were heading to Deodrital, a mountain lake which features in the Mahabharata, one of India's ancient scriptures. The lake itself was smaller than we were expecting, but wow, the views were spectacular! Real majestic, powerful, snowy mountain peaks stretching wider and higher than the eye could see. Finally... this is what we'd hoped for since we came up North 7 weeks ago.
We stopped to make breakfast (this time Indian dal) and chai, and just soaked in the views for an hour.
Then it was time to trek back down for the long winding journey back to the heat of Rishikesh.
We were met at our car not only by super-driver Muni, but also this group of children who clearly thought we were the most fascinating creatures they'd ever seen. I had to get a picture of them... They all lined themselves up so nicely. I'd never get a bunch of Western kids to do that.
No comments:
Post a Comment