Chasing Rhododendron Blooms on the Deoriataal-Chopta- Chandrashila trek.

The Red rhododendron tree.

I had first read about rhododendrons in T. Lobsang Rampa’s book. He writes about how a dish made of rhododendron flowers was a delicacy amongst the elite in Tibet (before the Chinese took over). That kindled in me a desire to see the rhododendron trees. Later, I read about an entire sanctuary dedicated to the rhododendrons in Sikkim. So last year, during April, I had intended to visit the Barsey Rhododendron sanctuary in Sikkim and combine it with some volunteering activity. But that was not to be. But I had to see the rhododendrons having made up my mind. So I discovered a trek instead that passes through dense oak and rhododendron forests. Without a second thought, I signed up for the trek with GIO Adventures. (www.GIO.in)

The confluence of the rivers Alaknanda and Ganga at Devprayag.

My first taste of rhododendron juice on the way. 

The trek was the Deoritaal-Chopta Chandrashila peak trek over 5 days, out of which 3 days are for the trek itself. While reading up more about rhododendrons, I read that even the juice of the flowers is made and sold in those areas. I was delighted and told my trekking coordinator that I had to have the juice at any cost. I’ll tell you later how I managed to get it J

We were welcomed with tea and snacks at the lodge. 

Sitting by the river Mandakini.

I got back this beautiful pebble as a souvenir. 

Just one week before the trek the coordinator called me to say that no other people had booked the trek and since I would be alone, if I wanted to cancel it. Alone on a trek. I was thrilled at the thought! So, much to his disappointment, I told him that since my flight tickets were non-refundable he had to organize the trek even if it was only me. But so that it was cost-effective for them, they promoted that trek on social media and managed to get three other people (Thank God there weren’t more!).

The meeting point was Haridwar. So I flew in a day early to Delhi, took a train to Haridwar and stayed overnight. The driver of the trekking company picked me up from the station along with one other person (who got really high on weed, but more on that later) and later another two people from Rishikesh on route and we drove to a place called Kund where we were put up in lovely lodges by the river Mandakini. The drive was lovely too, following the course of the rivers, Alaknanda and Ganga and finally the Mandakini.

Yashpal, the guide said that the flowers of this plant are loaded with Vitamin C, so I ate a bunch :-) It was citrusy. 

Terraced fields on the way from Kund to Deoriataal.

The location of the lodge couldn’t have been better. There were birds chirping and greeting us everywhere. I’m a novice bird watcher, but I couldn’t identify some birds, some on my own and some with the help of a book- The Eurasian Blackbird, the Oriental White Eye, the Black Lored Tit, Black Bulbul, Red Throated Flycatcher, the gorgeous Yellow Billed Blue Magpie, to name a few. Their chirping along with the music of the waters of the Mandakini made the experience very memorable. I walked down from my lodge and sat by the river for some time. It was blissful.

Catching my breath and posing. 

A local lady with a basket full of dried leaves on her back. Even during the Monsoon, she said, she carries cooking cylinders on her back from the road to her home. She looked frail but was strong. 

We walked through lovely paths. 

The next day, in the morning, we were dropped at a village from where we were to begin our trek. The initial climb was pretty steep and since it was sunny, we were sweaty and panting in no time. We passed through villages all along the steep climb passing through terraced fields, smiling women carrying wood or hay on their backs and children prancing around. Once we climbed sufficiently, I lay my eyes for the first time, on the very thing I had come to seek- the Rhododendron tree. But this wasn’t even one percent of the beauty that I was to experience later. This is because in places that are inhabited, people pluck the red rhododendron flowers from the lower part of the tree to eat them and make juice, so all the trees looked as if they had a crew cut with a shock of red hair!

You may like my post on the Sudhagad trek too. 

The first sight of the flowers.  

Rhododendron flower in close up. 

A tree in full bloom. 

Once we had crossed the villages, it was beautiful in the forest carpeted by olive green and yellow leaves and acorns from the Oak trees. We stopped on and off to sip some water, to refuel ourselves with dry fruits, nuts and chocolates and also for lunch and to take in the beauty of the surroundings. I’ll let the pictures do the talking. Kund was at the height of 1350 meters above sea level. So after trekking for around 6 hours, including breaks, we reached Deoriataal at the height of 2438 meters above sea level. We were greeted by the sight of the beautiful Deoriataal lake with the Chaukhamba Mountains at the backdrop. The lake derives its name from the references in the Puranas (ancient scriptures) to the Devas (Deities) bathing in the lake, hence the name Deoriataal (pronounced as Deva-ria-taal), ‘Deva’ meaning Gods and ‘taal’ meaning lake.

The Deoriataal as we approached it. 

Tea and pakode- tasted so delicious at the camp. 

A shepherd and his flock came by. I picked up a black lamb. It was like holding a big ball of wool. :-) 

The Chaukhamba peaks are named so because they look like four pillars- ‘Chau’ meaning four and ‘khamba’ meaning pillars.

While walking around the lake, I saw this idol. 

Petals of the flower strewn all over. 

The quiet before the drama.

The GIO staff had already put up tents and had prepared plates of piping hot pakodas (gram flour fritters) and masala Tea. I’m not sure if it’s because of the location or because we were tired, the snacks eaten on treks always taste of the world. I had decided to make the best of the evening. I had books on my Kindle and my sketch book. I sat down under a tree, admiring the beauty and sipping tea. Little did I know that the evening couldn’t have been more dramatic? In under ten minutes my contemplation was broken by loud talking and noises made by another group who were camping nearby. I decided to ignore them. After an hour, when the loud talking was combined with loud Bollywood music and hooting, I couldn’t take it anymore. I told my trek leader that I am going to tell that group to behave themselves. The trek leader, Yashpal Singh, an amicable person who made the trek such a memorable experience told me that he would himself go and talk to the trek leader of the other group.

I collected some acorns on the way as souvenirs. 

A village on the opposite mountain. 

Gnarled roots look so perfect in the forest. 

Saw this cutie pie and notice the tiny flowers around. 

He returned and in five minutes the loud Bollywood music had thankfully stopped but not their chatter completely. I was told the group is from India Hikes. After returning from my trip I sent an email to the founder of India Hikes about the bad experience with this group. He was quick to apologize and assured it wouldn’t happen again. I don’t understand why on earth people would go to such scenic locations to play loud music and party, when they can very well do that in the cities. The thing that infuriates me most about this is the disturbance it causes the birds and animals in the area. It’s like desecrating Nature.

On the way between Deoriataal and Chopta- It was like being in heaven.

Anyways, this was not the end of the drama. While having dinner, another member of our group started behaving funnily and talking incoherently. I didn’t know then but another gentleman in our group told me that he is behaving this way because he has smoked weed. Now, this was a new experience for me. I had never met anyone who got high after smoking weed or anything else for that matter, so I observed him with curiosity and interest. His behavior turned weirder and weirder with each passing minute. He refused to have dinner (it is important to eat to replenish the body with energy during treks), wanted one of us to come and sing a lullaby for him in the tent, and within an hour he was sooo high, he said he wanted to die and started stripping in the near zero temperature and wanted to jump into the freezing waters of the Deoriataal. Yashpal, along with the two cooks had to restrain him and bring him into the kitchen tent, from where he escaped at 3 a.m. I realized this when I heard a hushed voice asking “Are you awake?” from the tent next to mine, which happened to be his. In the stillness of the night, even the hushed voice sounded loud. I did not reply but grabbed my trekking pole and was ready to hit him on the head, if he attempted to come near my tent or open it in his intoxicated state. Luckily for him, that didn’t happen. I was told that he had managed to get weed from another camper nearby.

Whispering sweet nothings with each other.

Yashpal asked me to jump at Rohini bugyal and took this picture which happens to be one of my favourites. 

Next morning we were up and awake by 6 am, had a hearty breakfast and were ready by 7.30 to trek to Chopta. It was as if the Nature fairies were compensating for the previous day, but this day was the highlight of the trip.

The pink rhododendron in close up. 

I was motivated to jump everywhere after the initial flattering first picture. 

We were to trek 16 kms from Deoriataal to Chopta (which is called the ‘Switzerland of India’) and climb from 2438 meters to 2800 meters above sea level. We walked through dense rhododendron forests and everywhere that I looked, seemed like postcard picture. We crossed alpine meadows, all dusted with pretty, tiny flowers. Nature is so whole, even a fallen tree in the forest looks so poetic and beautiful. Since this was a higher altitude, there were only pink rhododendrons. Higher the altitude, the paler is the colour of flowers because of the oxygen levels. Thus, in very high altitudes, the trees would be stunted in growth and the flowers almost white. Just imagine, all the trees around you, dressed in their best blushing pink rhododendron attire.

Fallen trees look so poetic. 

Emerson had said, “The Earth laughs in flowers”, and I felt the full impact of that line in this place. How did the laughter sound? Like a harp playing in my own heart. This is the sight I had come for and I was thrilled to bits. Every few steps that we took, we encountered more beauty with the landscape awash with multiple shades of green and pink, with the blue canopy of the sky above flecked with clouds. We stopped at Rohni Bugyal, a meadow, for a break, and I lay down in the grass to absorb the beauty. Was I in heaven?

I was literally in a dreamland with so much beauty. 

Just as we were exiting the forest, I found this flower, in perfect condition amidst the leaves, which I took as souvenir. 

Yashpal suggested that I jump and he took an excellent shot of me jumping against the background of these gorgeous trees.

View from Chopta. 

I like mountain dogs for their no nonsense attitude. They have a metal collar to protect them from leopard attacks. Leopards like all wild animals go for the neck of their prey. 

We resumed our trek and reached Chopta at around 5.30 in the evening, where we camped in tents. I’ve always been a morning person, but mornings are special when closer to Nature. I make it a point wake up and watch the sunrise when travelling to such scenic locations. Sunrises never cease to amaze me. It’s magical watching the sun slowly peeping out from behind the mountains, imbuing everything around with golden light and the flora and fauna, especially the birds, welcoming another day with their musical orchestra.

I was addicted to jumping by now. 

Snow clad mountains from Chopta. 

It was a freezing night in Chopta, after we had some rainfall, after which the temperature dived further down. But I slept as well as I could, and after a breakfast of broken wheat boiled in milk, we set out at 7.30 to Tungnath and then Chandrashila. The trek saw us climb from 2800 meters from Chopta to 3680 meters to Tungnath and then to 4000 meters to Chandrashila peak.

The entrance to Tungnath. 

There was snow along the path. 

Tungnath being a popular pilgrim destination, the way was well paved, and it was beautiful with a denser concentration of rhododendron trees. But, somehow, I preferred the previous day better, walking through the undulating forests and natural trails. Being at a higher altitude, this area is known for the sighting of the reclusive and shy Monal bird. Yashpal said, we would have to keep looking. I pleaded with the Nature fairies to bring a Monal in my line of view. The way, although well paved, was steep and that combined with the high altitude, left me breathless after every few steps. There are benches along the way to stop and catch one’s breath. And as I was doing just that, I heard a squawking sound in the air, right above me and when I looked up, it was the Monal bird, flying away. I was thrilled. It looked so beautiful, with colours, radiant and bright as in a peacock, only the tail was much shorter. After an hour of walking, I was lucky to see another Monal in the shrubs at a distance.

The place from where I saw a Monal. 

We reached Tungnath, the highest Shiva temple in the world. The temple was closed, as the deity and the priests had moved to Mukkumath, which is the winter residence of the deity. In May there would be a ceremonial procession for the return of the deity from Mukkumath to Tungnath. We went around the temple and payed our obeisance. The temple is believed to be 1000 years old and built in stone in the Nagara style of temple architecture. After the break we proceeded to the Chandrashila peak, which offers splendid 360 degrees view of the surroundings.

The Tungnath temple. 

Smaller shrines.

The walk was steep and breathing was more difficult as we approached 4000 meters. There was snow in several places so we had to watch where we put our feet. Once we got to the top, we were again breathless, but this time, because of the views. The landscape stretched out like an oil painting, with greens, pinks, browns, reds, and the paved trail unspooling under the blue sky. We had our sandwiches and enjoyed the quiet. Hats off to Yashpal. He had been carrying almost 25 kgs on his back each day, comprising our food, first aid and his own jacket. And he was always smiling, egging us on and making sure all four of us were comfortable at all times.

I wasn't yet content with rhododendrons. 

Can you really blame me for being greedy for more of this beauty?

After we had our fill of the beauty, we started our descent. This turned out to be more difficult as my toes, in an attempt to balance the body on the steep descent, kept hitting the stone way from Tungnath onwards and felt sore by the time I reached down. Our vehicle was waiting for us. We proceeded to our lodge in Kund, with a stop at Ukhimath, another ancient temple and the winter residence of Lord Kedarnath. But I will keep that for the next post.

View from Chandrashila peak. 

We reached Kund, and it was amazing to have a hot shower and a sumptuous meal. After resting well at night, in the morning I bade farewell to the Mandakini river, the birds and the amazing staff who had made my trip so memorable. Before the trip, I had told my trekking coordinator that I wanted the rhododendron juice. Yashpal had sent his staff to look for it in the market, but they were out of stock. So as a touching farewell gift, he gave me a bottle of juice from their own stock. That was like the icing on the cake for me. I was already high from the sight of the flowers, and then this juice, too, to make me totally drunk on these flowers. After having thanked each staff and tipping them, we proceeded to Haridwar, where I stayed overnight and took the train to Delhi the next day morning and then a flight to Pune. A superb trip it was!

A hearty meal on the way back. 

A few more words about the staff and GIO. They had organized the trip impeccably well. Right from initial communication, to updating me on various things, to logistics, the accommodation, the food, the cooks, staff, everyone did their best to make this trip memorable. Yashpal was an excellent guide, always mindful of the varying paces of all four of us, always cheerful, talking off and on but never intruding into your space and quietude. I would surely go with GIO again and more so, if Yashpal is the trekking guide.

You may check their website www.gio.in for more details.

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A Re-cap of Travel in 2016.

It was a high-spirited 2016!

Sometime around this time last year, as curtains slowly drew on 2015, I made a resolution for 2016, and it was that I would make 12 trips and explore 12 new places in 2016, each dedicated to a month of the year. And someone benign on the ‘other side’ granted my wish and gave me one extra trip. Yes, I made 13 trips this year.   

As this year draws to a close, I am filled with gratitude for the year that has been, and more importantly for the travelling I have been able to do. My travel this year was a mix of heritage, culture, cuisines, trekking, nature trips, textile trails, so on and so forth. I realise I am left with a huge back log of posts, as I’ve been either travelling, or planning my next trip or tending to my Art.

Let me walk you through my delightful experiences this year :-) There were 13 major trips and also a few discoveries within Pune that I have also blogged about.

The cave monasteries in Junnar.

The first trip in January was a good dose of history and Archaeology. I travelled with Heritage Insights, a group started by a team of Archaeologists and Indologists who are doing an excellent job taking the rich history and culture of India that is lesser known to a wider audience. That trip was like an official introduction to Indian history and archaeology for me. The trip was to the 2000 years old Buddhist cave monasteries in Junnar. The trip enlightened us about the ancient Indo-Roman trade and its symbiotic relationship with the mushrooming of monasteries along the trade routes. Luckily, I’ve written about this and you may read it here:-)     

A Striped Tiger butterfly.

One Sunday we also went for a butterfly trail with The WesternRoutes and learnt to identify different species of butterflies in the garden. The small park is situated right in the middle of a residential area and the gardener, having taken a keen interest in butterflies, planted flowering shrubs and plants that attract butterflies and thanks to his efforts, the small garden now has around 50 species of butterflies. We spotted the Common Mormon, Striped Tiger, Blue Tiger, Crimson Rose, Common Crow, etc. At one point after the sun rays lit up the garden, there were so many butterflies flitting around, it felt like a fairy land!

Strawberry picking in Panchgani.

Next, also in January, I lived my childhood fantasy to some extent of picking strawberries from a farm. I ate a lot of freshly plucked strawberries and also got back some with me and made jams and parfaits J I surely have a thing for fruit picking! Read about my apple picking adventure here.

Chapati impressions in Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum (instruments for making impressions on flatbread).

Come February, we visited the Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum in Pune which houses interesting and ancient artifacts belonging to different eras. We also chanced upon a jaggery making set up on the outskirts of Pune. I, for one, substitute sugar with jaggery wherever possible, because refined sugar accelerates aging apart from the other harmful effects it has on the body from high consumption. So I was delighted to see how jaggery, an oft used ingredient in my kitchen, is made. You can read about it here.

Fresh jaggery !

Heritage Insights had announced its second trip for the year to the lesser known princely states of Phaltan and Aundh. How often do you get to meet people of royal lineage and interact with them? The current Prince, Shri Raghunath Raje Naik Nimbalkar took out time to interact with our group and narrate stories about his dynasty. He even offered us tea and snacks. Yes, we snacked in the palace of the King J While I’m yet to blog about this, it was an enriching experience to go around the Rajwada (palace) and learn history from Royalty himself. The Rajwada has been maintained in excellent condition and it was like stepping back in time to see the artifacts, furniture and objects dating back hundreds of years.

Posing with Prince Raghunath Raje Naik Nimbalkar. 

The Rajwada made entirely of wood and in prime condition. 

I had been wanting to visit Velas for quite some time and that desire materialised in February this year. Velas is a sleepy non-descript village on the Konkan coast which is now on the global map thanks to the conservation of the endangered Olive Ridley turtles by the village people. It was a dream come true to welcome button-like baby hatch-lings into the world and watch them crawl their way to the mighty ocean and be swallowed by waves. You can read about that experience here.

Baby Turtles in Velas. 

March saw us attend a wedding in Delhi. I did make use of that trip to explore the city’s gastronomical delights, including a visit to a 115 year old kulfi shop. Other interesting activities included a visit to the National Rail Museum where I kept wondering where aesthetics has disappeared in trains today and a heritage walk with INTACH Delhi to the Lodhi garden tombs. Take a look at the pictures of the trains from yore and read about the Heritage walk with INTACH here. 

Bada Gumbad in Lodhi gardens. 

Paan flavoured kulfi at Kuremal Kulfi shop (betel leaf flavoured kulfi)

This is an old train carriage from the 19th century. So artistic! 

In April I ticked another desire off my wish list. I had first heard about the rhododendron flower in Lobsang Rampa’s book. Later I heard that rhododendrons grow in the higher reaches of the Himalayas in India too. I wanted to visit Sikkim where there are dedicated rhododendron sanctuaries, but that was not to be, so I went on a rhododendron trail to Uttarakhand on the Deoriataal-Chopta-Chandrashila peak trail. The most memorable was the 16 km trek through virgin forests between Deoriataal and Chopta where the whole forest blushing with pink rhododendrons greeted us. It was like being in fairy land. I was drunk high on the beauty of the forest as well as on rhododendron juice ;-)

I am guessing Heaven would be like this?? 

Matching in pink! 

While Mumbai is next door and may not qualify as a trip, I would still include it in that category because I had signed up with Khaki Tours to explore the lesser known aspects of an area in Mumbai. Having grown up in Mumbai, I feel there’s a lot to the city that I still don’t know. The Lalbaug Stroll, a walk designed by Bharat Gothoskar of Khaki Tours led us through narrow gullies, crumbling buildings, secret farms, erstwhile sacred groves and had us delighted at discoveries in the city notorious for its super-fast pace of life.

This used to be a sacred grove/ forest many years ago before it became a concrete jungle!

The idols of the deities who were forest protectors remains though. 

Fiery chillies in the Lalbaug market. 

In June came another surprise. I had been wanting to visit the remote village, Kalap, since three years and suddenly in mid-June I found myself in the  un-touched, pristine, beautiful village of Kalap. The high point of my trip was camping for 2 nights and a day at the highest point in that village, called Beejay Top, at 12,500 feet above sea level. I lazed around the whole day on a carpet of flowers, watching sheep and buffaloes pass by, sipping tea, chatting with nomadic shepherds, reading a book and dozing off and on. Of course, I got severely sun-burnt and it took two months for my skin to go back to normal. But that’s not what will stay with me forever. The memory of trekking through virgin forests, gurgling mountain streams, alpine meadows and surreal landscapes surely will.I wrote a piece for the Better India, which you can read here. 

Lazying in Beejay Top. 

Gorgeous sunsets! 

The beauty of the forest was overwhelming. 

Houses in Kalap. 

July was another month for some serious and enjoyable history and Archaeology. We again travelled with Heritage Insights to the 1500 year old cave structures of Ajanta and Ellora. Words fail to describe the stupendous beauty of Kailasa, the largest monolith temple in the world. Every inch of the temple is sheer poetry in stone. We also took the same route that a British Cavalry soldier named John Smith took in 1819 when he discovered the Ajanta caves where 2000 year old paintings on stone still continue to dazzle people.

An entrance to a cave temple in Ajanta. 

The magnificent Kailasa cave temple- the biggest monolith in the world. 

The inscription of John Smith who discovered Ajanta caves in 1819.

Soon after this trip, I attended a 3 day seminar on ancient Temple Architecture conducted by Heritage Insights. The erudite Dr. Shrinivas Padigar enlightened us in a lucid manner about the development of temple architecture since the last 2000 years and the different aspects of its style.

Dr Shrinivas Padigar enlightening us on ancient temple architecture. 

August saw us visit Puttaparthi and then we spent 3 days in Bangalore, exploring old, traditional eateries in the city. Went around the old markets in Basavanagudi to take in the vibrant colors, smells and sounds. The change of weather in Bangalore left me with a bad sore throat which again took a month to recover.

The melt in the mouth dosa in CTR, Bangalore. 

Take your pick from the 100 varieties of snacks. 

Right in the beginning of the year, I had kept October as a free month with no travel, because there was Durga Puja in the first week of the month and Diwali at the end, so I wanted to be home and celebrate with my husband.

Bright flowers in the market. 

I had plans for September of volunteering in a farm in a place from my childhood dreams, but again that was not to be. But turns out everything that happens is for one’s best. I had not recovered from my throat infection and my husband too was down with flu. Had the trip happened I would have been away for almost 20 days. So, I am happy in hindsight, that I was resting at home and also present for my husband.

We found a Veena making workshop. 

We went to Goa in November for a friend’s wedding. Some people would be annoyed if I say that Goa is over hyped. It’s too touristy for my taste, or maybe I haven’t discovered the less touristy places there. While we didn’t go around much, the high point of the trip was the wedding itself. My dear friend had chosen a perfect venue for his wedding, by the sea. With the music of the waves crashing on the rocks, the soulful rendition of the Shehnai by a very talented musician, the moon above accompanied by the Vedic chants as the couple took their vows made for a surreal experience.

The venue of the wedding. 

Another sudden trip in November was to Guledgudda to meet the weavers of Khun and Ilkal and then a heritage trail to Badami, Pattadakkal ( a 1500 years old UNESCO World Heritage Site), Aihole, Gadag and Lakkundi to marvel at ancient temples and their architecture. While I am yet write about this power packed trip, I did manage to write a post on Khun.

A weaver weaving Khun. 

Ilkal saree. 

 This month, we attended a wedding in Rishikesh, on the banks of the river Ganga and then headed to Shimla and then spent a day in Chandigarh. This was again a gastronomical delight to sample various winter delicacies up north.

The famous and delectable gulab jamun at Baljee's in Shimla. 

One can't go to Chandigarh and not have rajma chawal ( rice and kidney beans).

The scrumptious winter speciality- makai ki roti and sarson ka saag (corn flour flat bread and mustard leaves curry). 

The year is coming to an end and I have given myself a good score for travel although not for blogging regularly. As the sun sets on this year, I await the sunrise on the new year and look forward to the amazing places where the winds will take me. 

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