So I had this new year resolution last year that I have to go on a solo trek for sure no matter what. Finally, it got completed at the end of the year.
I decided to go Nag tibba trek. I started from Gurgaon and reached Dehradun a day before on 24th December. Luckily it is my hometown too, so I had a good night sleep and woke up fresh for the trek.
25th December 2017: On the first day we had a traveler bus waiting for us at ISBT, Dehradun. I reached ISBT around 7 am. The weather was quite chilling in Dehradun. As I entered the traveler there were around 3-4 new faces. I introduced myself to them and we had a small talk. No doubt initially the awkward silence was there but in no time it will be gone. I got to meet some solo travelers like me. There was Neetu from Delhi and Logesh from Bengaluru. The traveler started from Dehradun at around 7 am for Pantwari. The atmosphere inside the bus was quiet. The first ice-breaking session took place when our traveler got punctured on the way to our destination. There was a range of people from college people to corporates.
We had our breakfast on our way to Pantwari. We had a delicious Maggi and allo ka parantha along with chai.
On the route, we were enthralled by the scenic beauty of the mountains. It was a blessing to our eyes to see such marvelous beauty. It took us nearly 4-5 hours to reach Pantwari from where we had to start our trek. Everyone gathered together. Our trek leader Varun guided us for the trek. The trek was all rocky and steep. Surrounding us were the beautiful mountains of Uttarakhand. The beauty of that place filled our heart with joy and content. It is such a blessing for people who live close to Nature. There is so much to gain and learn from Nature. Everything seems to be so perfect around. Even silence is welcomed.
We had two water sources on our way to the camp. After a journey of 2 hours, lunch was provided. The journey to the base camp took us around 4 hours. It was around 6 pm when we reached our base camp. While climbing till here we had many moments of "WooWW". The sunset, the forest, the environment everything was so fascinating. We clicked many pictures together. I was among the first one to reach the base camp. The heavy rucksack and walking for around 4 hours made us really tired.
As soon as we reached the base camp we couldn't measure how happy we were- A feeling out of the world. We were welcomed at the base camp with hot Maggi, a cup of tea and bonfire.
At night all the members of the group sat around the bonfire and shared their traveling experience. The sky was full of glittering stars. I haven't seen so many stars in ages. The sky looked so marvelous. We too got the opportunity to see a shooting star. As we had to start early next day we went to sleep around 9 pm.
The base camps along the way.
or Day 2, 26th December 2017: Today we had to go for the Nag Tibba summit. We woke up early around 7 am and attended a yoga session planned by our trek leader. After that, we had poori-sabji for breakfast. Around 9 am we started our trek to the summit. The path was quite steep. We had a snow-laden path ahead. Everyone was too excited to see the snow. As we moved forward we could see snow capped Himalayan ranges. It so picturesque. I do hear the words "The moutains are calling". Our guide told us about the various ranges.
After two hours we reached the Nag Tibba Summit. From the summit, you can see various mountain ranges. Happy and satisfied we sat there for around 1 hour to capture all the beautiful moments.
A picture from the summit.
We returned from the Summit around 2 in the afternoon. We had our lunch at our base camp. Then we had a visit to the Nag Temple. It is assumed that Lord Shiva passed through this temple and his nag stayed there. There is well inside the temple. No matter what happens the well never goes out of the water. It is quite a big thing for the people of Pantwari.
Clamp pawns were provided to walk on snow.
In the evening we had our snacks and went out for collecting wood for the bonfire. Since this was our last night stay in the camp, we wanted to make the best of it. In the evening we had the bonfire and our group sat around it. We played antakshri. Our team comprised of north and south Indian both. We heard many south Indian songs. I must say they are really good in antakshri and they have a great song collection. We had the memories that will be cherished by us in the coming time. We went to sleep around 11:30 pm.
Lat Day, 27th December 2017: The final day has come. We packed our bag with all the memories locked in our mind to go back to the basics. We followed the same trail which we had taken the first day. The descend was quick. We reached Pantwari within 3 hours and then Dehradun bus stand at 8:30 pm.
This time there was no silence in the traveler. It was filled with talks of the trek and the fun we had. It was like as if we knew each other for a long time.
It was one of the best experiences of mine that will be cherished forever.
A big thanks to Bikat Adventures for such a beautiful and amazing experience.
Our group- The Anti bold
Ride back to dehradun
