“Please inform your family that you will be out of phone range for the next 4 days with no connection to the outside world”, our instructor Yog told us while we loaded our backpacks eager to be trekking through a forest, a moraine and a glacier for the next 5 days.

Moraine: Glacial debris comprising of rock and soil that forms in currently or formerly glaciated regions. ~ Source: Wikipedia

I had been eagerly waiting for this journey for the last one month. It is the first time that I will be camping at high altitude with similar freaks who have come from across India in different shapes and sizes. A three hour bus ride from Pathankot brought us to the Salli village where we have our base camp. I am amazed to see how beautifully the village is setup on the countryside as if someone has painted the huts and step farms of wheat on a canvas.

While Delhi is melting under the summer heat, the Dahuladar mountain range overlooking Salli village is covered with snow. A distinct chill always accompanies me while I trek on day one to get myself acclimatized to the altitude and prepare for the main trek.

How to reach Salli: An overnight train from Delhi takes you to Pathankot from where buses run to Salli village every three hours.

Travelling with Junoon Adventures Eco Tours was an amazing experience as we always felt taken care of and like a family. After two days of rest and acclimatization, we head off towards camp one. I am excited to be trekking through a forest. For the first time I came to know that trekking, when done in groups, involves a lot more than walking in uneven terrain and camping in a forest.

We had to be sensitive towards the wildlife, plants and use water judiciously. The backpacks were usually shared by buddies for half an hour each and each one was accountable for the safety of self and that of the people around him. We even collected the waste left over by earlier trekkers so that the trail is left cleaner than before.

Trekking Tip 1: Always swirl small amounts of water in your mouth for about 30 seconds before drinking it. It is an effective way to save water by quenching the thirst with less.

An hour of walk brought us to a clearing. We had left the village and its step farms behind. The wheat farms are now replaced by giant white boulders with the river Khauli flowing below. The weather is quite unpredictable and it has now started raining. We cover ourselves with our ponchos and keep walking towards the forest.

My tired lungs burdened with the smoke of metropolitan I live in dance with pleasure as they take in the cold unadulterated mountain air.

Trekking Tip 2: Carry minimum weight in the backpack and always find a flat surface to place your foot on. It increases the efficiency of walking by almost fifty percent and reduces the strain on calf muscles.

The countryside beyond the forest is formed of meadows for as far as my eyesight can see. We often cross the sheep and goats from nearby villages chewing the grass vigorously while a couple of dogs always guard them from any threat. The shepherds often stay away from homes for weeks grazing their cattle and live in the makeshift stone shelters made all over the meadows. Their dogs guard the cattle at night from bears, hyena and sometimes wolves.

Although the dogs are guardians of the sheep, they come to us with their tail wagging and tongue hanging out. We can’t help but pat them on their head which they thoroughly enjoy. I love moving my fingers through their soft and thick fur while they closed their eyes in happiness.

Trekking Tip 3: The wild animals like bear or hyena do not attack humans unless they feel threatened. Do not flash torches or show stick to them

The mountains fill us with an energy that make us walk for great distances on rocky surface without getting tired. We walk on narrow rocky edges with mountain on one side and a deep valley on the other. Far ahead we can see the snow covered mountains and dark clouds over them. Thunderstorms and lightening always thrill me and I am excited to get close to it. As the sun plays hide and seek with the clouds, a gentle mist settles down in the valley making the meadows and coniferous trees look like creations of water color.

The phone signals are long gone and I have also lost track of the day or date. The feeling of being lost in time with no connection to the man made world can only be experienced once you are in it. Birds, rivers, trees, grass under my feet and fresh air are going to be my gadgets for the next couple of days. I don’t mind giving up my urban connections for a life in these mountains.

Trekking Tip 4: Do not sit for extended period of time. Take short breaks and keep walking.

After two days of walking and a pit stop in the forest, we reach camp two. The wind has picked up speed so much so that two of our tents were blown away by its force. I lie silently in my sleeping bag and look towards the top of the tent from where a fine beam of light is coming inside. I am getting goosebumps by the way our tent is shaking in the wind. If I close my eyes, my experience would not be less than camping in the arctic. Chattering teeth by the howling glacial wind add to the excitement.

On top of the stomach full of breakfast every morning, we are served finger licking lunch, soup, tea, snacks and then dinner at short intervals. I wonder that by the end of this trek, whether I will loose weight or gain it. It is a bliss rolling frozen fingers around a steaming cup of hot and hour soup with the steam from it gently condensing on my nose tip.

Trekking Tip 5: An alternate to wearing thick and heavy woolens that add to overall body weight is to wear multiple layers of thin cloth. The warm air trapped between the layers keeps the body at apt temperature and the overall body weight light.

Camp two – The howling winds added to the excitement

This cow took a break from eating grass and gave a nice pose for the camera

We are blessed to be travelling away from the hustle and bustle of a tourist hub where we probably wouldn’t have gotten space to enjoy what nature has to offer. Living in Salli village and trekking through the forests with no sign of any village or habitation within miles really made us get up close with the nature and take in the experience in its purest form.

Rural Travel in India has recently picked up pace with increasing number of travelers preferring to go off beat and see India in its true colors. The concept of responsible tourism and sense of contributing back to the local place is also picking up especially among the youth. Rural tourism is not only a way to experience the place in its original form but also contribute to the local communities by helping them preserve their culture, religion, art forms, architecture and handicrafts through tourism.

Trekking Tip 6: While trekking on narrow mountain trails, always walk on the mountain side and avoid the valley side. Cattle that graze in the mountains tend to use the valley side.

Always walk on the mountains side

We skipped Druni Taal due to adverse weather conditions and headed off to a glacier on the final day before descent. I missed seeing a mountain lake but for the first time walked on a glacier. We slipped, fell, walked on thin ice, slid from the top, and had oodles of fun. The thirst to explore was never ending and even after reaching the glacier my mind wondered what lay beyond them.

The Himalayas are home to many exotic species of birds. One requires immense patience to spot and click them in their various moods. While I preferred to click more of landscapes and human expressions, some amazing photographers in our group captured these beauties.

Before I started with the trek, a friend told me that the mountains clear up your mind and transforms you from within. Over the last ten days, I have left many fears and inhibitions in the mountains, and indeed, I have come back as a changed man.

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Gaurav Bhatnagar Travel Writer, Photographer, Public Speaker, Entrepreneur in Rural Travel @ www.thefolktales.com. As a travel writer, my work is published in The Hindu, Huffington Post, National Geographic Traveler and The Alternative