Triund Trek

A white mist covered the landscape like a thick blanket. I could just about make out the silhouettes of trees to my right situated on a sheer vertical drop. The wispy air holding a limited amount of oxygen, brought a cool welcoming breeze.

Looking down at my walking boots I placed my feet methodically infront of one another to avoid tripping on the lose rocks.

We were high up around 3,200m. This was not the time to fall over.

Being adventurous we had decided to take the quieter, less trodden path up to Triund. The back route started at the waterfall in Bhagsu. We began climbing up stone steps to the right of Shiva Cafe. There wasn’t much in the way of a path. Crossing grassy fields we ascended the mountain.

On our first stop we enjoyed a sweet chai tea, which gave us some much needed energy.

This was the last stall until we reached Triund where there was a cafe and tents available to hire.

At the half way point, exhausted, we looked at our surroundings. The white fog still lingered in the sky. Nothing was visible.

While we were unable to see the mountains, we were desperate to get to the snow line. Trudging on we walked a further couple of hours, panting up every steep incline. There appeared to be more slopes to clamber up.

With the fog getting thicker there was no end in sight. A few passerbys gave us motivation.

Finally, we reached the camp site and threw our bags off our backs. The sky was still opaque white. Starving I demolished an omlette before collapsing in the tent for a nap.

Waking up in time for sunset I unzipped the tent and was greeted with the most magnificent view.

The jagged grey mountains housed patches of white snow. Red streaks were highlighted in the sky.

Siting on a rock I took in a deep breath and closed my eyes. At that moment I felt completely happy.

As darkness descended, stars slowly sparked into sight one by one. Later the black sky was lit up by the rising moon and thousands of stars.

We created a bonfire to keep us warm and sat around chatting and relaxing. A couple of others from the UK and India had trekked up too. We were a sociable bunch.

It was the perfect end to a strenuous day of walking.