Being dragged into the monotonous routine of city life, how often do you wonder to close your eyes and listen to the rustling of leaves, breathe ice-cold Himalayan air and open your eyes to see the sun, settling between two gigantic mountains into the foggy surroundings of a river, just like a golden ball of fire being swallowed by a monster? If you live in Delhi or nearby, you are indeed very fortunate, because, during such existential turmoils of life, a quick weekend getaway to Nag Tibba mountain peak comes to rescue.
Our two-day journey was ideated by my office colleague and a very dear friend Himadri from Ghoomophiro.com who got us in touch with Himalaya Shelter team who perfectly coordinated our trek. It was the second weekend of January 2019, when we, 5 friends decided to go an excursion which would, in turn, give us a bag full of memories to cherish for a lifetime.
Day 1
We reached Dehradun early in the morning where we met our trek coordinator who took us to Pantwari Village in Uttrakhand. It was a journey of 90 km that we covered in about 4 hours, including the time we spent near Kempty fall where we had our breakfast. The drive was undoubtedly breathtaking as we made our way through the foothills of Garhwal Himalayan ranges alongside Yamuna river.
We reached Pantwari around 10 AM, and soon after that our trek towards our base camp (at 9.5 km from the village) began. The total distance from Pantwari to Nag Tibba is 15 km, that we would cover the same in a span of 2 days.
The initial part of the trek (for about 3 km) is rocky and dusty with hardly any thick forest roots firmly holding the soil. As one climbs up till The Goat Village, the temperature starts to drop due to sudden increase in height aided by the approaching evening. Soon after when we were through the first 5 kilometres on the way towards the basecamp, the unique flora of the region began catching our attention. Never before had I seen a dandelion. Took some time to flirt with nature there.
Basecamp (9.5 km from Pantwari)
It was a long and arduous trek of 9.5 kilometres that culminated at our basecamp (about 8000 ft) on the way to Nag Tibba summit. The beautiful view of the sunset that we got after trekking for almost 5 hours was worth every pain that we underwent on our way to reaching there.
As I gawked at the setting sun, I felt I was going through one of the most divine and surreal moments of my life. It reflected well on our lives. The temperature was exponentially approaching the freezing point and the only source of heat was ready to wave good-bye to us like a fair-weathered friend. The farewell was beautiful yet fearful. After this, despite all hardships, we were on our own. It seemed as if the only support system had decided to leave you on your own, especially during the time when you needed someone the most. There was a subtle tinge of beauty in this otherwise painful realization.
We wrapped up our activities around bonfire including the dinner at most by 8 PM and headed towards our tent to repose. We had a long day ahead. We had to start the further ascend towards the summit early in the morning, before the sunrise.
Day 2
We woke up at 4:30 in the morning to start trekking in the darkness of pre-dawn period towards the summit. Leaving the tents right on time, we made our way through the dense forest that embellished the remaining 5.5 km of our journey. Despite wilderness, the terrain remained to be full of big boulders making the climb steaper than expected. It was nearing 7:30 am when we got teased by probably the first ray of sunlight. As the sun started expanding its kingdom, the mountain ranges that we could see at distance started to turn golden. Not much after this point when we were welcomed by snow that was glistening like some infinite source of pearls scattered on the ground.
The Summit
10000 Ft above the sea level. The ice-cold wintery winds were piercing through the skin. Yet we stood on top touching the flag at -9 degree Celsius temperature. The 360-degree view was astounding. I believe my words would not be able to do much justice to what we witnessed. I am sure, the pictures below would.
The Descent
Thanks to gravity that the descent seemed more challenging than the ascent. On our way back to our basecamp, we took a halt at Nag Tibba temple. Within an hour, we were at our basecamps where we had lunch.
The journey from the basecamp back to Pantwari took about 3-4 hours, after which we made our way back to Dehradun.
Check out the photos of the trip on Instagram: @Spiffy_Hipster. Don’t forget to check out the highlight titled Nag Tibba.
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