Lost and Found Wallet (& myself) @ Chadar

Chadar trek. Walk on the ice. Extreme negative temperatures. Survival trek. This is all I knew when I registered for the trek in Jan 2018.  This trek is so close to my heart that I am writing this blog after a year and half, yet the memories remain fresh and it has caused greater impact than any other treks.For those of you who are new to the Trekking world, Chadar might just be another terminology, but it is a major checklist item in most of the trekker's bucket list. And the reason - it is a survival trek!

History (skip if you already know the basic details):

Chadar trek is a very popular frozen river trek, located near Leh in Kashmir. In the winters when temperature drops to negative degrees, the Zanskar river freezes, thus forming a sheet of ice between the huge mountains. The roads are shut, thus blocking the day-to-day survival of the multiple villages around this area. Surprisingly, the humans never stopped exploring and mastered the art of walking on the ice. This continues till date and it gave birth to the famous Chadar trek. People from around the world come to Leh every year in the months of January and February to experience the daily routine life of Zanskaris.

[On a bright sunny day in Chadar]

The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) are trying their best to construct roads to help humanity. While the roads are helpful to many, it brings damage to the peaceful environment and unemployment. Yes, Chadar trek offers a lot of employment opportunities to the local crowd who help in transporting the items between campsites, cooking food, setting the tents and a lot more - overall, they make our life easier in the extreme temperatures and takes extreme care of everyone! While walking on ice is itself a challenge, these people are the real heroes who also pull a sledge with our items loaded on it. Also, if some parts of the river are not frozen, they carry the sledge on their back and cross the area. Yet they reach the next camp ahead of us and keep the tent & food ready before we reach.  REAL HEROES, right?

PRO tips before the trek:

·       Fitness is very important – so exercise regularly and keep your body in shape before the trek

·       Get used to the cold weather. It is okay to take bath in cold water.

·      Buy appropriate trekking gears, but my advice would be to buy woollen attires from Leh market which is cheaper and effective for the cold weather.

·       Purchase your boots only from Leh market and give it to the porters during the end of your trek because it is very cheap over there and waste of investment if you are planning to re-use it within India

·      Book your flight tickets in advance and we would prefer Air India as the probability of flight cancellation is less. Don’t forget that Leh airport is prone to shut during bad weather.

·    Plan a day or two to acclimatise in Leh before the trek. It is a beautiful city and worth spending those additional time.

[Excitement in the air?]

PRO tips before the flight:

·       Take enough cash from the ATM. Do not rely on ATMs at Leh!

·    Take your sweater/jacket and cover yourself from head to toe before checking-in your luggage as Leh airport will start to freeze the minute you step on it.

·       Carry just one ID cards and only necessary items. Get rid of everything else.

 25th January, 2018

The flight from Delhi to Leh was itself an experience that anyone can’t afford to miss in their lifetime! You get to fly on top of the mighty Himalayan ranges and the winter time is an advantage. Our travel time during the sunrise was an icing on the cake! I stepped upon an interesting person during my 1-hour flight travel – Naada, a trek organizer from IndiaHikes. who inspired with her mountain experiences, and the snow-capped mountain views outside gave wings to my dreams. In no time, we reached the small town in Jammu and Kashmir – Leh.

[View from the flight to Leh]

The minute you step on Leh, as much as the weather brings chills to your skin, the Indian flag and soldiers dressed in their uniform will make you look prouder. We took the prepaid cab from the airport to reach our hotel ‘Palace View’. Rest of the trip was managed by Bikat Adventures. Having reached a day prior to the schedule, we had sufficient time to get acclimatised and roam around the streets of Leh. We were craving for non-vegetarian food in the cold weather and the local crowd suggested Wazwan restaurant in the main Leh market, but the day happened to be a local pooja fest and non-veg wasn’t available. Yet, their vegetarian food was also amazing, a must try!

[The famous outlet for snacks/food in Leh Market]

Then we went around the streets mainly to buy boots, but ended up purchasing a lot of attires including woollen hat, balaclava, mouth cover, fleece shirt and pant (fleece pants were helpful during the night), woollen gloves, socks for the Chadar trek at a cheaper rate! DO NOT SPEND MONEY PURCHASING IN YOUR CITY. THE LOCAL VENDORS HAVE EVERYTHING IN STORE AT A CHEAPER RATE! Ensure that you buy multiple pairs of woollen sock because it gets wet quickly and your leg will start freezing if you don’t change them. Warmee (self-heating warmers) might help you get through the night and early morning, but I survived without using even one, so buy a few to save yourself in case of an emergency. Do not miss having food in Neha snacks located in the main Leh market. Since everyone were tired without sleep, we returned to our room very early. Being the enthusiastic me, I thought of exploring Leh myself and then the unexpected magic happened! A revelation!

While I roamed around the streets and clicked random pictures, I lost track of the number of items that I was holding. Since I kept juggling between my mobile, wallet, and the multiple cold-protectors, my wallet fell somewhere and I didn’t notice it till the next day.

26th January, 2018

Oops moment and my mind paused for a moment because I had a lot (really a lot) of cash, two debit cards and mainly, my government ID proofs – PAN and Driving License without which I won’t be able to board the flight back home. Even if I wanted to block my debit cards, I was in a black hole situation as my mobile didn’t have network and no messages (security code) would reach me. Luckily, Ajay was the only one who had network in the entire group and I called the Axis Bank help desk to block my number describing the entire scene. Best part was that I remembered my 16-digit debit card number and it was validated with an automated PIN verification! I felt proud of my memory capacity 😊 and hurray..! card was blocked and one step done. Remembering my Dad’s usual quote ‘Hard-earned money will never be lost’, I hoped for some magic to happen and got ready for my dream trek in full enthusiasm. *Curious to know a super dramatic climax? Read till the end to witness the magic moment of my life – I am not talking about the chadar trek here!*

27th January, 2018

We had a brief round of introduction to the group whom we were going to spend the consecutive days along with yummy breakfast comprising of hot aloo parathas, curd & coffee. Two tempo travellers filled with enthusiastic trekkers and a whole lot of trekking bags & poles - the adrenaline rush began! Something flashed my mind to inform my trek leader about the lost wallet, he spontaneously asked if it was a red wallet and clicked a photo of me. As we didn’t have enough time to research more, I left the responsibility with the hotel people to help me to find my wallet. *But I was happy that someone was looking for me*

[Sangam - The intersection point between Indus and Zanskar river; 

Observe the colour difference]

On the way to Chilling (trek starting point), the porters also joined us with the raw materials & camping items. We crossed a lot of military zones, saw some touristy places - magnetic hill and Hall of Fame. We were stunned at Indus-Zanksar convolution point (Sangam) looking at the clear difference between the colour of the water. The drive was itself an adventure – frozen Zanskar on one side and huge mountain on the other side with a very small lane where it was extremely difficult for two vehicles to pass at the same time. A huge salute to the Indian Army as they maintain these landslide prone roads too and make our lives easier!

TREK ROUTE

Chilling -> Bakula -> Sumod base camp -> Tibb camp -> Nerak -> Tibb -> Bakula -> Chilling

Trek Details:

Day 1 will be the most fascinating day as you will try to take baby steps on the ice, balance yourself, have some dangerous fall and laugh about it with your group. And as the day progresses, you will master the art of walking on the frozen river and slip & fall in the right way without breaking your bones (Go with the flow, slide with your back support and never try to balance using your hand or leg when you fall!) Ofcourse, you need to be careful to not to move closer to the flowing waters as slipping into the ice-cold water is almost equivalent to death.

[Lying on ice bed with cold water behind us and below us]

[Non-Frozen waterfall]

The silent environment without any distraction, interacting with strangers and watching every single step that you take – Well, I can assure that you will live your life every second. You will wake up every morning to hot chai served by the Sherpas amidst an ice-filled tent (literally) because of the abnormal temperatures which goes up to -40 degree Celsius. It will become a routine that you hop from one camp to another for 7-8 hours, play ice football post lunch, some crazy UNO games, endless MAFIA & its arguments and the day will fade away to another freezing night. Despite the routine, each day will give you surprises and more memories!

[Stunned at the frozen Nerak, you beauty!]

Nerak was the most beautiful campsite in the entire lot as it had the astonishing Nerak falls – the frozen waterfall. We had to hike 5000m hill to reach the falls as the river path wasn’t frozen. That day also marked Viji's birthday, where one of our co-trekkers Robin, the master-chef joined hands with the sherpas to bake a quick cake with very limited items (yes, in the middle of nowhere) Few of the many reasons why I love to go on treks - Not just for the cake (haha) but for such gestures which indicate love and humanity still exists in this world, understand the importance of every small thing and appreciate it.

Just like how all good things aren’t easy to attain, the return journey from Nerak to Tibb gave us a near-death experience as the ice that we walked previous day had melted and we had to cling to the rocks and slide one-by-one in the thin sheet of ice along with our trek leader without falling into the freezing water. Luckily we survived the stretch - thanks to the boss. The longest distance that we travelled in a day was 14.5 KMs between Tibb and Bakula.

On our final day, we got the opportunity to have a dip in the frozen chadar – thanks to the sun which helped us to withstand the temperature for few minutes. That was one hell of an experience. It wouldn't have been so much fun without an enthusiastic group, and it would be a sin if I don't mention about our Devanshi, 11-year old brave woman, who dared to take this challenge along with us and she completed the trek like a pro. Bidding good bye to the chadar, we went to Leh by road and stopped at Pathar Sahib for (free) lunch. Stayed at Panorama hotel that night and it took a while for us to shift from the fantasy world to the real world.

[Little Devanshi]

[Clean us - After the dip in frozen Chadar]

On our final day, we did some touristy things. Took a van and visited Thikse, Hall of Fame, Sindhu Ghat  and finally ended in Leh market to buy souvenirs for friends & family.

Food served during our 7-day trek:

·       Breakfast – Bread, Butter & Jam, Corn Flakes, Porridge, Poori, Roti, Egg

·       Lunch – Macroni, Maggi, Pulao

·       Snacks – Bajji, Tea

·       Dinner – Chowmein, Rice, Dal sabji, Fruit Salad, Custard

  

The Story of Lost Wallet

To those of you who are curious to know about the story of my lost wallet, it ended up in the hands of an amazing lady, who took efforts to search for me using my ID card; who went to help centres and tried to call me on the number on my ID card; who tried to reach me via FaceBook and indeed pinged people in my friend’s list to reach me; who didn’t want to give the wallet to the hotel guys or my guide just so that nobody stole the cash in the interim; who walked all the way to the market from her house; who waited all the time to give the wallet only to me after confirming that the photo in the ID matched my face. This superwoman is Zohra, a teacher in Leh. Words weren’t enough to let her know how grateful I was. She proved that HUMANITY STILL EXISTS! Thank you Zohra for the best memory that I could keep passing for generations!

[Superwoman Zohra]

Cost Split-up:

Flight expenses - Rs. 16000 (BLR-DEL-LEH and return)

Trek charges - Rs. 22420 (including food and stay during the trek)

Trek Sherpa Head - Mr. Stanzin Chomdan (Contact +91 9469457388 / stanzin_chomdan@yahoo.co.in)

Trekking Group - Bikat Adventures

Hotel - Rs.2500/night for triple occupancy (stayed 2 nights before and after the trek)

Photo Courtesy: Thanks to Neha's mobile and Neha :P who clicked most of the pictures.  

[Happy us - Viji, Ajay, Neha, Shamili]

***My journey to Leh was indeed a rejuvenating experience – not just physically but mentally! ***

Fall into the falls - Bangalore to Didupe to Ermai Falls

It had been quite some time since I wanted to go on a trek with my colleagues, but I never got the right group apart from Neha. The long pause came to limelight when I started work on a new project with a crazy bunch of people. As much I started liking to come to office every day, I loved hanging out and spending most of my time with them. This lead to the idea of pulling them out on a trek, which finally ended in a treknic to Didupe & Ermai falls in Chikmagalur district organized by Bangalore Trekking Club!

March 22, Friday:

The plan was to meet at the usual Shanthala Silk house in Majestic and leave around 9.45 PM. Metro helped us to reach on time. Huge backpacks loaded with sleeping bag and jacket and my favourite people – A long time plan was on action. 21 people were geared for the enthusiastic weekend. We boarded our TT around 10.30 AM and the trek officially began!

The usual BTC-style introduction started. We had to enact our names and the rest of the crowd should guess it. While this had become a routine for me since I’ve been enacting the same way in all the prior treks, Sanjay and Ajay (my team mates) didn’t disappoint us and Sanjay, as always, exceeded our expectations. While the laughter continued till midnight, we took a break when the van stopped for a quick dinner.

March 23, Saturday:

Amidst the continuous chattering from Ajay & Neha, I managed to get some sleep with the little space in my seat (No Sanjay! The person next to me didn’t occupy a lot of space :P ) My alarm went at 6AM and I woke up to the picturesque mountains of the Western Ghats. While the steep roads with a lot of hairpin bends made the ride scary, the green environment made us to disappear into the magic world. We reached Didupe village around 6.30AM and a huge waterfall was visible from one end and the horse-face (Kudremukh) hill on the other.

The guide was waiting to receive his guests and he took us to his house situated amidst the forest. Initially, it started off as a plain stony path, but eventually, we crossed multiple streams to reach the house. We didn’t bother to get our shoes since the slippery rocks posed more challenges. Couldn’t ask for a better start of the trek.

After quickly refreshing, hot steaming idlies waited for breakfast. The guide took us though the day’s itinerary and we hopped out with our day packs. Hidden paths; Improper terrain; Unknown destination; Slippery stones; Yet, I enjoyed every second, mainly because of the people and the unexpected challenges that popped up as we progressed. Leeches, of course added to the adventure!

The entire trek path was inside the dense forest, which was supposed to be elephant’s backyard in the past. The steep ascent drained out the energy right from the start of the trek. In a couple of hours, we reached our first halting point – a beautiful valley which descended into a steep fall. This nameless place was hidden from the external world, and thus the beauty remained undisturbed. Everyone jumped into the water mainly to clear away the leeches that had been sucking our blood inside the shoes and pants, and we spent some time chatting and taking pictures.

After multiple ascend and descend with the removal of thorn pricks clinging to my hair and spotting snakes and weird creatures on our path, we reached our next destination – the next level of the waterfall, which happened to our lunch spot, but also looked like the perfect suicide spot :P One wrong step and you might land up into pieces! Yet, you could have loads of fun if you are careful and our people are extra-cautious bunch of enthusiasts. In no time, people slowly started getting into the falls and everyone hopped in. Savige bath packed for lunch turned out to be devamirtham after playing inside the water. Bidding good bye to the beautiful falls, we moved to our next destination.

This is when we started going down the path to the base, and it was a complete steep. With the help of the trees and stones, we managed to get our grip. As always, people fell down and got bum hits, yet, we were grateful that it didn’t rain, else our path would have become miserable. Although going down didn’t drain out our energy, the sound of our heart beat kept pumping fast due to the continuous adrenaline rush. The only rule of thumb is to sit and slide if you are not confident about the path! We kept moving down parallel to the falls, hence it was a treat to watch the ambience despite the tricky route. And after one final super steep descend came the surprise element of the day – the majestic Didupe falls!

I was stunned at the first look of it – of course love at first sight and the best part was the presence of the rainbow. Even without bothering to remove our shoes, we merged with the mesmerizing beauty. The water force was so harsh that we struggled to move closer to the falls, yet nothing stopped us. At the end of the day, the free massage from the falls and the photo shoot session was worth the pain of reaching it!

We started our way back to the homestay after completely getting drenched in the beauty of the falls and fancy snacks made of jackfruit pappad and hot bajji was waiting for us. As the night fell, it was time for some games. Mafia came to entertain us and of course, it was fun as always with arguments and quarrel and the night ended with a lavish dinner – special mention to the amazing kesari bath I’ve ever had in my life!

March 24, Sunday:

It was a cold morning and I woke up to the view of misty mountains. Idiyappam with milk made of palm jaggery and gravy filled our stomach for morning breakfast. While we waited for our coffee, party time began with people dancing crazily for kuthu songs and not to forget the eye-to-eye romantic dance performance by Sanjay and the doctor in the group!  We set out on our next adventure with all the laughter to the mud games arena. None of us knew what was waiting for us, apart from the fact that we were going to get ourselves dirty. We walked across the lawns and meadows to reach our mud pond spot. Basically, it was the season where the farmers will start sowing their seeds and the land was hydrated and strengthened for a better harvest.

By the time, the entire team reached the mud pond, Vikram and few exuberant people got into the water. It wasn’t attractive at the first look, yet, the minute we stepped into water, the cold waves brought goose bumps and we merged with the enthusiastic crowd. Beach volleyball turned into a mud volley ball and it was fun watching people dive into the dirt water to get hold of the ball.  While the pros got into the game so quickly, novice like me became a spectator despite being part of the team. This didn’t last too long when people voluntarily made us to get into the water and made us look ugly. It ended up in a tit for tat game, people running around and chasing each other with hand full of mud and beating each other.

Next, the stage was set for a game of tug of war – the team was split into two. We used our complete force and tried our best to place our legs firmly and eventually lied down completely in the slippery mud as the pull from the other team increased. After a couple of amateur games, we had a competition between the pro in the village and our strong BTC people. As a spectator, we became the cheer girls for our team and motivated, yet, you know what would have been the result? 😊 Cold buttermilk came to our rescue to quench our thirst. Then one group started to play kabaddi and the rest of us played dodge ball. As always, crazy photo sessions brought an end to our mud game time.

After refreshing, we took a jeep ride to the place where our TT was waiting, which happened to be another adventure. It was a roller coaster ride with crazy bumps and forceful water streams across our way. The other group had also noticed a huge snake. Then we went to our next mane – where our lunch was getting ready for us. We were offered a variety of items – huge ladies finger sambhar, salad, rasam, payasam, appalam and ended with the amazing sukku kaapi. Since we reached the place very late, we missed the chance to go on a paddy field visit.

We took a walk to the Ermai falls where we got an opportunity to do some social work of cleaning the area around the falls – thanks to our cleanliness-friendly people who never bother to use dustbin to dump the waste. The entire place looked so different and free from plastic after the clean-up and I could only wish if people took small efforts to not to ruin the public places and teach the same to the next generation! While the clean-up drive brought mental satisfaction, we were mesmerized with the beauty of the multi-level Ermai falls. Since it was too deep, we did not take extra effort to get into the water, but the swimmers didn’t spare this waterfall too.

As the place started getting darker, we returned our way to the home. Our next task was to prepare our own dinner – the best part of the entire trip! Although I cook just for fun, I’ve never made anything for a huge group. My chapattis had never been round and I was sitting there kneading the dough! :D Vikram was the highlight in our group – he managed most of the cooking himself – special mention to the yummy potato subzi. We started back to Bangalore by 10PM.

Bidding good bye to the amazing group, we departed our ways at 4AM. It was one another awesome weekend with my people. TGTC begins here!

Kabbaladurga - The short and sweet challenge

It was one another weekend and I wanted to do something productive rather than lying in bed all day. Then I saw a trek to Kabbaladurga and registered without giving any thought. The icing on this was it happened to be a woman only trek. However, any trek does not happen without convincing my over-thinking parents, this was no exception. The Kaveri issue happened to be a blocker, yet I sneakily escaped! 😃

With full enthusiasm, I got up by 5am on a Sunday morning. As the meeting point was Banashankari this time, I had to travel to another city from Indiranagar. Google maps gave an estimated time of 1 hour and I had to reach the bus station by 6.45am. The punctual angel in me made me to book the cab at 6am and the outcome is reaching much early than expected. I reached at an odd time of 6.20am. As I waited opposite to the bus stand, I noticed a restaurant open for breakfast. DAMN! I spent my morning hours in preparing dosa, just because it was mentioned that we had to get the breakfast. If only I had known the existence of a restaurant, I could have parcelled it. As my mind was fighting, an uncle walked to me and asked if I was going to the Kabbaladurga trek. No wonder he spotted me because of my attire and trekking shoes. Then he introduced me to his daughter who was a first-timer in trekking and I was able to see that excitement. I was so impressed with his dad that he had read blogs about this trek and motivated us telling that we are going at the right time. The situation would have been completely different in my case, if only my parents were in Bangalore.

Then we walked to the bus stand where we met a group of girls who looked like trekkers, and surprisingly many were first-timers. They were totally geared up without missing even a single item in the checklist. Meanwhile the group expanded and Raja Lakshmi decided that we could finish our breakfast in the restaurant as most of us were already there. Quickly gulped idlis and got into the bus to Kanakapura. That's when I found two of my juniors as well, who registered for the same trek. The enthusiasm paused during the travel as all of us were seated in any vacant seat that we got and I dozed off happily. In another 2.5 hours, we reached Satnur, a small village in Kanakapura and quickly packed our lunch. Got into two autos and in no time, we were on the base of the mighty Kabbaladurga. 

Kabbaladurga is famous among the local for the powerful Goddess Kabbalamma. Sunday was no exception to these localities that the temple at the base was so crowded. This is supposed to be the only temple for 28 villages around this area. The mountain also possessed a fort which was well positioned in a 250m high monolithic rock that was steep on all three sides and moderate on the fourth side, which will be the trekker's path. 

As the sun was scorching our skins, we decided to climb quickly without wasting our time. Since the group was mostly filled with first-timers, I got the privilege to lead the team with Raja Lakshmi at the end. The trek started off with a mild walk, crossing trees and bushes but suddenly there was a steep climb. Even though we had the support of rails here and there, the path was angled little crooked that it always felt like we were going to fall. Yet, if you focus on the steps without looking down, you could cross the small challenge quickly. 

Then there was a small obstacle where we had to climb without any support, yet you could always cling to the rocks. As the group was filled with first-timers, the leading group got multiple breaks where we tortured our beloved Kurkure Aunty (just got married 3 months back) to narrate her wedding stories. Once you cross the two obstacles, congrats! You'll reach the top even before you wonder where you are!

We sat on an open space and finished all the snacks, as many had brought so many things and wanted to reduce the weight of their luggage. While our photographer Rashmi was clicking many to-be-dps, we gulped a range of food items from healthy bananas and orange to homemade sweets. As we were getting fried under the mid noon sun, we quickly finished our lunch and wrapped up. The bonda helped in finishing the dabba full of rice. 

Then we explored the peak, visited the hidden fort and went to the other side of the hill which had the best view than any part of the mountain. A small slip would land us in the base, alive or dead would depend on the luck. After a couple of group pictures, we started to descend and the route was the same. Being a steep hill, there were few phases where we had to sit and crawl like a kid, yet most of us reached the base quickly. There was cold buttermilk waiting for us at the base by a couple, sold at 10rs per glass. Since we were devoid of water, the buttermilk was heaven to the group. As we waited for the final group, we sat near a water dump and gossips started. Then everyone came and we marched towards the Kabbalamma temple, yet didn't step in. Drank sugarcane juice and bid goodbye to the mighty beauty - Kabbaladurga.

Same as how we came, we took an auto to the bus stand and had our feedback session. As our eyes kept waiting for the bus to Bengaluru, patience was flying off and hence we boarded the next bus to Kanakapura. The bus journey was even more fun as Rashmi got into an argument with a localite for chasing her out of the seat, yet everything ended with laughter. An old lady was impressed by our kala chasma woman as she taught her how to pose for pictures and took selfies. Our next halt came quickly and we got into a private bus as the government buses were too crowded. Reached Bangalore by 6pm with lots and lots of memories.

A big salute to the lady who dared to take the ownership of 16 other women in the group, out of which many were first-timers. Good job, Raja lakshmi! You will always be an inspiration to all of us. Thank you everyone for an amazing day and see you soon!

No of people in the group : 17

Total Expense : 250

Wow trek with wow people to Siddarabetta

It was a rainy Sunday morning and who would wish to wake at 5 am, instead of wrapping yourself inside the blanket in that amazing weather. 17 girls had a tough fight with their beds and made it to the Shanthala silk house meeting point to enjoy their day at Siddarabetta. I took the 6.35 metro from Indiranagar, where I met Sandeep geared up for his run in Cubbon park. Reached Majestic at 6.50 and hurried to the meeting point.

The entire group was new to me other than the organiser Raksha whom I've met in a prior trek. Introducing myself to the entire group, I was excited to be in my first women only trek and waited eagerly for the next mission. Boarded our TT at 7.15 and started our journey. Tejaswini joined us in yeshvantpur and the van was filled with pretty women.

After a quick round of introduction, the ice was broken because we are surrounded by women and just women! The noise level increased as everyone started to chat with their fellow seatmates. That's when I started my conversation with an amazing woman Lakshmi, from whom I learnt how to lead my life confidently and follow what you love the most. At the first sight, she looked very smart and I was sure that she was married, but little did I expect that she would be a mother of 12 year old girl. Then we stopped at a restaurant near dabbaspet where we had idly, dosa and the best akki roti that I've ever had in my life.

Finished our breakfast and headed towards Siddarabetta from dabbaspet town. Since the journey time was going to take an another hour, Raksha initiated the food antaksharie game. Different varieties of dishes started to fly around from the entire nation, especially the south Indian items as the van was filled with majority of south Indians. For once, Hindi didn't dominate the group!

We reached Siddarabetta around 10.30am and started our ascend. There was a small temple at the base and all we saw later were multiple steep steps to the hill top. Started off with my prayer and managed to stay in the front of the group as always. It started to drizzle and we couldn't ask for a better weather. While local people were walking in barefoot including the little ones, we tried so hard to move forward despite wearing the expensive shoes. The only creature which disturbed us on our way were the monkeys. Indeed they pounced on a lady's bag but thank God it ran away.

The climb became even more interesting when we had to climb small steps carved in the rocks. Reached the peak and waited for the entire group in a clifftop to join us. With the monkeys entertaining us now and then, the view from the top was truly mesmerising. Meanwhile everyone completed their mission and we went to visit the cave temple in two groups as someone should be there to safeguard our shoes and bags from the monkeys.

The temple was completely different from what we expected. Lord Shiva was inside a cave with Nandi in front of him. Also we saw lot of people, including few girls from our group, who got themselves drenched completely in the water that started from the cave. It is a belief that this water would help ail your body pains and keep you healthy. After visiting the temple, we explored the mountain even further that we started to climb up. The weather started to change slowly and we didn't know if we should be happy or sad about it. It started to get dark and a heavy downpour was waiting for us. Even though we enjoyed the climate, we were worried about the descend after the rains.

After clicking lots and lots of pictures, we started our way back as it started to pour heavily. We were searching for a place to hide from the rains. Once the rain slowed down, the real adventure began. With few drops and crawls and jumps, we managed to finish our mission completely. Barefoot walk indeed really worked out in finishing our mission without slipping on the rocks.

It was 3pm when we reached the base and hunger panic began. We heard it from the local people that the temple arranges annadhanam everyday and we headed there to have dal rice and buttermilk. Got into the van and headed to Mahalakshmi  temple near dabbaspet. Flew back to Bengaluru as we were getting too late. With a quick round of feedback, our trek came to an end and became memories to be added to the future. Kudos to the organisers Raja Lakshmi and Raksha for organising it so well!