A trek to the hills - Mountains are calling

Red, blue, green, houses and white mountains was the view from my hotel room. The synchronization of these colors made morning views of Mcleodganj as beautiful as one can ever see. Vacationing at the hills has now been a trend for trek lovers and early risers. Although this trip to Dharamshala-Mcleodganj in Himachal pradesh was made for a fun-relaxed, nature-loving vacation, it turned out to be more adventurous and self-exploration of that place for me and my sister.

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After a quick self-study and research we found the place was famous for trek to ‘Bhagsunag Waterfall’. Never really seen a waterfall that is 20 meters tall and at a distance of 2 km from Mcleodganj and 11 km from Dharamshala. We were also curious to know about the history behind the naming of this waterfall. ‘Mcleodganj’ is known as the land of Tibetian refugees. Along with the tibetans, there are about 1200 local Indians who live here. We began our conversation with one of the localities who was a shopkeeper who took us back to the history of this place. The naming history of this waterfall goes back to 5000 years when the snake God, ‘Nagdevta’ declared war on a King named ‘Bhagsu’ who dared to steal the sacred water from the ‘Nagdal lake’. The King was defeated by the snake God and forgiven. Hence the name. The mythological concept and story seemed pretty interesting to know the faith of the people there. 

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We started walking and oh yes, a 2km trek is just not as easy as a 2km walk. The destination is unseen and the path is tough. Before you start your trek, all you can see is the sky and a large rocky hill in front of you with a hope in heart that the waterfall is somewhere up there. 10 steps, 100 steps, 150, 180, the path seemed unending. We stopped counting the steps as we started to lose breath, and stopped midways for 5 minutes of break. 

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The localites knew not every tourist will trek end-to-end and make an easy walk up the hill. Hence they’ve kept small shops about a distance of 200-300m. A place to sit, relax, listen to their traditional folk song being played and of course a refreshment or an energy drink to purchase. Curious to know, I asked how long have they been running a shop up the hill. The shopkeeper said, it's been 15 years now since the time he finished his  school after grade 9 and started to run the shop that his father owned. He stayed nearby with his family and this shop is his bread and butter. Besides earning from the shop, he loves to interact with tourists and know more about the different places that people have come from. Although he hasnt gone out from Himachal, he says he’s seen half of the world through his imagination from the past 15 years, just by interacting with the tourists. My heart was filled with compassion and respect for the young man. He set an example to be content and happy with what you have valuing the people around you. A beautiful chat with the young man and a memory to take back for life. 

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We continued our walk and met different kinds of people on the way, kids, youth, and old. The youth as usual(including me) starts cribbing of body aches and giving up half way and returning home. Another lot of middle-aged men who were on a group tour, kept the self-motivation and kept walking shouting slogans, “Few more steps… Keep going”. We walked and stopped, walked and stopped. Every group passed by and some stopped with us. Until I saw a 70 year old grandma walk up the hill and passing by us.  She was amazing and a treu inspiration. Her family kept going because of her and from then on, so did we. And then we never stopped!

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Its true when they say, “If your journey is beautiful, don’t look at where it leads. Just keep going”. And yes that’s what we did. There were no railing to hold, the steps were mere rocks with big stones to walk on, both sides had plants, trees and weeds. To my left was the rock and right was the valley deep down. I could see the village from where we started. The higher we went, the tinier looked the red, blue and green houses. All I knew was the green mountains was where I was going. They seemed larger and tuffer than they looked. Walking on this path, the air was fresh, oxygen from these plants could be felt and a different energy poured in. 

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After a 4 hour trek, we finally reached. The chaos of desires was difficult to explain when we heard the sound of the waterfall from a 2 minute distance. The first look at the tall fall was something I could not take my eyes off. The water was ice cold and fresh. People were happier at the destination and forgot about the complaints on the journey. The bliss of completing a 4 hour trek to this mountain was worth it. One of a lifetime experience!

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Never imagined a short trek to the hills could turn out to be a memorable one. Although it lasted for a few hours, there was a bag full of memories to take back along with me. Waking up to an ecstatic morning view of Mcleodganj, I sat down at the balcony of the hotel room with a cup of tea. Gazing at the green mountains, I say to myself, “I was there”. As the birds come sit at the railing, give me a quiet look and fly away, I turn my eyes to the white mountains and say, “You’re next!”.