On Sunday (9/25), I spent the day trekking to Chota Bangal (literally "little place") in the interior of the Dhouladur Range 0f the Himalayas with three amazing guests from Deer Park (Ritesh, Vid, and Anni). We started off in Billing, at the same site most paragliders in the area take off from, venturing into the next interior valley. The path was beautifully maintained by the local Gaddis (shepherds and cowherds) and we passed high along the ridge of the first few mountains, watching fog rise further into the range, eventually making a slow descent to Rajgunda, then crossing the river to Baragaram (where we were lucky enough to join some of the local Pahari children in play and where the older women told me it's a shame I'm not married and that they'd find me a beautiful Pahari bride), finally making it to Milota, our final destination (and one that connects back to Bir by a road, albeit a winding, tight, and mountainous one) after about eight hours of comfortable walking. The trail was misty and incredibly, unbelievably, magically verdant; the entire trip felt like I was dropped into a fairy tale. The day ended, as all good day hikes do, with a copious amount of pizza (courtesy of 4tables, a local establishment in the village of Gunehar that uses a real wood burning oven)! I look forward to doing this trek again soon (hopefully in an extended version) and trying the small local trails the wind up and down the mountains off the main trek. Hopefully, I'll even be able to follow the trail all the way to Bara Bangal (literally "Big Place"), a beautiful and secluded Gaddi community unreachable in Winter.
John
10/27/2016 07:30:19 am
Beautiful! Thank you for sharing :)
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Lucas Shaker
10/27/2016 10:29:18 am
Beautiful photos! Really enjoyed the candids of the kids playing, huge smiles. Hope to see more, happy travels!
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Sharky
10/27/2016 05:20:27 pm
Great photos mate, specially the candids
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