Welcome To The Valley Of The Gods

First-time trekker Geeta Rao braves the cold, bath-less days and sleeping alone in a tent to get to Uttarakand’s Har Ki Dun. Would she do it again?.

- Geeta Rao

Here I am, 12,000 feet above sea level, standing at Uttarakhand’s spectacular Swargrohini range as scalpel-sharp mountain air slices through my ragged city lungs. It has taken me five days of walking, huffing, puffing and some very inelegant panting to get to Har Ki Dun or Valley of the Gods.

In the trekking world, it is a beginner’s trek. When you reach the top, you don’t plant the Indian flag here or make V for Victory signs. You just celebrate with a double omlette and hot tea at a local stall. At 12,000 feet, it is lower than Khardung La pass in Ladakh but high enough to give you altitude sickness. I am a newbie. I am the person who bumps the treadmill incline to level one on a good day at the gym and thinks this is the ultimate fitness workout.

Group travel has never been my thing but when I sign up impulsively for an all-women’s trek I figure the 15 other women are likely to be soul sisters. If I must lose my dignity and roll off a cliff, let it be with soul sisters! Plus, they understand the need to take selfies at crucial points and carry backup power banks and sunscreen.

A list of essentials is sent to me soon after. Trekking poles, head torch, a light backpack, hiking shoes and a fitness checklist — you should be able to run five kilometres carrying five kilos in 15 minutes kind of stuff. I am too late to reach this level. If you can’t do that, advises a friend, walk up and down 10 to 20 floors. Right! Remember what I said about the treadmill?

I also sign up for a single tent. Everyone else has opted to share but I think a little privacy and me time will add to the trekking experience. Two days into the trek, when the temperature hits minus two and a chill draft refuses to squiggle out of my tent, I realise that two people and two sets of luggage in a tent is the only way to stay truly insulated. Essentially, I have paid more to freeze.