An impregnable journey to Dayara Bugyal

After having dinner our sir organized few activities with us. We were asked to sit in a circle and share few things about us. It was a team bonding activity which helped us to know each other better. The night was becoming darker, the stars started playing hide and seek with the clouds and the invigorating winds were surpassing the misty peaks. The aura of the deep dark woods made everything looked surreal. When slumber started crawling on our eyelids we went back to our tents and dozed off. Meanwhile, we could still hear the mumbling and wicked laughter of the boys who were sleeping in the other tent and who says women are more talkative than men? huh!

Early morning we were given the wake-up calls. As soon as we woke up a cup of hot tea was provided to us. It was a beautiful dawn which was accompanied by clouds and chirping of the playful birds, who were too shy to settle on the overreaching branches of the trees. The sun was overlooking the hills like a mother cradling her baby after feeding. It was such an alluring morning. After getting fresh we were asked to assemble at the dining area for breakfast. We were served a nutritious and healthy breakfast by the dedicated team of Rise on Himalayas. Our team took few photographs of the moment and started heading towards Dayara Bugyal. We were provided lunch and few refreshments to munch whenever we felt hungry in between the trek. Before leaving we refilled our water bottles because we had to trek 7 km towards Dayara Bugyal in broad daylight.

Day 02: Trek to Dayara from Upper Raithal

Before starting with the trek our expert travel guide Sandy gave a brief description of the trekking route. He said – we will take the route from Upper Raithal towards Ghuin and hike up to widespread meadows of Dayara. He further added – 4 km gradually ascending route from Ghuin will lead to shepherd huts at Dayara Bugyal. The day trek goes through open land and dense forest at different places and finally ends up at the vast expanse of the lush green meadow – Dayara Bugyal. In less than 3 hours time we’ll be able to reach Dayara Bugyal.

With a happy heart, we left our base camp at 9 am and walked hand in hand towards Dayara. It was a sunny morning and I could hear the rustle of the leaves while marching forward. All of us were feeling enthusiastic as we wanted to reach Dayara as soon as possible. I had seen its pictures on the internet and wondered how it will appear in real. Our battalions walked steadily towards Dayara and we managed to cross 1 km. After that, we decided to take a short break. I had a piece of chocolate with me when I gulped it, the juices burst in my mouth and filled my taste palates. As I was dead tired, I felt like I was having a fruit from heaven. I never knew that a piece of chocolate could comfort me someday. Our shoulders were aching because of the weight of our bags but we didn’t stop and started trekking.

While trekking towards Ghuin which is a tiny hamlet on the way to Dayara, we met a charming old Garhwali lady who was also heading there. I took her picture and she smiled graciously at me. I told her she reminded me of my grandmother who used to dress up in the same manner. She was quite friendly and sweet by nature. Soon we crossed 2 km and had some rest in between. After that, we saw a waterfall where we quenched our thirst. All of us were keeping an eye on each other so that nobody was left behind. We were moving at a good pace and saw a shack on the way where we sat for a while and enjoyed the cool breeze. After leaving from there we gradually walked towards Dayara. While our trekking guide was giving us directions; the horses saddled with the tents and other important stuff were also marching forward.

We were charged up by the majestic aura of the lush green hills and crossed yet another 1 km. Finally, we reached Ghuin at 12’O clock, where we saw few thatched huts which were made by the shepherds. I saw the smoke coming out of the huts and started feeling hungry as I thought someone might be preparing food. It was drizzling and the land was mushy so we took each step carefully. On the way between Ghuin and Dayara, we took some funny pictures of each other and had our lunch. Meanwhile, the dense fog started appearing in front of our eyes. The weather was becoming harsh and it was about to rain. We pulled our rain coats from our bags, wore them and started walking. Dayara Bugyal was only 2 km from Ghuin which meant we could reach there within an hour, so we hurried.

On reaching Dayara Bugyal we were awestruck by the heavenly beauty of the place. The clouds were looking down on the alpine meadows, flowers were blooming which were bathed by the rain and the cold winds were gently touching my cheeks. I could see cattle grazing on the hill atop. What a splendid sight it was! All of us were drenched in the rain so we went inside our camps to warm up a little. We opened our sleeping bags and had a small nap. When we woke up, we were offered hot soup to drink which soothed our throat.

A game of Frisbee on a cold evening

It was foggy outside, but men being men were playing Frisbee and asked us to join them. We tried our hand at Frisbee but we were unable to handle it as the wind was blowing very fast. So we took another one and started playing with it after some time when we got bored, I and my friend went to explore the natural surroundings.

While exploring the natural surroundings we saw four beautiful cows who were posing like divas, somehow I managed to take their picture.Then came a cute fluffy Bhotia dog who was very friendly. When we called him, he started licking us. I thought he might be thinking that we will offer him something to eat but sadly we didn’t bought anything with us, so we were unable to feed him. While going back to our campsite he followed us timidly. On reaching our camps we gave him biscuits to eat, he waved his tail and ate it hungrily.

Dinner was ready at 7’O clock in the evening so all of us assembled near the dining area. The sight of the delectable food increased our appetite and we readily finished off the food on our platter. After having dinner we had a musical jam. Everybody was singing their heart out and the echo of the lyrical ballad was transcending in the hills. When the last candle was on the verge of extinguishing and our feet became absolutely numb, we hurried back to our camps. We packed ourselves in our sleeping beds and were recalling the songs that we forgot to sing. That night we slept late because we could still hear the boys singing out loud from their tents.

The next morning brought a new surprise for us. When we came out from our tents all of us were dazzled by the beautiful sunrise which was complementing the spectacular beauty of Dayara Bugyal. Our trekking guide told us that post breakfast we will hike up to Bakaria Top while mapping the lengths and breadths of Dayara Bugyal. Bakaria Top perched at an altitude of 3810 meters is the highest vantage point in the nearby region. It is situated 2.5 km ahead of Dayara Bugyal. We wore our brand new t-shirts given by eUttaranchal and picked up few essential things that we needed while trekking.

All of us were feeling relieved that we didn’t have to carry our backpacks because the weight of the luggage was unbearable. The weather was pleasant and the sun was shining brightly, we crossed the meadows and took pictures of the landscape. An adorable little black dog was also accompanying us while hiking. Our trekking guide showed us few medicinal plants and mushrooms that were growing in the meadows. We were admiring the scenic beauty and took pictures of the cattle’s grazing on the fields.

After trekking for an hour we took a small break and relaxed on the flower beds. The sight of Banderpoonch Peak wrapped up in a blanket of clouds appeared like a lover holding her beloved in his arms. The soul rejuvenating beauty of it melted my heart at once. I captured the glorious view of Banderpoonch Peak in my camera. From there we also had a magnificent view of Kala Naag Peak. When the crimson colored sun rays fell on the peak, it appeared like a pearl studded crown. After that, we had a photo shoot with eUttaranchal in which all the members were included. It was so much fun we were overwhelmed by the warm gesture which brought a smile on everybody’s faces.

While climbing atop we saw ravens, hawks and enormously big Himalayan Griffons who were soaring high in the sky and hurling like shooting stars. After walking for half an hour we reached a spring where we refilled our water bottles. I was leading that day so I stopped at places where I wanted to and was taking candid pictures of the trek. While crossing a steep slope I saw few buffaloes who were basking in the glimmering sunlight. One of them was continuously staring at me as if I am some kind of intruder. I maintained a healthy distance from them and had a narrow escape. My sir started hooting and shooed them to pounce on me; he was trying to scare me eventually, I escaped the inevitable. I thought of relaxing for a while so the rest of my teammates can catch up. When everybody reached there we started moving ahead and were about to reach Bakaria Top.

Two of our teammates had already reached Bakaria Top while we were still climbing our way to the top. They waved their hands and tried to warn us about something but we couldn’t understand their message. At first instance, I thought that are telling us to run but we ignored it. When we reached there we saw a fat sheep who had collapsed on the ground, her eyes were rolled up and she was turning pale. We could see her shivering and her heart was beating faster. We thought she might be pregnant and was suffering from labor pain. Those who reached earlier told us that a leopard had attacked her and it ran in the same direction from where we came. They were warning us not to come there as he might come back to take his prey. We were not scared by the story as we knew it was a prank. We started examining the sheep and found no wounds which proved that she hadn’t been attacked. I thought she might need some water to drink as she may have collapsed due to a sun stroke.

Our sir took the water bottle from my friend and poured few drops of water in her mouth. She drank the water and started moving her head. He pushed her to make her stand on her feet, she lifted her weight and slowly stood up on her hind legs. When she was trembling with the pain we noticed that she had hurt her foot. With baby steps, she moved forward and went in search of her friends. We all thanked our sir for saving her life, he smirked and gave a sarcastic remark for which he is famous – ”Oh God! I missed the golden opportunity of having lamb in dinner”. We all laughed aloud and were happy that a life was saved.

When all of us reached Bakaria Top it felt as if an adrenaline has been shot into our veins. We were so much excited as if we have conquered the hills. We admired a panoramic view of the quaint hills from Bakaria Top which was a breathtaking sight. It was 12’0 clock and the sun was shining brightly. As we were exhausted we laid on the grass and relaxed for a while. After resting for half an hour we started descending. On the way, I saw a beetle who was sitting on a pebble like a king sitting proudly on his throne.

Suddenly the weather became worse and the wind started blowing fervently in my ears. It started raining heavily, thankfully! we carried our raincoats so we didn’t get wet but our shoes became messy. We followed another route while going back. The land became marshy and there were pieces of rocks on the trek route. Hail stones started falling on us and it became difficult to descend but with faith in our hearts, we started heading towards our campsite.

We kept on hiking for half and hour in rain and wind by 2’0 clock we were in our camps. On reaching our campsite we breathed a sigh of relief ! after some time hot lunch was served to us. After having lunch we went inside to take a nap as it was foggy outside. In the evening around 5’0 clock, we were offered tea and popcorns to eat. I and my friend went for a short walk outside, it was drizzling so I carried my rain coat along with me. As we moved along the meadows and the mushy land our feet became dirty. So we washed our feet from the icy cold water of a small perennial stream which was flowing close to our campsite.

When I looked towards our camp we saw our trekking guide and his team had light a bonfire. Yay! no wonder I had been thinking all day long if this could happen our trek would become perfect as bonfire night was only missing rest we did everything.

That day we had our dinner encircling the bonfire. The joy of having food under the cluster of stars was unparalleled. Hot soup was served as a starter and the main course was followed by mouth watering desert. Our sir organized few activities with us firstly he prepared a questionnaire for all of us, those who answered well was gifted free vouchers. All of us enjoyed the activity, we pulled each others leg and had a lot of funny moments in between. It not only helped us to open up but we got to know each other better. We sang old songs and laughed our heart out on the jokes cracked by our teammates. We were enjoying so much that we forgot to look at our watches, to our surprise it was 1’0 clock. We saw shooting stars that night and the sight of moon unveiling itself like a newly wedded bride was inimitable. It was covered in silver dust and the clouds were armoring the moon as if the denizens would lessen its charm by having a look at her. After watching the moonlight we went to sleep with a heavy heart because it was our last night at Dayara. The last thought that came to my mind was – Dayara I’ll miss you a lot.

In the morning when I opened my eyes and came out from the tent, I was bewitched by the sight of Bandepoonch Peak which could be seen clearly. Post breakfast, a wrap up session was held in which different titles was bestowed on those who performed well in the trek. At 9’O clock, we bid adieu to Dayara Bugyal and to the lovely team of Rise on Himalayas. We started trekking towards Barnala Tal which was at a distance of 3 kms. The sun was out and we were sweating profusely. After one and a half hour we reached Barnala Tal where our team mates decided to have some rest. We spot a big fish in Barnala Tal and clicked some pictures of the pristine lake. We had to cover a total trekking distance of 5 km from Barnala Tal to Barsu so we got up and started hiking again. Our legs were hurting while descending. It took us 2-3 hours to reach Barsu Village. When we saw our tempo Traveler waiting for us we speeded up and quickly grabbed our seats as we were dead tired. The driver followed the route to Uttarkashi where we had lunch.

Unfortunately, one of the tires was punctured so it took half an hour to get it fixed. Our journey to home began and by evening we were in Chamba. It was 7’0 clock in the evening and we could see dwindling lights of the village houses which appeared like a scenery. Then we crossed Katarnal, a pristine hill station and in an hour we were in ”The Queen of Hills” Mussoorie. When we reached Shiv Mandir I was so much excited about going home but at the same time, I was feeling upset that finally our trip is going to end. When we reached Rajpur Road, with mixed emotions I called my family to pick me up at Astley Hall. They came there at sharp 10:17 pm, every ounce of my body was aching badly. I picked my bag and bade goodbye to my new friends. As all good things come to an end my trip ended here. I was taking memories that will be engraved in my heart forever. It was not merely a trek for fun and frolic rather it was a learning experience for me.