Tale of a Heavenly Hike
Delhi-Mcleod Ganj-Delhi
I am in the industry for 4 years or so but never got the opportunity to go on a trip with my colleagues. After so much wait and endless discussions, my team decided to go for a trip to mcleodgunj.
Total of 9 people volunteered for this trip and after much-sought planning, we were ready to go. Itinerary was pretty simple, drive to mcleodgunj and then trek to Triund. I have been to the mcleodgunj couple of times but all the time as a solo traveler. Least to say that everyone was excited to the core.
We started our trip from Gurgaon err Gurugram as per the name-changing tradition goes. Two vehicles comprise of Innova and sx4 were loaded with people and lots of snacks. When I say lots of snacks then I mean it. Six of us were in Innova and remaining three in sx4.
The planning was to roll by 12 but what is the fun if everything goes according to plan. We left around 1 am and the enthusiasm of us can easily be spotted. Two experienced drivers were in charge of the vehicle and as expected we were riding smoothly.
 |
| Ready to Roll |
The route we choose was Gurugram—Karnal—Ambala—Una—Mcleodgunj. When you are driving on NH-1, it seems to be a crime if you don’t take a stop in Murthal. People around NCR knows what I am talking about.
First stop : Murthal. Cup of tea and hell lot of photoshoot later, we were ready to roll again. Not to forget the facebook updates and check-ins.
NH-1 is a travelers paradise. Inch perfect road without much traffic, what else you can expect of. After Ambala, we took a right turn to continue on the road that connects Una.
Second stop: Somewhere around Roopnagar or popularly known as Roopad. We had a light breakfast and some more photo sessions. Everyone stretched their legs and was freshened up. We got back into our vehicles and resumed our journey.
 |
| Near Roopad |
On the way of Una, we had a glimpse of holy Anandpur Sahib and famous Govind Sagar. As we were on our way, we got a message from another vehicle that one of our mates is having a high fever. We had some medicines with us and we took a forcible stop at Una.
 |
| Anandpur Sahib |
Third stop: Una. We just parked our vehicles on the pass by lane of the highway. After taking care of the poor fellow, we were ready to roll again. You got it right, no photo session this time.
After refueling our vehicles near Una and some attempt at picking up guava from the tree, we regained our journey. The enthusiasm was dropping and rightly so. All thanks to our men behind the wheels, I knew we were in safe hands and were comfortable. No hiccups till the time apart from poor soul Anuj getting some serious fever.
Just before the hills started, we decided to take a break as our pilots needed to take a power nap.
Fourth stop: Somewhere in the hills. Few rounds of maggie and some snacks. All were freshened up and ready again. We were hell tired and ended up in no photoshoot again.
Now the actual journey begins. Traveling into the hills is the most mesmerizing experience anyone can get. Awesome views, fresh air and what not? In route to Dharamsala from Una, you will find many holy places and one of them is Jwala Devi. We were not in the mood to stop by for ‘darshan’, but who can refuse to have those delicious jalebis.
Fifth stop: Near Jwala Devi. After tasting jalebis from a couple of shops, we choose one and bought some jalebis. After so much amount of sweetness, we decided to grab some pakoras as well. Breakfast is done, well, sort of!
 |
| JwalaDevi Temple Entrance |
This turned out to be our last stop between Gurgaon to Mcleodgunj. After some confusion of route and lots of sharp turns later, we were at our reserved hotel near Bhagsu.
The weather was awesome, a little drizzle and then clear sky and drizzle again. We occupied our rooms in the hotel and then got freshened up. We ordered food and everyone filled themselves up with paranthas, kadhai paneer etc.
As per our itinerary, we were ready to do a mini trek to Bhagsu fall. Trek to Bhagsu fall is a small one. Uphill walk of around 2 Kms will land you just below the fall. We reached there smoothly despite the fact that everyone was tired in some manner. The water of the fall was as chilled as you can think of. The view from the waterfall is itself so amazing that it is worth visiting. Not to forget the maggie and Tea stall beside the waterfall. This thing makes this place to be on your list whenever you visit Mcleodgunj.
 |
| Bhagsu Fall |
After spending quality time there, we went back and did some markets shopping in the main market. There is a small swimming pool in the market too. If you want then you can go for a swim there but Bhagsu fall is much better option than that. The market in Mcleodgunj is just like any other hill station market, over pricey and lots of local stuff.
Dinner, dumb charades and a hell lot of masti later, we went to sleep. Next morning our main target was a trek to Triund.
So, early in the morning and after light snacks, we were all set for the famous trail of Triund. Trek to Triund is beautiful, challenging and tricky. You should start very early, around 5-6 AM if you want to come back same day without any added adventure.
A total of around 7 KMs, you are on for an adventure for sure. You should carry raincoats for sure. The weather up there changes like anything.
 |
| Top of Triund |
Our trek was somewhat smooth one. Picturesque views and up down and then again up the trail. A couple of stops, a lot of photo session and 7 hours later, we reached Triund. You can feel a sense of accomplishment once you will reach the top. The view is awesome and not to forget maagi @Rs 80, tea @Rs 40, but they are worth having. The weather changed suddenly and it started to rain heavily and not to forget, the hailstorm. We were not expecting that at all. We waited for around an hour but considering the fact that we have to return back and it started to getting dark, we had to leave. We bought raincoats (sort of) @Rs100.
Another tip, you must wear shoes otherwise, it is going to be difficult. No one can explain better this apart from our mate Taruneet ;).
We expected to return back in around 3 hours but as I told, the added adventure of rain and pitch dark time, it took us 5 hours. The return journey was a memorable one. Words cannot describe the feeling which we 5 were having at that moment. Careful careful and many careful steps later, we were almost there. Time was running out and keeping safety factor in mind we took a cab to cover last 2Kms till the hotel.
We finally reached our hotel after lots of hiccups and one trek to remember for a lifetime I must say. Everyone was hell tired, so no dumb charades this time. We had our dinner and after few hours of chit chats, we were in our beds.
Next day we left Mcleodgunj early, a couple of detours and approx. 14 hours later, we were back to Delhi.
Great team bonding, awesome experience and a lot of fun were the pros of this trip. The Cons were that when Anuj felt ill and he was not able to enjoy the trip at all. Due to that, He and Rajesh were not able to join us on the trek.
Nevertheless, some things are not in our control but whatever is, we should enjoy that and we nailed it.
No comments:
Post a Comment