Travel
Paradise
Trekking in
View of Tungnath from above
Escaping the rush hour of the city to the quaint, snow-clad mountain
tops can be more than enriching for the solo travellers,
discovers Saachi dhillon
I
Majestic Tungnath temple
74
first discovered the joy of solo
travel on my back packing trip to
Europe. Nine years and nineteen
countries later, my passion
for exploring new places continues.
I work full time as a marketer in a
renowned media company. My annual
leave is used for travel only, unless
there is a medical emergency.
I made full use of all the long
weekends this year including the
Dussehra long weekend. I wanted to
escape the frenetic crowds of the city
and decided to go on a trek. After
doing a lot of research, I finalised on
the trek to Chopta – Chandrashila
lake, which would be for 3 days. There
are multiple online travel start-ups
that are offering hassle free adventures
for solo travellers these days; I decided
to travel with one of them.
For `6,800, my travel, stay and
meals at the camp were taken care
of. From Delhi, we took the 11 pm
Volvo to Haridwar. We then got onto
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a private bus to continue our journey
to Chopta, a picturesque valley with
evergreen forests and never-ending
meadows. The bus ride was eleven
hours long and wove along the banks
of the rivers Ganga and Alaknanda.
We journeyed past dense forests,
verdant green mountainsides and
cascading waterfalls; stopping along
the way for frequent rest breaks.
We reached our camp aptly called
Moksha around 5 pm and were
allocated our tents. I could not get
enough of the lush green meadows
around the campsite. Soon after the
excitement of the new surroundings
had died down, I climbed up the
adjoining mountainside and was
rewarded by a fantastic view of the
mighty, snow-clad Chaukhamba peak
(7,138 m) in the setting sun. The local
guide told us that a lot of people had
attempted to climb its summit but
only a few had been successful.
After breakfast the next morning,