In May this year, I went for what is one of the easier treks in Uttarakhand, the Nagtibba trek. The 8 km Nag Tibba (Serpent’s Peak) trek starts from a village called Pantwari situated around 100 kms from Dehradun. The trek takes one through thick forests and verdant meadows to an altitude of 3022 metres. From the summit, one gets magnificent views of snow capped Bandarpoonch, Swargarohini and Gangotri peaks. To reach Pantwari, I took an overnight bus from Delhi to Dehradun from where I took another bus going towards Uttarkashi and got down at Nainbagh. A shared jeep from Nainbagh then took me to Pantwari.

As a part of the trek, I stayed in the salubrious surroundings of The Goat Village (TGV), an eco-tourism property located 4 km uphill from Pantwari. It is a tourism destination designed by a community known as Green People who are working toward economic and social development of farming and other local communities living in the Himalayas. (more about my stay at the ‘The Goat Village’ in a separate post).

On the morning of the trek, I woke up to the soft sounds of chirping birds and a gentle pleasing sunlight channelling through my senses. I opened the door of my cottage and instead of another multi storied building, the view of the wide expanse of the mountains welcomed me. I lingered for a few minutes taking in the fragrance of the beautiful morning. Soon I freshened up and a cup of tea later, I started my trek to Nagtibba at 7 am. From TGV a winding path through the farms took me on to the forested trail. Initially I lost the way and it took me a while to find my way back to the main trail where I was met by Sheru, one of the three dogs at TGV, who gave me a long, questioning look as if asking me ‘where the hell was I going or how did I manage to lose my way?’ Without any sign from my side, Sheru understood that I needed guidance and for the next two hours he was my faithful guide and companion on the trek. Once in a while he would meander in some other direction or jump over some slope to look around for only he knew what. The trek goes through dense forests of oak, deodar and rhododendron all along and gives many opportunities for bird sighting. The trek is not very steep and can be done by anyone with basic fitness. So there we were, Sheru and I, walking among tall trees, sunlight piercing through them, cool mountain air, fallen leaves crushing beneath my feet, listening to the sounds of nature. We passed a herdsman shepherding his goats through the forest. These mountain goats with their thick white fur got very excited and curious to see Sheru as if they were seeing a dog for the first time. As we passed them, many of them came forward to check out Sheru who got very scared with all that attention. The herdsman moved the goats away as we kept walking ahead.

I finally arrived at the Nagtibba base, a vast open meadow at around 10 am and sat down for a while to rest. Sheru too sat by my side and we both had some biscuits. At that time, some religious gathering was taking place for which many tents were being set up. Religious sermons were being played on speakers which for me was disturbing the beauty of the place. There is a temple dedicated to Nag devta (Serpent God) which looks beautiful in that setting surrounded by tall trees. After an hour of wandering around the Nagtibba base, I resumed my trek to the summit locally also known as Jhandi (flag), which is a further 1.5-2 km from the base. Some locals had advised against going alone as the forest gets quite dense and one can lose his way. There was plenty of time till sunset, so keeping in mind the potential dangers, I went ahead. I couldn’t see Sheru anymore so I was on my own and the only one on the trek.

The trail to the summit from the base is relatively steeper and is not well defined everywhere in the forest which gets thicker with tall trees towering over you. Clouds floated through the trees creating a dreamy atmosphere and several times I stopped to feel the silence and the cool mountain breeze. Around quarter and an hour later I arrived at the summit – a wide, lush green meadow dotted with white and yellow flowers. I looked for the Jhandi which I found atop a slope fluttering in the air. Unfortunately, the star attraction of the Nagtibba trek i.e. the view of snow capped Himalayan peaks was hidden behind clouds. All I could do was to capture the beauty of the verdant meadow in my eyes and camera. Far away from any human activity and noises, the silence and beauty at the top was enchanting. A few horses were grazing in that serenity with the soft tinkle of their bells permeating through the air. Seeing a solitary human visitor in their midst, several langurs playing in the oak trees got very excited and jumped around the branches.

An hour later, I descended down so as to give myself enough time to return before dark. I took a rest stop at the base again. I hadn’t eaten anything substantial since morning and was very tired and hungry now. I returned to TGV by five in the evening, utterly exhausted and couldn’t hide my delight on being offered tea and poha by the kitchen staff. After devouring two portions of the poha, I took a shower and later relaxed myself in the glasshouse chatting with the other guests who had just arrived.

Next morning I woke up early and went for a long walk in the farms surrounding the village. Village men and women were going about their daily chores of cutting wood, feeding the cattle, shepherding the goats, digging the farms, harvesting ready vegetables. Watching the forested mountains, sunlight squinting on their edges and the simple, unhurried lifestyle in the fresh mountain air made me wish that we hadn’t moved away from the agrarian society of our ancestors.

After breakfast I bade goodbye to the staff at TGV and trekked down to Pantwari. That evening on board the bus from Dehradun to Delhi, I felt sad to have to return to the toxic air and chaos of my everyday life but promised myself to return to those beautiful surroundings just to sleep under a starry blanket if not for anything else.