Friends who travel together are said to form closer bonds and have better experiences. So I planned Churdhar Trek with a couple of friends. We started mid noon at 3 pm towards Churdhar which is a moderate trek in Sirmaur district. As we got down the car in the Saran village we witnessed the shore of tiny waterfalls gushing from the rocks and could hear the muffled crackling sound by the movement of dry leaves. As we moved ahead we passed through a natural wooden bridge over the stream of cold water giving the sight of a small village with tiny homes on the right side of you.
The first step of the trek comforts you with the great views- the narrow steep ways to walk down with long deodar trees on either side. Step ahead, chin up, and you see the shades of silvery grey rocks grounded on a fresh wet green meadow where horses and buffaloes can be seen grazing. As we continued trekking it was getting colder and dark. There was the natural source of water on the way where we filled our water bottles and started climbing the tough hill. The way wasn’t clear, but at certain places, we found the directions, the signals marked on trees, and stones placed on each other conveying the right path. Here came across the holy tree with half cut tree trunks which had the coins pierced in them. As we kept walking we could feel the fatigue and since it was getting dark we started moving fast in the spark of moonlight but kept our phones torch on.
As we reach high we could see the bones of animals left on the path. While on the way relaxed on a huge rock, where we saw the slowly developing bright golden color light raising from the back of the mountains, big bright full moon effect and soon started gazing at the stars that gave each one of us an unexplainable feeling. Finally, we saw the mountain with lights and houses where we secured our stay in a dharamshala, had dinner and went back to beds as it was extremely cold.
Next morning, we climbed to the top of the peak which is 12000 ft above the sea level. There is a huge rock carved statue of Lord Shiva painted to its appropriate colors, with tridents and red cloths tied around. We all posed for a while, prayed, later rested on the huge rocks, clicked the pictures and started trekking down, back to the place from where we started. The trek down the valley was easy and mesmerizing with large green meadows covered with tiny yellow, white and purple flowers. The white shimmering and snowy Himalayan ranges among the passing clouds were seen. The high rock cut peaks give you a fresh breath and the heavy wind hitting the body gave a fly feel. The lovely trek ended here and we returned safely.
