KGL- the prettiest trek of india- By payal sharma

Day1

Just after de-boarding the flight at Srinagar I met a bunch of Mumbaikars. Little did I know that we would be inseparable for the next 7 days. We reached from Srinagar to shitkadi base camp, our first overnight shelter, in a tempo traveller. Within a matter of few hours it appeared as if we had known each other for ever. We sang songs at the top of our voices.The only thing to hinder our singing were the enthralling views of the river flowing down the valley . Finally, our caravan reached Shitkadi base camp where our tents were pitched beside a boisterous river and a lush green meadow.

Day 2

We started from shitkadi camp after a sumptuous breakfast. Just after 10 mins of walking , my rug sack felt too heavy to carry . I almost started cribbing about shoulder pain .Just then an angel of sorts came to my rescue , I heard a shout out ,“Madam , you are not carrying it properly ,let me fix it for you”. What a relief ! I thanked the compassionate being with all my heart and soul as she fastened the straps appropriately . We started walking, halting here and there to catch a breath.

Mr husband , who generally remains my constant companion, this time walked faster or should I say, I toned my pace down because it was a lot of fun walking besides my new found friends from Mumbai , getting clicked sharing a couple of jokes, water or a piece of chocolate, even Theplas . The fact that we were trekking the Himalayas of Kashmir had taken over us. We wanted to capture every cloud ,stream, flower even the tree that caught our interest . Anyhow, meandering our way through the picturesque trails we were just 15 minutes away from our next campsite, Nichnai base camp , when weather God decided to be a little harsh on us. It started raining all of a sudden and then hail storm set in . There was not even a tree to take cover . We put on our rain gear and thought moving ahead was the best thing to do. People got scattered here and there looking for their camps. Finally I heard a familiar voice calling out my name. I rushed inside the tent where people had huddled up . I had a hot cuppa that relieved my fingers that had started aching due to the exposure to icy cold rain water. Tea was the elixir for body and soul . Then I called it a day.