Dehradun To Sankri

CONTINUED FROM - Dehradun

On the 26th of December 2021, at around 5:45 AM, I was ready to leave my hostel and head to the railway station. I crossed the main road and immediately found an auto rickshaw that took me the railway station for just Rs 20. I was supposed to reach Prince chowk, near the station, at around 6:30 AM. But I was obviously 30 minutes early. I made use of this time to have some much needed morning tea. 

At around 6:30 AM, I met our trek guide Prakash (Chandra Prakash). Prakash had some work in town and had therefore come there the previous night. A Bolero was booked for the 4 of us traveling from Dehradun to Sankri village. The remaining 5 trekkers were taking a bus to the village. I learnt from Prakash that our driver had fallen sick last night, and that meant, Prakash himself would be driving the vehicle. 

I met my fellow trekkers - Divya, Sarang and Rajashri. Divya works as a tour manager for travel agencies and manages guided tours to Europe. Sarang and his wife Rajashri work at IT. We all got along very well almost immediately. We had a lot to discuss about our respective lives and about our previous treks. 

On the way, we stopped to view Kempty falls at Mussoorie. We had Parathans for breakfast and continued our journey. 

As we drove along the roads cut through the hills, we came across several small towns and villages nestled on hill slopes or near a river. 

We drove along the Yamuna river and it was tempting to walk down to the river. Prakash was kind enough to stop and let us spend some time at the river bank. 

Leaving the crowded hill stations behind, we made our way into the remote parts of Uttarkashi. The landscape got better and better as we drove along. 

We stopped at a local dhaba for lunch. A very sweet middle-aged lady was serving tasty food. Roti was served with Sabji. Red rice came with delicious Rajma. After that amazing meal, we continued our long journey to Sankri village.  On our way, we spotted a fox sitting by the road. 

The roads are not that great around here. After a 8 hour long drive, we finally reached Sankri at around 3:30 PM. We checked into our lodge and relaxed for a bit before setting out to explore Sankri. 

We were staying at the Sankri market area. The village itself is down the hill. The market area, situated by the main road , comprises of around 20 shops. Most of the shops sell or rent trekking gears. There are some grocery stores and three or four nice cafes. Being the peak season, trekkers were flooding the place like parasites. On one end, we brought business to the village but on the other, we also contributed in destroying the lifestyle and the nature. 

Within no time, the entire place was covered in mist and the surrounding hills were covered in snow. The sight was magical. 

At around 6 PM, the other trekkers who had taken a bus to the village arrived. We all assembled at the dining hall and introduced ourselves. 

Piyush and Abhishek are professional artists who have studied at the prestigious J J school of art. Nitin, their friend, is also an artist. Piyush’s sister Divya is a fashion stylist and works with a fashion designer to style Bollywood stars. Shweta, their common friend, is into IT. So, we had a very interesting mix of people and within no time, we all got along so well with one another. By dinner, we were chatting like we had known each other for ages. 

It was interesting to discuss art with Piyush and Abhishek. We discussed the popular art movements, famous artists and the lack of appreciation and value for art in India. While Abhishek specialises in portraiture and is now exploring hyperrealism, Piyush’s works are mostly abstract. 

After a delicious dinner with a tasty dessert, Prakash briefed us about the trek next day. We were to start at 9 AM. 

Since I was alone in my room, I had two trekkers from a different group share my room. They were part of a big group as well and hailed from Gujarat.

It was around 8 degree Celsius outside. It would only get colder as we go higher tomorrow. I was excited about the trek, but at the same time, worried about the cold. Would I be able to manage it? Only time would tell!