Trek To Nagtibba Part – II
It was an early morning and I woke up to chirping birds. I had a sound sleep. I was a little apprehensive of sleeping in the sleeping bag but I slept like a log. I opened my tent and stared at the view for few minutes. It was layers of mountains in various shades of green, dense trees, a red tent (our kitchen), smoke swirling up from the kitchen tent and the cool breeze. I had no plans of moving from there until I heard my guide calling my name. I then noticed rest of the team members were already up and were busy getting done with the morning schedule. I didn’t wanna be the reason for any delay in the program. So I said a quick goodbye to the smoky mountains and started getting ready for the second leg of trek to Nagtibba.
Also Read: Trek To Nagtibba Part – I
We left for Nagtibba from the Khatiyan base camp at sharp 8 in the morning. Our guide has predicted we would take 4-5 hours to reach Nagtibba top. We nodded in agreement with him. Unlike the stretch from Pantvari to Khatiyan, Khatiyan to Nagtibba was steep but the early morning breeze did help a lot. We trekked though the rocky paths as well as plains with the constant company of the majestic mountains and bright red rhododendrons. We met a lot of other groups on our way. A quick banter with each other cheered all of us.
Nagtibba is located at approximately 3050 meters above the sea level. Distance between Khatiyan base camp and Nagtibba was approximately 5 kms. You can now imagine that the trekking trail was pretty steep. Our guide was an enthusiastic soul. Every time you will slow down he would praise you so well that all your energy gets restored and you start again with all the fervor that you have. He told us at the very outset not to ask one very common question, which was “How much more is left to cover?”. He instructed us to trek up continuously and that he will let us know when we have to stop. After trekking for approximately 2 hours we started seeing signs of our destination, and still our guide didn’t utter a word. We saw a clean slope up and we knew we have reached.
We had reached Nagtibba and we were jumping with joy. The view was breathtaking. The snow clad mountains and the lush green trees were the perfect reward after the arduous trek. Another interesting point was that we reached before the predicted time. Our guide praised all of us for that. He pointed out that it was because of our continuity. We were happy to prove all his estimations wrong. You can never have enough of that view. We jumped around and clicked many pictures. Nagtibba top is actually a small spot which also has a small Shiv temple. It is surrounded by colorful flags which marks it to be the Nagtibba top.
While we were posing at the Nagtibba top another group came in and it was the time for us to leave the throne. We were happy to do so. We had our lunch, which we got from the base camp with us. After lunch we had some leisure time and then it was time to head back to the base camp. While we were trekking the GIO staff was busy setting up the base camp at the Nagtibba base. This was the new base camp. Nagtibba base was setup at the distance of approx. 1.5 kms downhill from the Nagtibba top. We covered that distance in just an hour. Reasons being it was downhill and also we were oozing out energy after the lunch and the rest.
As we got back we were served with piping hot tea and some snacks as well. We were at the base camp by 12:30 or 1 PM. We pretty much had the whole day left in front of us. Like I have told you guys our guide was one enthusiastic guy and he left no opportunity to showcase it. He asked us if we had strength for another short hike. He promised an amazing sunset to us. It was an offer we just couldn’t refuse. We hiked again, an easy one though. We reached a meadow kind of area and we aimlessly walked. It was pretty much like a lush green ground surrounded by dense green trees which in turned were backed up by layers of mountains which in turn were hovered by interesting cloud formations. Soon the sun turned all orange and spread its crimson power all around.
After the sunset we walked back to our base camp. We then enjoyed soup and bonfire. Rest of the GIO staff was in full swing. One of their members sang their local song and showed us some of their best moves. We all sang and danced. We then had dinner and retired for the day. It was going to be an early morning again as we had to trek all the way back down to the village Teva where we will get our vehicle for the further journey. Just when we expected a peaceful night God gave us hailstorm. I peeped outside from my tent and it was all white because of the hailstorm. I was worried for the next day but putting them all aside I tucked myself well in the sleeping bag and dozed off.
I did this trek with GIO, if you wish to do the same you can book the trek by clicking here.
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