Trekking North India’s Valley Of Flowers And Chopta Trek

 

Most people think about Nepal when they think about the Himalayas, but these majestic mountains are also part of northern India.  You can trek some amazing trails in India.  Today my guest, a native of India who now lives in the US, Karthika Gupta from Culturally Ours and I discuss trekking in the Valley of Flowers and the Chopta Chandrashila Trek, over-tourism, India’s tourist infrastructure for hikers, traveling safely in India, using a guide, and even the Holi Festival and and how to have a more authentic Holi experience in India that won’t break the bank.

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Listen to the podcast here:

The Valley of Flowers Trek

Monsoon rains cause the valley to burst into bloom!  The best time to trek the Valley of Flowers is mid-July to mid-August, and be sure to bring your rain gear!

The valley will be covered in blooms and will look almost manicured!  

The trail itself is difficult with some serious elevation gains and descents so you must train.  There are also a lot of steps which can be hard on your knees.  Be sure to bring hiking poles.  You may see references that this trek is easy, and compared to many Himalayan mountain treks, it would fall on that side of the scale.  However, remember that these are the Himalayans and so you need to be fit and well conditioned.  The Chopta Trek is easier if you want something less difficult (see below).

There are no roads, so that means no vehicles can carry you up there.  There is also no porter horse or donkey options.  YOU are the power that climbs these mountains!  

You are required to hire a guide.  Be sure that you use a CERTIFIED GUIDE or tour company.  Accommodations and food will be basic, not luxury.

You can find tours that start from Delhi or Haridwar.  Tours usually run 6-8 days, plus your travel time.  See Transportation section below.

The Chopta Chandrashila Trek – India’s ‘Switzerland’

If the Valley of Flowers trek seems more challenging than you’d like, consider instead visiting India’s “Switzerland”!

This five day trek is a good trek for families and those just getting into trekking.

You will still need to hire a certified guide.  On both treks, altitude can be an issue, so drink plenty of water and hike slowly to give your body time to adjust.

 

The best times to do this hike is March – June and September – December.  You want to avoid the monsoons in July and August.

The unpaved trail takes you through colorful meadows and forests of oak, rhododendron and deodar. 

When you eventually summit Chandrashila, you will be surrounded by massive peaks of around 20,000′ (7000 m) for a breathtaking view! 

Is India Safe?  Can I trek solo in India?

Karthika tells us that as long as we follow common sense rules that we would do anywhere, we should be fine.

That being said, the US State Department recommends that you hire only a certified guide and that you trek in a group.  

The locals are friendly and welcoming.  They find it interesting that we would travel thousands of miles to see how they live and to trek their mountains for pleasure.

Trekking in India is still a relatively new concept but Indians are now embracing hiking for fun.  However, the tourist infrastructure is still developing.

You need to book your accommodations in advance, and preferably your guide as well.  This is not a trip to just ‘wing it”.

Wildlife in India

One important reason why you need a guide is that India has some of the big mammals like it’s national icon, the tiger!  They also have bears and leopards.  It should be considered a treat to see one of these great creatures, but it is the guides local knowledge that will help keep you safe.  

NEVER run from a wild animal or you will bring out it’s predator instinct.  Slowly back away, usually avoiding direct eye contact – but ask your guide.

Check out the Hiking In Bear Country episode and website for safety tips.

Let’s Talk About the Indian Locals

As mentioned earlier, the locals are friendly and welcoming and realize that tourism is a boom for their livelihoods.

India is a colorful nation and the vast diversity of culture and religions mean that you will see an abundance of interesting, intriguing people like the man in the top photo.

But as with any time you travel, don’t just snap photos of people without their permission.  Why not try to chat with them and build a connection, however small, and then ask.  No one likes to be on display like at a zoo, so be respectful.

While Leave No Trace is a new concept for Indians, be sure to practice it while visiting.  If you are not sure what that means, take a few minutes to listen to my podcast on Leave No Trace or visit the website.  We all love trekking for the beauty, so let’s do our part to keep it nice for future generations.  In fact Karthika’s favorite trek, the gorgeous Roopkund Trek is now closed due to trekker abuse of the land and remains.  Hopefully the meadows will regenerate so that we can once again see this magical spot.

Is the a Language Barrier?  Do Indians Speak English?

While in major cities, you are likely to find many English speaking Indians.  However, the further you get out in to the countryside, you will find less who do.  You will find yourself doing a lot of pantomime, which I find fun and it helps build those connections.

This is another important reason to hire a guide.  They can help translate conversations for you, and more importantly share their local knowledge so you return home with a fuller understanding of the cultures and traditions you experienced.

There are so many different cultures in India that there is no one language you can beef up on before you head there and think you’ve got it covered.  There are 22 recognized languages in India.

Hindi would probably be your best bet to at least learn the polite phrases like thank you, please, I’m sorry, I’m lost, etc. as Hindi and English are the official languages of India.  Garhwali is another language widely spoken in Rishikesh.

Transportation: How Do I Get There?

Personally, I would book with a tour company that picks me up in Delhi as sometimes the transportation can be challenging in India.

Strikes are common and you may be delayed significantly.  Trains and planes may not run anywhere near on time.  Therefore, for me, I would make that the tour company’s problem, not mine.  Plus they will choose the best option, something that would be very difficult for me to do on my own.

You can find tours that will pick you up and take you back to New Delhi, which makes things super simple.  There are other tours that will pick you up from Haridwar or Rishikesh.

You will probably find it best to fly in to New Delhi and then take an internal flight up north. Learn how to get Cheap Flights here.

Make sure you buy travel insurance in case of delays.  Super important!  When you buy, please consider using my links.  At no cost to you, you are helping to support the program.

Food in India

With so many different cultures, you are going to have an amazing epicurial trip.  Karthika says you’ll gain ten pounds, the food is so good!  Yet another reason to make this a trekking holiday to work off all that good food!

You don’t want to get Delhi Belly, so avoid buffets, especially after the peak dinner hour and if the food is not hot enough.

Use a sharp eye to evaluate any street food that you eat.  Here I would only eat street food that the guide recommended I try as they know what’s sanitary or not and they certainly don’t want you to have any issues.

It’s a good idea to pack some Imodium or Pepto Bismol (I use the pill form because it is lightweight and can’t spill).  I also like to pack some electrolyte packets in case of dehydration.

But do sample the different foods!  You are going to be eating in one of the world’s greatest food destinations!

 

What is the Lodging like on these Treks?

Since the tourist infrastructure is still in the early stages, you will be camping or staying in modest guest houses and inns.  There is a limited number available so it is critical that you book in advance.  At this time, there is no luxury lodging available.

Again, for simplicity and to avoid logistics headaches, I would recommend that you book an all-inclusive tour for your trek so you don’t have to worry about any of this.  India is a very inexpensive country for Westerners, so relax and let a local figure out everything for you!

Other Things to Do in India:  Rishikesh and Holi Festival

Holi Festival

Karthika teaches us that you can avoid the massive crowds and jacked up prices during Holi Festival in Delhi, Vrindavan and Mathura, by simply celebrating it elsewhere!

In this festival, colors and water are tossed at each other making for a wet and colorful, joyful mess in the streets!

This festival to celebrate the triumph of good over evil, and sometimes Spring and the harvest, is celebrated in March.  But the key thing is, is that it is so popular that it is now celebrated EVERYWHERE.  Thus, your hotel or the local town is likely to offer the celebration, and you will be celebrating with locals instead of masses of tourists.

 

Rishikesh

Considered the yoga capital of the world, be sure to spend a couple of days in Rishikesh after your trek to lossen all those tight muscles!  In fact, the annual International Yoga Festival is held here each March.

Rishikesh is a holy city to Hindus, and therefore alcohol is strictly forbidden.  If you choose to bring alcohol with you, be respectful and be sure to behave yourself and imbibe in the privacy of your room.

Also, again because of its holy status, only vegetarian food is served in this city of just over 100,000.

There is also the opportunity to do some amazing whitewater rafting from Rishikesh, so plan on that as well!  The Ganges or Ganga River is clean up here as Rishikesh is where the river first leaves the Himalayan Mountains.  It is down river where all the pollution is.  There is some debate about allowing rafting on this holy river.

We come away realizing that deep down, despite our different cultures, languages, clothes and habits, we really are all just the same.  It’s a wonderful show and I highly recommend it!

Take the fun Culture Quiz!  I was surprised to learn what I didn’t know I didn’t know:)

Trekking North India’s Valley Of Flowers And Chopta Trek

Trekking In The Himalayan Mountains Of Northern India

This is one of my favorite episodes. Before I arranged to interview Karthika, I was gung-ho on India. In the interim, I changed my mind. I didn’t want to go to India. I had already booked her. I said, “I’m going to do the research. I’m not the only gauge of whether somebody should go or not go to someplace.†The more research was done, I was like, “This is pretty cool.†After talking to Karthika, I’m sold again, “India, here I come.†Whether or not you think you’ll ever go to India or not, it gives us a little bit of insight not only into our home country but also, we talk a little bit about sustainability over-tourism. I found it a fun interview and I hope you will too.

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We have with us Karthika Gupta with Culturally Ours. I met her at one of my travel conferences and we started chatting. We found that we had so much in common. She’s also from India, a place that I’m fascinated by and also a little scared of. I’ve asked her to come on the show to talk to us a little bit about the country in general, some of our misconceptions, some of the things we must make sure that we think about or do before we go and some of the adventure travel activities that we could be doing there. Welcome to the show, Karthika.

Thank you so much for having me, Kit.

Let’s start with the fact that India is a scary place for a lot of people that have never been there because it’s so big, with so many people. All the adjectives all belonged to India across the board: rich, poor, beautiful, dirty, everything. I hear India is like an assault of all five senses, good and bad. Can you tell us a little bit about what we should expect when we get there and think about before we even get there? Tell us what our misconceptions are and what we should be thinking about?

I will say this with a little bit of bias because I am from India. I was born there. I lived for the first twenty years of my life there. You are right. India is huge. India has a lot of people. We have over a billion people considering that the planet is 7.2 billion. That’s a lot of people. It’s also an incredibly beautiful place. I say this not because I’m Indian, but from the point of view of the diversity that’s there. Take it from landscapes, cultures, food and everything else in between. There is a lot happening on the Indian subcontinent. That’s what happens when people think about traveling to India because they’re like, “Where do we start? What do we do? Where do we go? What do we see?â€

For anybody who’s thinking about India, know that no matter where you go, it is going to be beautiful. It’s also going to be a little bit overwhelming because of all the things we talked about. There are people. There’s a lot going on. You will find the Richie rich, the super-rich, whatever you want to call them and the not so fortunate people as well. It all goes hand in hand. That’s life there. That’s how people live there. Having a mindset of, “I’m going to accept whatever comes my way is one of the best ways that you can enjoy India. Especially if you’re coming from the West, it’s going to be very different from what you’re used to.

Accepting that is how a billion odd people live puts things in perspective. When you’re thinking of going, try and figure out what is it you want. We all go to a place with some expectations, whether it’s the outdoors that you want to enjoy, whether you’re going to a city. You want to enjoy the city life, you want to go to a mall or you want to shop, you have some expectations. Start from there because otherwise, you will not know where to go. Luckily for India, we have big cosmopolitan cities. Any place like Delhi, Mumbai and Jetpur, they’re all cities that are well-burst with tourists, especially foreign tourists. Going to someplace like that is probably a good place to start. There are also the lesser-known cities and villages and you go into the mountains. We have the Himalayas right at our doorstep. Going there and experiencing adventure travel is also a good experience in my opinion.

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What would you say are some of our biggest misconceptions are of India? When you talk to people that you’re like, “It’s not like that at all.â€

There are a lot. The people are like, “It’s so crowded.†Yes, it is crowded. Put that in perspective to where you’re going and the number of people there. It is loud. A lot of our cities were not built to handle much of growth and population. It does tend to get loud. “Indian food is so spicy.†The West taste is only a certain part of Indian food. Indian food is much more than curries. There are a lot of other things because of the diversity that we have. At least in my opinion, those are some of the main misconceptions that people have.

When you talk about population, it comes to the fact that, “Is it safe?†Yes, it is safe. I wouldn’t walk the streets at 3:00 AM in a big city, but you won’t do that any way where you are as well. Street smart is street smart, no matter where you are. As long as you are aware of that, you should be fine. You wouldn’t book yourself into a very dodgy hotel that you have no information on because you’re getting a good deal. You won’t do that whether you go to Europe or whether you go to India. Being a smart traveler and a smart tourist is beneficial no matter where you go and that applies for India too.

Would you recommend unless somebody’s a seasoned international traveler going with a guide? I consider myself medium to high-traveled. Could I go to India or should I arrange everything before I go?

I would say either way is fine, depending on where you’re going. If you want to spend ten days in Mumbai, you can go there. If you will do your searches, you will have a rough idea about where you want to stay and what you want to do. You go there. You talk to the people at the hotel. You can figure out things. You can be brave about it. It’s not a problem. If you go to some of the not-so infrastructurally set places, it’s going to be a little bit of a challenge. For example, we have some amazing national parks in India and they are beautiful. They are becoming very popular. The national animal for India is the tiger. It’s very different from the national parks here in the States. You cannot walk in and hike. You cannot pick up a map and say, “I’m going to do a self-hike.†That’s not how India is set up. You will have to figure out, “How do I get into a safari? How do I pick the right safari? Where do I go? They’re going to be many different outfitters.†In things like that, a little bit of research helps you. It depends on what your objective is and where you want to go.

In the parks, we must have a guide.

Private vehicles, for the most part, are not allowed inside parks. You will go to the park office, the forest service, you will pick a safari. You will have a guide unless you want to do a private safari, which is also an option in some of the parks. All of that stuff, you have to do a little bit of research and figure out. You could show up and try your luck. I find that if I’m traveling so far and I want to see one specific thing, I want to up my chances of doing that.

 

We’re going to focus on the northern part of India up by the Himalayas. Can you tell us a little bit about that and what kinds of things we might expect up there and some places that we might want to visit?

The northern part of India has the Himalayas in our backyard. It’s a place that is incredibly beautiful. We were talking about the Himalayas, so snowcap peaks. There are lots of parks. I would equate them to the state parks here in the US. There’s a lot of hiking trails, camping and adventure sports. India traditionally was not known for adventure sports in the general sense, how we see it exploding in many parts of the world, including India. Traditionally, it was something that you would associate with a hiking club or a mountaineering club or a trekking club, which was not something that the general Indian population does.

Over the years, with exposure to everything else that’s happening the rest of the world, we’ve taken a look at our parks and trails and it’s becoming exceedingly popular. There are a lot of outfitters in India as well as outfitters outside of India that have set up shop in India that offer hiking, trekking, camping and all of those things in the mountains. There are a couple of states. One of the states is called Uttarakhand, which has prime access to a lot of the hiking trails that take you almost to the footsteps of the mountains. They’re exceedingly beautiful and relatively untouched. You have this influx of people who want to enjoy the outdoors. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, but I’m not saying it’s a good thing either. It’s there. That’s the way the world works and it’s happening in India. If you are into adventure sports, if you’re into this whole trekking, hiking, carrying your gear and going to the backcountry, a place like India, which is slowly opening up is a great experience.

In these parks, do you have to backpack or do they have systems set up that you don’t have to carry all of your gear with some of these guides? How does that work for people that aren’t backpackers?

The beauty of going and doing something like this in India is the fact that you don’t have to do it alone. I know some people love to. I love putting all my stuff in my back, wedging out and doing it on my own. I know a lot of people don’t do that. The great thing with India, especially hiking in these regions is, you can get porters and guides who will have everything set up for you. You don’t even have to carry your sleeping bag and tent if you don’t want to, things that are available for rent. You typically would hire a guide and he would come with a camp cook. There would be mules that carry all your gears, so you’re not even carrying your gear. You’re essentially hiking.

You would trek and hike with them. They will set up a camp. They’ll set everything up. They’ll cook your meals. You pick up and you go to the next thing. It depends whether you’re doing a day hike or overnight, several overnight treks, there are options available. I would almost recommend doing that, especially if you’re going for the first time. It’s not like how we have it here in the States or perhaps even in Europe where you have these detailed GPS maps. A lot of the treks in India, apart from the super-popular ones, don’t have any maps. You are essentially relying on your guides to take you from point A to point B. That’s not necessarily a bad thing because a lot of the guides are local villagers, local shepherds who do this. They have an incredible knowledge of the land, of the culture and of the tradition. You’re not walking. You are getting insight into the mountains, life in the mountains, the folklore and all of those things. It’s a pretty amazing experience.

Do you have any tips on how we should choose our guides or guide companies?

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There are a lot of outfitters that are making space in the marketplace, so definitely Google. As a funny side story, but my first trek we did in 2011. My kids were young and we found our guide in the Lonely Planet. The Discovery Channel did a lot of episodes on trekking in Uttarakhand and he was one of their lead trekkers. You never know who you might find. Do your research or if you don’t want to take the time and do that, look at some of the big players that are there in the market space and you cannot go wrong.

Let’s focus on the Valley of Flowers to start with. I looked at the photos and it’s beautiful. Can you talk a little bit about the national park?

The Valley of Flowers is this beautiful trek that you can do in the mountains. The mountain states have monsoons from June through early September. Right after the monsoons, the valley explodes in these flowers. It’s not an easy trek. It’s so worth it because it takes place over a few days and you hike into the valley. You can look at these flowers, these majestic mountains and snowcap peaks. I recommend going with a guide. The path is there, but you don’t want to miss out on a lot of the stories and the interactions that you get when you’re doing the hike. Also, because it’s a fairly popular hike, there are what we call roadside shops that you can go or you can grab a cup of chai. You’ll see the locals coming in. A lot of the women in the mountains will get twigs and branches deep into the forest to get back for their cattle. You meet very interesting people when you go hiking there.

Almost everybody speaks English, true or not true? Are we able to talk to the locals outside of pantomime?

Not when you are trekking in some of these places. Depending on the trek, if it’s not a very popular trek, you will not have a conversation like you and me are. That’s not going to happen. There’s a lot of beauty in not communicating and how you rely on body language and expressions. I feel the introductions are a lot more genuine that way. You make an effort to try and communicate.

Did the locals welcome all the tourism coming into their area?

 

For the most part, yes. They are very fascinated by the fact that people from 7,000 miles are coming to see something that they see every day. I came back from a trip and I was taking pictures of the sunrise. It was a husband, wife and daughter. The two women had twigs and branches on their back and the husband was herding sheep. Here I was busy taking pictures of sunrise. I had my tripod on. I was trying all these things. I didn’t notice they came and stood next to me. They were like, “What do you photographing?†I looked at them, smiled and I was like, “I’m photographing the mountains.†I was showing them the pictures. Very shyly they were like, “Do you want to take our picture?†I would never sneakily take a portrait. I don’t do that. I was thrilled that they wanted to take a picture. We got to talking and they were like, “Why are you here? Why are you camping?†I said, “I’m from Mumbai. I’ve got a group of friends. We were camping.†They were fascinated by the fact that people would travel so far to come and see how they live life. It was a wonderful experience.

If we want to go to that park or do that trek because it’s a national park as well or is it this one trail down to the valley, how many days should we allow for this?

The trek can be done at an average pace. It can be done in about three, four days. I wouldn’t recommend trying to doing it sooner because then you’re rushing through it. Keep in mind that India is far unless you live somewhere very close to the Indian subcontinent. Chances are you’re going to be traveling quite a bit to even get there. You’re going to have to come to a big city like Mumbai or Delhi, then you have to take another internal flight. I would say the whole thing, give yourself at least 7 to 10 days. The trek itself can be done in about 3 to 4 days. There are lots of other smaller treks around the area so you don’t have to travel far to do a three-day hike. You can extend it and do more. In general, a couple of days to get there, a couple of days to get back home and spend the rest of your time doing this trek and other treks that are in the area.

Rishikesh is a town that is like a day’s journey. Even though it looks close with all the squiggles through the mountains that they have whitewater rafting on the Ganges River. It’s big for the yoga community. In fact, they have a month-long yoga festival in March. Have you been there? Have you rafted? Do you know anything about that at all?

I have done both. In fact, I was there on the trip. We started in Rishikesh. People flew into Delhi. From Delhi, you take an internal flight to Dehradun, which is the closest to Rishikesh. It’s 30 minutes away. Yes, it is considered the yoga capital of the world. There’s a lot more to Rishikesh than just that. The Ganga flows through Rishikesh, which is the holiest river in Hindu mythology. It’s a beautiful place. Remember when I said that adventure travel and adventure sports are exploding in India. A lot of what happens in and around Rishikesh is that people do whitewater rafting. They do kayaking. It’s a great way to see the area.

They’ll take you to these different spots. These are all outfitters that have been vetted, that have relatively good safety standards. Typically, people ask that question, is it safe? Yes, these people are all trained and registered. They have all those things. Like any adventure sports, it’s a risk that you have to take, which is true even here in India. It’s a beautiful experience for sure. Even in Rishikesh, there’s a lot to do besides that. There are religious ceremonies that happen, which are open to anybody of any faith. There are a lot of yoga classes and studios that are open. I believe you can do your yoga certification if you’re looking to be certified and to teach.

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A lot is going on in Rishikesh. It’s a beautiful blend of the old, ancient city and the newer experiences and pots that are drawing people from all over the world. It’s also considered one of the starting points for doing any outdoor activity in the mountains. You will likely come into Rishikesh, and you either hire a car or if you’re teaming up with someone, they’ll come to pick you up. You will drive through the little windy roads, which highways and get to where you’ll start your trek.

It sounds like maybe you want to go to Delhi then to Rishikesh, spend some time there and head to the park. Here’s one thing because I’m a little bit of a cootie queen. I love rafting. I did see a film about the river. I assume further South that was highly polluted. Is it polluted up in that area or is it clean?

It’s relatively clean. As things become even more popular, there are going to be instances where it will get dirty. The government is also controlling the amount of rafting that’s done. It’s not like everybody and anybody can set up shop. There’s a lot of vetting that’s going on because of the fear that downstream, the way the Ganga is abused and misused. It shouldn’t happen in places like Uttarakhand, essentially where she starts from. It’s a huge spiritual importance for us Hindus as well. There’s an additional push to not commercialize it so much.

I also want to point out too that Rishikesh is considered a holy town, so the town strictly forbids alcohol. You should know that if you’d like to imbibe. From what I understand, if you bring your own alcohol, drink it quietly in your room and don’t make a nuisance of yourself and you should be fine. Another beautiful place to go hiking is Chandrashila. That place is known as the Switzerland of India. Can you talk a little bit about that?

Chandrashila is a summit. It’s all within that subrange of the huge Himalayas. You have Chandrashila, Nanda Devi, Trishul and Kedarnath. They are peaks that are in that range. It’s a trek to that region.

Chandrashila popped up when I was researching the Chopta Trek.

 

The Chopta trek is a beautiful trek. It’s one of the treks that you take to get into seeing the mountain Chandrashila. You have Trishul. You have Nanda Devi. These are peaks that are in a subrange. Chopta trek is one of the treks that you can take. It’s not a very intense trek. A lot of people do it even as a day hike. Personally, getting there and spending the night is amazing because there’s a pond that you can get a reflection of the snowcap peaks of Chandrashila. You can see the mountain and the reflection is incredibly gorgeous. Imagine seeing that first thing in the morning. It’s out of this world.

Being so high up, the stars on a clear night is phenomenal. The sky opens up. If you want to do this as an overnight, I highly recommend it. It’s a little bit of steep up, but it’s a very popular hike. What happens with some of these popular hikes is the villages have become savvy and that this is something that a lot of tourists come to. There are mules that you can hire. They’re a little uncomfortable, but they can take you up top if you don’t want to hike up all the way. It’s a pretty good paved path. It’s not the back-country experience. It’s quite a bit of an incline, which is why they offer the mules. It can be doable in the day, but I highly recommend overnight to get that experience of the sunrise hitting the peaks.

We were talking about the Himalayas. Everybody’s thinking, “Mount Everest.†Here we’re talking at not even 8,000-foot elevation. It’s not something you have to worry about elevation for this particular trek.

No, you don’t. It is around 8,000 to 9,000. You’re not doing the Everest base camp or anything close to it.

When I was in Bhutan fairly near to this area, I was there in early spring, the mountains were covered in these dwarf rhododendrons. I was like, “If I had been here in another six weeks from now, it would be covered in these flowers.†I read that they had the rhododendrons here as well. That must be spectacular. Do you have any idea when they bloom?

I did this trek in November, which is not the best thing because it was minus five. We were the only ones there. I would imagine it would either be their own spring or maybe after the monsoon. That’s how it is in the Valley of Flowers. It explodes in color right after the rains. I would imagine that probably would be the same thing here.

I’ve read that it does bloom in the spring. When would spring hit there, would you say?

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I would say March to April because the rains come to the mountain sometime in early June.

They’re probably budding in March, so I’m going to bet May. That sounds the same as Bhutan. I was a little bit higher elevation. A lot depends on whether it’s early spring or late spring. You can never pinpoint it exactly.

I’d also sometimes depends on the rain and snow.

The foliage in the fall must be beautiful as well.

Absolutely, because some of these spaces do get snow. It’s nothing like the snow we see here, but they do get snow. It depends on the late snow season or early snow season. Roughly around the end of March through maybe early May is a good time if you want to see the flowers.

When you say the snow is different than our snow, what do you mean by that?

Depending on where elevations you go. It feels like it’s different in the way it falls and gets packed in. Perhaps around the Chopta area, you would see snow a few inches. If you go up higher to some of the treks that I did, they get over a foot of snow. That’s at around 9,000 to 10,000 feet. It depends on where you are in terms of elevation that they can get a heavy snowstorm. They can be obliterated in terms of the amount of snow. There is nothing to clear the snow. It happens and life revolves around it. If you are used to snowshoeing and you expect something to be cleared out or the path “made safe,†that’s not the case here. Remember, people live in these mountain tops and people live in the villages around it. They adjust to life as it happens.

 

I generally don’t cover winter sports on the show, so I’m going to recommend that you go before it snows. I don’t do the cold very well. I’m sure it’s gorgeous.

It’s beautiful and out of this world, but it’s different.

I also hear it’s a great area for wildlife and you have some serious wildlife, like big mammals. In certain parts of the country, there are tigers and lions. You’ve got Asiatic bears, brown bears, black bears and all cool animals. Is this something we have to worry about as we’re hiking or do we have a sense of seeing that possibly or not?

You could see a leopard because the mountains are all leopard territory. I wish I would see a leopard.

I’d like to see one too, as long as it didn’t see me as dinner.

A lot of the mountains in the Uttarakhand is a leopard territory. Of course, if you go further north, then you get the snow leopards, which you don’t have to worry about that in slightly lower elevations. It’s possible. Be aware. I’m telling you another story where we went in November. The leopards are part of life for these villagers. They have dogs because there are cattle, there’s sheep. They are not like house pets that we have here. These are dogs that are specifically bred. They’re mountain dogs. They’re the local dog variety. A lot of times, these dogs are left outside. There’s no concept in India, whether it’s in the mountains or in the cities to cuddle and bring your dog in. I’m not saying people don’t do it, but a lot of times, you’ll see dogs tied outside. It’s different when you are living in a building versus a bungalow. A lot of times, they’ll wake up one morning and they won’t find the dog. They’re very nonchalant about it. It’s like, “I guess the leopard has taken the dog.â€

I say this story because it’s a part of life. My husband has seen a leopard. They were driving along one of the roads. The leopard literally crossed the road and jumped into the bushes and went to the jungle. It’s there. You have to be aware of it. Street smart, hike smart, all the other things that we know of and we read about when we go hiking anywhere. There is no bear spray or leopard spray, not that I know of. You have to be smart. If you’re not sure, take a guide.

The more we talk about leaving no trace, the more we educate, the more people think it's important and it becomes second nature. Click To Tweet

When my sister and I were in Costa Rica, we were in a very remote part of the country and staying in a hut that had to be at least 200 stairs up. We had this cute little deck. Another guy in our group had a little cottage next to us. We did not realize, I can’t remember if is it a panther or a leopard, whatever their big cat is they have there, it had walked right under our deck. We did not even see it while we’re out there sitting. We had no clue.

I have seen a wolverine. We were hiking in Glacier National Park. We were in the backcountry and my kids were younger then. My son was barely four or five years old. Not that the wolverine is aggressive, but this wolverine walked right by us. We were so shocked and I didn’t even know what it was to begin with. I was like, “It’s like a marmot or maybe it’s a mammal.†Me being the photographer, I took a picture and we come back and we are talking to the ranger. I show him the picture and he’s like, “That’s a wolverine. How rare is that?†I’m thinking, “Do they bite? Do they attack?†He’s like, “Yes, wolverines can get pretty aggressive.†It’s the nature of what we’d love to do.

One thing I do know about all these things, you don’t want to run because you look like prey. You’ll bring out its predatory instinct. Stand still and slowly back away. Let’s get back to the hiking and all that stuff. Is Chopta near the Valley of Flowers or we’ve got to allow a full day to get there or what’s the transit situation here?

I would allow at least a day to get there. These are mountain roads and they’re nothing like the mountain roads that are here in the States. They are oftentimes single road, two lanes. I would give enough time to get between this one and the Valley of Flowers. You do have to find accommodation, especially if you’re doing Valley of Flowers. There are times that you want to start hiking so that you get to designated spots at a decent time, hiking at night, you don’t want to do that. I would recommend giving yourself at least a day to get situated, get everything together and start the hike. Especially if you’re doing Valley of Flowers with a guide, the guide will tell you that we will leave at 5:00 in the morning, 6:00 in the morning. There are designated spots that you would take.

Another place that we are going to talk about the Roopkund Trail has been closed off because it got too popular. Let’s talk a little bit about how that’s all happening and what’s going on there.

The Roopkund trail, which is unfortunate that it’s been shut down because it’s magnificent. It’s one of my favorites. We did this with our families. It was a group of us. It takes about three to four days because it’s at a much higher elevation. There’s a story behind Roopkund, so I’ll give the short version of it. Roopkund, essentially Roop means beauty and Kund means a lake or a pond. In Hindu mythology, the story goes that one of our gods, his to-be wife passed by that area and she got herself ready by looking at her reflection in the waters of that pond.

It has a huge spiritual significance for Hinduism. It’s been a trek that’s been used for many years by the locals to go to pray. There are little spots along the way where you go and pay your respects. What started happening was that obviously, it got popular. Another thing that happened, it goes back to what I’ve said about finding my guide. Discovery Channel ran a special on Roopkund, pushed it up to even more popularity. They found skeletal remains in the base of the pond. A lot of carbon dating or whatever people do, they found that there were two sets of skeletons that were almost 500 to 800 years old.

 

We’re not talking one or two bodies. These are a lot of skeletons.

The questions came as to who are they? Where did they come from? How old is all of this? All of this heightened the popularity of the trek. The Roopkund trek goes through several days and you end the trek by going to that summit and seeing those skeletal. As it got popular, a lot of the outfitters started doing this and people would literally come in hordes. I’m not exaggerating. When we were there, we were a group of eight. We passed several groups of 25 to 30 people. These people are doing it because it’s “popular.†I hate to say this, but I feel like it needs to be said that no matter where you are, there has to be some element of respect and being aware of your surroundings. Thinking about sustainability and the environment.

You wouldn’t litter around in your house. Why would you want to litter on a trek? That’s not the general mindset of a lot of people. Things started getting out of hand where people would come, they would litter. They would be very disrespectful. They would take skeletal remains. Remember that this is a revered holy place for Hindus and for Hinduism. I’m not saying foreigners, I’m talking about even Hindus would do this. It’s got to a point where it was very hard to maintain the sanctity of the place and maintain the conditions of the trek. People would go off trek and you have footsteps. You have these meadows that are completely ruined because people are traipsing all over the place.

People have fallen because they’re taking selfies. It’s the whole thing that comes with over-tourism and over-popularity. Unfortunately, that trek has been closed, which is an amazing thing that the government has done because the area needs to recuperate. The area needs to come back to what it was. It’s still open to the local shepherds, the farmers, the herders and all of them because that’s their day-to-day life. Unfortunately, that’s closed but I think it’s a good thing.

Do you see that as being permanent or at least permanent for the next decade to let the meadows rejuvenate because people were camping everywhere too? They disrespected the whole land.

I don’t know how long it’ll go, but what I’ve heard and what I’ve seen is a lot of the meadows are being restricted. This is where going with a guide that knows the local lay of the land is very important because you cannot go and camp anywhere you want. As we have here, we have campgrounds. We have certain areas that are off-limits and you respect that. The move to restrict a lot of these meadows and these trails are so that people understand that the rules that apply where you are going as well. It also helps the environment rejuvenate a little bit.

I want to ask you about the “leave no trace†attitude of the local Indians because certain countries you go to, they would never dream of not packing out everything they brought in. What is the mindset of the local people?

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Unfortunately, that is not the case for a majority of Indians. I can say this because I’m an Indian. As I go back every year, I see it. It’s something that is taking shape more and more, but the general population does not have the sense. We were driving back to Rishikesh and we were stopped because there was some road construction and the car in front of us has an Indian family. They ate a banana and the instinct to chuck it out the window took over. That’s what she did. I climbed out of the car much to the amusement of my driver and I went to her and I said, “Hold onto your garbage. At the next stop, you can throw it.†Everybody in the car was flabbergasted. That’s not the mindset. The mindset is to throw all trash wherever you can. A lot of it goes with education too. The more we talk about leaving no trace, the more we practice. The more we educate, the more people think it’s important and it becomes second nature. There is movement, but a country like India with a billion population takes time to move the ship.

It will be generational if they teach it in schools. That becomes part of the kids because that’s how smoking went away for the most part in the US. They got the kids to nag the parents and they weren’t smokers. They did the same with litter and caring for the environment. Attitudes and behaviors have radically changed in those areas since I was a kid.

It is generational. It begins with the kids and it begins with the youth. It begins by talking about it at every point you get. Some of the schools are, but sometimes it’s harder because you have these little village schools. It’s not part of the curriculum. Having said that, I will say something that India traditionally has always done an amazing job with recycling. When you go to India, you will see there are people who pick up papers. They will pick up everything that can be recyclable and they’d take it to these facilities. They’ll sort it and they’ll do things with it. It’s in our blood and our culture. It’s not practiced 100% of the time. When that’s not done, you’re trying to fight a losing battle. Things are shifting. It’s not all doom and gloom, but it’ll take time for sure.

I thought they did something interesting in Bhutan. I did the Druk trek there, which is a four-day trek. They counted the things that we brought in and counted when we came back out to make sure we brought everything back with us.

I wish they would do something like that. It goes to these outfitters. There are several big outfitters and I wish that would be a finable offense that if they don’t do things like this, because here you are at these companies that are taking 50, 60 people on hikes and treks. If they don’t practice it, what message are we giving to everybody else?

Whenever possible, you want to try to go with a small group anyway rather than the large groups. It gets unwieldy and I can’t imagine taking a hike with that many people.

It’s terrible. When we did the Roopkund hike and we would pass these groups, everybody would get so angry because you’re in a place which is so beautiful. You want to take a moment and you want to enjoy the beauty. You have blasting music. You have this noisy chatter. You’re like, “What is going on?†It’s like they’re having a party in a meadow at 8,000 feet. Why would you do that?

 

The whole concept of leave no trace is becoming a much more critical component of our outdoor adventures. It’s important for us all to follow these principles so that future generations can also enjoy and take in all the beauty that we’re getting to see ourselves and to help make things a little bit better for all of us as we go on our adventures. Any other thoughts about any of the parks or information we need to know about that area before we move on?

Do your due diligence and maybe not go for the super-popular ones. Maybe go for a tier less. That way you enjoy it. If it is your first time, I would say do a mix of both so that you get a sense of the whole perspective. You do some of the popular ones, you also do some of the lesser popular ones and go with a very open mind and open attitude. Don’t compare. “I went for a hike in Europe and this is how it was. How come it’s not the same here?†It’s not. India and Europe are very different. Go with an open mind and open to all possibilities. You’re in the Himalayas, so you have to enjoy the area.

I want to talk about your podcast and your blog. Tell us a little bit about it.

I have a podcast, a website and a blog called Culturally Ours. Essentially what Culturally Ours does is we talk to people from all over the world in all areas be at travel, art, food, culture, lifestyle. It’s a way for us to connect with each other to know how people all around the world live. I believe that we’re all very similar. We might look differently, speak differently, have different accents, have a different way of pronouncing names, but at the end of the day, we’re all very similar. We all want the same things: a happy, healthy life. Food on the table and all of those things that are standard across the board. By engaging with people of diverse backgrounds, you come to understand each other better. That’s what the intention of Culturally Ours is.

We also take people on trips and treks. I was referencing my trip in November, and that was like an outdoor adventure trip to the Himalayas where we did Rishikesh and trekking. In 2019, we took a group to Jetpur, which is a beautiful part of Rajasthan. It’s considered the Royal Seat of India. It’s a more touristy thing, but we added on a lot of women empowerment activities. The premise being that doesn’t always do the touristy things, like don’t always play it safe. Talk to the person sitting next to you who doesn’t look like you. You might learn a thing or two. The same thing goes with travel, step outside your comfort zone and go to some of these spaces that you wouldn’t think of right off the bat because there’s an amazing life experience definitely to be had from that too.

I would say that the one thing that I know from travel that I can say without fail is you’re exactly right. We are all the same. I don’t care what country I go to, we all do want the same things.

The more you expose yourself to these different experiences, as people, we tend to evolve as well. We want to reach for that Yerba Mate from South America, which is a different tea as opposed to that regular English tea because you are curious. You want to know what it’s like. You want to experience that. You want to understand that. It opens up this whole flood of emotional experiences when you are open to it from a mindset perspective too.

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I’ve got a question too about your podcast. If you want somebody to get a good introduction to what your show’s about, what would be a good episode that we can refer them to?

The podcast goes through several seasons. By seasons, I mean three to four months. The first season was all about migration. That would be a great place to start because we have talked to people around the world who’ve migrated from wherever to wherever for whatever reason. The emotions and life journeys that they have gone through as they’ve left everything that they know, everything that they love and hold dear to start a new life. That would be a great season to get a sense of what Culturally Ours is all about.

She’s got a fun quiz, which tests your cultural know-how. It turns out, I need to do a little bit more work on that. Some of the answers were quite surprising.

A lot of people have reached out to me and said, “I didn’t know this.†I’m like, “Yes.â€

Have you been to the Holi Festival?

I have. I lived there for a long time. We’ve done Holi. I haven’t gone to what is the “touristy†version of Holi. Yes, I know of Holi and we’ve celebrated it. It’s beautiful no matter where you go. That place tends to get super crowded, very popular, but if you do go during Holi, you can participate in Holi. Even at your hotel, they’ll have something for Holi, which is a fun festival to go to.

How would you suggest that we not do it in a touristy way? Are there smaller towns that do something similar?

 

Let’s say you go to Mumbai and you are staying at a hotel, chances are where you’re staying it’s typically within the community, within a locality. They will have Holi festivals. The kids will be playing with color and water. The hotels do celebrate a lot of the festivals that the rest of the population does. Whether it’s Holi or Diwali, the hotel will have some celebration, some function. You can always attend that and depending on which hotel you stay in. It can be as elaborate as the ones you’re referencing because what I find is when you go to places like Varanasi and the places where there’s Holi is a big deal, it’s very crowded. If you’re not used to maneuvering those kinds of crowds, you will be very overwhelmed. It’s also popular with tourists. Everything prices are jacked up. The whole experience is ten times more expensive if you want to do it somewhere not so popular. You’ll get the same experience. You’ll do it in a different way.

I love that idea, not for the crowd control, but also to get a more authentic experience. Sometimes when things get so popular, they become almost a caricature of themselves when they get touristy. I can’t stand that. I liked that I wouldn’t be paying jacked up prices too.

It’s like checking off a box, “I went to the Taj. I took that particular photo. I’m done.†Did you tour it? Did you listen to a guide? Did you engage a guide? Did you engage the people who are coming visiting there? There’s a lot that goes into experiencing a place from a perspective of understanding it versus a touristy lens.

Also, when I was down in San Miguel in Mexico, we had a Holi Festival there too. It was so much fun.

We Indians are everywhere. We get around.

It’s got to be several years ago. I hadn’t even heard of the Holi Festival. I was like, “What on Earth?†These kids were throwing color and water. Everything is chaos in the plaza. They were having a blast. It was so much fun. I’m not sure they even called it the Holi Festival, but it sure looked like one. For those not familiar with the festival, could you explain it?

It’s meant to be colored water and color. There’s a beautiful religious significance to Holi. It’s one of the festivals that one of our gods would have with his followers and his female companions. There’s a lot of cultural significance. It’s also signifying spring. Somewhere along with the line people forgot all of that. It became this thing of throwing color and water, photographing it and slapping it on all these magazines and it became super popular. That’s the beauty of India. There’s much diversity and there’s much going on any given point in time that even if you don’t go for Holi, you go in a different time of the year. There’s something going on from a cultural perspective because we have many different cultures and subsets of cultures that you can experience that no matter when you go.

Any final thoughts?

I want to say that India is an incredible country. Don’t let the fear of the unknown stop you from experiencing India for all the beauty that she has to offer. You might not even want to do a trek and that’s fine, but go to some of the cities, go during some of the festivals. It’s a vibrant culture. It’s loud. People are in your face. You’re going to eat and gain ten pounds. That’s all good because you will learn about one of the oldest cultural communities in the world. We are very friendly. India is a very open country. Experience that and you won’t be disappointed no matter where you go.

I sure appreciate your time. Hopefully, we can get you back on and you can talk to us about another part of India in the future.

That would be fantastic.

—

India is one of those countries that I ebb and flow and I had flowed. After I got back from Egypt, I’ve found that air pollution there to be unbearable for me. I know that in some of the cities in India, I would be running into the same thing. I had planned to go and after Egypt said, “No, I’m not going to India anymore.†After talking to Karthika, it’s back on my list again. I do want to go to India, but I want to go to the mountain range. I’m going to go to their parks. I’ll be away from the cities outside of transporting in and out. I would take internal flights and avoid that problem altogether. I’m excited and I can’t wait to get Karthika back on the show to tell us more about India and other places that we need to be exploring in the future.

I hope this episode has also opened your eyes to the wonders of India. I would love to know your feedback on it. You can always reach me at Kit@ActiveTravelAdventures.com, whether it’s about this episode or anything about the show or questions that you have. I live for your emails. I truly do enjoy hearing from you. I do want this to be a two-way conversation, so please reach out to me at any time. I’m always happy to answer any questions that I might be able to help you with or have a conversation. I’d love it. Until next time, thanks for reading. Also, be sure to check out Karthika’s podcast, Culturally Ours. It truly is one of my favorites. I’ll see you soon. Adventure on.

Important Links:

• Culturally Ours
• Podcast – Culturally Ours
• Quiz – The Culture Quiz
• Holi Festival
• Kit@ActiveTravelAdventures.com

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