reDiscovery Podcast S4E5: Best Himalayan Treks for Beginners

Thinking of heading to the mountains ? Why not take in a trek or two … we promise it will be a brilliant experience even if you haven’t done anything like this before! In this episode of our podcast we tell you about our experience doing two beginner level day treks in the pristine mountains…

Tungnath: A great trek in Uttarakhand for beginners

Babyyy!!! Leave me and go …. I can’t walk any more! I looked back, grinning, at Ambika, who was a few steps behind me, her tongue sticking out panting. Don’t worry it’s just a little more, I said, secretly hoping I was right! During the last half hour or so our breaks had increased exponentially…

From Mukteshwar to Ramghar: Finding our hill legs

A version of this story first appeared on Firstpost.com as part of a series of weekly dispatches from the road in Uttarakhand. #FTravellers  “It’s only 6-7 km, you can walk, it’s easy,” advises the guy at the lone store that was open in the Mukteshwar market. He went back to unpacking cucumbers from a large crate…

Uttarakhand: A summer in the mountains

This one has been a long time coming. For the last two summers we have talked about escaping the maddening Mumbai heat and heading to the hills, but somehow it never materialised. This year too it looked like it may not happen, as a planned trip to Sikkim in April became a victim of a…

Life in a Naga Village

I was stuffed. I had just eaten a massive plate of the yummiest fried duck with rice, bamboo shoots, and yellow lentils, made local Lotha style. There was boiled squash along with the meal, but after 10 days of boiled squash, I was ready for a different vegetable. The duck was soft and mildly spiced,…

If it’s September, it must be Ziro!

Turns out September has brought us back to the stunning Ziro Valley again, for one of the nicest music festivals in the country. Replete with green and yellow checkered fields, with a ring of towering mountains in the distance, Ziro is the perfect place to soak in some great music and vistas. There is also…

The Magical Valley that is Ziro

Agar firdous baroye zameen ast, hami asto, hami asto hami ast”  – Amir-e-Khusru Dehluvi While Khusru was undoubtedly talking about Kashmir and perhaps rightfully so, the concept of paradise on earth can easily be attributed to many places in Arunachal. Nestled amongst imposing mountains and surrounded by deep green forests is the almost mythical Ziro…