Why I can never give up the mountains – trek to the Nag Tibba peak and more!

“Mountains are the food for soul”- Said I.

I experienced high altitude trekking last year and since then I have been hooked. I have always loved to explore wherever I am by foot, so trekking to me wasn’t new. But then, I booked a high-altitude trek last year at the spur of the moment and the experience was so rewarding that I have been wanting to do it again ever since.

Thus, it was not surprising when I was looking to book my new-year trip, a high-altitude trek just had to be a part of it.

I booked the Nag Tibba trek because of two reasons:

1. It was a weekend trek (if you’re in Delhi-NCR) which would mean I could complete it over the weekend and not take too many leaves.

Dehradun station at dawn

2. Dehradun and Mussoorie were on the way so I could explore either of those cities on my way back from the trek with just one leave from work.

Before I go on and talk about the trek and my entire itinerary, a little bit about what Nag Tibba means. Loosely translated, Nag means snake and Tibba means peak. This peak has a temple devoted to the Nag devta (serpent god) who is the kul-devta (family deity or primary god) of the locals. So, Nag Tibba literally means a peak which has a temple of the god of the local people – the god of snakes.

[Tip #1 - While there are multiple routes that you could take to trek to the peak, mine started from a village called Pantwari in Uttarakhand. If you’re coming from Delhi, you could reach Dehradun by train and then book a taxi till this village. You could stop for breakfast in Mussoorie which serves as an additional view-point. I had booked this trek through Indiahikes.com so my pick-up (infact the entire trek) was taken care of by them.]

Happy faces post a hearty breakfast in Mussoorie

Once I reached Pantwari, the signs were visible which told me the starting point for the trek. Indiahikes had arranged for the base camp in the village itself so my briefing started from there and then onward I started trekking.

[Tip #2 – If you are new to trekking, I would strongly recommend that you book it through an experienced trekking company as they not only take care of the trekking route but also your stay, food and the entire experience. This may seem like an advert, but I would strongly recommend indiahikes as I feel this company is highly focused on trekking with responsibility – no plastic, no pollution, and cleaning up the mess that other trekkers might have made.]

The trek

Moving on, trek on the first day halted at the first camp site in Khaitan. Reaching Khaitan from the base camp was a climb with beautiful views of the fields of Pantwari village. The fields were such a beautiful symmetry with the wide mountains. 

View of the Pantwari village

I also passed a village named The Goat Village. I later learnt that some bottled delicacies, such as different flavours of honey, is sold across Mussoorie with the brand name The Goat Chhap. I wonder whether it is produced by the same village. It must be, the names are eerily similar!

We reached the camp site just in time to view the sun-set. The sun going down is just a beautiful view and in that moment, you don’t want anything else - just the quiet of the mountains, the light darkness as the sun is going down and your own company. (There is something about the sun-sets, it just either triggers the most beautiful of memories and makes you smile or sends you into nothingness where you are just staring at the sun. If somebody were to ask what is it that you were thinking about at that moment, I don’t think you would have an answer!)

Sunset from Camp 1 (Khaitan)

I ended up staring at the sun till the time last of the light was visible, till the time the sun was visible only as a tiny dot on a blank canvas.

Climbing to the peak

Next morning, I woke up at 4:00 as my trek to the peak had to start at 5:00 AM.

I finished my early morning tea and breakfast, fastened my head-lamp and started on my way to the top.

Snow on my way to the top

This was my first time trekking in darkness (okay, probably the second but practically the first as I did the first one while in school and don’t have much memory of). The experience was just something else. I felt like someone on a mission – as if at the end of the trek there is going to be a treasure (treasure of whatever I was looking for).

I was hoping to catch the sun-rise but unfortunately, the sun had risen by the time I reached the top. 10 minutes before I reached the summit, I felt like either my fingers will break from the super-chill or I would fall sick and not be able to complete it. It’s just something the mountains do to you – they test you out. You will reach the top only if you deserve it. I did conquer it at the end! Rested for a few minutes and then started my climb again.

The peak

“The thing with trekking is, once you get a taste for it, you lose all interest in the city view-points. Once you reach the top, no matter where you go, each point is a breathtaking view-point.” – Said yours truly.

And oh, was the view beautiful! The moment you reach the peak, no matter where your head turns, it is a beautiful view. You can see ranges of mountains far and wide, snow peaked mountains are visible at the far distance and the naked ones are nearer. It is just these moments, when you see something so grand and magnificent, something so pure, which make you want to escape, to just be there and not move and to just be absorbed by the mountains around.

View from the Nag tibba peak

I could not stay there no matter how long I wanted to. I ultimately had to descend. However, I won’t talk about the descend here as I want to leave you with the beautiful memory of reaching the top. Picture this – You have only the mountains. You can’t hear anyone but the mountains. Infact, you don’t want anyone but the mountains. The chill breeze makes you want to leave. But the mountains tell you that you made it here for a reason. Stay a little longer.

Exploring Mussoorie – the traditional way

I knew that after coming back from such a breathtaking experience, I would have absolutely no interest in the city view-points. I decided to spend the day exploring The Mall Road in Mussoorie just to see what souvenirs I could find.

I did find the souvenirs I was looking for; but apart from that, there are two things that I found which I really want to talk about here:

The Jawahar Aquarium

This is right on The Mall road. Entry to this place costs a mere 35 bucks. Once, inside you would be able to see some species of fishes which you either would not have heard of or would have seen only in movies. I want to talk about just a few of the fishes which intrigued me:

The Piranha

The Piranha

In the movie they are shown to be flesh eating monsters, watching them live was a unique experience. They did group around and seemed ready to attack!

We also saw the Pacu Piranha which I guess you could call the vegetarian Piranha? It was bigger than the others and was kind of just floating around isolated. Felt a little bad for the big guy.
But it is what it is I guess.

The Alligator fish

The Alligator Fish     .

As the name suggests, it is shaped like an alligator. This one grows up to 10 ft. and has to be transferred once it grows to its full size.

(The only flip side to an otherwise awesome aquarium was the size of tanks. Looking at the size of some of the fishes, it felt a wee bit smaller to contain them.)

The Tiger Oscar fish

The Tiger Oscar Fish

Apparently, we had a celebrity in this aquarium! This fish is pretty famous the world over. The beautiful markings on both its sides translate into Allah and Mohammad respectively. There were two more who have died but their pictures now hang on the walls of the aquarium – right opposite this one. Talk about friends forever?

Projector at The Mall Road

There is a huge projector at the Mall Road which is from the pre-independence era!

The Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA) has done a commendable job at maintaining the history here. Look at this self-explanatory picture below:

Projector at the Mall Road

History of cinema in Mussoorie beautifully captured by MDDA

Exploring Mussoorie – the off-beat way

When I was looking for places to stay in Mussoorie, I wanted a place that wasn’t crowded with people. I wanted a place which was safely outside the city but was close enough that I could go to the city if I wanted to. And I found just the perfect place!

4 km outside Mussoorie lies Hathipaon. And in this small village is a beautiful B&B called See Green Lodges. They have a beautiful café on the ground floor and rooms upstairs. There is a seating area outside the café where you can have food with an incredible view. (The food by the way was amazing!) We had a hearty breakfast of Gobhi paratha and Paneer paratha.

Our beautiful B&B

However, the reason I loved this places isn’t just because of the location and food. I’ll list down a few of the many reasons for you:

1. The people here are incredible. Special shout out to the caretaker Sobendra. Such a young chap but you could just feel that he really wanted to help people. He wasn’t just working there, serving people was his passion!

2. There are three hikes close by – the Benog hill top, the Whishing well and the George Everest view point. I unfortunately missed out on the Whishing well and the George Everest view point because of lack of time but was lucky enough to be able to do the trek to the Benog Hill top.

[Tip #3: If you get a chance, you must cover the George Everest view point. Here lie the ruins of the home of George Everest after whom Mount Everest is named. He resided here while he was trying to measure the height of Everest. I am planning a trip again to Hathipaon  just for this reason (since I missed it the last time). Imagine witnessing a piece of history!]

Trek to the Benog Top

This was a simple DIY trek which you could complete in about 4 hours.

I left from my B&B at 7 in the morning and the timing could not have been better! While I started my trek, I could see the sun rays coming down the mountain.

Sun rays coming down

 I met a villager with his herd of goats and one of them looked like it was ready to hit me if I went any closer. I asked the shepherd politely “Will it hit me if I touched it?” The shepherd replied with a mischievous smirk “Yes, it will”. So, I stepped back accepting the goat as my master.

This place is a bird sanctuary so if you’re able to leave for this trek early in the morning, the birds will give you company on the trek. This place would be heaven for bird watchers. I saw a wood-pecker live in action, hard at its task of trying to build a hole in a tree.

Jwala Devi temple at the Benog top

Once you reach the top, the first thing you will spot is a lone temple standing there majestically. It just brings the grandeur of the mountains to life – compare the vastness of the mountains against this solitary white temple standing there. (Temple is called the Jwala Devi temple.)

Move closer to the edge and you will see the vast expanse of the mountains lying in front of you. It is like a 360 degree view of mountains, mountains and only mountains. Feast your eyes to the unlimited buffet!

The serene feeling returned– of never wanting to leave and to be absorbed by the mountains.

View from the Benog top

I wish there was more I could say but let me just end the entire trip with a quote that I feel from my heart about the mountains:

“The mountains do something to you. They bring out your absolute best. They test you to see what you are willing to give – not just your heart but your soul, your sweat, your all! And it’s only when you can prove to them that you are worthy of being there, do they reward you with a feeling of calling it home.”

Until next time, keep exploring!