TRAVEL DIARY #CHLOROPHYLL ZONE ABOVE THE CLOUDS @DAYARA BUGYAL-HIMALAYAS

                                                               

                                                 

                        

                                                                    

                                       

                                                                   

                

                                    

Nature in her green , tranquil woods ,heal and soothes all afflictions – John Muir

Well, we decided to do this trip during the month of July!…. as this region offers its magnificent  spread of Alpine meadows , Green vegetation and its associated flora and fauna during this season.   We wanted to climb  up to 12500 ft  , the idea is to view  the elegance of this region in its  miles and miles of  green bald mountains  and to have a glimpse of  the spectacular snow capped peaks of the Greater Himalayan ranges like the Gangotri , Srikanth,  Draupati ka danda etc .

As the motor able road ends at 7500’   we stayed at the last village of that region called Barsu, to continue our trek the next day.

It was sunny yet it was cold , the village gave a look of’ being  in a plain’ despite  located in that  altitude , with the  downhill  valley with thick vegetation and  a soaring rocky mountain  uphill. From here we have to trek to   a destination called Dayara Bugyal , meaning the …'grass land meadows'.

Looking up the hill I thought it is going to be a, a rocky climb with full of rocks ….. and never had a promising outlook ; after the warm up exercise, breathing exercise and a small prayer ,  we started the climb and it was not bad  initially !!! as we gained altitude , it was steep, rocky trail , with steps made up of arranged stones , civilized trails but difficult .  Slowly! started ascending the mountain.

Mountains are a magic, the steeper it is , faster we reach the altitude. There was no rest till we hiked for an hour and slowly we started distancing the village and now we are in a  thick forest, surrounded by tall oak trees and maple trees , the  trails carpeted with   brown leaves softening our plod ,   occasionally we also got showers of nuts from the Oak trees on  our heads

We entered  a zone filled only with chlorophyll; it’s a complete chlorophyll zone.

Photosynthesis   happening at its peak, our lungs are filled  100% pure air  mixed with the medicinal aroma of the trees hidden  in the dense forest ……it was refreshing and we could feel as if we got  new energy . The whole forest is silent except for  occasional chirps of  birds. The environment is green.  

Green is  good for eyes , Green is supposed to be the prime color of the world , Green is equated to love and  liveliness and Green is  – organic / pure / natural .Green as a color has varieties  ,  Western Ghats green is  different  from the  Eastern Ghats , Himalayan green is different from Kodaikanal  greens …There are jungle greens and forest greens  , moss greens, fern green ., And this trip we were drenched with all sorts greens … our eyes were bestowed  with the best of the greens with the visual break of colors of the trees , flowers and the grayish mist with the blue back drop of the sky . 

Stout -tall trees in the woods , tilted trees, split trees, hallow trees, fallen trees , contributing  their share of visual treat .  

We are already at 9500’, this region will be covered by snow during the winter for four to five months, the rest of the months, the trees will be exposed to sunrays, mists and the rain.

For eight months these trees showcase all their beauty and emit all their green.

We are at a place called Barnala Lake , a typical mountain lake with a Nagdevatha temple on its bank. From there  the trail is with loose stones and our guide Himanshu told us that these trails were created by the ancestors of the people from the nearby villages who started this practice called transhumance. They sent their cattle for six to eight months up above the mountain, when the winter is over,’ to graze in the green pastures’. A care taker will go there on a weekly basis to check and feed the cows with some medicines. 

The forest was scattered with cows and buffaloes  from the nearest villages. They are everywhere -at distant sunny meadows giving a picturesque view out of them, -in close neighborhood with the dangling bells resounding in different tones and at the night around our tents. On that drizzling cold night , I just slide  out from my sleeping bag to relieve myself  , I just crawled out  of the tent , I could see the rain drizzle like silver lines through my head flash light and  to the left when I turned my head, I could see hundreds  of bright spots ‘the eye shine’  in that dark night ..Wooo! What a SHOCKING  sight  it was !!…'hundreds of wolves ’eyes in the dark jungle, looking at me to charge!.   

It is very strange, except for some Himalayan langurs, we didn’t spot any wild animals and its surprising that all the cattle are left in the jungle without even the slightest fear of a   leopard or tiger or a fox  preying on them . Though I noticed some skulls and bones of cattle in some clearings, dead out of sickness and scavenged by the vultures, there is not even an element of doubt that, this forest doesn’t have the wild cats or dogs or wild animals of any kind.

 The floras bloomed with vibrant colors complimenting the green around with no humans to appreciate;   on the top of the hill at the 13000 feet , we stood on a bald mount to see the fellow baldies around , some of them cloudy and some of them with yellow sun  lights on them and some with  dark patches , as the sun changes its filters – with the moving  clouds -these mountains gave different poses and  different perspectives. The meadows are just naturally maintained to perfection as if trimmed it yesterday,  I just visualized how  it would be in the winter,  when every inch of these naked slopes covered with milky white snow ! .

Morning I got up to a shout from Himanshu, asking me to come out , and I unzipped my tent to come out to see the orange meadows “did you  see the peak?’ … I just looked straight at the range of mountains in front of me  and I could see only misty valley and mountains  “hare! Where are you seeing !!! see over there “ and he pointed his fingers in the sky as  if showing  an airplane  !! ,,I gazed ninety degrees upwards !,Oh my good god ! up above the sky , at about 24000 ft among the snow capped Himalayan ranges  , I saw the  golden snow covered peaks touching the sky. 

What a spectacular view it was!  As always! This  mighty  Himalayan range  is a package of  varieties , greens, rocks, loose soils, vegetations, snow deserts, meadows , what not!!  Every time I go, it gives a different perspective, every visit is a new visit.  It’s no exception this time as well!

 While I was coming back I saw a bill board flashing the lead word ‘Chlorophyll “near the Airport at Chennai, may be a name of a residential project ‘– may be a farm land plot development, promising Green to their customers!

…”mmm Nice name”…  I just smiled it away! .

-By - Rajesh babu @ Dayara Bugyal with OWLS, Uttarakhand- 1st to 3rd of July 2024