Himalayas. Mountain river. Adventure.

Just back from my four day Himalayan trek and one of the highlight of the trek was the unexpected river bathing experience in the wilderness, away from all habitation with just the sounds of birds and water around. An absolutely memorable Alive is Awesome bathing experience! 


The beautiful terrace gardens, homes of the villages on the trek and finally the river from top!

We were tired and had been trekking in the high Himalayan mountains for the last 6 hours. Our final destination was out of sight and we had no idea how far were we from Almora. We had started our trek from Mutkeshwar to Almora immediately after breakfast and were now sweat soaked despite walking mainly through the pine forests. Before we saw it, we heard the gushing sound of water somewhere in the vicinity. Within minutes we were walking along with the river, still about 100 feet below the nonexistent trekking path. I had to literally hold Maarten back form jumping right into it. It was a mesmerizing view and what was even more amazing was the absolute obscurity of this place.


The Pine forest, the river, and the view of the majestic Himalayan range


We walked along, looking for paths that we could take to trek down into the water; soon we found one near the bridge where another mountain river met our beloved river and became a much more beautiful and wider one. There was beautiful blue/ green/ brown water and even small beaches along the cost of the river. There were also areas where the river suddenly went deep, or there were tiny whirlpools. But our decision was made and we made a rather dramatic trek down on one of the beaches. We were initially taken aback by the very cold water, but there was no go back anymore. We quickly stripped and jumped into the river and swam for a while with no inhibitions whatsoever. We knew the area was absolutely deserted and we could do all sorts of random stuff life sitting in the middle of the stream and pretending to be kings, slipping and falling often on the slippery rocks, rolling in sand and making patters etc etc :)


An old bridge on the river, the river itself and a few men with their donkeys on the way


Water somehow brings out the most adventurous spirit in me, I always feel so rejuvenated when in water. Its amazing how water pulls me to it and brings out so much joy every time I jump into it! For me the best adventures have always involved water and I always look forward to them. Alive is Awesome for me is best exemplified with the adventures involving water and often are best when they are unexpected, like the above chance encounter in a dense Himalayan forest.

Comments

  1. yes!!! the mountains are exciting and they bring out the adventurer in us!!!

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  2. I sometimes wonder why altitude brings out the best of nature... there's more beauty the higher the location is. :)

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  3. Nice one.

    http://rajniranjandas.blogspot.in

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  4. Wonderful shots from a interesting og beautiful place! The nature is so spectacular!

    Greetings Irene

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  5. Beautiful photos and I enjoyed your commentary very much!

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  6. Sono posti speciali così diversi dai nostri....bel post! ciao Cri

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  7. Hello, Siddhartha Joshi.

      Awe inspiring your works...

      Thank you for visiting my blog.
      I am honored to your visit.

      The prayer for all peace.

    Have a good day. From Japan, ruma❃

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    1. Thanks a lot Ruma, I am glad you enjoyed it here...

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  8. Wish I had been to all the places you have been to... :)

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    1. Actually I don't quite get to travel as much...wish I had more time and of course more money :)

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  9. Thank you for sharing your lovely pictures from trekking in beautiful Himalaya...great!

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  10. Magnifiques photos !!
    Bizzz Laure
    http://ptitesphotosdelolo.blogspot.fr/

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  11. What a beautiful tour, feels through the photos...

    Warm hug and a flower, with friendship.

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  12. Judging from the pics, this sounds like one heck of an adventure. Green with envy man! ;)

    Thanks for sharing the moments ...

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  13. Like your photo shots ! Thanks for sharing.

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  14. Very nice. The Himalayas is a place on my Go To List!

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    1. It should certainly be on your list! Let me know if you need any tips :)

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  15. Congratulations on the trek and swim - I'm like you, my best adventures have always been around water, and preferably the sea... there's such an element of freedom to it! However I'm not too keen on cold water so I'm impressed with anyone brave enough to go straight in, no questions asked.

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    1. That's great Nathalie :) After swimming in the fjords of Norway, I think the water in this river wasn't all that cold :)

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  16. Ohh my Dear i wish i could be there!What an beautiful place!Wish for you the best holidays ever!many kiss from Anita xxxx

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  17. Very nice collection of photos..........As you like to visit off the beaten track places, you can visit http://www.mygreatstay.com to see the unexplored places.

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