1. 1. Tadiandamol peak
Grade: Easy
Altitude: 1,750 meters
Season: December to May
Nearest Airport: Bangalore (260 km), Mangalore (135 km)
Nearest Railway: Mysore (146 km)
Tadiandamol is the highest peak in Karnataka’s Coorg district
which is known for its aromatic oranges and spices-peppered cof-
fee plantations. The best time to start this trek is around 5 p.m. as it
will save you from trekking in the hot early afternoon, and making to
the top with the sun blazing with its wholesome fury.
Though the initial part of the trek might be a bit boring, don’t hang
up your boots just yet, after half an hour the foliage will start becom-
ing more dense. Navigate into the jungle and you’ll come across a
stream, where the water is so fresh that you can drink straight of it.
A good idea is to refill your water stocks here.
You can also be pretty sure to be ambushed by leeches when you
take up trekking here - this is how these creepy-crawlies show their
mild protest for an intruder. These stealthy creatures suck blood
without you getting to know about their presence after a healthy
meal, might leave you with gratitude.
When darkness begins to fall then it’s time to pitch your tent. It’s
time to eat, drink and make merry now. Starting a fire in the forest is
a bit tough and you might find your hair giving off the ‘gelled’ look
because of the intense dew in the air. But keep at it.
Try and get up in time to catch the scenic sunrise. Another two to
three hours of trekking will take you to the peak. You have to navi-
gate through the dense forest which will take you to an open grass-
land after which will start the steepest climb of the trek. And lo and
behold before you know it you’ll have conquered the highest peak
of Coorg.
3. Zanskar
Grade: Strenous
Altitude: 13,315 ft
Season: July to October
Nearest Airport: Leh airport
Nearest Railway: Jammu (734 km)
There are many routes you can choose for this trek.
One possible route chart: Delhi - Manali - Darcha - Camp - Ramjak
- Shinkun La - Gumburanjon - Table - Purne - Ichar - Mune - Padum
- Karsha - Pishu - Hanumil - Snertse - Hanuma La - Lingshed - Sengge
La - Photoksar - Sisir La - Hanupatta - Wanla - Lamayuru - Uletopko -
Likir - Alchi - Leh - Shey - Thikshey - Hemis – Leh
This trek can take anything between 15-18 days and is one of the
finest long distance treks in the Himalayas. The multihued mountains
in Ladakh and Zanskar are dotted with small hamlets and many
monasteries, called gompas. The land is spectacularly preserved
with its native culture still intact, as it happens in most remote moun-
tains of the World.
The Lamayuru monastery, founded by Rinchen Zangpo in the 10th
century is renowned collection of carpets, thangkas (Tibetan silk
painting with embroidery) and frescoes has been attracting many
people over a long time. It is believed to be the oldest in central
Ladakh.
While at Leh check out the Summer Harvest restaurant which serves
piping hot yum monos. It’s quite popular, so if you want to find a
table here for dinner during the peak season, plan to have an early
or late dinner.
At Shey go to the monastery which has a beautiful 30 m high gold-
plated statue of Maitreya Buddha, the Buddha of the future. Drive
further to visit the famous Hemis Gompa which is one of the largest
and richest gompas of Ladakh. The two-day festival of monastic
dance in June-July has raised the reputation of Hemis particularly
high.
Specific Tip: This is a river trek, so don’t forget to carry rubber san-
dals.
2. Valley of Flowers
Grade: Moderate
Altitude: 10,500 feet to 21,900 feet
Season: Mid July to Mid August
Nearest Airport: Dehradun (295 km)
Nearest Railway: Rishikesh (276 km)
It was named by British mountaineer, explorer and botanist Frank
Smith when he chanced upon way back in the monsoon of 1931. He
was so dumbstruck by its beauty that he penned down his thoughts
in a book titled ‘The Valley of Flowers’. The locals, of course, always
knew of the valley, and believed that it was inhabited by fairies. It
was declared a national park in 1982, and this valley which is home
to around 300 varieties of flowers and some like the rare species -
Brahmakamal, the Blue Poppy and the Cobra Lily - is now also a
UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The closest you can get to The Valley of Flowers, which comes
alive during the monsoons, is by road is Govind Ghat. This requires
around a minimum 10 hour drive to Joshimath from Rishikesh, then
another one hour to Govind Ghat. The road is a bit bumpy so you
all with motion sickness please beware. You might also encounter
a couple of landslides on route but the local authorities generally
do their best to clear these up as soon as possible. While at Govind
Ghat remember to pick up a raincoat which will cost you just Rs20
and is your best buy here.
From Govind Ghat it’s a 13 kilometer trek along a steep, narrow,
but well defined mountain trail to base camp at Ghangaria. This will
take between four to eight hours, depending on your fitness. The
start of the main valley, where all the flowers are, is a further three
kms from Ghangaria.
The park in Uttarakhand, bordered by Nepal and Tibet, is spread
over 87.5 square kilometers is a glacial corridor, around five kms
long and two kms wide.
To prevent trekkers and livestock from taking too much of a toll on
the park, access to The Valley of Flowers is restricted to daylight
hours (from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.) and camping is prohibited. The last
entry to the park is at 3 p.m. You’ll need to go from, and return to,
Ghangaria on the same day.
Specific TIP: Govind Ghat and Ghangaria get quite crowded from
July to September with Sikh pilgrims on their way to Hem Kund, so it’s
a good idea to book accommodations in advance.
In the mood to pack your trekking gear, tents, shoes and the undying
spirit to rough it up the mountains? Well, before you get, set and go here’s
some news you can use- A mini handbook to the famous trekking routes
in India.
80 I Travel I Adventure

2. 4. Siang Valley Trek
Grade: Moderate
Altitude: 13,315 ft
Season: October to April
Nearest Airport: Dibrugarh airport
Nearest Railway: Mur kongselek (221 km)
Siang Valley Trekking Expedition is a trek along the Tsangpo River
in (Tibet) which is known as Siang in Pasighat district of Arunachal
Pradesh, and transforms into the Brahmaputra River in Assam. Dur-
ing this trek you will get a chance to get up close and personal with
the Adi tribe of Arunachal Pradesh. Don’t get scared if you see a
Mithun (a bison-like animal) head perched up on the doorways of
the Adi people. Adi homes are basically one huge hall ranged with
all kinds of household necessities. Hunting trophies of deer, cat and
bear skulls adorned the walls.
You’ll get to see the wicked daos (machetes). The cutting edge
of Adi culture, daos were once used to hack off enemy as well as
mithun heads. The former purpose is, of course, still fulfilled, espe-
cially on ceremonial occasions. Pick up a dao as a souvenir on your
way back.
Fishes such as Mahaseer and trout, both rainbow and golden, are
found in plenty here, so you could carry fishing equipment with you.
Pashighat on the Siang River is famous for its fishing and you might
end up catching a Mahaseer weighing between 20-30 kg. But re-
member to take a fishing licence.
The government doesn’t issue licenses during the monsoon for fish-
ing in the Siang River during this time the fish are breeding. At other
times, an angler is allowed to catch only 6 fishes in a day.
5. Lingti Valley Trek
Grade: Moderate to strenuous
Altitude: 6794m
Season: June to September
Nearest Airport: Bhuntar airport (50 km from Kullu)
Nearest Railway: Joginder Nagar(165 km from Kullu)
The geological history of this place goes back to 250 million years.
Though the largest collection of its ammonites and belemnites are
kept at the Sedgwick Museum, Cambridge you can come here
to see this living geological museum of Spiti’s largest valley Lingti.
Gya (6794m), the highest peak in Himachal Pradesh, stands above
the northern head of the valley and present a stupendous monolith
where the boundaries of Ladakh, Spiti and Tibet meet. If you choose
to ignore this main valley trail, you can take the a faint path from
Lilung which turns for the Upper Zingu camping ground (4328m).
From here the path crosses the Zingu saddle (4390m) and goes up
a scree slope with a steep ascent to Shijabang Pass (4816m) which
offers a clear view of Gya peak. This pass is carpeted with grass
and dominated by two stupendous rocky towers.
Also try paragliding while at Spiti. The paragliding season is from
May to October.
6. Pindari Glacier
One of the most popular and simple treks in the Kumaon region
which takes you to some spectacular landscapes in the region.
An overnight train takes you to Kathgodam, the rail head. Take
a taxi or bus to Bageshwar (via Almora) and then to ’song’ the
road head where the trek starts. Song to Loharket(4km) Loharket
to Khati(19km) Khati to Phurkia (16Km) Phurkia to Pindari, Zero
point(6km).One can do this trek in eight days from Kathgodam to
KATHGODAM. The glacier is three km in length, situated in the Nan-
dadevi and Nandakot peaks. This trail is a photographer’s delight,
full of Himalayan flora and fauna and majestic peaks covered with
snow.
General TIPS:
Beware of the blood sucking leeches while trekking. An ex-
cellent way to get them off is to either sprinkle some salt on
them or spray a deodorant.
Remember to keep a torch as it will be your only source of
light in the forest.
The trek downhill seems easier than the way up but remem-
ber to be more careful and control your pace since one
could easily slip or sprain an ankle.
Number 4vibrates to the planet Uranus which rules the
zodiac sign Aquarius. Number 4 people are
highly unconventional and individualistic.
Creative and original they are least both-
ered about the norms of society. All those
who are born on the 4th, 13th 22nd or 31st of
any month in any year vibrate to the num-
ber 4 and this vibration is strongest for those
born in the zodiac sign Aquarius.
Number 4 people live in a world of their own
and are seldom understood by their family
or friends. They live by their own rules and
if others find them eccentric, well so be it.
Sometimes they go out of their way to shock
people and their sensibilities. They are way
ahead of their times and are more often
than not thanked by posterity for their far
reaching ideas and ideals. Their inquisitive
and curious nature takes them away from
the beaten track and into the realm of risk
and adventure. They feel challenged by the
difficult and impossible and set about ac-
complishing what most people would avoid
and shun. They are likely to emerge success-
ful too as they have an uncanny knack for
prophecising and are generally futuristic
in their approach to life. It is also true that
many of their grandest visions will be ridi-
culed in their life time and their prophecies
remain unrecognised.
Any sphere of life from politics to arts to
scientific discoveries will see the 4 person
seeking to bring about rapid and radical
change. Yet they dislike changing their
personal habits and actively resist being
dictated or moulded into a more pleasant
pattern of behaviour. They are fascinated
by the esoteric mysteries of the world as well
as unexplained paranormal phenomenon
such as UFOs, Loch Ness monster etc.
The quality of tolerance is highly evolved
in the 4 vibration and they generally have
many friends from all walks of life. Money
is not important where friendship is con-
cerned and if a number 4 person clicks with
someone they are friends for life. Their gen-
eral philosophy of life is to live and let live.
They generally let their friends and family
have their own way and expect an equal
amount of freedom from them.
HEALTH
People of 4 vibrations tend to suffer from
difficult to diagnose ailments, melancho-
lia, anemia, poor circulation besides be-
ing prone to accidents from electricity and
lightening. They are likely to have pain in
head and back and in lower legs. Psycho-
logical problems can cause impotence in
men and frigidity in women. Negative emo-
tional problems can exacerbate their health
further. Hypnosis and electrical treatment of
all kinds will benefit them and they should
avoid drugs as far as possible. A vegetarian
diet will be healthy for them and they should
avoid all forms of red meat.
January, February, July, August and Sep-
tember of every year are the months when
the number 4 person will face health prob-
lems due to negative emotional attitudes
and stress. Number 4 people should try to
remain calm as these months approach.
Colours for the 4 vibration are shades of
blues particularly cobalt and electric. Be-
sides these two, silver gray and ocean green
are also harmonious.
Compatibility
4 and 2 are physically the most compatible
but the somewhat cold 4 will always disap-
point the loving and romantic 2.
4 and 3 work fine together as long as 3 dis-
plays patience and understanding.
4 and 4 will vibrate well as friends but may
not be very practical as spouses.
4 and 5 –The easy going 5 will not think much
of the slightly eccentric 4 but with effort they
can both get along.
4 and 6 have a mutual attraction for each
other. The 6 person will try to boss over the 4.
4 and 7 is harmonious but the 7 person must
willingly and not grudgingly accept the 4
person as they are.
4 and 8 have a mutual attraction and kar-
mic bond. Often they are star-crossed lovers
and even if they do unite they are likely to
face uphill problems.
4 and 9 is generally not compatible.
83 I Advice