By telling us your country of residence we are able to provide you with the most relevant travel insurance information.
Please note that not all content is translated or available to residents of all countries. Contact us for full details.
Shares
I belong to the city of joy Kolkata which is famous for its culture and its heritage. From the early days of my childhood, I used to travel a lot. Since I belong to a middle-class family, I have never been abroad. In these 24 years of my life, I covered the majority of tourist places in my country. Traveling is basically a part of my life and I really enjoy that. In the last year, that is 2019, my school friends suggested a completely uncharted place which is Kedarkantha. Kedarkantha is a trekking route situated over the Himalayan Ranges, in northern India. There was lots of question in my mind because before that I never been to any kind of trekking. I was super excited to know that it is a winter trek and the temperature might be around -22 degrees centigrade. Finally, we four friends departed for the Kedarkantha Trek. We reached Dehradoon and it was raining heavily. Since it was the month of February the temperature was around 2 degrees Celsius. We got to know that our base camp will be at Sankri village, from where our trek was going to start. The trek was of 4 miles which seemed to be quite easy. The real story started from the day of the trek. We started our trek on the 17th of Feb from Sankri. Initially, the road was quite easy. After walking 500 meters we found that the coming way was inclined to 70 degrees almost. Being a city guy it was quite challenging to climb a 70-degree incline slope. We were getting out of breath. Somehow, it took 5 hours to trek till "Juda ka Talab", which was the 2nd base camp. Juda ka Talab was a frozen lake. The temperature was around -15 degrees Celsius over there. We got a shocking update that the weather is going to be harsh, therefore we need to complete the summit by next day. At that point of time, it was really challenging for us because we were really tired. Later we realized that without going till the summit the trip is a complete waste. That night we woke up at 12.30 am and started moving for the summit with high hopes. After moving a few miles we wore out trekking gears such as gaiters, crampons and other things. It was dark but the white snow and the reflection of our torch were enough to find the way in that forest. After moving for a couple of hours we found the footprints of snow leopards of the great Himalayan forests. We were full blank at that point of time because we were in a dilemma. It was dark at 3 am and we were in the dense forest full of snow. Moreover, the temperature was around -23 and we saw some footprints of wild animals. Somehow we acquired the courage to fight with the situation and moved forward. We were waiting for the sunrise and nothing else. But there were many more things to happen. It was 4.30 and the snowstorm started. We took shelter on a branch of the tree for a few minutes. After half an hour we felt that the wind was stopped. We again moved forward towards the destination. As soon the summit was approaching nearer, the tree density was decreasing. We were excited and at the same point of time, we were getting exhausted. It was 6 am and the sky was turning blue. A kind of positive energy ran through our bodies. most importantly we could see the summit. The way was almost 90 degrees inclined but our confidence was high. Finally, we reached the summit. The moment we reached the summit the sun was rising. As if, the sun was greeting and saying congratulations for making it till the summit. Before my eyes, I could see the entire range of Himalaya with giant peaks like Mt Arnapoorna, Mt Swarg Rohini, etc. After the trek, I can relate the journey with the journey of life. There are several things that oppose us to obtain a specific goal. Only a man reaches the summit will get the best view.