“Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer.”— Anonymous

Life in the 20s is like a fast roller-coaster ride with many unexpected highs and lows, but what brews between these and a decade is something magical, something so beautiful that we crave for it all our lives. Unless, one knows how to time travel! Since that’s unlikely to happen, the best we could do is to make these 10 years so exciting and adventurous that we move to the next phase of our lives with truck loads of wonderful memories. And to create such fantastic memories for a lifetime, nothing can be better than adventure travelling with our best buddies.

Read on and find out about best adventure trips to take in your 20s with your best buddies.

The end of monsoon is here and winter’s on its way. It’s time again to plan a date with the Himalayas. After exploring the majestic Trishul, Nandaghunti and Dhauladhars in Uttarakhand and Himachal in the summers, it is high time we should look east. By east we mean North-east. And there is no better way to explore Eastern Himalaya than to trek to Goecha La Pass. This trek route brings you up and close to Kanchendzonga Mountains like no other. Kanchendzonga or the sleeping Buddha is the tallest mountain in India and the third highest in the world. Trust me when I say that this trek will surpass all your expectations. The mountains are higher than you have ever seen; the climbs harder than what you have done so far and the weather much colder than what you have experienced so far!

That is why it’s my pleasure to list out a few things to keep in mind to best prepare for Goecha La Trek 

Know the trail

The Trek is generally moderate since we climb up to 16000 feet. The trail goes through moss covered forests of chestnut, oak, maple, pine, and magnolia and last, but by no means least, the most popularly known Rhododendron trees. We explore the rich bio diversity of the diverse forests throughout the trekking trail. If lucky you may spot many beautiful birds like Red Billed Leothrix, Rufous vented Yuhina, Fire breasted Flowerpecker, and Silver eared Mesia and many others. One encounters not just Mt. Kanchendzonga but also gets a close up view of Mt. pandim, Kabru and Simovo. It is a perfect place for a naturalist and a mountain worshipper. So keep your cameras ready and a writing pad if you would want to take notes.

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Preparation for the best experience

One must remember that it is a trek that goes through tough terrain, so one must be physically and mentally strong to complete this, as in a span of 8 days one walks for about 90 odd kilometres. Especially on the day you cross the Goecha La Pass, it gets long and tiring. One must be able to sustain for about 12 hours of trekking.

In order to make sure that you have the right amount of fitness required for this trek, it is recommended to do cardio exercises like jogging, climbing stairs, and cycling on regular basis. One must attempt to jog 5 kilometres in 30 minutes. If planning to walk on a treadmill, try it on inclined mode for the desired results.

Apart from cardio exercises, one must do regular stretching exercises which will help build the calf, shoulder and hip muscles. It will not be easy to tread on steep slopes no matter how light your backpack. It will cause immense strain to the lower back and hip muscle. Hence a bit of strength building exercises will land you in much better shape on the trek.

Lastly, if anyone is into yoga, then Pranayama and Asanas really help in fighting Acute Mountain Sickness.

How to pack right

Packing for a trek in summer varies from what needs to be packed for a winter trek. Goecha La in September and October will be much colder than in May. Hence one should pack extra carefully. In post monsoon season, the challenge is mostly with the chilled winds from which we must protect ourselves. Chances of snow, once at the pass, will be there. There might be chances of snow fall on the route as well.

Absolute essentials

  1. Good quality Trek shoes
  2. Rucksack not weighing more than 8 kgs
  3. Clothing in layers – light layers as in full sleeved collared t-shirts with a fleece jacket topped with hollow fill jacket. A Balaclava, water resistant gloves, woollen socks for the nights and cotton socks during the day
  4. Accessories – Head torch, Sunglasses, toilet kit consisting brush, tooth paste, sun screen lotion, hand sanitiser, trekking poles, water bottle
  5. Personal medicine kit – should have medicines for fever, cold, stomach upset, acidity, headache, pain killer, Band-Aids
  6. Miscellaneous – Tissue paper, plastic bags for carrying waste, day pack
  7. Original and photocopy of government photo identity card (There is no place in Yuksom to get print outs and photocopies)
  8. Two passport size photos
  9. Foreigners need to obtain ILP (Inner Line Permit), which you can get outside Bagdogra airport or at the check-post before entering Sikkim from Silguri
  10. Medical Certificate and Disclaimer (to be filled by the trekker)
  11. Medical certificate (to be filled by a doctor)

Goecha La – Fun stories

The trekkers hut at Lamuney is considered to be haunted. Many trekkers have had weird experiences while spending a night at the trekkers hut. As far as the stories go, a trekker once was woken up by a strong push on his chest in the middle of the night and when he opened his eyes he saw nothing but felt someone sitting on his stomach. The feeling lasted for some minutes and warded off on its own. Spooky huh? Don’t worry; you get to stay in tents not in the hut 🙂

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The day of the cross over to the Goecha La pass from the campsite Lamuney will be the most memorable day of your life. Typically you begin at midnight around 2 AM under the guidance of the starry night sky and ice cold air for your company to reach the first spot from where you get to view the sun rise over Kanchendzonga up-close. The story will not be over at this spot. It is only the beginning. There are many myths about viewpoints in this trek. They are all unique points from where one gets jaw dropping views of the mighty Himalayas. One completes the trek only after reaching the green glacial Goecha Lake. People should not confuse this lake with the Samiti Lake which comes much earlier on the route while coming from Lamuney. The Goecha Lake is the start of Goecha La. It is from this point that you get the views of not just Kanchendzonga but also Mt Pandim, Simovo and the mighty Goecha Peak. It is this place which can be truly called the stairway to Kanchendzonga.

Goecha-Trek

Lastly, Goecha la is a trek very dear to my heart and I insist all to do this trek if intrigued by Eastern Himalayas. No other moderate level trek takes you so close to the mountains that you could feel like you can reach out and touch them.  All the fun, thrill and adventure are hidden in the last days of the trek. Ensure to go for it and stay at it!

The reflection of the barren mountains and a clear blue sky on the placid waters of Pangong Tso Lake is one sight that will remain etched in my mind forever!

It was the month of June, a year back, when the opportunity to travel to Ladakh came my way; all thanks to a friend of mine who loves heading to the Himalayas whenever he can. We were joined by a few more of his adventurous friends in Delhi. Initially, the group had planned a bike trip to the Ladakh region, but for some reason decided against it later. And so we ended up taking a flight to Leh Airport, which by the way, is among the highest airports in the world. The first couple of days of the trip were spent in local sightseeing; we decided that we should acclimatise to the local weather before heading to Pangong Tso. During these two days, I found some really interesting things about this lake by talking to the locals, and by reading a few geography journals and travel experiences on the internet. So, read on to know about these interesting things about Pangong Tso and how amazing my trip was!

The Movie Affair
The movie 3 Idiots, which released in 2009, made everyone sit up and take notice of the beauty of Pangong Tso; the way it was captured in movie’s climax scene. I am sure, you remember it! However, for Pangong, its tryst with the celluloid screen began in 1998 with the song “Satrangi Re” from the movie – Dil Se. This song was shot in the winters; hence, you will see the lake all frozen up. Next, it featured in an animated English movie called The Fall and a Hindi movie Heroes in 2006 and 2008, respectively.

A friend of mine used to say that the entire point of a week is the “’weekend”. This was back when we were in school and I used to hate being held up at home on Sundays. I mean, which teenager has ever liked their nosy siblings and their company for half the Saturday and the entire Sunday! So yeah, back then, I failed to appreciate the value of this best relationship ever created by the human civilisation.

But things have changed now, like total recall! After having worked five days a week, behind a desk, all I wait for is the Friday night. From detesting weekends, I have grown to love them. But honestly, what do we even do on weekends? The truth, at least in my regard is, not much, apart from minimal physical activity, gorging on junk food and binge watching American sitcoms. Well, not the most exciting and healthy idea to spend your time, is it? And that is the reason my weekend plans are going to undergo a complete change this June. Apart from getting rid of a boring and unhealthy lifestyle, what’s special about this June is that the month also calls for an escapade to somewhere cool and pleasant. After much research and asking around, I have stumbled upon the best idea to make my weekends worthwhile, and yours too. Since you are reading my blog, I can safely assume that you love the prospect of spending weekends in a fun and stirring way than just lazing around in your home.

Another thing I can surely say is that 95 per cent of you (exclude the rest 5 per cent as these include people like my sister, who are just too phobic of high altitudes and cold climate) always fall for mountains and related activities. Well, among all the adventurous things to do in mountainous terrains, my personal favourite is trekking. That is why here I share my golden idea of blowing off the steam in June with trekking in the Himalayas. Further below you will find a compilation of the best weekend treks that have the potential to refresh you in such a way that the next few Mondays won’t appear as dreary as they really are.

Whether you are solo, or a group of friends or a family, it doesn’t matter, Spiti Valley is one landscape you must travel to, and if you don’t, you really are missing witnessing a lot in a lifetime. Why so? Well, you’ll know as you read through this.

Many of us might not know that Tibet is known as the roof of the world, as it is the highest inhabited land in the whole world, home to the mightiest Himalayas, the home of his holiness Dalai Lama, the land of mystic people and culture. If you have watched the movie Seven Years in Tibet starring Brad Pitt, you will know what I am talking about. And if you haven’t, then go watch it now.

The first time I traveled to Spiti Valley was in the year 2009 which was on a motor bike. Back then no one, including myself, had any idea about this valley and the history behind it. It was gruesome and rough, and I was just 21 years old. We started our ride from Manali and crossed through the rough plateaus of the valley over a period of 7 days including Gramphu, Chhatru, Batal, Chandratal, Kaza, Tabo, Nako and finally Rekong Peo. Back then there were very few Indian travelers on the highway; more of foreigners, and it did come to me as a shock that a hidden valley existed in such close proximity to us and yet most were not aware of this magical land.  I knew that I was going to go back there soon again, didn’t know when, but I felt a deep connection with the land.