Gayatri Viswanath

I went for the Bunbuni Trek with OHOT from the 23rd to the 26th of June. This is my second trip with OHOT and I couldn't have asked for a better experience. There were three things that pushed me to do the trip: I had no friends or cousins who could align their holidays with mine, I had to go to the mountains and I wanted something that could help me test my fitness level. So, I started scouting for trips on the OHOT page and it felt like the trip was made for me. The trip started at Delhi and the bus journey itself was a good icebreaker for the 20 of us. Day 1 in Kasol was wonderful;despite the rains, everyone cheerily agreed to walk by the stream and soak in the spirit of this happy mountain town. The trek started the next day morning. It started at the base of kalga village and it was led by a very motivating and knowledgable trek leader from Holy Cow Adventures. It was quite a steep ascent that had the most gorgeous views : we were always surrounded by tall pine trees, snow capped mountains and were always breathing light, pure air. The trek was a climb for most of the part with soul-soothing breathers in the form of green meadows dotted with small flowers and ferns and streams from which we filled our bottles. The entire team was motivating each other constantly and it's the climb that taught us that difficult and challenging situations usually bring the best of us. The climb converted us from strangers to friends. And after a 5.5 hours uphill climb, we reached our campsite, Bunbuni Thatch. This was the most sublime moment; we were all awed by the might, glory and beauty of the pir panjal range. And at night, the clouds cleared the sky to become a blanket of stars and we saw a shooting star and the milky way! Post this, it was all merry and fun again! For me, the highlight of the trip was the friends I made: Anushka and Dheer. The bond we made in this OHOT trip is nothing short of being magical! So much so that we go on little adventures on our own in our region! And all OHOTrips bring some lovely people in your life! The team leader, Harshil Gupta, was a new young leader who led the team successfully. To be young and lead a motley crowd of people ( think guardians of the galaxy) and that too on a trek, this was quite a challenge and he did a fab job. He was fun and assertive at the same time , something ideal for any leadership. He knew very well which people to put together as roommates and that also demonstrated his sharp observation skills! I thank OHOT for one of best experiences I've had! To more ohot trips in the future!