Horagina Betta - WOW style
A breath of cool
crisp air greeted us as we stepped out of the bus that brought us to the
foothills of Horagina Betta.
At 9 am, the hills were an undulating carpet of
multi-hued green speckled with bumps of grey rock. Armed with a boxful of rice
for lunch and a stomach-full of light south Indian breakfast, we – a group of 8
women – began our trek with Shreemoyee leading the way. It was a man-to-man (or
woman to woman :P)marking of sorts – with 4 first timers with BTC and 4
seasoned members.
Horagina Betta
being a relatively less explored trekking location, it was a peaceful walk
along the trail that led us to the plateau half-way to the peak. And that is
exactly why what came next was some-what of a shocker! 22 mountain bicyclists
from Hubli were racing down the mountain terrain full speed – catching our
group totally off-guard. This put a brake on our schedule and we optimized our
waiting time by sipping some coconut water and sugarcane juice! I cannot recall
another occasion when either of these would have tasted sweeter!
The rest of the
climb was pretty smooth and with all the photo breaks that are characteristic
of a WOW trek, we reached the top in just under two and a half hours. As we
neared the peak, we found the perfect spot for a couple of minutes of silence
dedicated to the mountains.
With only the sound of the wind whispering through
swaying stalks of grass and a warbler’s whistle now and then, it felt divine.
The last mile was literally a walk through a jungle path, where we had to wade
through thick foliage and fight our way to the top!
The lovely
breath of fresh mountain air at the top was what we all looked forward to
eagerly.
After exploring a campsite of a night-trekkers group, we settled down
to tuck into our lunchboxes and then played some fun games with song and dance
before setting out again for the descent.
We had nearly reached the plateau point when a thick mist enveloped the peak and hid it from our view as if the mountain covered its head, sad that we were leaving. As we moved farther and
farther below, the clouds began to cover our tracks and when we were mid way,
it began to pour!
This was all that was needed to complete the experience!
Although some of us had rainwear, most got drenched under the downpour – and
the setting was perfect for the chai and pakoda that awaited us at the base.
Under the open skies and cool crisp mountain air, “the outside hillock” had
witnessed eight women make a deep “inside connect” within the group!
Written By : Vishakha Vartak
Organized By : Sreemoyee
Post a Comment