The calling of the Mountain- part 4

Aditi Ghosh

Our next destination is Chitkul, the last village of India on the Tibet border at 11,320ft. The area lying beyond Chitkul village is under the control of the Indo-Tibet border police. How can I describe Chitkul? If Kalpa is the land between earth and heaven, Chitkul is a slice of heaven. The incredible views of Chitkul are simply going to leave you breathless. Kinner Kailash at the backdrop, Chitkul is a beautiful small village with a few traditional houses on the bank of the Baspa river surrounded by alpine mountains. The centre point of the village is an old wood-carved Mata temple. For the most part of the year, the place remains covered under a thick layer of snow.

The sense of adventure in the wilderness kicks in with every km on the journey from Kalpa to Chitkul- steep slopes, U bends, narrow ledges, bottomless drops, barren rocks and overhanging boulders test your nerve. But everything is worth it for this heaven. What you get here in abundance are peace and fresh air. According to a recent study by the Centre of Atmospheric Sciences at IIT Delhi, Chitkul has the cleanest air in India. And I guess peace cannot be measured.

You can spend hours sitting on the bank Baspa river, it nourishes your soul. A walk in the village teaches you how to live life simply. I under there is an MBBS doctor posted there but the doctor hardly gets any patients. Villagers believe that Mata protects them.

Kalpa and Chitkul seem to be popular with Bengalis. Someone told me Bengalis HAVE invented Kalpa. I guess the eternal traveller in me is also a bong gene. Not many tourists yet in Chitkul (the season starts by end of this week) but most of them are Bengalis. Our hotel folks are also Bengalis. You can even savour here bong delicacies ( bhat, mosoor sal, alu bhaja, alu posto and what not!). A Dhaba boasts there as ‘Hindustan ka last dhaba’.

I wish I could be here for more time to soak into the peace and serenity. I wish I take some lessons on how to stand tall and be resilient from the Himalayas. Memories of this slice of heaven will forever remain in my soul. And who knows, maybe I’ll come back one day for a retreat here.

The writer is a globe traveller