Kuari Pass Trek

Went on a three-day trek to the Kuari Pass- part of what used to be called Curzon’s Trail. It’s been a popular trek going back all the way to the Raj era. Looking at the peaks was breathtaking. At the highest point we climbed to 3700m and camped at 3300m. It got very cold at night, about 3 degrees – a sharp swing from the 40 degree heat of Rishikesh. The panoramic view from the campsite was stunning, mountains all around. Nandi Devi was the biggest. At 7816m its the highest mountain completely within India. (The other more famous ones share boundaries with Nepal, Pakistan, China).

I had planned to join a group trek, but as there were no tourists around I organized one through an agency going alone, with at guide, a cook and a porter. The porter and cook slogged a lot of equipment up to the campsite: tents, sleeping bags, stove, fuel, food. They prepared all the meals and served tea and biscuits after we set up camp. (They set up actually, I just sat around). I felt like the lord of the manor. Not like any camping I’ve ever done! Wasn’t that expensive either.

The way the cook and porter interacted with me really was like servants. They did their duties but didnt really engage the way most people you meet in the street would do. Certainly not the way a similar cook in Canada would behave. There was a language issue, but that was only part of it. I’ve never really dealt with servants, it was a bit weird. The guide was more interactive.

The food was really good. Quite elaborate given the location. The cook spent hours in his makeshift kitchen- a space on the side of a rock covered with a big blue tarp and filled with pots and pans, stove and fresh ingredients: vegetables, eggs, rice, tea. We had tea by the bucketful. Dinner was soup, followed by rice and dal, sabji (vegetable dish), plus a sweet and more chai.

The first night it was so cold and windy I had to eat in my tent. All that warm food stopped the shivering long enough to fall asleep. The second night we had a campfire. But I expected we would all eat together around it. Being India that wasn’t the case. I ate alone first, them serving me. It wasn’t only the “servant” thing. When you visit someone’s home, its customary to feed the guest first. I wasn’t used to that when I visited people at home. Them hovering over me while I eat, making sure I have everything I need. Of course in Canada you would all eat together, that would be the event.

I had a couple of problems with the guide. He seemed to want to do what he wanted rather than what the guy in the agency had sold me. On the first day he told me we wouldn’t go to Kuari Pass because there was “too much snow for my shoes”. I was confused, since the guy who sold me the trip said there wasn’t much snow, and someone had just come back from there. Plus they said they were going to outfit me with all I needed. On day two, I had to insist we try to see the pass, and in fact there was only a tiny amount of snow to cross. Even still the guide didnt take me all the way. But I saw the peaks, and that was the main thing.

On the last day, after we left camp the 3 guys charged down the mountain to the final destination. I realized at their pace the trek would be over at noon. Hardly a full day. I told them I wanted to spend more time on the mountain, but they looked quite surly and just continued on ahead of me. We finished way too early and when we got back I complained to the man running the agency but he just brushed it off. The agency has a good reputation, but in the end there is no real place to complain for a tourist, nothing seems regulated it would seem.

I saw some amazing scenery, got some great shots and had a truly memorable experience.