# Dayara Bugyal-The most beautiful meadow in India (Pic & Story heavy)



## Raj_55555 (May 30, 2015)

Finally had some time to make this post, so here are the remaining  photographs from my trek to Dayara Bugyal, arguably the most beautiful meadow in India.
*Prologue:*
I wanted this trip to be totally unplanned. I didn't book any hotel rooms anywhere, started with no return tickets or preset return dates whatsoever. Traveled over 6000 km, spent nights in 5 different cities and in an abandoned hut in Barsu (village), made many unique friends along the way, saw random acts of kindness and fistfights on the same day for the same reason, changed my destination thrice on a whim, traveled with ticket, without ticket, in first class and in general compartment with hardly any space to stand (not repeating ever again).

The trek started from the village Barsu which, with an amazing Himalayan view and little pollution  of any kind, has to be one of the most picturesque villages in India.







Barsu was the starting point for the trek, and there was only one hotel there. Unfortunately they were all booked out, as I didn't have a room booked in advance I started looking for alternatives. I rented a stove and some food items, and found an abandoned hut in the village. I spent the night there, a few curious locals kept an eye on me but thankfully nobody seemed to mind much.






*Trek Starts:*
I preferred a solo trek, and was followed from Barsu to Dayara by this puppy, who took a little nap everytime I rested.






The solitude up there after a 9 hour uphill trek was worth all the effort and every rupee I spent.
I pitched my tent in a way that the himalayan valleys were the first thing I saw when I looked outside the tent. The view from the tent was truly mesmerizing:











There's a saying in the hills, that Mumbai's fashion and Himalayan weather can change without any warning. The weather changed just as suddenly, and I had the opportunity to see such a weather change:






Rainfall:






The next day, after waking up to a perfect sunrise:






and having a light meal I found a herd of horses (not sure whether wild or not) out near my tent. Most of them ran away as soon as I tried to approach, all except one! She was gorgeous, we made good friends and she stayed near my tent the next couple of days I was there along with this beautiful mountain dog which came later on in the evening, we shared meals and a few jokes (we had the obvious language barrier, but we tried nonetheless). Both of them used to disappear before sunset due to the extreme cold weather at night, and reappear at dawn. We shared some beautiful moments, my guide gave me some memorable photographs too.

















The last night of our camp, we faced a tremendous thunderstorm which almost blew my tent away, then it snowed and then just as suddenly the clouds cleared up. I was woken up by a loudmouth mountain deer outside my tent for a crystal clear view of the Milky Way Galaxy in the moonless, star studded night. The Himalayan view from my tent itself was worth all the effort, this was just that cherry on top of the cake as capturing the Milky way was at the top of my bucket list. I have shared these photographs earlier, so moving on!

I trekked on to the highest point of Dayara. Bakaria Top, standing at about 12500 feet, gave a clear view of the Himalayan valleys.











Here are the banderpoonch (literal translation, monkey's tail) and kalanaag (black snake) mountain ranges, the main attraction of this place.






*Gujjars:*
While camping, I made friends with many Gujjar kids(native to the mountains), all of whom, contrary to how "Gujjar" sounds, were extremely polite and well behaved. They are the natives of the mountains, and live a nomadic lifestyle, moving from one place to another depending on the snowfall.

A senior Gujjar:






The same person carrying the leaves to his hut in the second image.






I played a little cricket with some of the kids, and they took whatever residual food and oil I had when I was leaving. The kids were very polite, the second one even posed for the camera and made me feel very special when he told me that he usually never allows anyone to take his photographs.











This small kid, Ashraf, even volunteered to carry all of my items on his horse in return for a cup of tea and two eclairs toffee (worth Re 1 each). I carried only my rucksack and it took me 1 hours and 40 minutes downhill without any break, he led the way and reached well before I did, leading his horse all alone, with all the other equipment. I was told he was to go back the nine hour journey uphill the same day on his own, amazing how hardy these kids are!





The trip was memorable, but it was about to get even more memorable, just not in a good way. I realized again, that not having a return ticket was not a good idea. I had to travel in the general compartment, to spend 30 hours standing on one leg was not a pleasant journey to say the least, but it was an experience!





It was a memorable trip overall!


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## tirediron (May 30, 2015)

Raj, outstanding work!!  That is both great writing and stellar photography.  The 'perfect sunrise' image is simply excellent.


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## Raj_55555 (May 30, 2015)

tirediron said:


> Raj, outstanding work!!  That is both great writing and stellar photography.  The 'perfect sunrise' image is simply excellent.


Thanks John, really appreciate it


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## The_Traveler (May 30, 2015)

wonderful stuff.
are these posted anywhere in a larger version?


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## Raj_55555 (May 30, 2015)

It seems I missed one pic, added it at the end of the original post.



The_Traveler said:


> wonderful stuff.
> are these posted anywhere in a larger version?


Thanks Lew, means a lot .
Yes, all of them are posted on my flickr account at full resolution, but don't expect too high a resolution as most are taken with the D100.


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## baturn (May 30, 2015)

Great photos and story. Thanks for sharing.


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## Gary A. (May 30, 2015)

Good stuff Raj. Befriending the animals had to be an unexpected treat. Thank you for sharing.

Gary


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## Derrel (May 30, 2015)

Pretty good photos. Amazing locations. Sounds like one heck of an adventure!


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## BillM (May 30, 2015)

Great story and beautiful pictures Raj


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## otherprof (May 30, 2015)

Raj_55555 said:


> Finally had some time to make this post, so here are the remaining  photographs from my trek to Dayara Bugyal, arguably the most beautiful meadow in India.
> *Prologue:*
> I wanted this trip to be totally unplanned. I didn't book any hotel rooms anywhere, started with no return tickets or preset return dates whatsoever. Traveled over 6000 km, spent nights in 5 different cities and in an abandoned hut in Barsu (village), made many unique friends along the way, saw random acts of kindness and fistfights on the same day for the same reason, changed my destination thrice on a whim, traveled with ticket, without ticket, in first class and in general compartment with hardly any space to stand (not repeating ever again).
> 
> ...


Really outstanding! Thank you for sharing the beautiful results of that great trip.


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## DarkShadow (May 30, 2015)

Excellent Story and Photos Raj,you truly are a amazing person.


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## vintagesnaps (May 30, 2015)

Those are wonderful. Some of them are absolutely stunning.

I always thought your photos were good and that you had ability as a photographer but not having seen your photos recently I'm amazed at the progress you've made. I hope you have an opportunity at some point to have some of your photos published or licensed if this is an example of what you're capable of doing.

I enjoyed the story too, it sounds like you had a great adventure.


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## limr (May 30, 2015)

Just outstanding, Raj, all of it!


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## Raj_55555 (May 30, 2015)

baturn said:


> Great photos and story. Thanks for sharing.


Thanks Brian... 


Gary A. said:


> Good stuff Raj. Befriending the animals had to be an unexpected treat. Thank you for sharing.
> 
> Gary


Oh it was, especially the horse. I love horses, and she was so calm and confident in her approach. I was so in love that I would have proposed if she was a human.. 



Derrel said:


> Pretty good photos. Amazing locations. Sounds like one heck of an adventure!


Thanks Derrel! 
Yes it was amazing, I'm planning another one in the recent future.


BillM said:


> Great story and beautiful pictures Raj


Thanks Bill! 



otherprof said:


> Really outstanding! Thank you for sharing the beautiful results of that great trip.


 Thanks Prof!



DarkShadow said:


> Excellent Story and Photos Raj,you truly are a amazing person.


Thanks Dave, means a lot really! 



limr said:


> Just outstanding, Raj, all of it!


Thanks Leonore, nice to see you around again!  



vintagesnaps said:


> Those are wonderful. Some of them are absolutely stunning.
> 
> I always thought your photos were good and that you had ability as a photographer but not having seen your photos recently I'm amazed at the progress you've made. I hope you have an opportunity at some point to have some of your photos published or licensed if this is an example of what you're capable of doing.
> 
> I enjoyed the story too, it sounds like you had a great adventure.


It feels great to read such encouraging comments, means a lot! Thank you so much Sharon.


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## spiralout462 (May 30, 2015)

I must admit, I'm a little jealous!  With the exception of the crowded transportation of course.  

Thank you for sharing!  I enjoyed the read and the great pictures.


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## bribrius (May 30, 2015)

Excellent job and appreciate you posting them.


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## Fred Berg (May 31, 2015)

A wonderful journey very nicely documented and presented.


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## snehasmile (May 31, 2015)

Great pictures and story too! Truly inspiring to trek in the north..... someday..


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## Raj_55555 (May 31, 2015)

spiralout462 said:


> I must admit, I'm a little jealous!  With the exception of the crowded transportation of course.
> 
> Thank you for sharing!  I enjoyed the read and the great pictures.


Thanks Spiralout462! 



Fred Berg said:


> A wonderful journey very nicely documented and presented.


Thanks Fred 



bribrius said:


> Excellent job and appreciate you posting them.


Thanks Bribrius 



snehasmile said:


> Great pictures and story too! Truly inspiring to trek in the north..... someday..


Thanks Sneha, you have the advantage of residing in India. What's stopping you? I know many girls who trek a lot more than I do


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## funwitha7d (Jun 5, 2015)

very interesting story and great photos, thanks


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## annamaria (Jun 5, 2015)

Really enjoyed the photos and stories.  Wonderfully captured!!


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## JoeW (Jun 6, 2015)

Terrific photos and lovely travelogue.  Well done!  And thanks for sharing this with us.  My only criticism is....MORE!  MORE!


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## NancyMoranG (Jun 6, 2015)

Not much else to say....wonderful all around.
There is a reason to do this while young and your return trip is just 1 of the reasons 
Standing for that long on 1 leg on a moving vehicle ....ugh at my age.
What a great memory for you AND you have it documented !


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## jaomul (Jun 6, 2015)

Great read and great photos.


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## Raj_55555 (Jun 7, 2015)

funwitha7d said:


> very interesting story and great photos, thanks


Thanks! 


annamaria said:


> Really enjoyed the photos and stories.  Wonderfully captured!!


Thanks annamaria! 


JoeW said:


> Terrific photos and lovely travelogue.  Well done!  And thanks for sharing this with us.  My only criticism is....MORE!  MORE!


Thanks Joe, really appreciate the kind words! I'll probably be out on a similar tour very soon, I'll be sure to post some more over here. 


NancyMoranG said:


> Not much else to say....wonderful all around.
> There is a reason to do this while young and your return trip is just 1 of the reasons
> Standing for that long on 1 leg on a moving vehicle ....ugh at my age.
> What a great memory for you AND you have it documented !


 I swear this is true, when I was trekking back down I saw an old man, well over 70 years in age, trekking up the route I just came back down on. He was with a couple in their 40's (guessing), and the lady told me that he makes a trip to places like these every year. It takes him a lot longer, but he always completes his treks. He had even trekked gangotri, which is one of the tougher routes. I was truly astonished!
Thanks for the nice words @NancyMoranG 


jaomul said:


> Great read and great photos.


Thanks Jaomul, you've been really supportive!


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## FITBMX (Jun 7, 2015)

Sorry I am late to the part Man! 
Absolutely spectacular work in every way!!!  

I checkout your Flicker, and you have a lot of really great photos on there!


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## Raj_55555 (Jun 7, 2015)

FITBMX said:


> Sorry I am late to the part Man!
> Absolutely spectacular work in every way!!!
> 
> I checkout your Flicker, and you have a lot of really great photos on there!


Thanks a lot for the kind words and your support all the time man, really appreciate it!


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## FITBMX (Jun 7, 2015)

Raj_55555 said:


> FITBMX said:
> 
> 
> > Sorry I am late to the part Man!
> ...



I really just do it for myself. So this way one of these days when you are a world famous photographer, I can say I was the reason you made it!


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## Raj_55555 (Jun 8, 2015)

FITBMX said:


> I really just do it for myself. So this way one of these days when you are a world famous photographer, I can say I was the reason you made it!


  You may have to wait a while for that!


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## mmaria (Jun 9, 2015)

just 

oh... 

and 

a


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## Raj_55555 (Jun 10, 2015)

mmaria said:


> just
> 
> oh...
> 
> ...


  It's been a while!


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