India: Himalayan Sanctuaries

We went trekking with a group of friends in the Garhwal Himalaya. Michael was able to get permission for us to go both to the legendary Valley of Flowers and the Bioshere Resereve and the Inner Sanctuary of Nanda Devi. We describe the overwhelming impact of the colours, sounds and smells of Delhi and relate how we bought a beautiful silk carpet on our way to the mountains. And we recount our climbs through steep green valleys and raging torrents into the soaring snow-white mountains. We tell stories about the people we meet; the Sikh pilgrims on their pilgrimage to Hemkund, our young guides from Joshimath, the people we stay with in the small mountain villages and the merchants in the hill stations.