Morning from the Himalayas!
My love for walk at nature has immensely increased over a period of time and why not?It brings me peace and moreover it's good for mental health. Today's blog is about a walk between huge trees and fresh air at the jungle of upper Shimla region in Himachal Pradesh.
Shimla is literally situation in lap of nature, surrounded by dense forest flourishing flora and fauna. It's no surprise to find yourself lost in it's beauty cause it's heavenly. I had few days before moving back to city,so I decided to go for a day hike between the woods.
We started our journey early in the morning around 8, it was a lovely day and sun was shining brigher then ever. As there are no trails and proper pathway between the woods so choose the path most travel. We knew that walking between the woods during winters is not considered safe cause the wild animals move downward to avoid the cold. So we decided to go only 3 kilometres into the woods where the last house of the area is situated. It was a great idea cause we enjoyed a lot.
When I'm unaware of the destination things become interesting to me, I start to ask questions from the fellow members about the place, area and about the culture and countless more. The curiosity within me is always on another level and that's the only thing which keeps me going. I always use to think how people are getting motivation to walk, to trek but now I have felt it myself and those who know, knows very well.
The dominant trees are pine trees here at Shimla along with the deodar. You will see them every where, specially at the hills, in the mountain slopes and in open. Other three that are commonly found here area rhododendron and Oak trees. During winters the area get covered with a thick layer of snow so, people burn the woods of these trees collected early. They burn for a longer period and coal also stay longer. It was also used to cook food earlier when the gas cylinder were not easily available. That's not just it, they have numerous benefits and without them survival isn't possible in anyways. They are considering the pride of Himachal.
These trees have long life like some old oak have upto 500 and pine can live upto 1000 years. Do you guys know how the age of tree is calculated? *By counting the number of concentric rings in the trunk of tree after cutting it down you can know it's real age as the rings represents the growth of the tree over a period of one year.
The shapes of trees were quite interesting and they are all unique in all forms. I found this tree unique,so here's a picture for you all.
No matter what, you should never go to the jungle alone, it's not safe for numerous reasons. First, you may get lost, you can encounter a wild animals and if you not experienced then it's really different to walk at Himalayas. We were lucky enough to not encounter any wild animals.
Finally we reached at an open ground, completely engulfed with the oak and pine trees. The area around was magical, mysterious and majestic. Lovely how the trees have maked a sort of boundary around the ground. This place is literary paradise.
For a wildlife photographer it's no less than heaven and for those who seek art and want to relax in nature it's a must visit place. This is above the Dhar belt in Himachal Pradesh at Shimla.
Here are some of the pictures I took with my phone samsung galaxy S21 ultra. Do let me know about the picture you like most in the comments.
It took us three hours to cover 3 kilometres uphill. It was really an amazing experience and I enjoyed every bit of the journey. Moreover, I like clear sky and the weather on this day was perfect.
I hope you enjoyed reading.
Have a nice day. §§