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Arin is a student of Class I. An avid traveller at his tender age, Arin set off on the exhilarating Ruinsara Lake Trek in Uttarakhand with his mother Papiya — a challenging trek for a 6-year-old. Enjoy his narrated travelogue — an adventurous journey through the alpine forests, waterfalls, river and green meadows.
Day one of the Ruinsara Trek – all set to start
Day One: Starting the Trek
I am having fun. Early Morning I am ready to start the adventure. We are all off to camp Bagi. My mamma thinks Arin is the best trekker, it is time to test it out.
Playing in water and checking out the tent
I loved playing in water with some sticks as boats and some rocks to make bridges. Camp Bagi at Tons River was super fun. I played for hours. It was my best day. I met Yudi, who was also part of the same trek. I liked him and we started playing together. We played hide and seek at night with head torches.
I also liked the tents. I was a little uncomfortable in the beginning to sleep in my camp cot in the tent. Then I join Ma in her camp cot and slept.
We are 7 of us going for the trek, Me and Mom, Yudi and his Dad, and Pulkit
Day Two: River Tons — Village Taluka — Bheduka-Khappu Thach (2400 M)
We woke up early with sunrise and the rooster giving us wake up call. We had early morning breakfast and left the camp at 7am. My bus ride was fun. It was a beautiful drive on the mountain roads. We crossed many colourful small villages on the way. We drove beside rivers and we saw some people rafting.
We were 7 of us going for the trek — Mom and me, Yudi and his Dad, and Pulkit. We had 2 guides Prem Bhaiyya and Dhruv Bhaiyya.
On the way, we saw the landslides which were being cleared by the bulldozers. So we had to stop for sometime. There was a huge tree, which had fallen on the road blocking the movement of vehicles. We had to change the vehicle from Force Tempo Travelor to Balero Camper.
We drove for 2 hours to reach the starting point of our trek. The trek goes from the village of Taluka, through the Govind Vihar sanctuary. From here, the trail descends to the river valley and continues through the forest on the true side of the valley.
In spring, there are plenty of Gujars (pastorals with sheep and goats) camping as they make their way to the higher pastures. We climbed past the village of Datmir to its grazing grounds at Khappu Thach.
Playing with my hiking pole
The first day of the trek was a great time. There were rocks, rocks and more rocks. There were rocks of all shapes and sizes. Walking, running, jumping , leaping over them was super fun. I took the lead with Prem Bhaiyya and finished the trek first. Khappu Thach was beautiful, our campsite was amazing.
We had nice soup and dinner in the evening. Yudi and I played in the stream, clearing path for the flow of water and made a small bridge.
We get ready for the Khappu Thach — Dev Thach trek through the forest
Day Three: Khappu Thach — Dev Thach (3000 M)
The trek to Dev Thach was through a large alpine meadow. At first the trek goes downhill and then the path continues winding through the forest until the village of Osla appears on the opposite side of the valley.
The main trail does not divert to Osla. Instead it leads through a row of tea shops and a forest rest house known as Seema (2500m). From here it’s an hour’s walk up to the beautiful meadow.
Today the trek was 9 km and we took 7 hours to complete. We took a long break for lunch and had great time playing with rocks and streams. Dev Thach camp site was very beautiful.
It was the most beautiful walk I have ever been to
Day Four: Dev Thach — Ruinsara Tal (3500 M)
It was the most beautiful walk I have ever been to. There was just so many shades of green, blue, grey and white. Bright blue-sky, snow-clad mountains, green pine forests, umpteen waterfalls, white and blue river. We trekked for 12 kilometers, the last hour was little tough. We landed in the most beautiful place, Ruinsara.
Umpteen waterfalls, white and blue river
This is the most beautiful place I have ever been to. I feel I can stay here forever. It has the most beautiful sky, and mountain peaks. It has huge green meadows where horses and ponies are grazing.
Also we saw the cutest and most beautiful dogs. We had 3 dogs near our tents — one black, one golden and one white. The golden one looks like my Shifu at home.
I would love to take all of them but Prem Bhaiya told me that these dogs die if they are taken away from the hills. These dogs are Bhutiyas.
It has huge green meadows where horses and ponies are grazing
Ruinsara Lake is considered sacred by the surrounding villages. The guides told us that it is above the main valley floor on the true side, surrounded by alpine pastures and low rhododendrons beneath the Swargarohini Range Camp.
We camped ten mins from the lake. I am told that this is the path Yudhisthir took on his way to Swarga, for Moksha. We had a hailstorm, small pearl size ice drops. It felt that the whole place is covered with white pearls. Dheeraj Bhaiya, our cook made yummy samosas for us. I also had Maggi. The best day ever.
I enjoyed playing on the rock
Day Five: Ruinsara (3500 M)
Rest day. We relaxed by the sacred lake and enjoyed the views. Ma and I walked around and chatted. Yudi and I played in the stream. We had hot lunch. It was lovely weather and I felt like staying here for longer. I was a little sad as we were not walking further to get the feel of snow. We had magnificent views of Swargarohini – I, II, III, Bandarpoonch and Blackpeak.
Those resting times
While I could see the snow clad mountains, I could not play in the snow. I really like trekking and I would love to come here with all my friends. I was missing my friends. I wanted to share this amazing experience with them.
I have told Ma, that it would be great to do one trek every summer. I have also asked her to ask Yudi’s father if he can also join every year. We can then have the best annual play date trekking different mountains, valleys and passes.
The sky becomes gold here
Day Six: Ruinsara — Dev Thach
We came down the same way we had gone up. It has been raining after lunch , making it difficult to walk down. It was also cold and tiring. I did not want to walk in the rain, but my Ma kept on telling me that we must walk, so that we reach the camp in time.
The Bhaiyya with the horse, took me on the horse for last 30 minutes and helped me reach the camp. We got some hot popcorn welcoming us to the camp. It was a cold and damp day.
I have asked Ma to ask Yudi’s father if he can also join every year
Day Seven: Dev Thach – Bheduka (2200 M)
It was long walk down to the campsite of Bheduka. It was the most rocky and mucky downhill, but as we were going downhill we were quite fast. My mother took long long time to reach the camp site. I was little worried , but I knew she will somehow manage.
Yudi and I decided to give her surprise party. I arranged everything in the tent so it was easier for her to pack tomorrow. We had Kit Kat and M&M party to celebrate the last day of trek. The camp site was lovely. We could clearly hear the sound of flowing river nearby.
Day Eight: Bheduka — Tons (1090 M)
Trek from Bheduka to the road head at Taluka.
Drive to Camp at Bagi.
I woke up in the morning, feeling little sad that the wonderful days are over. Time to go back to Pune and its hussle-bussle. I made good friends and I am going to miss them. It was an easy couple of hours trek to Taluka.
Then we took the Balero Camper to our journey to Camp Bagi. At Camp Bagi, we had hot lunch and then played in the River Tons for hours. It was very hot, but the water was cold and soothing.
Posing for pictures was so much fun
In the evening we had a shower after 7 days and it felt really nice and clean. At night we had bonfire and Yudi and I played our last hide and seek at night. Tomorrow we will drive down to Atali Ganga, but Yudi will be taking flight to Mumbai. Said Good bye to Prem Bhaiyya, I hope to meet him again next year.
Special thanks for Aquaterra adventures for the great experience. The team was super caring and helpful. They ensured we were comfortable and we had the best experience ever.
I will always remember this place
How to Reach Ruinsara Lake Trek
How to reach: Dehradun is the nearest location
Height of the trek: 11,485 feet
Difficulty level: Moderate
Duration: 8 days / 7 nights
Trek distance: 66 Kms
Best time to visit: Late May till Mid June and from September till the first week of October (basically avoid the monsoon season)
Most Must Read in LnC
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My Trip to Uttarakhand: Travelogue with Sketches
Arin loves to create new stories from his experiences and feelings. He expresses himself through his drawings and paintings. He is passionate about cars and vehicles and enjoys making various kinds of LEGO robots, cars, aircraft’s and spaceships. Arin is a student of Class I (IB Board). He is the author of a published book The Curious Little Bud — a beautifully illustrated bedtime storybook published by Blue Pencil.
All Posts of Arin Banerjee
All Posts of Arin Banerjee
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Today’s Motivation
The man of wisdom is never of two minds; he has got clarity of thoughts.
The man of benevolence never worries; he does not expect anything in return.
The man of courage is never afraid; he accepts challenges without fear.
Dear Master Arin,
You are REALLY Amazing!!!
You had an awesome trekking adventure with Yudi and friends.
You played by the river, explored nature, and made cool memories.
Arin, You have shared and talking about the environment and you have shown your interest more treks in the future.
Your story brings out the fun and excitement of your journey and also the inspiration for the children of your age…!!!
Keep sharing your excitement towards nature you visit in near future:))
With love & blessings!!!