february in the Himalayas

padma — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 18:52:01 +0000

It has been an amazing winter here in the western Himalayas of India. Recently I have been taking day hikes up into the villages and hamlets that speckle the hillsides of this beautiful area. As soon as I head upwards from the single paved road that winds its way up the length of this valley, I find only foot paths that trace the steps of the hill people who have lived here for thousands of years. The paths usually follow the natural terrain, travelling along the slopes parallel to the river below, with angled vertical paths that join them at key points. Paths lead up from the main road far, far below to the many tiny hamlets of old stone and timber houses, the beautiful mountain people who live here and all their precious livestock. Shepherds also wander all through the hills here, clicking and whistling to their flocks of white and black sheep. Occasionally, I come across a cave on the side of a cliff where these hardy men must camp overnight.
The rains came very late this year and so the mountains are just now covered in the gorgeous white frosting of snow and ice. The high peaks around are magestic and I am reminded that this area is really the high Himalayas, far from the rest of the flat sub-continent. It’s been as warm as spring for months here, and I know the local farmers are happy finally to get some rain.
I went up to a local high town just north of here that used to be the valley king’s palace hundreds of years ago. The stone castle is perched on a point that looks up and down, north to south. The elaborate wooden temple at the palace dates back over 500 years. Story has it that a swarm of a million bees carried the alter stone to the temple.
The king of this valley now lives in a palace in the main town abit south of this village, but strolling about this incredibly picturesque area it is easy to see why this location was selected so long ago as the capital.
Below the steep hillsides, the flat fields stretch out in carefully groomed terraces, now starting to burst with the bright green sprouts of the coming crops of buckwheat.

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february in the Himalayas