Tucked away safely in the upper reaches of the Central Himalayas, lies a land that conjures up images of the Old West. Lush green grasslands where wild horses still run free. Tranquil mountains with dense forests of Oak, Pine, Deodar and Rhododendron. And snow-fed brooks that feed the river Pindar which seems to be on a journey of its own.

 Welcome to India’s finest meadows.

Ali and Bedni Bugyal (meadows in local Garhwali parlance) are perched at 11,000-12,000 ft. in the hills of Garhwal in Chamoli, Uttarakhand. Accessible only in late June when spring sets in and again in the winter months of September and October just before snowfall, the bugyals are pictures that even God wouldn’t want to be retouch.

 Where to start

The trek to the Bugyals starts at the village of Mundoli, an 8 hour drive from Kathgodam. Rations, camping gear and essential items need to be stacked before you start. The mules can be your best friend given their stamina and speed. If you are a first-timer to the region, it’s advisable for a local guide to accompany you. Mundoli has pretty much everything you will need for the journey. If you’re not a teetotaller, get a few bottles from this sleepy hamlet since it’s the last place where you will find a licensed shop selling IMFL (Indian Made Foreign Liquor). We begin our trek leaving Mundoli behind with our first camp scheduled for Tolpani, a small clearing in the woods by a water source that suffices for camping and an overnight rest. The 5-6 hour climb through the heavily wooded trails is steep throughout and moderately difficult.

 Words of caution

When you camp at Tolpani, use mosquito/ insect repellents since the dense undergrowth attracts unwanted guests like the blood-sucking fleas. Beware of leeches if you’re travelling during rains.

From Tolpani, we head to Ali Bugyal. Though the climb is steady, the weather seems to suffer from mood swings. On a clear spring day, it hardly takes a few minutes for mist to envelope you, reducing visibility to less than 10 metres. It’s better off for the team members to stick together because one wrong turn on the mountain trail can be disastrous. During our ascent, we saw a few locals returning from the pastures with their herds of cattle. It appeared harmless at first. But the moment the herd began running down a slope in unison like a platoon marching forward, a hail of big and small stones came crashing our way. You need to be alert and spontaneously find an alternate route to avoid getting injured.

 Whoa!

You will know by the look of it, the moment you reach Ali Bugyal. Endless stretches of green grasslands on all sides covered by a carpet of seasonal yellow, blue and purple flowers. Countless wild horses feeding from the meadow as if it was some eternal manger. Flocks of spotless white sheep, sometimes 200-300 in number, making their way across the green turf is a shot you wouldn’t need to go to image banks for ever again. 

After a short halt at Ali to soak in the beauty, we head for Bedni which is hardly 5 kilometers away. Bedni has two temples and a lake in the centre that fills up during the rainy season. We camp at Bedni where we befriend a handful of locals. For the next two days, over endless swigs of chang (a home-made wine the locals brew out of barley), we play cards and an occasional game of volleyball. The day we reach, Bedni is agog with stories of how a local swiftly climbed a tree to miraculously escape being attacked by wild boars.

 The way back

On the return leg, we take a different route through Didna and Wan. Hardly had we ventured 500 metres in to the forest that we saw a blood trail. The blood was still fresh and the trail carried on for another 80 metres along the way before it disappeared in to the forest. We learnt later that a mountain leopard had attacked a buffalo which managed to escape but was grievously injured.

As we continued our descent, we were moved by the warmth the Garhwali villagers shower on anybody visiting their land. Mid-way through the journey, a Garhwali woman was kind enough to offer us goat-milk tea every sip of which invigorated us. We passed through the picturesque mountain villages of Kuling and Wan where high altitude pisciculture and sericulture have been taken up by the locals as a means of sustainable livelihood. Back at Mundoli, when we come face to face with civilization after a hiatus, the memories of the ethereal meadows and tales of the journey are still flashing before our very eyes.