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Mount Girnar, Gujarat
Climbing: 20,000 Steps
Weather: 40 to 44 degrees Celsius
May 2018
Time taken: 5 Hours
Elevation: 1200 meters
For the preparation of Annapurna 100 ultra Trail race, we had planned a training session at Mount Girnar based in the district of Junaghad, Gujarat. Apparently, It is the highest peak in Gujarat.
The team began the hike on May 16th 8:30 am on the famous Girnar hills. Hiking the ancient pilgrims’ path up to Dattatreya Temple on the topmost peak was a thrilling experience. The journey of climbing Girnar Hills was scenic throughout.
Facts:
1. We saw a lot of trash on the route thrown by people. This also attracts wildlife to enter the hiking zone at nights. We were also told that lions, cheetahs, bears and other wild animals are sighted post 6:30 pm around the last 1 kilometre before you reach Dattatreya Temple.
2. The food and hydration were 50% more expensive as to their normal prices since they have to be carried by porters up the hill. It is better and economical to carry your own food and hydration. Our spendthrift went bizarre with nutrition and energy drinks! Literally, super expensive and twice the cost that we can buy in cities.
3. Just before you summit the final peak to Dattatreya Temple, the trust has organised free lunch (Bhandar) for everybody (Khichdi, Dal & Sheera) You are made to sit on the floor and eat. Who cares. we hogged like anything!! Unfortunately, there are no decent facilities e.g. no spoons will be served which means you need to eat with your hands. Also post eating there is very limited water to clean your hands.
4. At some crucial places, photography is banned. But these are the most scenic spots. You will encounter sadhus (Aghori Babas) telling you not to shoot. It’s not worth getting into fallacious arguments with them. Let them get out of your sight and keep clicking snaps.
The entire journey is incredible with scenic mountains but at the same time, one needs a decent amount of endurance to complete the journey. We saw tonnes of pilgrims who had been climbing for more than 12 hours and were yet to complete their pilgrimage. There were several other Jain temples on the route which are beautiful and a must visit. This route is also frequently visited by the Trekkers.
After every 1000 steps, you will notice that there is an indicator which depicts the number of steps climbed. It is recommended to begin the journey in the early hours of the day say 4:00 AM so the weather is in favour of the pilgrims and it is faster to complete the journey.
The sense of accomplishment at the end of the journey leaves one punching the air and applauding! Goodness knows how you’d feel if you’d climbed up & down 20,000 stairs!
