The Vagabond Hiker

Hiking, trekking, and climbing the world

Walks and Wildlife in Rajasthan

Rajasthan, in northwest India (see map below), is a land of opulent palaces, magnificent forts and deep cultural traditions. There is an incredible diversity of landscape here, including jungle, mountains and desert. On a two-week walking holiday, our group explored this landscape and some of its communities on a collection of treks and heritage trails. We also visited Ranthambore National Park for two game drives. This post will highlight the walks and wildlife, leaving the cultural aspects for the reader to discover on her own. . .

This map (from Encyclopedia Britannica), shows where Rajasthan is located in India.

New Delhi – Lodi Gardens

In my humble opinion, smog-choked, massively congested New Delhi has little to recommend it. However, anyone traveling to Northern India will most likely begin and end their journey in this capital city. I can heartily recommend two things: a portable air purifier for your hotel room, and a visit to the 90-acre Lodi Gardens as a decompression from the stresses induced by this teeming metropolis.

A temple in Lodi Gardens
A common Kingfisher in Lodi Gardens

Kumbhalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary

The Kumbhalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary is a popular tourist attraction located in the Rajsamand district of Rajasthan. Encompassing more than 600 km2 across the Aravalli ranges, this sanctuary offers a variety of landscapes, plants, and animals. It surrounds the historic Kumbhalgarh Fort, also known as the “Great Wall of India,” a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We spent two days walking in this sanctuary, the hiking highlight of the trip for me.

A small Hindu temple near the start of our first day’s trek
Hayricks
Ladies, here seen carrying hay, seem to do most of the work
A vista on day 1 of the trek
A tribal village seen near the end of our first day’s trek. December is in the dry season.
Laundry day
Path-side bougainvillea
Our local guide demonstrating a water wheel on day 2 of the trek. These are used primarily for the cows, but benefit all wildlife.
A cool stream in Kumbhalgarh
Lake view with crocodilians (not clear in this photo) and birds near the end of the 2nd day of the trek in Kumbhalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary

Aravalli Hills

This day walk between two tribal villages, although located not far from the Kumbhalgarth Wildlife Sanctuary, had an entirely different feel to it. A wonderful break from all the cities, nonetheless.

Some of our group on the Aravalli Hills walk, Udaipur
Ubiquitous cows
A well-made dry stone wall with steps
A local kid
A lush Aravalli hills vista

Ratnagiri Hill, Pushkar

An overnight stay in the city of Pushkar gave us the opportunity for a dawn climb – up 890 steps – to the Hindu temple of Savitri.

Pushkar city lights
A Langur monkey awaiting sunrise on the summit of Ratnagiri hill . . .
. . . and posing for her photo. I did apologize to her afterwards for the flash.

Ranthambore National Park

This national park is best known as a tiger sanctuary. Also located in Rajasthan, it covers a total area of 1,330 km2. It is named after the historic Ranthambore Fort which lies within the park. Our group went on two game drives, the first in the afternoon until sunset in a couple of small 4×4’s, and the second one early the next morning in a gargantuan truck-type 4×4. I strongly recommend only going on safari in small vehicles.

Driving in Ranthambore on the afternoon safari
Two Chital, or spotted deer
A tiger paw print. Some of the group were able to spot a tiger the next day, but I had sot settle for this print.
A Sambar deer, listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List
A Sloth Bear (perhaps the worst photo of one ever taken). Also listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, mainly because of habitat loss and degradation.
A panoramic view of Ranthambore in the early morning
A red-wattled lapwing
A rufous treepie
A female painted sand-grouse landing on our vehicle. Not being fortunate enough to see a tiger, the birds were the highlight of the morning safari for me.
Ranthambore morning: lake, island, and peacock. My favorite photo of this post.

Of course, throughout these two weeks we also enjoyed much of the local culture, from forts and palaces to a home cooking demo. And temples. Tons of temples. And a mosque or two. The complete itinerary can be seen on KE Adventure’s Heritage Trails of Rajasthan web page. There was even one city that I found enjoyable to visit: Udaipur. It has much to recommend it, as far as cities go – large lakes, the City Palace museum, Jagmandir Island Palace, fine restaurants and hotels, and a noticeably slower vibe than other northern Indian cities.

I will leave you with only one photo from all these cultural journeys. Sadly, unlike all of the previous photos, it was not taken by me, but by another client.

The Taj Mahal in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, framed by the Great Entry Arch

Currently, I am in St. George, Utah, preparing for extended* overseas travel, which I promise will include many more hikes and treks in new destinations, as well as some of my favorites in England and Italy. The calendar on the home page of this blog has been updated to reflect my planned travels through September.

In the mean time, I am working on my next blog post, Trekking in Oman. Stay tuned.

The Vagabond Hiker

* – measured in years, rather than months

P.S. In case any of my readers were curious about the air quality in New Delhi, most of the time I was in the city the AQI was above 250, and often above 400, with both pm2.5 and pm10 particles the culprits. See the photo below, taken from my airport hotel in the middle of December.

Summer in the Cities

Loyal readers of this blog will know that most of my time is spent in the mountains and deserts of the world, hiking, trekking, and climbing. On occasion, though, I crave some culture, history, and decent vegan cuisine. With bases in Italy and Britain this past summer, I was ideally situated to visit several capital cities in Europe that were new to me. Others cities served as stepping off points for mountain adventures. In all case except one, my main means of exploring each city was by walking, in every instance including a guided tour of the cities’ more historic areas.

I trust you will enjoy this change from my usual mountain and desert photos to mark the milestone of blog post #100. Rather than present the photos in chronological order, I have listed them from my least to most favorite cities visited in 2023.

#9. Islamabad

Staying in Islamabad before and after any trekking or climbing excursion to Pakistan is mandatory. Because of safety reasons we stayed in a mediocre hotel in an area of town with nothing interesting to see, no decent restaurants, and no walking possibilities except once as a group to change money. (Speaking of which, if money is no object, the hotel to stay at is La Serena). And while it was my least favorite city this past summer, there were a couple of highlights worth sharing from our guided bus tour.

At the Faisal Mosque. Named after King Faisal bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia (who funded it), this mosque is a symbol of the friendship between the two countries. Although Friday prayers were is session at the time we visited, the worshipers largely ignored us.
Daman-e-Koh. A park with manicured grounds and sweeping views overlooking the city, lake, and Faisal Mosque. Note a couple monkeys in the lower right. Their antics were amusing, though I am usually not a big fan.
A truck at a paint shop in an industrial area of the city. If you’ve never seen a Pakistani Bedford truck painted like this, they are truly amazing: a rolling work of art.

#8. Belgrade

As far as European capital cities go, Belgrade was one of the least interesting of all that I’ve seen over the decades. While I found a fine vegan cafe a block from my hotel, the city’s architecture was generally boring, the one park I found nearby to visit (around the historic Belgrade Fortress) was crowded and noisy (granted, it was a Saturday), and the botanical garden was closed for a private function. The biggest plus was that by visiting Serbia, there now remain only three countries in Europe that I haven’t seen! I was quite happy to leave at the end of the weekend.

Pioneer Park and the Presidential Palace. My very engaging city tour started here, the cleanest area of the Old Town.
Church of the Holy Trinity (Russian Orthodox). An absolutely gorgeous little church where a wedding reception was just concluding.

#7. Yerevan

My main purpose of traveling to Armenia was for hiking and trekking in the Lesser Caucasus and Geghama Mountains (see my earlier post). Yerevan seemed to me very congested (partly due to a national celebration on the day we returned). Our cultural guide was very knowledgeable, and she was determined to impart as much of her knowledge as humanly possible.

History Museum at the Republic Square, the main square of the city. The turbulent history of Armenia is never far from the surface of any discussion.
The Vagabond Hiker holding onto a Spider sculpture
Mount Ararat from the Cascade Complex, the nicest part of town. I was on my belly to capture this photo with the flowers in the foreground. Although in Turkey, Mt. Ararat is sacred to all Armenians.

#6. Baku

Having some extra time in Tbilisi, Georgia (see below), I took a 40 minute flight to Baku, Azerbaijan for a one night stay. One night and one full day was about the right amount of time to see the more interesting sites of this city, the lowest capital city in the world at 92 ft below sea level.

Sabir garden and monument, named after the famous Azeri satirical poet and philosopher. Our city tour began in this calm place, just outside the walled Old Town (note the wall in the background).
Maiden Tower. An interesting and mysterious history of this famous landmark in Baku.
The Crescent Hotel (still under construction), reflected in the Caspian Sea. The oil slicks that covered much of the water near the shore may not be evident here.

#5. Marrakech

As it was my third time in this amazing city, I didn’t stay long, only for the two nights that book-ended a climb of Mount Toubkal. The Majorelle Gardens and numerous historic sites were outside the scope of my visit. But I got a couple of photos nonetheless. The two that follow were shown in my Toubkal climbing blog from June. Pardon the repeat.

Interior courtyard of the Riad Alida. If you visit Marrakech, for certain stay in a traditional Riad. And if you are on a budget, you could do a lot worse than this family-run establishment just outside the Medina.
Koutoubia mosque at sunset, from the terrace of our restaurant. It’s minaret was damaged three months later during the severe earthquake that struck the Atlas Mountains.

#4. Riga

The fact that I ranked this lovely capital city of Latvia outside of my top 3 gives some idea of the level of gastronomic, cultural, and urban walking experiences I enjoyed last summer.

Nativity of Christ Orthodox Cathedral. For me a standout in a city with many interesting churches.
National Opera and Ballet, neither of which was performing in June.
An Old Town Plaza
Bastejkalna Park, a linear green space along the City Canal. The extensive VÄ“rmane Garden nearby was also enjoyable, and not too crowded even on a warm(ish) Friday in June.

#3. Tbilisi

After my KE trek in Georgia was cancelled I quickly came up with some new plans (see my post from July), and based myself at a fantastic Airbnb in Old Town Tbilisi for 12 days. I was not disappointed. (The only downside was that the nightclubs seemed to go strong until 4 or 5 AM, even during the week. Bring earplugs.)

City view from above the Botanic Garden (behind me). The Old Town and surrounding areas were for the most part very clean and safe. I just wish the Botanic Garden had opened earlier; by late morning in July it was over 80 degrees and humid, so I saved it for a future visit.
Metekhi Virgin Mary Assumption Church at night, on a promontory overlooking the Kura River. This ancient Georgian-style church is the most picturesque in Tbilisi.
Tbilisi_Archive Restaurant entrance
The Restaurant Archive entrance, adjacent to the Wine Museum. This was the only fine dining experience I had in Tbilisi. The standard tourist restaurants were quite fine!
Night view of Tbilisi from my penthouse balcony at 5 Wine Rise.

#2. Luxembourg

My three nights’ stay in the upper town of this capital city of the Duchy of Luxembourg was time (and money!) well spent. With free public transport, several interesting museums, numerous parks and some good vegan cuisine, I found little to not like (other than the prices) about this ancient city. Honestly, it was a toss-up between Luxembourg and my chosen city for the top spot.

A panoramic view (at 0.5x) from the PĂ©trusse casemates to the lower city
Pont Adolphe over the PĂ©trusse River
A pathway along Parcs de la PĂ©trusse. The Alzette River joins this one a bit upstream from here. I didn’t have enough time to see all that I wanted to in the city, though I did visit an art exhibition and a local history museum.
Another view in the Parcs de la PĂ©trusse. A bit of the upper town, historically home to the burgesses and nobility, is seen on top of these cliffs.

#1. Vilnius

For some reason (most likely ignorance), my expectations for a two night stay in the capital of Lithuania were not high. They should have been! This city was absolutely stunning and more than deserved the European Capital of Culture designation in 2009. And the urban nature is second to none: some 46 percent of Vilnius is designated green space: parks, squares, and forests. To top it off, the fantastic restaurant, Rosehip Vegan Bistro, was a stone’s throw from my Airbnb. Whittling it down to six photos was very difficult. You’ll just have to visit Vilnius yourself!

Old Town Panorama from the Three Crosses Monument
An Old Town street
Office of the President of the Republic of Lithuania
Wooden steps on a path in KalnĹł park
Vilnia River view
Gediminas Castle Tower

In less than two weeks I depart California for Jordan. My time there will be divided between hiking in the Wadi Rum area in the south and enjoying some of the many cultural attractions, mostly in the north. Christmas Day will be spent exploring Petra (with about a million others I suppose). I’ll share some of the photos with you in January. Until then,

Happy Holidays!

The Vagabond Hiker

Pakistan’s K2 Basecamp Trek

August 2024 Postscript

Another sad addendum to the story of the two Russian climbers attempting the SE ridge, a new route on Gasherbrum IV. Sergey Nilov led a group of mountaineers this month to recover the body of his partner, Dmitry Golovchenko, who fell to his death in September 2023. Sadly, a serac collapse injured two othes and killed Nilov. His body has not been recovered. As Federico Bernardi noted, “This tragic story reminds us of the brutal reality of the mountains, which remains impassive of the small destinies of human lives.”

————————

Long on my bucket list, the trek to K2 Basecamp will be without a doubt the highlight of my summer 2023 travels. Objectively, the 14 day trek is not a particularly difficult one, with a gradual ascents up the Braldu Valley and moderate distances: 183 km (114 miles) and 4170 meters (13,700 ft) total elevation gain. However, the limited food choices (there are no villages along the route), dubious water quality at higher camps, and a recurrence of my old nemesis, gout, provided challenges aplenty. Despite these issues, the palpable sense of history when scrambling up the Art Gilkey Memorial and the awe-inspiring huge south face of the second highest mountain on Earth seen from the Godwin-Austen glacier are experiences I will never forget. They provide ample rewards for the adventurous traveler.

The trip began in Islamabad where the group of eleven clients and our western leader, Bart, met over lunch the first day. Early the next morning, we departed for Skardu. Fortunately, the weather was good enough for the one-hour flight, avoiding the necessity of traveling about 14 hours up the Karakoram Highway. Baltistan, with Skardu as its capital, is home to most of the high peaks in the Karakoram mountain range. With an elevation of about 2250 m (7400 ft), a night spent there while our trekking permits were sorted also helped our altitude acclimatization. Early the following morning we took a convoy of Toyota Land Cruisers on the six-hour drive over increasingly sketchy roads up to Askole, the last permanently-inhabited village in the upper Braldu Valley, where the trek commenced the next day.

Early morning view of the Hindu Kush from my overnight London to Islamabad flight
Nanga Parbat (8125m) from the flight to Skardu from Islamabad on Pakistan International Airways (currently banned from EU airspace due to fake pilot licenses). While the flight proved uneventful, the stupendous views of the 9th highest mountain in the world made it one of the more exciting flights I’ve taken. Here one sees the Diamir (west) face and the heavily snow-covered Mazeno Ridge (on the right side). The unseen south-southeast Rupal Face (at 4600m) is the largest wall in the world.
View from the Concordia Hotel balcony in Skardu. Providing only basic accommodations, on our return the cold water shower seemed divine.
Map of the Central Karakoram National Park, Gilgit-Baltistan. Skardu (lower left) and Askole (center) are circled in black. Our trekking route is the thin black line heading generally to the right (east) from Askole, before it turns north towards K2 basecamp at Concordia.
This Land Cruiser convoy provided transport for our 6 hour journey from Skardu to Askole. Here we were stopped at a military checkpoint to verify our permits.
A Braldu River bridge seen from the back seat of my Land Cruiser. The last two hours to Askole were exciting to say the least.
Askole village view. Our campsite the first night (before the trek started) was right in the middle of the village.

Day 1 – Askole to Jhola: 18 km, 520 m elevation gain

To beat the heat, each day we started trekking between 6 and 6:30 AM. The first day and a half were on jeep roads, enabling good distance as we headed up the Upper Braldu Valley.

Here are some farming terraces on the south bench above the Braldu River. I enjoyed the greenery while I could.
Three of our trekking mules. Porters also carried much of our equipment.
Our three guides: Karim, Bart, and Gharfor. Bart, our western leader, literally wrote the book on trekking in Pakistan (it will be published in December by Cicerone). Our head local guide, Karim, was well-respected up and down the valley.
Landscape with junipers
Two mules crossing a rickety bridge
The Army-built Jhola Bridge, by a long way the best-engineered bridge we encountered

Day 2 – Johla to Paiju: 20 km, 640 m elevation gain

We would leave the jeep track behind today, though since a river crossing 10 km above Askole has no vehicular bridge, vehicles had to be helicoptered in above that point; consequently we saw none.

Bart seen here crossing a rather wobbly bridge. Some of us walked and others crawled across.
Braldu River vista
Paiju camp view upstream. This was my favorite camp, with shady spots for our tents and well-maintained toilets.

Day 3 – Rest Day at Paiju

To aid acclimatization, we spent a day in camp (at 3400 m). This was our only rest day on the trek, and I can confidently say it was enjoyed by all.

The hills behind Paiju camp looked excellent for scrambling. Tempting though they were, I took a true rest day instead.
Sunset view looking upstream from Paiju camp

Day 4 – Paiju to Horbose: 13 km, 610 m elevation gain

After Paiju, we would shortly reach the Baltoro glacier, drastically increasing the difficulty of the terrain for the subsequent week.

A morning view shortly after leaving camp
The snout of the Baltoro glacier, with the Braldu River. (This photo was actually taken on the descent as the rising sun in the east made photographs problematic at this point).
Upstream view along the Baltoro glacier towards the Trango Towers. The glacier was mostly covered with rocks and rubble.
Broad-leaf fireweed (Epilobium latifolium), a frequent sight at these elevations
Setting up tents at Horbose camp. Paiju Peak (6610 m) is seen to the left, with Great Trango Tower (6287 m) to the right. At 1340 m, Great Trango’s east face is the world’s greatest nearly vertical drop. (Mt. Thor on Baffin Island is the world’s greatest purely vertical drop).

Day 5 – Horbose to Urdukas: 6 km, 270 m elevation gain

A short day as we continued to gain elevation. Horbose and Urdukas camps were both on the lateral moraine, not on Baltoro glacier itself. This day we had to cross two side glaciers entering from the south.

Mandu Glacier, seen entering the Upper Braldu Valley. Masherbrum (7821 m) is not visible here, but rises behind on the right.
Some of our group descending a side glacier (either Mandu or Yermanendi)
Guides and mules, looking back down towards Trango and Paiju
Saxifrage. Of course, there were few flowers at the higher elevations, but I did get photos of several.

Day 6 – Urdukas to Goro 2: 11.5 km, 330 m elevation gain

A longish day in which we would leave the relative warmth of lateral moraine campsites for the next five nights, camping on the Baltoro and Godwin-Austen glaciers.

Early morning view down valley from Urdukas camp
The massively complex Baltoro Glacier. Melting snow and ice led to almost constant rockfall in some areas.
Baltoro glacier view towards Lobsang Spire
Bart crossing an ice bridge with Lobsang Spire in the background
The Vagabond hiker resting at camp. The days were hot (approaching 31C or 88F), so I often resorted to wearing a buff soaked in glacier melt water to cool off.
My tent in evening light, looking up valley towards Gasherbrum IV
Alpenglow on Gasherbrum IV (zoom)

Day 7 – Goro 2 to Concordia: 13 km, 360 m elevation gain

Today we trekked to Concordia, the junction of three glaciers and the place that American climber and photographer Galen Rowell aptly named the ‘Throne Room of the Mountain Gods.’ Nowhere else on earth can you stand so close to so many of the world’s highest peaks, including Broad Peak (8047m), Gasherbrum (8080m) and the stupendous south face of K2 (8611m).

Gasherbrum IV (7932 m). By mid-August, all climbers had left the Central Karakorum, with the exception of two Russians attempting a new route on G IV*. Gasherbrum II is the tiny white bump that appears halfway up G IV’s right (southwest) ridge.
A zoom photo of Broad Peak (8047 m), the 12th highest mountain in the world, from Concordia
K2 (8611m)! Shortly before entering the sprawling Concordia camp we finally saw The Savage Mountain.
G IV in the evening light from Concordia camp

Day 8 – Concordia to K2 BC to the Gilkey Memorial to Broad Peak BC: 19 km, 560 m elevation gain

This was the BIG DAY we had all been physically and mentally preparing for. Six of the 11 clients made it to the Art Gilkey memorial on K2, and three of us also reached the empty K2 Basecamp.

The crux of the day’s trek took place shortly after leaving camp: Ascending onto the Godwin-Austen glacier. Ice screws were employed for a line-assist and micro-spikes were needed (at least for clients – the porters and guides wore sneakers)!
Portions of the Godwin-Austen Glacier were anything but straight-forward
With Jackie and Matt at K2 Basecamp with K2 rising behind. The two young Canadians were the strongest trekkers in our group. I dubbed the three of us ‘Team North America.’
Art Gilkey memorial and Savoia Glacier. The red arrow points to the memorial, originally to the mountaineer who died in Charlie Houston’s epic 1953 summit attempt.
Shrubby cinquefoil (Dasiphora fruticosa) on the scramble up to the Gilkey Memorial
Gilkey Memorial and Godwin-Austen Glacier, seen from standing behind the memorial on K2
View looking south along G-A glacier as the weather started deteriorating. Still a long way back to Broad Peak Basecamp where our campsite was located.
‘Team North America’ descending the G-A glacier. Note the pedestal rock, a sign that the glacier has been thinning.
K2 wreathed in clouds from near Broad Peak camp

Days 9-14 – Descent back to Korophon (Askole): 82 km and 880 m elevation gain

Six more days trekking were required to essentially retrace our steps back to Askole. A couple of camps were different and some daily distances greater, with of course less elevation gain on the undulating terrain heading down valley. Our final camp was at Korophon, about 10 km before Askole village. Some of us (myself included) took a jeep from there. Here are a few of the photo highlights I took of the descent.

K2 in the morning on Day 9. The summit had finally reappeared.
Vittorio Sella’s famous 1909 photograph of K2 from the Godwin-Austen Glacier at sunrise. Numerous books document the fascinating history of the exploration and climbing of K2.
Garphor looking towards G IV and Broad Peak on the morning of Day 10. Our assistant guide was hugely strong and had led ‘Team North America’ to K2 Basecamp.
Evening view of G IV on Day 10. Please pardon the numerous repeats, but the views of Gasherbrum IV were some of the best on the entire trek.
Karim and Caroline (on horse) with Trango and Paiju Peak on Day 11. Many of us were afflicted (most likely by the water at Concordia), but Caroline was particularly hard-hit and rode a mule two days during the return trek.
Horbose camp with Trango and Paiju, showing its location on the lateral moraine.
Russian Sage (Salvia yangii) on Day 12. Many of my photos on the return trek were of the various flowers and shrubs.
Some of our group en-route to camp on Day 13
Jeep ride back to Askole from Korophon on Day 14 of the trek. I saw no shame in avoiding the final 10 km of the jeep track, with some porters joining four clients and Bart. Use full screen mode to view the video, courtesy of another client.

I’ll spare the reader details of our onward journey to Skardu and then the flight to Islamabad where we went on a city tour, had a celebratory final dinner, and dispersed for our returns home.

* — a sad postscript on the two strong Russian climbers attempting to open a new route on Gasherbrum IV. Yesterday Dimitry Golovchenko was confirmed dead after falling on the south-east ridge. His climbing partner, Sergey Nilov, is currently in a hospital in Islamabad recovering from frostbite and other injuries.

Back in the UK, I’m packing for my next trip – a week hiking on Crete, with my plane departing tomorrow morning. Stay tuned for my next blog post of the White Mountains and some coastal walks on that rugged Greek island.

The Vagabond Hiker

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