Mountain-run from Naggar to Jana

Sometimes missing the bus can be a blessing in disguise. As I drank my morning tea and enjoyed the spectacle of the sunlight on the snowy Himalayan Mountains, the only bus connecting Naggar to Jana passed by my cottage. The sign said “Jana- 11.5 kilometres.” That wasn’t too far for someone who ran the Mumbai Marathon in January. I stayed in reasonably good shape, despite over-eating my mother’s delicious cooking (a real achievement!) 

Of course, Naggar is 1600 metres above sea level and I was clueless about the altitude of Jana. Then it suddenly hit me. Why not run the distance? Sure, I hadn’t run more than 5 kilometres at a stretch since the marathon but it was a cold morning and it was worth a try! So, there it all started on the Himalayan roads. It started off well since the road was descending for the first 100-odd metres. It more or less stayed flat for another couple of kilometres and I was thinking that this was going to be super-easy. Was I in for a shock!

I passed curious villagers, who wanted to know if I was Indian? They praised my himmat (courage) for running up these mountains. I was told that the climb is steep and I better take periodic breaks. The path through pristine and fragrant pine forests was stunningly beautiful, even without the views of the spectacular Himalayas. It has been cold ever since I came here and the spring flowers are slow to come into bloom. I did see some of the early bloomers. 

The road crosses a few unspoilt villages and by unspoilt I mean villages with traditional Himachal houses, all with smoking chimneys. There are also several springs and waterfalls all leading to the mighty Beas River. As the altitude kept rising, so did my fatigue, but I was determined to run the distance. My knee had healed from January and I was strong enough to last the distance. 

The more distance I covered, the more beautiful the scenery and the landscape became. I could see the banks of the Beas and “my village” of Naggar. I had travelled far! Jana was so near, yet so far! 4 kilometres at that altitude is like 12 in the plains! When I was about 3 kilometres away from Jana, I finally saw my first apple orchard! It was spring and the leaves were just coming on the trees. Some trees had started flowering. I can’t imagine how beautiful these orchards would be in the late-summer.

After a physical and mental struggle, I saw that I was just 1 kilometre away from the village of Jana: 2200 metres above sea level. The village turned out to be so beautiful, right out of a fairy tale! There were rows and rows of fragrant lilac trees. Those same lilacs that made the streets of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk smell so good in June! I decided to run all the way to the Jana waterfall, another 2 kilometres away but without a climb. An impromptu 13.5 kilometre run took me to this paradise of a Himalayan village!

Charming cottages, blue skies, the warm sun on my skin, a powerful waterfall and oh those mighty mountains in the background! Such Bliss!!

And for the record, I wasn’t going to wait for a bus for 2 hours after a delicious lunch and so I walked the 13 kilometres back to Naggar. I love Himachal!