Thich Nhat Han once famously said, “Let your walk be your meditation.” and I couldn’t agree more.
I have always been a ‘walker’ and for the last 6 years, have walked a minimum of 10 thousand steps every day. There has however, been one exception, the time that I underwent a major surgery last September and wasn’t able to do my 10 k steps for about 2 weeks. But that time passed and slowly but surely, I was able to come back to my fixed number of steps every day.
Our home in Gurugram is located in a complex which has a lovely walking area and the morning walk there is something , I really look forward to. In many ways , it sets the tone for the rest of the day and once it’s completed, the sense of satisfaction is huge.
The same applies when my husband Avi and myself come to our summer home in Mashobra and commence our morning walks here. Our preferred route is the BaiKulty road walk and we take our car, park it just ahead of the main
Mashobra bazaar, then start walking for 30 minutes on the stunningly beautiful stretch that takes us towards Baikulty. Turning back and heading towards the car, we have a sense of satisfaction- we are completing a one hour morning walk and the time is just 0700 hours. The whole day lies ahead and we are so pleased about what we have just accomplished!
Mashobra is a serene hill station located just 10 kms northeast of Shimla, and is well known for its dense pine, oak and deodhar forests, sprawling apple orchards, and pristine Himalayan vistas, making it an exceptional destination for nature walks, hikes, and birdwatching.
The entire walk from Mashobra to Baikulty is a scenic, roughly 5-kilometres back-road route that takes about 1.5 to 2 hours depending on your pace. The mostly unpaved trail winds through dense pine and cedar forests, offering stunning views of the surrounding hills.
It has a rich local biodiversity and while walking , we regularly hear, identify and spot diverse bird species. Recently, we have identified 8 species of birds, viz, the striated laughing thrush, hill patridge, coal tit, great barbet, long whiskered owlet, the laughing thrush, himalayan bulbul and the large billed crow. Each of these is unique and it gives us great pleasure.
As we progress, sections of the trail open up to clear views of the terraced step-farms and local apple and apricot orchards hanging over the valley. The whole ambiance and views are utterly breathtaking and a photographer’s delight.
The best part of all,this trail is completely uncommercialized and runs past small, traditional Himachali hamlets. We see local ladies enjoying their walk as much as we do particularly as the traffic at that early hour is extremely limited.
I would definitely recommend this walk to everyone who can make it. While our best time of day for this is from 6 to 7 AM, others who walk at different times of the day, enjoy its beauty and tranquility just as much.
To close, this is one of my favourite quotes on walking and sums up exactly what I feel at the end of every walk- be it in the plains or in the mountains …
“My father considered a walk among the mountains as the equivalent of churchgoing.” – Aldous Huxley
Sunaina Serna Ahluwalia is an author, independent communications consultant, travel and food writer, with a passion for photography and baking.
A graduate of History Hons from St Stephen’s College, Delhi University, Sunaina went on to do a Master’s in Advertising and Public Relations from the Indian Institute of Mass Communications New Delhi.
Starting her career with Clarion Advertising New Delhi, she then moved to Muscat, Oman where she lived for 25 years with her family.
Numerous challenging assignments followed- Product Group Manager, Genetco, Account Director, Fortune Promoseven and Advertising and Public Relations Manager, The National Detergent Company.
Sunaina has written three works of fiction
A Safe Harbour
Point of No Return
An Autumn Melody
and is currently working on two more.
