The 13-km trek from Kalga to Kheerganga was exhilarating. We traipsed across meadows, climbed uphill through rough-hewn paths, accompanied by the clamouring trill of the Parvati river, stopping at the half-way point, the much-advertised Waterfall Cafe, a yellow tarpaulin tent with a bench that serves up a range of Maggi-based concoctions as well as anything with Nutella spread over. We took turns dipping our tired feet in the gushing cold stream that had sprung forth from that great height, and soaked in the fresh altitudinal high before the final 6-km ascent. I expected my body to be lagging behind but somewhere along the way, I found myself intoxicated by an endorphin buzz that roused me into speeding along, Road Runner-like, beep beep! When we made it atop, we stopped to catch our breath over piping hot cups of chai.

We basked in the bewildering view of snow-capped peaks and the orange-yellow haze of sunset’s glow, right until midnight, when the almost full moon first peeked at us, then presented itself in all its majesty