 |
| Pine Forest |
My brother and I had woken up
uncharacteristically early to set out on a walk to Gilbert Trail, a hiking
trail in the Kasauli Cantonment area. It was a lovely summer morning; fresh
mountain air and the rising sun greeted us after a pleasant night’s rest. There
were only a handful of walkers up at that time. After a short walk up from the Kasauli
club where we were staying, we walked up a steep cemented path towards Gilbert
House, a British era house belonging to Major General Gilbert from the 1800s.
 |
| Greenery everywhere |
We could hear the call of
partridges and a couple of crows flying around us. As we reached the first lookout
point, we came across another Punjabi. He was new to the area and asked us how
far the trail went. In all these years that we have been visiting Kasauli, we
had never actually ventured beyond this point on the trail. As we were now
planning to go further, he joined us as well.
 |
| Dew drops lined up perfectly |
 |
| Wild Marijuana |
There was a lot of wild growth, tiny
flowers and marijuana growing freely. It was interesting to see a few green
leaf life plants which had dew drops neatly outlining their rim. We came to a
point where there had been a landslide due to which a part of the path was
missing. By holding onto a few plants, we managed to make our way ahead. At
this point, our Punjabi friend decided to turn back. We kept walking and
reached the Monkey Point Hill.
 |
| Rugged terrain |
 |
| Close up of Monkey Point |
It was the first time that I got
to see a close up view of the famous tourist sight. This side of the hill had a
distinct look, with rocks forming lines at the top of the summit. After taking
a few pictures, we kept moving ahead. We saw a deer in the forest below; a
couple of dogs walking with a local spotted it too and darted down the hillside
towards it.
The path was now descending
towards a village and further towards the plains. We decided to turn back and
sat down at one of the lookout points, taking in the various sights and sounds
of the forest. It was a calming experience, the best way to start a new day.
