Creedaz's video: Ready For Rains Ep 01: Monsoon Trekking

Hi guys, Manav here and I welcome you all to Creedaz. This is the first episode of the video series “Ready for rains” where we are going to talk about the concept of Monsoon trekking vis a vis the Western Ghats. Monsoon trekking in India can be experienced in the lower Himalayas (except in the rain shadow regions of Ladakh and Spiti), in some parts of North-East India (though most of the areas get flooded in the region) and in the western Ghats (ranging from Kerala to parts of Gujrat). The monsoon season for treks starts from mid-June and ends in mid-October in India. However, the period is different for different regions. In the Western Ghats, during summers, all the hills and forests are dry and not pleasing to the eyes and hiking in the hot sun becomes a struggle rather than an enjoyable activity. As the rain hit the slopes around mid-June, everything turns green, the waterfalls come to life and as the temperature goes down, trekking becomes an enjoyable activity. Though, the downpours might make you little uncomfortable initially, but once you get the hang of it, monsoons treks in the western Ghats are a bliss. It is like hiking amidst clouds. It is during the monsoons that you can experience phenomenon like reverse waterfall and enjoy activities like crossing a handful of river streams during your trek. The season also give great opportunities to individuals doing research on reptiles and worms. However, at places where the rains become more prominent, the interaction of human with nature becomes risky. Many trek routes are closed by the government authorities since they are not safe during heavy rainfalls. The famous examples are the Sandhan valley and AMK trek in Nashik, the Andharban and Devkund waterfall in the outskirts of Pune, the Kumaraparvata trek in Karnataka and many more. As we approach the end of August and September, the whole region becomes really pleasant. The rains are reduced. The sky clears out and you get clear views during your treks. All the treks, except the ones which include technical climbs for example the Lingana in Maharashtra are open. This is also the time when you will experience valleys and plateaus (for example; Kaas plateau) filled with flowers and sun shining bright for most part of the day. Further, adventure activities like waterfall rappelling also start during these months in parts of Maharashtra. So, overall, monsoon trekking is definitely a very interesting style where you trek while it is drizzling around and it is the monsoons that kickstart the trekking season in the Western ghats every year starting from the month of July running till late September. So this is all I have in the first episode and in the second episode we are going to talk about ‘How to choose the best combination of footwear for a monsoon trek in the western ghats’. Feel free to drop in your queries in the comments section and you can reach out to me at; Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/creedazofficial Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/creedazofficial Tripoto: https://www.tripoto.com/profile/creedazofficial Whatsapp: 8946-823-824 (Manav)