Bitten by the travel bug, Noida’s Yati Gaur has left behind his secure home to walk thousands of kilometres across India. By traversing around 2300 kilometres through Uttarakhand, Rajasthan and Himachal, Yati has already touched hidden paths and made new friends on the way. The 24-year-old is taking life slow and he wants to get soaked in every little thing that he comes across, be it a local food or a unique culture. He isn’t much bothered where he sleeps at night and each new day, he wakes up with the sunrise to walk a few more miles.
View this post on Instagram
He Walks Around 20 Kilometres Everyday
Walking has turned into a passion for Yati. He always chooses to walk over taking a flight, a bus or a train unless it comes to changing states. After undergoing a COVID-19 test, Yati had set out for his prolonged trip on a flight from Noida to Uttarakhand in 2020. He had strolled through Rishikesh, Kedarnath, Tungnath and Badrinath in Uttarakhand covering around 520 kilometres for 40 days, in September 2020. In January 2021, Yati walked 800 kilometres in Rajasthan, covering Jaipur, Ajmer, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Mount Abu, Barmer, Chittor, Pushkar and Bhilwara. At present, he is in Himachal Pradesh and is continuing his journey on foot.
View this post on Instagram
Yati walks around 20 kilometres a day. After nightfall, he finds a homestay, a hostel or an ashram or simply pitches his tent. In fact, he got the irresistible impetus for travelling while working as a community manager at the travel hostel chain company, The Hosteller.
View this post on Instagram
Also Read: We Drove From Kolkata To Spiti Valley & Jumpstarted The Generator Of World’s Highest Petrol Pump
The Roads Not Taken
Not every road is motorable. But many of them can be crossed by foot. And when you choose to walk through such alleys, you end up travelling to places that are unexplored, maybe to the extent that they cannot be even found on the internet. Interacting with the locals, Yati got to know about many such places. He has climbed and crawled to the Atri Muni waterfalls, nestled 3 kilometres away from Uttrakhand’s Mandal village. He has also scaled up to the 14,200 feet high picturesque Vasuki Tal, covering around 8 kilometres from Kedarnath.
View this post on Instagram
Adventures Are Scary, But That’s The Beauty Of It
The adventurous journey on which Yati has embarked has its own set of challenges. But fears have not deterred the young soul. He has walked, and walked and walked, and his legs have ached at times, but he didn’t stop. He has roved through the sweltering heat of Rajasthan and the stone-cold weather of Uttarakhand and Himachal. There have been times when he had walked nearly 25 kilometres straight with no food shops on the way. He has seen snakes and beers in proximity. But he keeps moving forward, despite the difficulties. The problems seem trivial in front of the joy he derives from his expedition.