20°C. Drizzling. Surroundings covered up in the mist. No, no, it wasn’t a winter weather report – in fact it was hot dead summer in the month of May. I can only remember hills topped with gigantic mist when I say or hear ‘Vagamon’. Now I want you to go back and read those two words again – GIGANTIC MIST. Now I want you to picturize it as a constant backdrop image throughout. Ready? Good, let’s hike up now. C’mon, we’re talking about Vagamon here so I want you to keep hiking mentally! Ohhk..now we’re good to go.
In general if you’re going anywhere around the region, you NEED to be ever-ready for long walks or short hikes, but fresh and unpolluted air sorts everything out. Roam around the nature, stumble upon any hilltop and you’ll encounter infinite velvelty green malas (it’s what they call here for mountain range) getting rain showered through the mist. At this point, it’s really difficult to distinguish between an enormous cloud or the gigantic mist ; as the mist we generally come across easily gets dissolved in the air. But the mist here, is a thick creamy layer aspiring to become a cloud. Moon Mala treated me with such cloudy views that I simply can’t forget. With a short 30-minutes hike accompanied by mist and drizzle, made me drop my jaw once I reached atop – at least 30 km of panoramic views. It’s windy, rainy, gigantically misty – all at once.
Strolling through the slopes of this moist earth, many tea terraces greet you (tea terraces seemed more like mint gardens to me, adding the sharp refreshing outlook). Oh and before I forget, let me tell you that Vagamon is an insects’ land. No kidding, they rule here. They’ll never show up, but you know that they’re lurking very near you, especially when the climate change begins ; and you are an audience of a naturally live orchestra – let’s call it “The Insects’ Symphony”. Once you know that it’s divinely melodious, you don’t mind them lurking.
I would much rather come here often for the waterpools created by the waterfalls than just the falls. It unravels much more things ; like the dusky, porous and hollow structure of the huge carved rock at the base which is unwalkable during the heavy rains. This makes it really easier to understand the falls when you through them. But it ain’t no easy game! You gotta travel miles followed by a sweaty hike and reach out to them where they’re hidden. And then there might be a chance of a few insects’ show. But you might as well take your chances.
It would be worthless if I had come home without meeting the mesmerizing pines. And what’s more – there’s a valley full of them. They’re famous, hence I couldn’t expect much privacy but I didn’t give up either. I found my own spot of solitude away from the crowd and there were just a few pine trees and me. I must say, the BEST date I’ve ever had. There’s a reason I call them mesmerizing – just keep looking up while you walk down the valley and they’re already looking right at you. Straight up in the eye. All, all of them. And you’re already mesmerized. After that, crowd or not, didn’t matter.
Larger than life isn’t the term used only for movies, after all. I even remember the earthy taste of the air – pinch of soil and lots of gigantic mist. To cut the whole story short – Vagamon is the cozy, velvety green blanket I curl up into every night. Can’t take that backdrop image off of your mind, can you?! I tell you what, don’t even thank me later, just go visit the enchanting beauty. Oh, you’re there only.
