Babaji's cave and Suka Devi Temple

A day of climbing on sacred mountains. Spring colors surrounded us.

After breakfast outside under the canopy, we drove as far as we could toward Babaji's cave. The van driver performed feats that defied imagination. I swear he was driving with two wheels on air most of the way on the half-lane mountain roads. With the road "improvements" our hike was cut in half. But we still had to do the last 1000 feet up on our own, from 7500 to 8500 feet elevation. I had some altitude problems (dizziness, headache, winded quickly)  earlier in the morning but did much better on the climb (caffeine at breakfast all around.) And the climb was easier than five years ago. Many more switch-backs, many more stone stairs and pathways, fewer areas of loose pebbles and dirt. Plus professional signs have replaced the old dots and tiny arrows. A lot of TLC has been given in the past few years to make the cave more accessible. Still, the climb was a challenge, yet all of us made it to our goal. We meditated at the cave and then had prashad at the shrine below the cave. We met two young men headed up as we headed down.

Then this evening we climbed yet again. This time from the retreat up to the peak of the mountain where we had a 360 degree view of the foothills and snow capped Himalayas. Fortunately, Satish our guide misled us about the severity of the climb or most of us would have declined to go! It was worth every step, to watch the sun set from there, at the small temple at the very top of the peak. Every few seconds the colors of the snow caps would shift hues from white to cream to yellow to pink. Breathtaking. Truly breathtaking. Back at 8500 feet.