Sierra Club Chinook

Over the last 3 weeks I was in Rajasthan, India. I was on a volunteer trip working to build a school. However on the days where I wasn’t pickaxing to my heart’s content I took part in various activities and one of them was a nature walk.

Exploring Nature

We filled up our water bottles and headed out – it wasn’t anything like the hikes we’re used to. Here, cotton and jeans were encouraged and it was okay to feed the wildlife – that is if you are comfortable. All we came across were goats, cows and dogs but there was potential for other animals.

Here you can see what the walk was like. It did not incline or decline farther away from this.

In Rajasthan there is a place called Kumbhalgarh Fort; it is the second largest wall in the world (after the Great Wall of China). It was about a 20 minute hike with little elevation making it more of a walk then anything. It was really neat though because the dogs would follow us, then leave and new ones would join. Along the way we saw banana trees, fields of maze, and small shrubs. Although we were surrounded by mountains there was not a lot in terms of biodiversity.

Part of the wall; it stretches on for what seems like eternity.

Once we got to a section of the fort we were able to explore; there were little crevices and nooks that really made you wonder what they were for. You could climb to the top and look over the villages in the distance, the dried up lakes and the surrounding mountains and valleys. I climbed down to the bottom and found a door and it opened to the other side of the fort. It was so incredible to see one side then open the door and be in complete awe looking at the other!

The city of Udipar; this is what we saw on the other side of the wall.

Recycling?!

While I was India I had to figure out what they did for recycling. In the city, there was a lot of garbage but in the community there was very little garbage because the people here did not have the income to buy disposables. When we were in the cars I would often see entire dumpsters lit on fire, because they would get too full before they could be emptied or it was just easier. People did recycle pop cans and empty bottles but our facilitator said that they didn’t have a program for regular paper and plastic. Nevertheless, it was very interesting to see how different the city was from the villages.

Overall the trip was amazing! When travelling be sure to leave your expectations at home and pack light. There’s an entire planet out there waiting for your arrival.