Up where the stars shine brighter

                                                                   Margaret Turton takes a trip to the Himalayas and Finds rural life unchanged

The sun that shone hot and hard in Delhi is nowhere to be seen as we leave the Ranikhet Express at Kathgodam station.

When we reach Almora by road it breaks through the clouds but here the temperature is mild, the air sweet and clear.

Already we can see the Indian Himalayas brooding in the distance.

Almora, at an altitude of 1600m, was a hill station in British colonial times and has always attracted the rich-Bob Dylan, Cat Stevens and Timothy Leary, father of the hippie movement, to name a few. Leary walked naked along Almora ridge-thereafter known as Crank's Ridge.

It's a drawoard for the hippies who arrive here still.

We, however, must leave Almora. Ours is a journey through the isolated rural villages of the Himalayan foothills before ascending on foot and by four-wheel drive to Leti 360-degrees Camp (altitude 2200m)-so named because of the all-round views.

First stop is the village of Deora, which we approach on foot through a thick pine forest, a legacy of colonial Britain.

The region shares its boundaries with Nepal. Gurkhas ruled here for 25 years and locals almost welcomed the arrival of the British, who expelled the Gurkhas.

Since then it's been part of India and, after Indian Independence in 1947, it was drawn into the state of Uttar Pradesh.

In 2000 it emerged as a new state, Uttaranchal.

That said, the rhythm of rural life has scarcely change at all. Little tracks skirt the hills and terraced slopes where wheat is harvested by hand and fields are under wooden plough in preparation for rice, before the monsoon.

Sturdy houses with slate roofs and courtyards, mud floors and brightly painted woodwork dot the hills and at Deora a hot-water bucket bath awaits us, along with a warm bed and an evening meal.

Aromas drifting from the kitchen are as welcoming as a Michelin-star restaurant.

How could mixed daal (lentils), bhendi (okra), saag (hill spinach), pahari aloos (potatoes) and lapashi (wheat pudding) taste this good?
Well, everything is grown here, including the spices and herbs, and the food is prepared according to tradition.

Then there's the effect of the moon and the stars that shine so brightly in the Himalayan sky. They seem much lower here.
Next morning we awake to birds singing, and another Indian tradition, bed chai (tea).

We set off once again. Down, down into a valley passing harvesting scenes and an old flour mill by a stream.

Following stone field walls and walking along the top of irrigation channels, we reach the head of the road to travel a distance by 4WD before taking an uphill walk through pine and rhododendron forests.

The rhododendrons are enormous and the last of their flowers form a carpet at our feet while a breeze stirs the ancient bought. We walk on, heading towards Alai.

At Alai, our rustic abode has no electricity. There is, however, entertainment supplied by musicians playing Hindu instruments and dancers depicting daily rural life.

We drive through terraced hills. It's the wedding season and musicians and wedding processions stream on to the road. Bagpopes-another legacy of the British-echo through the fields.

We make out ascent on foot to out final destination up in the more isolated areas where lush terrace farms drop a away to the valleys below.

It's a busy track at first. Villagers and donkeys haul goods back and forth.

And then the trail slowly narrows with some tricky maneuvers around a landslide. We gain height and the journey ends at Leti 360-degrees Camp, a luxury wilderness

rest area where everything arrives on foot, including the guests.

Now I'm pinching myself. A full solar-heated private bathroom with views of the snow-capped mountains from my shower and enormous bed.

Silver-service dining at a table seating 10, french wines and, looking heaven wards, a star show put on by a Himalayan sky that makes our presence all the more surreal.

Margaret Turton was a guest of India Tourism and Shakti.

www.shaktihimalaya.com