AFTER AN HOUR OF scampering down the mountain, the trail suddenly disappeared. Huge boulders lay along the shores, and I found myself transfixed by the gushing, free-flowing, sapphire-blue Supin River—a rare sight in Uttarakhand, where most great rivers have been dammed into lifeless trickles. Above the river hung a heap of wires and ropes, and a small metallic basket, my heart-stopping ride to the other shore! For another 2.5 hours, I huffed and puffed up a steep mountain behind my guide, till I finally caught the first glimpse of my illusive destination. The oak forest gave way to yellow mustard fields and baby pink peach blossoms as I walked into Kalap–a forgotten village in the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand, accessible only by an eight-kilometre hike from the nearest roadhead at Motwar village.
I first heard about Kalap back in 2014. Anand Sankar, an avid hiker and former journalist, had established The Kalap Trust to build a school and medical clinic in this remote village, and
