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Saddle Peak,Andaman and Nicobar islands..

The main focus of our three day road trip to north Andaman was,the scaling of Saddle Peak. Saddrle peak is the highest point of Andaman and NIcobar islands. We were like a couple of merry trekkers and thought it would be a hoot if we could climb it.Major underestimation.
Everybody (ie locals) told us that we should start early in the morning at around 5am.Theres a 3km trek to the foothill of the mountain.Then we cross a stream and continue upwards. We didnt pay any heed, woke up late and reached the foothills at around 12.We had packed some sandwiches and took only 2 bottles of water (major mistake) half of which we finished by the time we reached the foothills. My partner didnt allow me to fill or drink from the stream that flowed for fear of bacteria (major mistake #2). On the way we were attacked by leeches but fortunately we were carrying salt with us.There is no local guide available, but the forest dept has marked the way by painting red and yellow bands on the trees. We had to keep a lookout for these bands.But even with this,its quite possible to lose your way. So its better to ask anybody you find along the way. We asked farmers,fishermen, lumbermen,school children.......everybody. the way is dotted with streams and we had to open our shoes many time,because we didnt want our boots to get wet.
Anyway, we started  the climb and let me tell you it was no hoot. Its a very steep incline,not helped by the fact that its constantly wet because of the rains.the saving grace was that the forest dept had constructed small huts every 500 metres or so.We stopped at every single hut! At the second hut we met a man who was left behind by his team because he was unable to climb further. He was waiting there for his team to come back. We continued.  It was cold.it was wet. It was hard. And at many points we thought of turning back but something egged us on and we were glad that we continued.For the sight at the end of the journey was amazing. From up there, you can see all the major islands of the Andaman Archipelago. We had great fun trying to identify the islands from the top. We sat there for sometime,had our sandwiches, fuelled ourselves and started back. The return was shorter but it took a heavy toll on our knees. We saw some amazing fauna,butterflies and birds, on our way. We had started walking at 9am and by the time we reached the base it was 5 and quite dark. I felt funny thinking that this is the same amount of time that we spend in our respective offices.
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