Apples and Oranges

Himalayas and Fruits

#Travel

#fruits

#Himalayas

#localfruits

Fruits are are an essential part of our diet. We generally don't question the origin of fruits when we go out to the fruit shop. But we know for most of the times that Darjeeling oranges are a delicacy and Himachal is famous for its apples. Even the far reaches of Uttaranchal is famous for apples.

The apple orchards are famous not only the fruit itself, but also for the various related products. They make a spicy applesauce which is simply out of this world.

Lava and loleygaon have a different kind of beauty and delicacy. You will find a lot of wild strawberries in the fields of the resort. They look tiny and are not the sweetest, but who would argue the excitement of picking wild strawberries while enjoying the majestic view of Kanchenjunga?

In the rest house where we stayed in Loleygaon, there was a huge raspberry bush in front. The birds flocked and pecked on the fruits. This made them look really delicious (the fruits, not the birds :) ). I went ahead and tried one, but it felt like all my teeth fell off from the sour taste. There were also indian pear trees all around.

The local farming includes a lot of cardamom plantations. The cardamom trees look like tall grass like bushes. They are planted all along the slope of the hills. They have a mystical feeling about them when you look at them. An oblivious kind of feeling.

You can find a lot of orange trees on the way when you drive along the eastern himalayas. They are one of the sweetest varieties and are considered a delicacy. Their sweetness and tartness have nice kind of balance. Having a fresh orange plucked out of a tree is quite different compared to having it from the local fruit market. So, try some the next time you go.

The Himalayas are very rich in both Flora and fauna. But sadly with our carelessness they are dwindling. Some years down the line, our younger generation s will no longer have the privilege of plucking and eating wild fruits from the trees!