Often when we are tired while working, we resort to entertainment to reduce the burden. Some watch movies, some listen to songs. At the same time, many people go out for a walk, but the story of 24-year-old Yeti Gaur of Noida is different. Actually, this young man loves to walk. He says that whenever he feels that things are not going well or the mind is restless, he puts on earphones and walks six-seven kilometers listening to songs.
He has always had this habit. But until the year 2020, he did not know that this habit could become his passion. Yes, today Yeti Gaur is being known in the country and the world and the reason for this is their walking. Yeti earlier used to walk only in the places around his house. But now he travels long distances on foot. Like someone goes to Ladakh by bike, while someone travels to Kashmir and Kanyakumari by car. In the same way, Yeti travels to different places on foot.
520 km journey in 40 days
From September 2020 till now, he has visited Uttarakhand, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh on foot. They do not take trains, buses or flights unless they have to go to another state. For example, for his first trip, he went from Delhi to Uttarakhand flight. But then he covered areas like Rishikesh, Badrinath, Kedarnath and Tungnath in Uttarakhand on foot. In Uttarakhand, he traveled 520 km on foot in 40 days.
After this trip, he decided that he would see India on foot. That’s why he is traveling state-by-state. The Better India While talking to him, he told about his journey.
The travel industry felt the desire to travel
Yeti, who graduated in the subject of cinema, told that after studies, he joined the travel industry. He worked for about three years with a good company. In his work, he used to make arrangements for living, travel and food for the people traveling from different places. Sometimes he himself had to go to different places. In unknown places, he started enjoying meeting unknown people. He says that he enjoys meeting new people and making friends.
But in the year 2020, the impact of the Corona pandemic on the travel industry is not hidden from anyone. Yeti also had to leave the job and decided that now he would do something different. At first he decided to go for a walk on his own. So as soon as the situation returned to normal, he started planning the trip. He told, “I used to see that everyone is traveling by bike, car etc., so what should I do differently? Then I thought why not go on foot. Anyway, since childhood, I love to walk.
In September 2020, he traveled to Uttarakhand on foot. Yeti says, “The biggest advantage of walking is that you are able to go even on roads where no vehicle can reach. While walking on these routes, you will often find many beautiful places.”
Limited budget and 2700+ kms
During these journeys, it has happened many times with Yeti that on the go he reached some village or town which is not even known on Google Map. He says, “I am in no hurry to reach anywhere. I don’t even care about where I will sleep tonight. I just want to make my journey memorable.”
The most interesting thing is that all the trips to Yeti are quite affordable. He told that his first trip was about two-and-a-half months. For which he spent about 10 to 15 thousand rupees. This included their flight tickets, some equipment, such as sleeping bags, tents and food and drinks. But after that his other two trips cost less than this.
With a low budget, his focus is also to ensure that he does not create any pollution during the journey. That’s why they try to keep their carbon footprint to a minimum.
The day of Yeti usually begins at sunrise. After having breakfast somewhere, he walks an average of 20 km every day. During this time, Yeti carries an 18 kg bag full of some essentials with him. Inside which is some clothes, a camera, a sleeping bag, tent, water, jaggery, etc. He says that he takes his ‘portable house’ with him and as evening approaches, he searches for a place to spend the night.
Do not eat food in hotel or cafe
He says, “I move around on foot, so there is no transportation cost. I never go to any fancy hotel or cafe even for food. Rather, I eat food mostly at local dhabas. This also gives you an idea of the food culture of that area. When it comes to staying and sleeping, it is very rare that I have ever had to take a room. I set up my tent and sleep in a sleeping bag, which is my ‘portable home’.”
The yeti says, “As beautiful as our country is, so are the people here.” How many times he has been fed by unknown people in his house. Many times he stayed in a village, then the villagers have given him a place to sleep in his house. He says that in front of people’s humanity, they start feeling less tired of their journey. After a visit to Uttarakhand, he traveled on foot to 10 districts of Rajasthan in January 2021. He reached Jaipur from Noida and started his journey on foot from there.
In Rajasthan he traveled to Jaipur, Ajmer, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Mount Abu, Barmer, Chittor, Pushkar and Bhilwara. During this, he traveled about 800 km. A few days after his visit to Rajasthan, he traveled to Himachal Pradesh. He told that till now he has walked more than 2700 km.
freelancing is a source of income
Now it comes to what work yetis do for a living? He said that he was dependent on his savings for the first trip. But after that, he started freelancing with different companies. He gives online classes and workshops to people on travel related topics.
He said, “It earns so much that I can easily travel on my own. But it becomes easy for me also because my family has full support in this. I am very lucky that my parents understand my dreams. They support me in all my decisions. I know that if there is any difficulty in this path, then my family will stand by me.”
Yeti also runs a YouTube channel
Along with freelance classes, Yeti has also started her own YouTube channel. On this channel, he posts videos about his travels. He says that many people have contacted him after watching his videos. These people want to travel on foot with them. But Yeti says that he is not at this stage yet to take anyone else with him. But if someone wants information related to budget travel, camping etc., then they can do workshops for them.
In the end, Yeti simply says that he wants to go to the North-Eastern states for his next journey. For this he has also started his preparation.
If you’ve been impressed by Yeti’s story and want to get in touch with her, you can reach her on Instagram.
Editing – G N Jha
Image credit: Yeti Gaur
Also read: 8 months, 66 places, 18000 km: With a job, the hobby of traveling is fulfilled
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