Last year, on a weekend at the very start of summers, my friends and I decided on visiting the beautiful Naran. A new addition to our travel gear was a pair of binoculars (upon my suggestion) to magnify the trekking and sightseeing experience.

With our tent and other relevant field gear, we left for Naran taking breaks along the way for meals, rest, purchases and the like.

This part of the year had a special charm -- with winters retreating and summers reclaiming the panorama, the flora and fauna, in full bloom.

The journey to the valley too is an experience in itself. Walls of snow formed on the roadside as roads are cleared for travellers and as temperatures rise and watching these melt ever so slowly is a delight.

Some locals had even made chambers in these walls where they were selling cold drinks. The downside of this beautiful transition is the slippery roads which are challenging for many vehicles.

Later in the summer, coniferous and deciduous trees take on a dark green tinge, but in spring and early summer -- from Shogran to Naran and up to Dodipat -- the sprouting foliage attracts visitors to see the process of hues deepening. We managed to visit and photograph Saif ul Malook Lake which was still blanketed in snow despite the changing seasons.

The binoculars were a big help when observing the local fauna especially small birds that were hard to trace with the naked eye. My friends too would have missed out on the superb avian beauty had we not brought the gadget along. No surprise that a tug-of-war type situation ensued as we wanted to catch a glimpse of birds on the horizon. I wished we had brought more than one pair along!

At times we could hear the birds chirp and only locate them -- perched shyly on twigs or hidden farther in the bush -- through the magic lens of the binoculars.

Having tremendous eco-tourism potential, Naran provides opportunities for outdoor activities like hiking, trekking, camping, fishing, sightseeing, and bird-watching amidst the gushing Kunhar, the lofty Himalayas and lush green pastures, tall conifers, meandering roads, and not to forget road-side rustic restaurants.

If bringing kids along, it would be a good opportunity to show them Deodars, our national tree, standing upright majestically among coniferous trees. The trouts are another attraction -- a delicious but somewhat costly item on your lunch or dinner menu.

We set up our tents in the rolling meadows in upper Naran to become one with nature -- something staying at a hotel wouldn’t have allowed us to do. The swishing of rills and a mildly cold wind that would make you shiver slightly would remind that we had indeed become a part of nature.

We also hired old but well-maintained jeeps from the locals who drive expertly through the tough terrain. Horse riding to some places also exposes tourists to inner valleys but that could be a bit costly if relied on as a mode of transport for a period of time. For a backpacker, trekking is more enjoyable anyway!