Climbing Arunachula

Okay, the story is that Shiva, Brahma, and Vishnu (the three main Hindu Gods) were having an argument over who was the greatest.  As a test, Shiva turned himself into a pillar of fire and told Vishnu and Brahma, whoever first reaches one of the ends of the pillar was certainly the greatest.  Vishnu turned into a boar and began digging into the Earth and Brahma turned into a swan and flew high into the sky.  Of course, neither found the end so Shiva was proclaimed the greatest of all Gods.

Arunachula Mountain is considered to be the very body of Shiva and, once a year, they commemorate this story by lighting a HUGE bonfire on the top.  It is also a pilgrimage to walk to the top.  We started at 6am and it took two hours to climb the 2,688 feet!.  We took our shoes off at the very top, which was a bit sketchy as it was covered in black goo from all the burned ghee butter.  Anyway, we all had a short puja with a swami and were actually served tea in a small, ramshackle hut. We weren't exactly sure where the milk came from (monkeys?), but didn't ask.

It was a very special hike that I will always remember.