Well this is how it looked from the top of the mountain next to it!!

The long hike did not bother me. But moment I had to get on to this platform from the top most point, all my acrophobia hit me at once. I could not stand up for a moment without holding the railing. And I could not walk back a few simple steps to the safety of the mountain. That walk was much harder than the hike itself. Fear is such an inhibitor for me.

Do you see the village on the left in the distance? That is the village of Mezna. That is the second part of our adventure. We will hike down from there to a river. But that will come up later. As of now, taking in the breathtaking views.

Sandstone, being soft, often gets eroded in striations

The paved path ended soon. Now, we are over a lot of stones. The challenge is there is a lot of sand too. As I mentioned, this whole area is sandstone mountains. Sand comes out easily off the mountains. There were rains two days back.

All that sand you can see in the picture is making the hike tricky. We are trying our best not to slip. Some were using sticks to avoid slipping.

It has been tiring enough so far that people have started taking breaks.

This whole area is formed of sandstone mountains. If you see the top most point (a bit left of the center of the picture) – there is a sandstone rock natural archway there. That is our target today! A bit left of it you might see a think small line sticking out. That is the “Column”. You will see how it looks in real life once I reach the top. As of now, it is a long haul…