Day 1 of the Narmada Parikrama: ten kilometres through the jungle

Diederik17 October 2026

A man in orange clothes and an orange turban crouches in the dark by a chulha making roti, lit by the beam of a torch with smoke rising above him

The day we left Amarkantak and began an unknown and challenging adventure. Me, a Dutchman who still understands too little of the culture, the faith and the language. And Yasha, who definitely knows more about the culture and the faith, and certainly the language. Even so, she too is in the dark about what this adventure is going to mean and what we're going to experience.

But before we could take the first step, we first had to go through our Sankalp pooja. The pooja was led by a pandit, who took us through various rituals. Of course you want to know what it was and how it works. Well, you will, as soon as we've edited our YouTube videos. Because believe me, I could write a whole book about it. So be patient and you'll see it with your own eyes, on your phone, safe at home in the Netherlands 😉.

Yasha in white crouches on the stone steps of a temple tank with a small plate of flowers in front of her, next to Diederik in an orange scarf, an older man and woman and a man with glasses; white temples in the background

After that we wanted to start walking straight away, but first there was one more important thing: our bhandara. A tradition where you give free food to people who have less. We'd had food prepared at a restaurant and handed it out ourselves. Plate after plate, hands reaching out, a nod, a smile. A beautiful moment to start with. Because that's how it works here: first you give, and during the Narmada Parikrama people will give to you.

And then the moment had finally come: out into freedom. Away from all the worrying, however lovingly meant. The uncle and his acquaintance walked along for a little while, but I could already feel it: from here on it's just the two of us. And we started big right away, with 10 km straight through the jungle. What a start.

At the edge of the jungle there was one more ashram. After we'd said goodbye, we briefly doubted whether we were heading the right way, but the people at the ashram said we were on the right path. And then we got company. Two dogs joined us, as if they knew exactly where we needed to go. They walked a little ahead of us, waited at a fork and looked back to check we were still following. Our own guides and bodyguards in one. For about 5 km they loyally walked with us. And then, just as unexpectedly as they'd come, they turned around and were gone. From there we had to do it ourselves. Luckily the trees were marked with a little sign or a strip of cloth showing we were on the right track. From tree to tree we found our way. And it was right, because after 10 km we arrived at our first ashram, where we also stayed the night.

Through thin tree trunks you look down on a winding stream with stones, green grass and red earth in the jungle

Because we'd started a bit earlier than most Parikrama walkers, the ashram was still closed. Luckily there were three lovely guys, all in their late twenties, who lived in the jungle or were staying there for a long time. They helped us open the ashram and lit the fire so we could cook. It was a warm welcome straight away. One of them, Vijay, even made us coffee with milk. He also gave us some warm advice via his phone, because he had chosen not to speak for four months. But typing was no problem.

Vijay, with long curly hair and a beard, holds up his phone in the dim ashram with the text: Always use this words while in parikrama. Salt: ram ras, Mirchi: Lanka Ram, Chaku: ram katati, Toilet: Dol daal

His advice: go with the flow, do what feels right for you and follow the Narmada, she'll help you find the way. Super chill. No "follow this rule and stick to that" and so on. None of that at all, just do what feels right for you. Our motivation was already high, but now it was maxed out. No more doubt: we're going to make it.

That evening the five of us had a good chat and cooked on wood on a chulha, and of course made some videos for Instagram and YouTube. By 9 pm I was already wiped out. I crawled into my sleeping bag on my mat and was asleep within a second, that's how relaxed it was.

A man in orange clothes and an orange turban crouches in the dark by a chulha making roti, lit by the beam of a torch with smoke rising above him

Day 1 done. Ten kilometres, two dogs, three strangers who became friends, and a man who, without a single word, gave the best advice I'd had in ages. Narmada, we're following you. On to day 2.