My recent Himalayan Trek, Shiva & Shakthi thandava & lessons learnt

It has become a ritual in recent years for my sister Viji & me to make an attempt to explore one Himalayan terrain towards end of May/early June.  This year, after exploring & debating few places in Garhwal and Kumaon area of Uttarakhand, we decided on a 10 days trip to Dehradun – Rishikesh - Kedarnath – Mandakini Glacier/Chorabari Lake- Tungnath with a continuous 4 days, 44 km high altitude trek in between.  For the first time, we went to GMNV (Uttarakhand Govt agency) to make our trip itinerary  & arrangements - our stay & treks this time did not include tent accommodation nor the guide/porters entourage as we were told that except for the glacier walk…rest are well marked trails with hotels available at each base camp.  We started off on 29^th May.

Ganga Ghat - Rishikesh

First stop was Dehradun & it is nothing to talk about....like any other decayed Tier-2 city. Reached Rishikesh on June 1^st, what a lovely place! Ganga Ghat brings a sense of peacefulness & calm in the middle of its city bazaar & pilgrims’ chaos.  We hired a prepaid Auto-rickshaw to venture all the temples in Rishikesh – A good deal (500Rs) for 4 hrs & a knowledgeable driver.  We were also happy to spend much of our time in Rishikesh outside of our Hotel (GMNV – Bharat Bhumi), given its room condition … hate to stereotype, but it was a typical Govt building which charges quite a bit but zero maintenance,  A/C was not even working; After a few complaints,  the handyman came and it started working at least like a fan.  We decided, not to get bothered as it seemed “As good as it gets”
On June 2^nd we started our journey in a GMNV taxi at 6AM from Rishikesh to Rampur (214km) which is 9 km before our base to Kedarnath trek. Views were spectacular, lovely ride all the way except for few nuisance due to power plant /dam construction!  Our small Indica got a flat tyre near such a site.  Driver Mythani had an old tyre as spare & changed it. Since it was Sunday no shops were open for repair. With no spare tyre left, luckily we made it safely to Rampur. GMNV Hotel at Rampur is in a beautiful location but the way they had maintained, was about 25% more deteriorated from their Rishikesh facility.  Hotels from here onwards are open just 6 months a year & it looked as if they just open when season starts and shut when it ends with no maintenance in between. Even basic hygiene seemed to be premium. 

Traffic to Gaurikund

Next morning June 3rd, started off early at 5:30AM to Gaurikund in the heavy rain which had continued from previous night & expecting to reach our destination by 6:30. Once we reached the main road, we were taken by complete surprise seeing the traffic jam. The traffic crawled, stopped and crawled inch by inch due to the gate system compounded by heavy pilgrim traffic (Gate system – A Guard allows only one way traffic of X number of vehicles to/from Gaurikund, there is no scientific method, guard decides when to allow traffic and in which direction of Gaurikund) of course this rule did not apply for VIP’s flashing light vehicles, they can do whatever they wish, this created more chaos. At one point, we thought of taking a chopper to Kedarnath but the idea got shot down as we were told people book months in advance -:( We made it to Gaurikund at 11:00AM (5:30hrs to travel 9km that too…..without my morning dose of coffee or b'fast!!!!!). Once we reached Gaurikund parking lot, managed to get a porter after haggling in broken Hindi . Asked, checked & took his original Govt ID just to make sure he does not run away with our bags. I was proud of myself for doing this, but whether it was a original Govt ID or not is a diff question :-). 3 of us headed for breakfast and some hot tea so that we have energy to walk up. Luckily for us the weather was on our side…Rain had stopped and conditions pleasant to walk. Since we had proper trek boots on, the slush from the heavy rain did not bother us.

Start of trek

Finally we started our 14km trek at 11:30AM from Gaurikund at 1980m to Kedarnath ath 3584m, expecting to take approx 7hrs since gradient from here was steep. This trek started off very different from our other treks…the path was way too crowded and chaotic with thousands of pilgrims either walking in big groups or on Dandies (4 men carrying people who cannot walk in wooden chair) or on horseback….. The horse/pony/mule dung & urine stink at the start was unbearable & it continued for first couple of km, added to this was their long never ending stable with so many of horses. Viji could not take this stink after reaching the mark of 2.5km and felt so nauseated that she decided to take a horse (and add more dung on the way :-)) I started walking alone busy maneuvering myself not to be hit by Dandies & horses. There was no right of way…horses and dandies would go up/come down on both sides of the path, pushing walkers either to the mountain side or to the edge of the mountain. I wondered, Isn't this supposed to be an yatra for pilgrims where one would expect mutual respect for each other rather than bull dozing like this? Since I could not really enjoy the scenery with so much chaos, I entertained myself by talking to various people from all walks of life & across India while walking. I did pretty good time to reach Rambara at 2590m, the midpoint at 7km.

view on the way

Thanks to Dr Bina from Gujarat who I started chatting and walking with till last 3km & for the lovely lunch she gave. From here the walk was real uphill, 680m in just 4 km. Bina and I decided to part as she was much slower and was contemplating on taking a horse as altitude was getting to her. I started to follow few who were using shortcuts by climbing…this saved me from the crowd, horses and dandies but had to put up with plastic litters - water bottles, plates & covers spilled around just like in Bangalore city….felt very sad to see the such disregard & disrespect even to these majestic mountains. Reached 11 km mark - Garurchatti at 3262m, scenery changed to snow clad mountains. Kedarnath peak at 6970m became visible & looked magnificent. Met this cute little boy who was coming to spend time with his family who owned a shop on temple street and he was going to stay in Kedar till his school reopens. He would wait for me like a perfect gentlemen when I rested :-)

1km from finish

By now I was only 1 km from the finish with a beautiful view of Kedarnath peak. To my surprise suddenly my cell ph started ringing, Viji had reached in 4:30 hrs, checked in to the Hotel and was pacing back & forth to where trekkers enter Kedarnath to find our porter who was not to be found anywhere & getting hassled by Pandas for special pooja…..I guess she must have done at least 5km with her back & forth :-) Finally at 6:20 after approx 7hrs since I started, I made it to the top. Exactly same time,Viji had located our porter after much search……. We thought all’s well that ends well!!! 

Kedarnath Temple

Our Hotel manager told us, the evening arathi is at 7:30 and we better go there first….after some tea and much needed toilet visit (you got it! there are very few toilets on the way with long lines & their condition made urgency retract fast:-)), we went and stood in long line for dharashana at the temple and I cannot believe I stood in line for 1:30hr that too after walking 7hrs… there was lot of pushing and yelling due to some people trying to cut lines (well! what's new!). Temple which dates back to Pandavas was beautiful though & its temple street buzzing with shoppers. Tiredness was setting in, decided to have nice hot shower, dinner and rest as we wanted to start early next day for our Mandakini Glacier trek. The Hotel maintenance by GMNV was now 50% worse compared to their Rishikesh facility... was too tired to complain. In fact they did not even give towels, saying all towels were taken and we have to wait till next morning & same was for hot water! We both decided that night never to go trekking anywhere near pilgrim places during its peak season May/June.

June 4th -What a lovely morning it was…started the bright cheerful day with views of snow clad mountains We even got nice hot water to bathe…what more can we ask!!! We got ready and headed to Mandakini. We went around between border patrol and hotel folks to check where we need to register for our trek to Mandakini Glacier and if we need to hire a guide. After a run around, we were told there is no registration system and no guide is required. Finally, we started our trek from Kedarnath to Mandakini glacier/Chorabari Lake at 3800m around 8AM. The trail was through moraines at the back of the temple & seemed well marked, it was 3.5km from here. We thoroughly enjoyed our walk, although not sunny, it was a beautiful day to walk with great views, fresh air, calm & peaceful, a total contrast 

Kedar valley

to previous day trek…..Every now and then looking down at the Kedarnath Valley - it looked serene with mountains all around it & could not even tell from this height that thousands & thousands of tourist were crammed in such small area of kedar valley. After about 2km of trek we came to a roaring water fall from melting Mandakini. What a sight it was!!! First time, we saw 4 other trekkers, we all checked out ways to cross the fall…figured best way is to cross under the fall which had a narrow path with water flowing down towards the valley. The terrain from here started to change- one could clearly imagine how 

Viji 

Mandakini Glacier looked many many years ago when it covered the entire Kedar area to what it is today. We met an experienced solo trekker taking lot of shortcuts by climbing the mountain….we followed him wherever we could. After 3.5km climb, what we saw in front of us was breathtaking! an incredible beauty - Mandakini Glacier and Chorabari Lake at the bottom of it. It was so serene and magnificent!!! After our Photo session, we just sat on the boulders filling our eyes & mind with the beauty of the nature! 

             

  <- Radha in front of Mandakini Glacier 

Chorabari Lake  -> 

Waterfall

Around2pm we noticed cloud increasing and decided to trek back as that waterfall was back on my mind. We knew as the day progresses the intensity of water increases with melting snow and that crossing may become difficult. Whew! we made it across the fall, but shoes & socks were soaking wet. Trek down was as fantastic as climb up……with so much renewed energy and enthu, we rested for a short while and headed off to see Bhaironath temple, which is just a natural stone (belief is that he protects Kedarnath in winter) and a natural spring…..the sanyasi there got annoyed at us for putting only 20Rs on his dakshina plate and abused us :-) We thought isn’t he a sanyasi? But I guess greed has taken over a sanyasi too. We then proceeded to see Shankaracharya Samadhi; Peace is the word that can describe this place, sat for a while there. Although only a street away from the maddening temple Street bazaar crowd, it seemed like it was isolated from noise.

Nagas

We later strolled along the busy temple street and in/around temple complex…..was fascinated to see the Nagas who were there. Some got annoyed at me for trying to take pictures without paying them money, so they would turn their face away (Money rules here too!!!!). Later that night, met some fellow Bangaloreans at dinner who shared their experience with Pandas, apparently they paid 4000Rs for special pooja and they were asked to come at 1:30am but had to wait till 4:00am for their turn and had to put up with fights among pandas as to which group does pooja first. I recalled what I had read somewhere about Kedarnath temple & wondered - “Here the unholy, it is said, become holy & the holy, holier” 

Gauri Kund

Next morning, June 5th after breakfast, we started our trek down. Once again the weather was on our side!  It was a sunny dry day & condition suited us for trek down. Since it was a steady descend all  the way, our knees & toes reminded us of their presence all the way!  Once we reached Gaurikund town. We headed straight to “Gauri kund” – Initially we were contemplating whether to take a dip….but after watching the huge crowd and mess, we gave it a miss. Given that traffic to Gaurikund was so bad on way here, our driver had told us to come on our own to Sonprayag which is 5km away and call him. He had said either we can walk or take a ride in a local vehicle for nominal fee.We found a jeep heading out of Gaurikund and he was willing to take us for 100Rs each & loaded some 8 of us.  A true entrepreneur, who was seizing the opportunity to make some quick money.  Since gate system is only at entrance of Guarikund for one way traffic…he would pick up and drop people some 0.5km from the gates both at Sonprayag and Gaurikund. Luckily our driver was waiting for us at the gate, and we started driving towards Ukhimath (1310m - winter seat of kedar) for a night halt before heading to our trek the next day to Thungnath.   Ukhimath was spectacular with views of mountains and for a change the GMNV Hotel was not just in nice location but well maintained with clean room & hot running water 24hrs …Yippie!!! What a luxury!!!  Had a wonderful night rest!
June 6th - left for Chopta the base for Tungnath at 7AM as we were advised to complete the trek up & down by 2:00pm since weather after that would be uncertain. Chopta to Thungnath is a 4km walk but a steady ascend from 2700m to 36800m.

Thungnath Trek route

It was a cloudy day but very picturesque walk with different shades of green, Tungnath is also called as India’s Switzerland – Green mountain with view of snow clad peaks and full of Flora & fauna. Although this is one of Panch Kedar, very few pilgrim crowds was there.

As we walked, clouds and fog played peek-a-boo all along………. Could not believe the number of Rhododendron trees (Yes!!! Trees and not bushes) everywhere on the mountain. Just by imagining the spectacular view of mountains with colorful flowers & snow covered paths, we decided to comeback during bloom time/April. GMNV said they can make arrangements to stay on top of Thungnath in tents! When we reached the top

Thungnath temple

of Thugnath, there was this unassuming beautiful old temple very much similar in structure to Kedarnath temple. With no crowd, we could just walk into Garbagudi and no one pestering us to do pooja or pay money……what a difference from what we saw at Kedarnath. We felt bad for not doing enough homework about staying in Thungnath overnight in tent accommodation, which apparently was available. 1km above Thungnath is Chandrashila at 4090m, where you get 360 degree view of various Himalayan peaks such as Neelkant, Nandadevi and others. We wanted to walk up. Since it started getting very cloudy and mountain peaks were covered by clouds, the temple priest recommended we don’t go there as we will not be able to see anything. We started walking down to Chopta as it was already 1:30pm and looked like it was going to pour. Lucky for us, it started drizzling half way & only towards the end that it started really pouring. We started driving towards Tilwara for night halt after intensity of rain reduced. Although Chopta to Tilwara is only 33km…, it took us good 3hrs due to narrow roads and rain. Another thumbs up for the accommodation here from GMNV…had beautiful garden and cute birds.

Alakananda

Next morning on Jun 7th we started around 8AM to Rishikesh (130km). We enjoyed the view of mountains and sound of roaring Alaknanda, had breakfast in Srinagar and like a typical south Indian was thrilled to see Upma on menu…price tag of 80Rs for Upma shocked us! Ate anyway :-)   

Devprayag

We stopped at Devprayag to see the beautiful Bhagirathi and Alaknanda flowing together to become Ganga and reached Rishikesh around noon. This was the end of our tour with GMNV. We just relaxed as our legs were really talking from previous day’s steep ascend/descend trek. Sat at the Ganga Ghat and ate delicious south Indian meal at Madras Café. Our vacation had ended :-( On Jun8th headed to Jolly Grant airport/Dehradun to catch our flight to Bangalore. We tick-marked kedarnath, Mandakini Glacier and Thungnath from our bucket list and started discussing where to go next this year.

It was an experience to cherish; it had the good, the bad and the ugly!!! Little did I know. What was to happen in Kedar valley exactly a week after our return! Unimaginable and sad!!! I am no scientist but my experience detailed in every paragraph above talks in a sense about humans Krourya (cruelty) towards nature and krourya between human beings. Hope the nature’s tandava to reclaim its territory is a lesson learnt and mistakes won't be repeated. I feel I am one of the luckiest people to have visited these places without any obstacles and to have come back safely! I still cannot come to grips with two sides of nature – the one I saw & felt at Mandakini Glacier - beauty, peace, calm & serene and the one, what we see now. I really hope the small boy, porter, Hotel staff and others I met on the way are all safe!

Ending my writing with thoughts that has occupied me since devastation- Seeing the atrocities done, Media’s mockery of people by misinforming & manipulating events, general lack of interest in truth and facts, preoccupation with selfishness, greed, & numbness to others is destroying our society. Let us reclaim what we once thrived on, Humanness & spiritual values!