Rudranath : toughest trek in Panchkedar

Gateway to Rudranath (Sagar near Mandal village)

      Rudranath (2286 mtrs) is by far the toughest and most exciting trek out of the Panchkedar , only Madmaheswar comes close to some extent.before i go into details of the trekking route I would like to say something about Rudranath. It is one of the Panchakedar consisting of kedarnath , Tunganath,Madmaheswar ,Kalpeswar and Rudranath. Panchkedar is essential pilgrim destination for worshippers of Shiva.But unlike the other spots Rudranath can only be accessed by a two day long trek (it can be completed in one day, the locals can).

       According to the legend Lord Shiva's face fell here torn apart by Bhima (one of the Pandavas ). When lord Shiva was trying to avoid the Pandavas in the guise of a buffalo, Bhima recognized him  and caught hold of the buffalo. The resultant tug-of-war dismembered the buffalo into six parts. The five places where the five parts fell are the five Kedars and the sixth part fell in Nepal, and that is the Pashupathinath temple.

SEASON : It is accessible from March to September , but its good to avoid the monsoons.In winter Lord Rudranath is taken to Gopeswar , a town near the foothills.

How to reach : 

    Day 1 >You can reach Haridwar by train from any part of India.From Haridwar cars can be hired upto Gopeswar which is almost 240 Kms from it. From Gopeswar there is a route that goes toward Rudranath, but I will suggest that you go 20 Kms further to Mandal village and spend the night there.  

    Day 2 >The next morning go to Sagar by a car its 4-5 kms from Mandal , there on the road you will see the gate as shown in the above picture and from there the trekking starts.It is necesary that you take a guide,we have got a lot of help from our guide Vinod. From the very beginning climbing up is the only option . After 2 hours you will reach Pun Bugyal (Bugyal = grassland ) , have your breakfast here. People live only in the bugyals and only here you can find foods and supplies.

Pun Bugyal

From here you can see Panar Bugyal , the destination for day 2 ,way up in the hills(background of the hills shown in the above picture). By now sun will come out bright and the seat will tire you out . The most of the
journey for the next few hours consists of uphill journey through damp forest. Breathtaking uphill climbing is an integral part of this route , there is not even 10 meters of downhill at a stretch.

The entire valley can be seen from the route,and its a marvelous scene. As you go up you can see that the air is growing colder and the vegetation is thinning out.

panoramic view from the route

If you have an eye for photography then this route has lots of subjects to offer , different types of flowers , mushrooms, insects and much more.

snake lily

After 4-6 kms from Pun Bugyal there is Litti Bugyal. It has a small hut , rest there a bit and take your lunch here if you are hungry (which you will inevitably be). Here we thought that Panar cannot be far from here , but our guide broke that fantasy. He showed us the top of the hill above us and said that Panar Bugyal is there. It was a bit disappointing and the weather was also going towards the worse.

Litti Bugyal

From Litti Bugyal it is sheer uphill to Panar , there are grass and small plants all the trees have disappeared here. The guide said that it was 3 -4  kms but it took us nearly 3 and half hour to reach Panar.

Panar Bugyal (horse grazing)

When we reached Panar Bugyal we were awestruck ,its hard to imagine that such a big plane grass land can exist in a top of a hill.Panar is a beautiful place , only a few shepherds live there with their families ,and there are only two rooms made with bricks and one room made of earth (which happens to be the kitchen) .The earthen room was nearer the fire and more comfortable.

Panoramic view(Panar Bugyal)

Day 3 > Wake up early and start for Rudranath temple. You  can see the glistening Chaukamba I (7,138 m )(23,419 ft) if the sky is clear from the route. The route from Panar is more or less horizontal, so its is less tiresome when compared to the trekking of day 2. Rudranath is almost 8 Kms from Panar.

Choukhamba

The weather was quite windy and chilly . After 2 hours you will find a place with bells and flags,it is called Pitradhar. 1 km downhill from here lies Naola Pass. Here you will find a hut, keep your surplus
luggage here and get going after having some breakfast. This part of the route is wet , and a blend of downhill and horizontal path. After 4 kms we could  see the temple through swirling clouds and mist.
It brought a peaceful feeling to our mind. It takes another hour and a brief climb to reach the temple .

Rudranath Temple

Rudranath Temple

Photography inside the main temple is prohibited. After darshana head back to Naola Pass as soon as possible because the weather changes after noon everyday and can turn pretty violent.Spend the night in Naola Pass.

Naola Pass

Day 4 > In day four its steep downhill , but the downhill distance is 22.5 Kms back to Mandal. We took a different route through Anusuwa Mandir.
   After few hours of descending first through foggy grasslands and then through damp forests you will reach Hans Bugyal. Take your breakfast in Hans Bugyal because the next place of population is Anusuwa
temple 5.5 kms uphill from Mandal. The damp forest route can be dangerous if rain starts.

descending from Naola Pass

Reaching Anusuwa will take 5- 6 hours from Naola pass.Anusuwa temple is considered as a very sacred place for hindus.People from all over India come here . They come from Mandal and we are doing the opposite.

Hans Bugyal

anusuwa mata

temple of Anusuwa mata

After the "darshan " of Anusuwa Mandir its still four and a half KMs to Mandal . This part of the route is
not so isolated from civilization, you can often see people going up to visit Anusuwa . After 2 - 2.5 hours you should be able to reach Mandal .

gate for going to anusuwa (Mandal)

Note : There are some thing I should be telling you  

1 > If you are looking for comfort or luxury , Rudranath can give you none neither in Panar nor in Naola pass you will get decent shelter , toilet , food etc. What you will get is great unmatched hospitality from the  locals.

2> Staying in Rudranath is a good idea because they have decent rooms , but in that case you will have to go 4 kms extra on the return.

3> The entire region is believed to be sacred so don't do anything that can hurt people's beliefs.