Kedarnath ,the pristine and the holy

Kedarnath (3583 mtrs )is the main shrine of the Panchkedar.According to the legends the Pandavas from the Mahabharata built these shrines.The hump of Shiva fell here when he disguised himself as an ox and Bheem tore him apart in an attempt to catch him.Well,enough of the legend now lets get down to business.

Kedarnath Shrine

 Kedarnath is one of the holiest places in India and one of the Chardham (THE 4 holy places) .So like it or not thousands of people will accompany you in this journey.It is a 14 Km trek from Gaurikund.The other means of transport are mules ,Pittu and Doli .

• Mules are hybrid between horses and donkeys ,and can carry heavy loads through tough terrains. (1500-2000 Rs).
• A Pittu is a small basket carried by one man on his back ,used only for children ,elderly and luggages.
• A doli or Palki is carried by 4 to 6 men on their shoulders sort of like a wooden stretcher .
• Helicopters are available from Phata (7500-8000 Rs).

You will have clear idea when you see some of my pictures.The scenery is spectacular as usual but if you want solitude ,quiet then I am afraid Kedarnath is not going to fulfill your need.But ,yeah there is another but,from Kedar there are many places like Vasuki tal,Chorabari tal (Gandhi Sarovar) etc which are only trekking destinations ,pilgrims do no bother to go there.

Season : Generally speaking you can go to Kedarnath before or after the Monsoon in India.

• Pre-monsoon : May & June (I wouldn't suggest July)
• Post-monsoon : Spetember & October

To Whom It May Concern :   If you have gone through my previous posts you will realize that I try to give only the facts and mostly skip my personal feelings and first hand accounts.This keeps my blog short and to the point,but some of my readers complained and stated that they would like to read about my personal experiences as well .Some of my friends remarked that my way of narrating my tours are interesting .So from now on I will give my day by day accounts and obviously details in two

 separate parts.

Day 1: 

Haridwar/Rishikesh  ------ Guptakashi/Gaurikund.

 Start early from Haridwar .There are loads of busses from Delhi and other cities. From almost any part of India you can come to Haridwar via train directly or indirectly.Personally I availed the Doon Express from Howrah .(Kumbha Exp and Upasana Exp are much better options if you are coming from Bengal)

 Now as I was saying the destination is Gaurikund.Gaurikund is the place from where trek to Kedarnath starts.The options for the journey is as follows:

1. Busses of GMOU (Gahrwal Motor Owner's Union) goes directly to Gaurikund from Haridwar and Rishikesh.
2. State transport has buses too.

  Note: These direct buses leave very early (between 5 am to 6 am). After that there are no direct buses,you will have to break you journey into many parts.There are no proper timings for the buses so make sure you reach the bus-stand early and inquire about the buses,and book/occupy tickets/seats in advance.

     3. If you are a large group or can afford to book a car that will be good.
     4. For some reason if you miss the direct bus from Haridwar, take any bus to Rishikesh (31 Km) because there you may be able to find other buses.If that fails take any bus to Srinagar or Rudraprayag.
From Srinagar there are buses and shared vehicle to Rudraprayag.From Rudraprayag you will be able to get to Guptakashi.
Guptakahi is 36 Kms away from Gaurikund.This place is quiter and much cheaper than Gaurikund so you can stay the night here and start for Gaurikund the next morning.

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Now I am going to tell my story. Me and my friend Justice started from Howrah on 3rd June (2013) .Doon exp was supposesd to reach Haridwar on 5th June 4.35 am . But it was 3 hours late and we reached Haridwar at 7.35 am.By then all direct buses from have left and we were adviced to go to Rishikesh(bus fare 32 Rs *). After one and half hour we learnt that there are no direct bus from Rishikesh to Gaurikund as well.There were a bus to Srinagar and we boarded that (140Rs) .From Srinagar we got another bus to Rudraprayag (52 Rs).From Rudraprayag we go a share Jeep to Gupatakashi (60 Rs).
Up to this everything went smoothly .Now the road ahead is narrow and hence only one way traffic is allowed,so we could not go up to Gaurikund and had to stay at Guptkashi.
*All fares and prices are given on per-head basis.As in 2013 June.

Day 2: Guptakashi/Gaurikund----- Kedarnath

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The next morning we started early for Gaurikund ,which is 36 Kms from Guptkashi.

Gaurikund

We were stranded in traffic jam 2-3 times and the traffic was moving painfully slow.On the way we saw the heliport of Phata. Near Sonprayag (5 Km from Gaurikund) the traffic came to a complete halt and we came to know that the cars wont go uphill until the downhill traffic is cleared.It would take atleast 2 hours for that to happen.We thought that we will go those 5 kms on foot.Fortunately for us few paces ahead of Sonprayag checkpoint we found a local vehicle going up and boarded that.
We reached Gaurikund at 8.30 am and after some light breakfast started walking.
Initially it felt like we have entered some sort of carnival ,thousands of people wearing different kinds of dresses ,horses ,all formed a giant queue.

There were stables and the path was all murky and smelt of Ammonia.We quickened our pace to get out of this place as soon as possible.After 15 minutes came the sight that we were waiting for.The path is serpentine and quite steep,steeper than my expectation.From time to time we sat in front of makeshift shops beside the path. The mules were quite irritating at times ,pushing us against the railings on the side.Apart from all that it was just splendid.

With time our pace slowed down and rucksacks felt heavier than ever ,so I tried to relieve one shoulder at a time.
Finally we reached Ram bara ,a town midway between Gaurikund and Kedarnath. So we have traveled 7 Km and it took us three and half hours.So we thought that we would reach Kedar by 3.30 pm. But the rain literally put cold water on our plans.We took shelter in a small shop and ordered maggi (noodles) and tea.We took out our umbrella and continued to walk after the rain subsided a bit.

 Rambara looks more like a slum than a town.The road is covered in mud and horse-shit and the rain maid it worse.We walked as fast as we could to get out of there.rain started to pour down again after 30 minutes or so and made our ascend much slower.

Now we tried to use the shortcuts as much as we could.After exhausting last two kilometers we reached the temple town of Kedarnath at 5.15 pm. Here are some pictures of the journey up.

  

We never expected that the cost of staying there will be so high(1000-1800 Rs double bedded room).In most places there were no rooms available at all.We arranged to spend the night in a small stall (225 Rs).

After waiting for nearly 90 minutes in a never-ending queue we finally had our "darshana." Then we returned to the stall.For viewing pleasure here are some more pictures of Kedarnath.

 

 

Day 3:   Kedarnath------Gandhi Sarovar-----------Guptakashi

Gandhi Sarovar  (Sarovar = lake) is 3.5 kilometers uphill from the temple town of Kedarnath.Its a welcome relief from all the hustle and bustle.Hardly any pilgrims go there. Let me describe in details.

 

Gandhi Sarovar

Gandhi Sarovar is at an elevation of 3900 mtrs from sea level (approx). From the path one can have spectacular view of the entire temple town of Kedarnath.

 Temple town of Kedarnath

The way to Gandhi Sarovar is full with spectacular views and its not exactly tough.There is a waterfall that flows over the path and then there is a sheer drop.

Apart from that the rest of the way is pretty straight forward.

The waterfall

It is a small lake,smaller than what I expected but beautiful nonetheless.

Gandhi Sarovar

Chorabari Tal

After spending a decent amount of time there we climbed down.We had a long downward journey ahead of us.

After reaching Kedarnath we took some breakfast and started descending.

Pilgrims gathered in front of the shrine

 

After a long and tiring downhill journey we reached Gaurikund exhasuted but happy.Yes ! we have done Kedarnath and returned safely.

Helicopter service

Reaching Gaurikund was not the end of our plight.We could not find any car that is going downwards to Guptakashi because of the one way rule mentioned earlier.

Sleeping Innocence

We found a bus which was  going to Sonprayag (5 km downhill ) and took it.We were stranded there for nearly 2-3 hours after which we got lift in a reserved bus.The bus conductor took 100 Rs and we reached Guptakashi.

 Warning: Monsson in India is pretty unpredictable and in the monsoons the Himalayan region of Uttarakhand and nearby states is very unstable.Flash-floods and landslides are common in the monsoon in theses areas and in winter Kedar is covered in snow and hence is closed.

           As of now (June 19th 2013 ) there are more than 70000 people stranded in different parts of Uttarakhand because of havoc triggered by surprise cloudbursts and heavy torrential rain.I myself was lucky that I came back two days before the disaster.I pray to God that all the stranded pilgrims return back home safely .

Flood at Uttarkashi

Submerged 12 foot idol at Rishikesh

 Devastation at Kedarnath

Disclaimer: None of the above pictures belong to me ,they are taken from different media sites.

If you have any questions regarding any of my posts,feel free to ask.

Farakka ,Jaldhaka and Lataguri/Gorumara :Ideal tour for Electrical Engineering Students

     From the deafening  noise of 500MW generators ,humming of 400kv lines to pin-drop silence of pristine forest with occasional call of peacock, we have got everything in this tour.It has been a great learning experience for us and we had the enjoyment of a lifetime and for that I with all my friends thank our department and all the teachers who worked very hard to materialize this plan of ours.

Conveyor Belt at NTPC

500 MW Generator ,NTPC Farakka

Transmission tower

Farakka Barrage

     Without further introduction I will come straight down to business.

Day 1 :    

     First we reached Malda Town by rail ,as of now students should be able to get 50% discount of tickets but thanks to a bunch of misguiding Railway officers we could not get railway concession.Anyway , we boarded the Teesta -Torsha Express from Sealdah which departed 5 mins after the scheduled time of 1.40pm . This delay went to our favor as one was our teachers was stranded in a traffic-jam and he had our boarding passes it almost gave us a mini-heart attack.Thankfully he boarded the train just minutes before the train left.
     The compartments were cleaner and better that what we thought it would be. We had a gala time in the train ,we sang and danced and gave a lot of "Bawal" throughout the journey (though I am not sure if the fellow passengers liked it ). Not surprisingly we reached Malda Town a full 1 hr late than the scheduled arrival time of 9.50 pm. Luckily we had prearranged a hotel (Hotel Kalinga : Two star in name and rent but below quality in service).After a late dinner we settled for the night.

Day 2 :

The next morning we had breakfast (not a very hearty one I must say )and started for NTPC Farakka thermal power plant by a bus that we have reserved.After almost one hour we reached our destination . First we were briefed in a visitors briefing centre and provided with helmets.Then we entered the plant and it turned out to be way larger than what we expected .80mtr high boiler units , large conveyor belts for coal supply ,a large switch-yard that looks like a jungle of metal were enough to make our jaws drop. I am not going to bore you by giving more details about each places.In most places photography is strictly prohibited but here are some.

Sculpture Outside NTPC Farakka

After the plant visit we were "dog-tired" and needed a much deserved rest but that was not to be as our train to New-Jalpaiguri was scheduled to come at Malda-Town at 11.40 pm,but that wasn't the end of the ordeal as you will soon find out.
Day 3:
 Our Day 3 started at the Malda Station as the clock showed 00.00 ,the train (Bhahmaputra Exp) was 2 hours late . After a long wait the train finally arrived at 3.40 am ,we thought "oh well we'll just go in and get in the bunks and sleep peacefully", but there were some idiots who thought that they could sleep in our reserved bunks just because thats what they have been doing since the train left Delhi, it took 30 of our student and teachers to make them leave.One of them slept in the corridor and pick-pocketed the wallet of a friend to return favour before he left sometime at dawn. I zipped myself in the sleeping-bag and had a few hours of much needed sleep.

  

Jaldhaka

 


  After reaching NJP we hurried to our cars to reach Lataguri as we were already much late.Even after much request by our teachers the Jaldhaka Plant Authority gave us a deadline of 12 noon.After two hours of drive through spectacular countryside with tea-gardens and jungles we reached Lataguri. Lataguri is a small town
in the outskirts of Gorumara National Park.We put our luggage in a resort and after some breakfast shot-off towards Jaldhaka Hydel power plant.
   Jaldhaka is a much smaller plant than Farakka and took much less time.We took leisurely  strolls around the plant and took photos to our hearts content.

After the plant visit we returned to our respective resorts.

Outside our resorts (Gorumara / Naora .. Lataguri)

Day 4: The next morning we woke up as early as possible to book tickets for Jubgle Safari and three of us including me lost our way and ended up moving 2 more kilometers ahead of the ticket counter,the empty road with no houses and no people whatsoever....it was thrilling  alright.

Me and my friends in front of the entrance of the park

           After a bit help from the locals we returned the way we came to the resort,by then the cars were ready and we boarded without any delay and our safari started.

Peacock crossing the road ,during Jungle Safari.

For many this was their first ever Jungle Safari and we were excited,but I must say I was a bit disappointed

.Compared to my previous experiences at Kanha ,Bandhavgarh and Jim Corbett National Park Gorumara Jungle Safari offers less hours and only covers a introductory route often going through villages.We were fortunate to see an elephant (though not in the open : hence not good enough for photographs), we also saw several peacocks including one with its tail spread-out.

But surprisingly we saw no deers (saw hundreds in all other forests ),may be because we were on a more bushy trail rather than one filled with grass-lands.And just like that it ended and we returned to some extent disappointed (first timers were excited :p).
      Some of us   took a long walk to  Naora river (pr riverbed rather) ,it was a good fun-filled experience.First of all there wasn't much water in it ,just some in the middle.We took broken sticks and wrote stuffs such that people going through the bridge can see them,it was fun.Some of us underestimated the depth and attempted to cross it ,but I don't think any of them made it.

    It was our last night at Lataguri and to make the most of it we made a campfire .Though we took a lot of  time building it and then our teacher told us that the locals have spotted an elephant nearby and its not a good idea to make noise so we had to stop and get to bed early, so sad(though the locals were trying to scare it off by burning crackers ,I could not understand what harm could our noise have done).

Day 5 : On this day from 4am all of us were busy as  bees.We were to buy tickets for watch-towers.Unlike other forests I have visited in Gorumara chances of seeing wildlife are better from a watch-tower than a moving jeep.There are 4 watch towers..3 most popular are ..
1>Jatraproshad (named after an elephant)
2>Chapramari
3>Medela

In the jungle

 We went to Jatraproshad and because of the fog saw nothing exciting, some of our friends went to Chapramari and saw couple of Indian Bisons (Gaurs ) and another group saw pet elephants .But dont get the wrong idea the watch-towers overlook Murti river and on the other bank there are salt pits where wild animals come regularly.We could not see anything because of the fog.

Jatraproshad watch tower

Fog blocking view from the watch-tower

So we returned with a heavy heart as this was our last day and we did not get much.Nonetheless we had the time of our lives.

Special Thanks to :
                              Department Of Electrical Engineering
                              Jadavpur University
(Respected Teachers who accompanied us )

1.       Dr. Biswanath Roy

2.       Mr. Arindam Kr Sil

3.       Dr. Biswendu Chatterjee

4.       Mr. Ayan Kumar Tudu

Here are some more pictures for you to enjoy----





More coming soon ...

Tunganath : Highest temple in India

    Tungnath is the highest temple (ie situated in highest altitude : just below the peak Chandrashila) in the world and is one of the five and the highest Panch Kedar temples located in the mountain range of Tunganath in Rudraprayag district of Tehri Garhwal, in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. The Tunganath (Tunga : high , Nath : lord) mountains form the Mandakini and Alaknanda river valleys.
    Generally it is attempted after Kedarnath. Tunganath (3680 mtrs) is not hard because its only a 3Km trek from Chopta. But the altitude can take a toll on first timers and elderly,and the climb is steep and not to be take lightly.

Tunganath Temple

As per the legends when the Pandavas went to look for Lord Shiva to atone for their sins in the Kurukhetra war Shiva took the disguise of a bull. Bheema the strongest of the Pandavas caught hold of him after realizing the guise.The resulting tug of war torn the bull apart in six places. The "Bahu" or arms fell here at Tunganath. The temple is considered to be over thousands years old.

 

Season :     It  is off limits in winter because of snow accumulation,furthermore the embodiment of shiva is taken down to the village at the foothils named Makku .

 So its good to go there in summer and pre-monsoon,but in post-monsoon  the region roads becomes unstable and prone to landslides.

Chopta

Details >  Chopta (2680 mtrs) is situated at a distance of  31 Kms from Mandal (see my post on Rudranath ) and obviously 36 Kms from Gopeswar. Its 450 Kms from Delhi, you can consult the following link for distance chart though I must say its not very accurate. It is a small settlement mainly on the map because of the Tunganath trek. Though the trek is only 3.5 Kms the height gained is almost 1000mtrs and hence not as easy as it seems. For invalids they have pony and horses unlike Rudranath. Madmaheswar also can be reached by sitting on a saddle but its not regular.

Winding road

From Chopta climbing starts. The entire journey is a easygoing f unfilled one. Do not forget to drink the juice of Rhododendron ,which the locals call "Bransh" . Though many sellers use artificial flavours, so make sure of authenticity. You will not get it every season.

Tailless mouse

On the road you will encounter many amazing species of plants and animals. I have encountered this tail-less
mouse-like rodent . Isn't it cute?

If you walk in a relaxed mood the entire journey may take upto 2 to 3 hours. We took our time ,chatted with people . We went to Tunganath after Rudranath so our legs were a little bit fatigued and  Tunganath was a relief.

After you reach the destination the first task is to get yourself a room,and order lunch ,because of the altitude the food takes more time to be prepared.And obviously you should be hungry . The temple closes for some time in the afternoon so make sure to "Darshan" the Lord before that.

Tunganath Temple

You can also give puja and make offering through a priest or "Purohit". The offering thali costs from 51 Rs to 1001Rs. In the other Kedars you are allowed to bring your own offering of anything even biscuits provided they are new and untasted.

Offerings for Lord Shiva

Do not forget to come in the evening for Arati, its a good sight. Take dinner early and get inside.

Arati at Tunganath

The next morning is the most exciting of all. If the weather is clear you can witness one of the most beautiful sights in the whole world. Trek a further 1 Km from Tunganath to the top of Chandrashilla peak.

sunrise from Chandrashila

Morning view

From Chandrashilla you will get a 360 degree view of the entire region , mostly dominated with high spectacular snow clad peak.

The sunrise is absolutely amazing and the view inexpressible by words.

Choukhamba

You will feel your optical nerves getting overflowed with data. we were lucky enough to see a herd of a local deer species .

View from tunganath

deer

The deers were bonus ,but as they were very far and I don't have a telephoto lens nor in my small compact camera nor in my slr so the above picture of a straying deer is the only comprehensible one.

View from Chandrashilla

we could not stay at Chnadrashilla for a very long time because we had to go to Uniyana the same day and trek for 7.5 Kms upto Gaunder for Madmaheswar trek (read blog) .

glorious  mountains

Here are some more photographs for viewing pleasure.

Chandrashilla

Chandrashilla Temple

This is the small temple on the top of Chandrashilla.

top view :Tunganath Temple.

descend

pet or wild

Frankly there is not much to write ,that is in my power I cannot describe the beauty and divinity of this place, so in this post I have taken help of photographs more than words to express myself. Hope you will be able to experience what I have experienced when you go there .

Back to Chopta

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