Last year in October we travelled to a different part of the world not in geographical sense but rather in spiritual. No no I’m not saying that I’ve turned to a sadhu (saint). But we visited Kedarnath temple which’s situated in the state of uttarakhand at the elevation of more than 11600 feet above the sea level and I covered this distance from every mode of transport available i.e. on foot, pony, Jeep & helicopter :). The last one was used for descent as we had no energy left for any other means after the tiring journey during ascent.
The upward journey was a deadly cocktail of a bumpy & bone shattering ride of Jeep, exhausting trekking on foot and after twisting the ankle, the painful ride of pony. Thus upon reaching the top, whatever was left of me, already felt like reaching the heavens. My twisted ankle was aching like anything when we reached there. We were like just give us a bed. But when we entered into the valley it was so serene, extremely pure and pious.
Everything was still, even the wind. No trees and simply no vegetation at all because of the height. Just very small algae type grass, which has covered the ground and mountains, surrounded the valley. Life’s tough there as temperature would be around 2-3 degrees in early evening or it could be less than this and almost everyone out there was on seasonal occupation for 6 months because in winters this place’s covered by thick snow and whatever thing’s available there had been transported from lower base camp.
We had started on the morning of October 30th, 2012. We stopped at Monal Resorts, Rudraprayag and had lunch. Here these beautiful ducks patiently waited for me to click their pics.
We were so absorbed in watching the natural beauty of this part of Garhwal Himalayas, everything was going so smooth until our vehicle had a major problem and the driver said we have to take some other vehicle. And here start our adventurous journey with a drunken driver who kept on saying, “koi dikkat ki baat nahi hai” i.e. nothing to worry :S … and whenever he said so our heart came to mouth :D. But we were left with no option as with every passing second, things were becoming difficult and there were no other vehicles so we kept on praying and with grace of god and to our surprise he took us safely to the base camp ‘Gauri Kund’. Only the God’s blessings could have saved us from such a dreadful journey on the meandering and bumpy Himalayan Road with blind bends (which was now narrow and slippery too due to monsoon), deep valleys, and a drunk driver. By the time we reached Gauri Kund, it was very dark with almost no lights n people were looking at us as if we were aliens. All of them were asking us that whether we had any hotel booking. After waiting for at least half an hour there we finally started moving towards our hotel. We stayed for night at the GMVN which I guess’s the most decent hotel available at that place.
Evening tea at their restaurant was so refreshing. We had an early dinner and some friendly chit-chat. Whole place was looking so beautiful in full moonlight. We forgot our pains for a while and enjoyed the peaceful valley in bright moonlight and cold breeze. But, the extreme cold forced us to hastily get in to the cozy warmth of our rooms and call it a day.
Next day after taking an early breakfast we started for the 14 kilometres of upward journey which wasn’t easy as it sounds. We started trekking on foot with luggage on ponies. We had to take frequent breaks, gather some energy and then again start the tiresome journey. Weather was pleasant and yatris were few because of ending yatra season. We three young couples were thoroughly enjoying the journey with friendly chit chat, burst of laughters, photography and snacks at every break. Everything was so beautiful n untouched, the valley, the river and waterfalls.
But, after covering half the journey my ankle got twisted and I was in immense pain. Then we realized that the medicine supplies were with the pony which was at least a kilometre ahead. But we got few friendly travellers who promptly gave me medicine and spray. And after walking or rather limping 1 more kilometre we stopped for lunch. We had Maggie there and it tasted awesome because we were really hungry.
After that I had to ride a pony and believe me it was very tough. The exertion of previous day, combined with today’s trekking and pain of twisted ankle were now being topped with new pains of pony ride. Somehow we reached valley around the time of sunset. Beauty of the place was enhanced with the surrounding snow clad peaks, lush green grass on the lower reaches and the prevailing peace & calm. After checking in to the hotel we rushed for the evening aarti at the Temple. Kedarnath temple is an ancient shrine constructed by Pandavas .
It is one of the 12 Jyotirlingas in India and is considered to be very sacred.
The bells were echoing in valley and everything was absorbed in that. Before we returned to the hotel we spent a long time at the temple feeling the energy and vibes of the elaborate aarti and the devotion of pilgrims filled in the campus.
The place has a freezing temperature and no heating equipments were provided at the hotels. But even then we slept quickly more because of tiredness than the little warmth which two quilts could provide. We had to wake up early in the morning to perform an early pooja. Thank God, the hotel provided hot water for bathing.
Early morning prayer was divine and we got a nice view of the place with first rays of sun. We decided to take the helicopter ride for the descending journey as none of us wanted to either experience the pain of trekking or to part with the state of complete devotion and peace which we experienced at this place.
Enjoy !
We had started on the morning of October 30th, 2012. We stopped at Monal Resorts, Rudraprayag and had lunch. Here these beautiful ducks patiently waited for me to click their pics.
We were so absorbed in watching the natural beauty of this part of Garhwal Himalayas, everything was going so smooth until our vehicle had a major problem and the driver said we have to take some other vehicle. And here start our adventurous journey with a drunken driver who kept on saying, “koi dikkat ki baat nahi hai” i.e. nothing to worry :S … and whenever he said so our heart came to mouth :D. But we were left with no option as with every passing second, things were becoming difficult and there were no other vehicles so we kept on praying and with grace of god and to our surprise he took us safely to the base camp ‘Gauri Kund’. Only the God’s blessings could have saved us from such a dreadful journey on the meandering and bumpy Himalayan Road with blind bends (which was now narrow and slippery too due to monsoon), deep valleys, and a drunk driver. By the time we reached Gauri Kund, it was very dark with almost no lights n people were looking at us as if we were aliens. All of them were asking us that whether we had any hotel booking. After waiting for at least half an hour there we finally started moving towards our hotel. We stayed for night at the GMVN which I guess’s the most decent hotel available at that place.
Evening tea at their restaurant was so refreshing. We had an early dinner and some friendly chit-chat. Whole place was looking so beautiful in full moonlight. We forgot our pains for a while and enjoyed the peaceful valley in bright moonlight and cold breeze. But, the extreme cold forced us to hastily get in to the cozy warmth of our rooms and call it a day.
Next day after taking an early breakfast we started for the 14 kilometres of upward journey which wasn’t easy as it sounds. We started trekking on foot with luggage on ponies. We had to take frequent breaks, gather some energy and then again start the tiresome journey. Weather was pleasant and yatris were few because of ending yatra season. We three young couples were thoroughly enjoying the journey with friendly chit chat, burst of laughters, photography and snacks at every break. Everything was so beautiful n untouched, the valley, the river and waterfalls.
But, after covering half the journey my ankle got twisted and I was in immense pain. Then we realized that the medicine supplies were with the pony which was at least a kilometre ahead. But we got few friendly travellers who promptly gave me medicine and spray. And after walking or rather limping 1 more kilometre we stopped for lunch. We had Maggie there and it tasted awesome because we were really hungry.
After that I had to ride a pony and believe me it was very tough. The exertion of previous day, combined with today’s trekking and pain of twisted ankle were now being topped with new pains of pony ride. Somehow we reached valley around the time of sunset. Beauty of the place was enhanced with the surrounding snow clad peaks, lush green grass on the lower reaches and the prevailing peace & calm. After checking in to the hotel we rushed for the evening aarti at the Temple. Kedarnath temple is an ancient shrine constructed by Pandavas .
It is one of the 12 Jyotirlingas in India and is considered to be very sacred.
The bells were echoing in valley and everything was absorbed in that. Before we returned to the hotel we spent a long time at the temple feeling the energy and vibes of the elaborate aarti and the devotion of pilgrims filled in the campus.
The place has a freezing temperature and no heating equipments were provided at the hotels. But even then we slept quickly more because of tiredness than the little warmth which two quilts could provide. We had to wake up early in the morning to perform an early pooja. Thank God, the hotel provided hot water for bathing.
Early morning prayer was divine and we got a nice view of the place with first rays of sun. We decided to take the helicopter ride for the descending journey as none of us wanted to either experience the pain of trekking or to part with the state of complete devotion and peace which we experienced at this place.
Enjoy !
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