Independent Trekking to Roopkund Skeleton Lake, Himalayas.
Write up: Anish
Zoomed in Tip of Trisul from Junargali / Roopkund
Life has become too comfy for the past two months with just
a Mukurthi trek which didn’t last a day. The Sep/Oct was the second best season
for a Himalayan trek. Stok kangri in Leh was my next destination two months ago
but I’ve replaced it with Roopkund in Uttarakhand as I wanted to experience
what the mysterious skelton lake was all about and there wasn’t a better time
than this as the lake would be completely frozen under the snow in April/May which
hides the hundreds of skeletons scattered around the lake. I and Loga discussed
the possibility of a self dependent hike upto 16700 ft at Junargali on top of Roopkund
Lake without any guides, porters, cooks, mules or horses. Even though there are
ample resources available on the net to get an overall idea of the trek, there
wasn’t a single info or story of anyone having done Roopkund all alone.But we
were quite determined to do it this way just to be as wild and close to nature.
I was aware of the risks, the Ams issues, adapting to the altitudinal changes
and other stuffs like food. I knew there were a couple of dhaba on route to Roopkund
but wasn’t sure if it still existed there. All we took was some ready to eat
breads, Kellogg’s, creams, nuts and snacks. Rest was entirely dependent upon the
dhabas. We had a basic tent with two 15 degree sleeping bags, I knew it
wouldn’t withstand the sub zero degree cold as I have experienced it in the
eastern Himalayas. Just for a backup we carried it. Additional down Jackets,
Fleece Jacks, Rain Jacks, Gloves, more warm clothes for layering, tarpaulins,
medical kits and a load of trekker’s stuffs for a week weighed more than 12kg for
each of us. Camera stuffs, hip pouches and water bottles were additional
weights. So carrying more ration and stove was out of question. All in all we
had everything but not the exact requirement for an independent Himalaya trek. One
thing I made sure before commencing the trek dates was to figure out the
starting dates of other trekking companies which took groups of trekkers as
batches to the same place. The purpose of solo hiking would be lost forever if
we were surrounded by hundreds of other co trekkers. Adjusted the dates accordingly where no groups
clashed with our first day from the base village, and as a result of this 90%
of the trek was covered with just the two of us. We literally owned those mountains
for 4 days.
Starting from Delhi to Haldwani, Almora, Gwaldam, Wan (Base
village) and returning via Tharali, Karnaprayag, Srinagar, Rishikesh and
Haridwar back to Delhi was a long rounded 1200km journey. It covered 7
districts in Uttarakhand through 2 trains, 2 buses, 6 Shared Jeeps, 6 Autos, 1
car and finally 2 boats to cross the Ganges in Rishikesh. Indeed relying
entirely on public transport throughout the journey was tough but would you
believe that all we spent for travelling for those 5 days from Delhi -Delhi cost
us just 3800Rs.
28th, 29th, 30th Sep - 2016
Our train left from Delhi old railway station to Kathgodam
by Ranikhet Express on 28th 10:30pm. The last stop was Kathgodam but
we got down at Haldwani at 5am, a much bigger town hoping to get more vehicles
to the next stop. Took an auto from the station to the town and we were hungry.
While having some bread omelets at the tea shop we enquired the routes and
there were shared taxis to Almora, 5 or 6 buses lined up till Garur and private
cabs as well. We decided to get on the bus till Garur which is a 160km 7hr
drive. Passing after Kathgodam the hills began to rise. Reached near Nainital at
8 am for tea break.
Next stop was at Almora and the next stretch till Garur was
a beauty. Pine and oak trees with grasslands and beautiful rivers made the ride
very scenic till Kausani. The driver stopped for lunch but we were in no mood
to get down. By 1pm reached Garur a
sleepy town. There were hotels but no food, there were tea shops but no sugar
and there were vehicles flying up and down but they won’t stop. Amused with the
place we walked down to the edge of the town where there was one shared jeep waiting
to go for Gwaldam. We got in and through the thin Ghat roads by 3pm to reach
Gwaldam village. A beautiful hill station situated in the border of Garhwal and
Kumaon regions. We have travelled almost 200km today and decided to stay at the
Gmvn guest house here. There was a decent restaurant at the junction and after
lunch headed to Gmvn. All Rooms and dormitory were free and we opted to stay in
the Dormitory which had clean beds, hot water all at the cost of 200rs per
head. The manager Narender was a friendly person. Roamed around the village
till 7pm. Had hot Chapattis and Chicken at the Gmvn restaurant and slept well
after a tiring day’s journey. View from Gmvn Gwaldam
29th woke up early morning and went for a small
walk to adapt and acclimatize slowly to the climatic conditions around. Once
the dawn broke we were surprised to see the Snow capped Trishul visible from
here. After more talks with the locals it was clear that Lohajung the first
base village actually had two routes from Gwaldam. One is just around 20km but
the road conditions were worst and you will have to book a Taxi for 1500rs. The
other route through Tharali, Dewal is nearly 70km but lots of share jeeps are
available. Our plan was to somehow reach wan village without a booked taxi by
the end of the day so after breakfast vacated the room and by 9am we got into
to a shared jeep which was going to Tharali. 25km took nearly 90minutes, such
was the road conditions. Direction to Lohajung was to the right but till
Tharali we were driving down to the left. At 11pm the driver dropped us and
showed us a small gap which connected to the bridge. We crossed the pindari
river bridge to reach Tharali Town and got another shared jeep to Dewal.
Another 1 hr along the beautiful pindari river was a relaxation to the sore
back. After reaching Dewal we waited for some time for another shared jeep upto
Lohajung. Pindari was with us and the giant Himalayas every now and then showed
its gigantic peaks through the valleys. Yet another 2 hrs passed through the
rocky Ghat roads and grasslands we reached Lohajung at 2pm. Had lunch there.
Lohajung had a trekker’s shop which sold all stuffs like tents, mats, sleeping
bags torches etc. That is when we realized we had forgotten sleeping mats.
Bought two for a slightly higher price and did some useful shopping there and
got our final shared jeep for the day to Wan village.
Way to Wan Village from Lohajung
Passed Mundoli and kuling
villages, I could also see Didna Village on the opposite mount finally reaching
on to Wan by 4pm. 500 meters walk more to Gmvn guest house on top of the hill.
After reaching there were dozens of tents pitched around the Guest house. I met
the manager and asked if any rooms were free. Luckily the whole dormitory hall
was free and this was a much neater place than Gwaldam. The manager Mr Rana
will be arranging food for the night and tomorrow morning as well. The views
down to the wan village were splendid. After keeping the bags we moved again
down to the market and to the upper stretches.
Gmvn Guest house at Wan Wan Village
Till 7pm we were exploring Wan
village, their school and the small river just above the village. Motor able
roads end here. The Cyprus trees around the area were really huge, I have never
seen Cyprus of such width and height anywhere else. Above the guest house there
was temple, the gates were closed but it had hundreds of bells placed and tied
up everywhere, at the center was a huge Cyprus tree. I realized that since
there wasn’t any guide accompanying us I am really going to miss the local
stories from a local soul this time. Dinner with Chappati and veg gravy was
sumptuous. Recharged all electronic stuffs before the start of a big trek and
slept peacefully.
1-10-16 Trek Day 1
- Wan - Gharoli Patal - Bedni Bugyal
I was up by 6am having tea and chatting with the foreigner’s
who were from Australia. They were a group of 16 members all heading to Kauri
pass, this was their first day and ours as well, exchanged wishes for a
pleasant trek. The guides and horse owner who assisted the foreign team was very
friendly especially after knowing that we have come all the way from Chennai
and heading without help. They gave all info regarding the dhabas. In a way I
was relieved that the shops exist in Bedni, Patarnachni and Bhagwabasa.
By 8am
the whole group left. After Breakfast the bill was just a nominal 580rs. I just
love Gmvn. We started our trek at 9am to Gharoli Patal as Rana showed us the
directions to follow. The weather was great and through the huge Cyprus trees
we walked.School kids with their cute Namaste’s were super welcoming. In the
next 45 minutes we climbed up that hill and reached Rankhadhar. There was a tea
shop and we took a break to let off the heavy weight bags somewhere. A good
view of what to climb next was clearly visible from this point. We could see
the Neel Ganga stream flowing deep down. Our walk up to the Bridge was easy and
downwards crossing 3 village huts. Since we have planned to camp at Bedni
Bugyal today there was no reason to speed up things.
Rankadhar Way down to Neel Ganga Stream The Bridge before the Steep
The steepness from the
bridge was around 35 degree incline. With the occasional rains and horses
walking to and fro has made the tracks slushy at some places. Two groups have
climbed down till now. Two locals who were guides overtook us. They asked us No
guides! No porter! We replied the same.
At 1pm we reached Gharoli Patal. There
was a tea shop Run by Surendar, he made us some masala tea. Met another Chap
Gibru. We chatted for a while and everyone had this question first No guide! No
Porters! Doing it solo?? At times it was getting on my nerves but I played it
cool. Some looked confused, some encouraged, and some even shook hands. One
thing I noticed was before asking anything they would first look into your
shoes and the Forclaz 500 had half the answers they were looking for. Before leaving surender gave us some free Cucumber
slices with salt and pepper. Our next stop was Bedni just 3 km.
First views of Bedni Bugyal
It was almost
the same patch of forest for the next one hour and suddenly gave up to the
grasslands call Bedni Bugyal. By 3pm were walking towards the Green huts, a Guy
came running towards us. He said he own the Dabbha at bedni and asked us to
come over to his place for lunch. He was Uday singh, the best soul I have met
on this entire trek. He prepared us Rice and Dhal and nobody was at Bedni. We
took our tents out to pitch but since it was drizzling I was sure it would not sustain
the weather. Uday’s tent was already pitched near the Dhaba and he happily gave
his tent for us saying he will sleep inside dhaba tonight. That blue tent is our Millon dollar room for tonight
With Uday
Met two forest
Personals Mr Madan Singh and Mr Khatri who was in charge of collecting the fees
for camping. After some chit chat with these people we went near the Bedni Kund
a small lake and enjoyed the serenity till sunset. Towards Trisul I found an
interesting image of the five layers of mountains and captured it.
Just 5 more steps to Trisul
That was
special from Bedni. I also found a rat without a tail, but then I spotted more
rats without tails. This was something new for me. Unlike dogs in the plains
which are skinny and small in size, dogs around here are huge in size with puffy
thick hair. Two such dogs were roaming around Bedni, we named them too. They
became quick friends and were guarding our tents all night. Had Aloo parota and
omlet for dinner and it was getting colder as I was roaming with just a tea
shirt until now. We chatted till 9pm with Uday singh in his Dhaba. He has been
running this shop for 4 years and has never seen anyone trekking to Roopkund
without a support personal. He would always shake hands and keep on expressing
that he likes crackheads like us. An innocent chap working for his family of
four elder sisters. He goes to home only once in 3 months and lives here all
alone. Broken sleep but manageable weather, all was good.
2-10-16 Trek Day 2
Bedni –Patarnachni - Kallu Vinayak - Bhagwabasa
We were at Udays dhaba for breakfast. He rolled up his tent
and asked us to use it in Bhagwabasa all for free. We kept our tent at his
place and had breakfast. Uday’s cousin Mahn singh runs a tea shop at Bhagwabasa
so he could help us settle for the night. Mr khatri came to collect the camping
fees. I said tomorrow afternoon we will return and get back to wan at the same
day. So asked him to prepare bills for just two days. He definitely was in doubt but I simply had
no idea to pay for more than two days. Camping fees which included waste &
plastic management and other stuffs for two days was a nominal 700rs for both
of us. Bhagwabasa was todays camp and Roopkund lake was just another 3 kms from
there. But even if we had time today evening Roopkund can only be attempted
tomorrow early morning because of the climatic conditions above 5000 meters
which always tends to be misty. The climb from Bedni - 3300 meters to Bhagwabasa
- 4400 meters must be steep because it’s more than a kilometer into the sky
within a proximate distance of 9kms. We should have started by 9am but the
drizzling made us wait and finally by 10am walked past the Bedni kund.
Leaving Bedni Bugyal
Went
straight into the grasslands trying to find the trail to the right and after
some steep climbs we finally found our way up. Our walk upto Ghora Lotani was
entirely engulfed with mist. Whenever it cleared up we could spot the Bedni
kund even smaller. Deep to the left we spotted some tribal huts and hundreds of
sheep’s grazing on the opposite grasslands and another two Ponds. One sheep
costs 3000 rs and if any big groups were willing out to churn out the money
then Uday can cook it for you. Reached Ghora Lotani at 11am. There was a small
camping ground with water source and a stone fountain. I did increase the
height of that fountain by placing one more stone on top. The trail now shifted
to the right side of the mountain. The stretch upto Patarnachni was more or
less even with brown grasslands. We had no idea of how the adjacent mountains
shaped till we reached Patarnachni.
The sole dhaba run by Narender singh
pancholi served us tea, omelets and Maggie for lunch. Questions were pretty
much the same with the usual surprise look of us being all alone, but now we
were quite accustomed to the reactions and the responses from our side too. By
1pm we started again but within 20meters into the trail the rains started
pouring and we had to run back to the nearby horse shed. A group of trekkers with their guides all
climbing down joined us in the 30 minute wait. Even before the rain stopped
completely we decided to move forward. The next 3km stretch upto Kallu vinayak
was a tough affair. It was steep with u turns and bends all over the hill. The
light and view was very low. Every now and then small hailstorm rain would
shower wetting us all of a sudden, once drenched then cold stays for a long
time. Halting and covering up ourselves with the tarpaulins was what we did
because walking with the rain jacks would end up wetting our shoes which would
be a disaster for the rest of the days. 
Just before kallu vinayak we saw a
small stone temple. Loga was relaxed but I knew this was not kallu as I have
seen it in pictures. I could sense the thinness in the air as we struggled more
with the weights, the breathing pattern felt different from the past two days
for sure. Through the mist we saw the stone temple and without a doubt this
time we did reach Kallu vinayak. Took a break and some photos. Kallu Vinayak
The trail was
going straight to Bhagwabasa. I knew both these places had the same altitudes
of around 4300 meters so there was less chance of climbing up. Our last stop
for the day was just 2 km ahead. It was an easy walk as you take the first turn
you actually see the shop and campsite far away but since today was all misty
we never knew it was a visible point. From here onwards since we were all alone
from this afternoon the sudden change in the environment with rocks popping out
from every nook and corner and the snow patches above the mountains and the
atmosphere all wet felt real creepy. The thrill was spot on because such zones
were totally new for us. Stone huts were built by the locals but it looked like
nobody has been using it for a while. The mist finally cleared up a bit and we
could see the campsite from a distance.
We walked into it the campsite at 4pm and
met Mahn singh. Another 3 guys was around. Mahn singh had a tent
already pitched inside the wind protected stone foundation. He also gave us a a
9 degree sleeping bag as Loga would use
both our 15 degree bags and I would use a single 9 degree all for just 200rs as
rent. Ordered for Dinner for the night and this place was definetly not the
best of places to roam around. We had to get into the tent as soon as to trap
some body heat. It was painfully chilling. Till 7pm we rested planning out tomorrow’s
summit climb upto Junargali. We had to wake up at 4am and start by 5am from
here in order to reach on top by 8am. I saw another group of 4 members on the
other side of the camp. I thought they also might start at around the same time
tomorrow morning. Asked mahn singh about the current temperature and he said
now it would be 1 or 2 degree but after 1 am it would fall back to -4 degree. 
By
8pm had Dinner and hot tea and came back to our tents to fight it out against
the minus degree temperature. I cannot explain the cold but I was shivering all
through the night even with 2 layers of pants, 3 layers of jacks and 3 layers
of socks. Tough night which never required an alarm at 4am.3-10-16 Trek Day 3 Bhagwabasa - Roopkund /Junargali - Kallu vinayak - Bedni Bugyal
Got ready and took a small day bag to carry water and some
chocolates. Washing our face was the biggest challenge but we did that. The
four member group along with their guide walked past to Roopkund with torch
lights. Mahn sing prepared tea for us and by 5am we started walking through the
icy cold dark mountains in search of Roopkund. Since snow is less at this time
of the year we followed the stony trail, my head torch was super bright and
logas’s britelight covered a great distance and with a sense of direction it
was impossible to divert into a wrong direction.
After 20 minutes we spotted
the other group with their torch lights marching ahead, we thought of following
them but they were too slow with many breaks in-between. The first 1 km was a
gradual accent. Overtook them but was not in a position to chat about anything
as I was grasping for breadth. I could now exactly differentiate the meaning of
what “Thin air” meant, Slowing down every 30 meters was the key. Dawn broke through
the valleys and mountains and it was splendid scenery all over. On top we could
see the ice beds appearing but there were thick clouds forming from the lower
hills. It was a concern because from day 1 the weather was mostly misty and
drizzling.
We were pushing ourselves to the maximum without many breaks. Hoping for the best views of Trisul, by 6am we were half way. From here on the steepness increased. The other group was deep down from us we could see their tiny resting heads. With a couple of breaks climbed up some huge rocky steps, we could see the edges of the lake and all it required was one final push but we couldn’t do it in one stretch, slowly we reached by 7am. Unlike what I saw in the pictures this Lake is was bigger than I thought. Climbed down to the dead center of the lake which was mostly dried up and saw hundreds of humans and horse skeletons scattered all over the place.
That is me in the center of Roopkund Lake
I have heard some people saying that the skeleton
doesn’t exist anymore or there were only very few left may be they would have
visited the place in the snow season but that was not the case now. Human Skulls, teeths, their chapels, chains and
accessories were gathered up in one place and I was threading up my own story
of what could be the scenes when the hailstorm hit those hundreds of 9th
century people at the exact place. I was imagining of what all pain they went
through surrounding this lake before their last breath, Loga distracted me from
becoming a screenplay writer for an epic bollywood flick and pointed his
fingers to the dark clouds below the mountains.
Yes I was back on toes and we
had one final climb to Junargali before the weather turned nuts. It rises again
to a 500ft climb through the sharp ridge. Walked through the snow at some
places and reached there by 8am and it was a sense of great accomplishment. Standing
at 16700 ft watching Trisul, Nanda Ghunti, Junargali pass, Sheela samudra, the
valley and river between Trisul was all a fitting climax where Mother Nature
controlled the show in our favor. 
The magnificent
Himalayan peaks were lit up an hour ago but the sun was hidden till now and
once it appeared the color tones through the valley where exotically beautiful.
Between Trisul and us there wasn’t a single obstacle. But the fact that it’s a
7100 meter peak which is a direct 2km straight shoot into the sky from where we
stand was quite unbelievable. I picked up a small stone for memory which is a
usual ritual at every peak before returning and after a Timer shot of both of
us we returned from Junargali.
Sunrise at Junargali 
Nanda Ghunti peak & Sheela Samudra Valley
Roopkund Lake from Junargali Trisul & Nanda Ghunti Zoomed
While reaching Roopkund we met the group of four
from Kolkata. With 6 porters it was a Sahib’s style trekking. They already knew
about us the previous night from their guide that two crack heads have landed
all alone from Chennai. If I had met them yesterday I might be just walking my
way upto Homekund for the next 3 days with them. They started from a Village
called Sutol directly to Bhagwabasa two days ago and will be passing the
Junargali pass to sheela samudra and Homekund in the next 3 days. They invited
us to join their team but I had to turn down the offer because our Backpacks were
in Bhagwabasa and also felt the group was too slow. Thinking back now I feel we
should have joined them because after reading the RontiSaddle –Roopkund-
Homekund trek I really have missed an opportunity even after insisting from the
group several times that we could have great fun. Anyways Bid goodbye to them
and the Roopkund Lake we started at 9am. The scenes down were breathtaking with
sparking sharp brown mountains, blue skies and white capped snow.
Once the sun
was out the glossy marble rocky steps and stones began to evaporate. Loga slipped
once and we were very careful. By 10 am we were at Bhagwabasa. By the time Mahn
singh was preparing breakfast we packed up our bags to leave soon. Meantime
while enjoying the views of Trisul with omlettes and tea the weather changed
all of a sudden and by 10:30 and the entire area was cloudy. Shows closed for
today we left the place after breakfast with big hugs from Mahn singh and
friends. 
We were in multiple thoughts as to whether we should reach
Bedni today by 2pm and then to wan by 6pm or take it slow and reach Bedni and
stay the night so that we could visit Ali bugyal tomorrow morning and return to
Wan. Till Kallu vinayak it was a slow paced walk and we were in a treat of what
we missed while climbing up. The view down to Patarnachni and Ghora Lotani was
elaborate and impressive. To the right we could spot small hamlets and stone
houses with horses and sheep’s grazing in each of the valleys. We decided not
to rush and enjoyed our descend upto patarnachni for a tea break. We met a team
there from Delhi and elaborated our independent trek experiences and the guide
congratulated us on the summit.
Kallu vinayak & Landscape view of Patarnachni trail upto Ghora Lotani
Our next walk upto patarnachni was mostly
misty, our only problem was with the heavy bags. There was nothing we could
throw off to reduce the whole pack. We reached Ghora Lotani by 1pm and from
here Bedni was visible. By 2pm as we were nearing Bedni, the scenario was
totally different now. More than 30 tents and with loads of people. It was a
Saturday and all big trekking operators, small trekking agencies along with
local agencies have bought in bulk of trekkers to this wonderland. We rushed to
Uday’s place, he hugged us at first glance and was happy about our summit and
return timings all working out as planned. Summiting Roopkund was not at all
about the distance but more about the altitude from 8000ft to 16700ft and back.
It began drizzling and Uday was in the process of creating something special
for lunch. I said we are leaving today but he insisted us to stay as it was
already 3pm and rains would continue. More guides came in from different groups
and Uday was telling our story, everybody congratulated us. I mean each and
everyone we met including the forest officials Mr Madan singh and Mr. Khatri.
They told us to stay as it was not safe to trek after 6pm through the jungle
and the steepness to wan would be slippery. There wasn’t any additional payment
for pitching the tent today. It was all free for us. Uday pitched his tent and
till 7pm I took a small nap but the feeling was like I was in center of a
temple festival with all those noises and what not. By 8 we had dinner and
slept off.
4-10-16 Trek Day 4
Bedni Bugyal - Ali Bugyal - Gharoli Patal - Wan
Awake by 6am and popped my head through the tent to analyze the situation. The festival was still on so I slept again till 8am. Now half the people have disappeared from the place. By 9am we had breakfast and the grounds were almost empty. Bedni was back to what I saw it two days ago. Uday told me it was not a good idea to visit Ali Bugyal today as it would rain. It was actually sunny now and I thought I should give it a try. I gave my new Hydro flask bottle as a present to uday, he has also planned the Homekund trek with me next summer, just the two of us and one porter. I assured him call me if you are serious, I will try to reach and left the place by 10 am. Followed the Ali Bugyal track for a km but as Uday predicted it started drizzling and there was no use in proceeding. We returned back to the track directly to Gharoli patal. We left our water bottles at udays place and were walking thirsty, a local woman was walking by with her small daughter and when asked about the water source she gave us some fruits which eased up our throats. I just love these beautiful mountain peoples. While reaching gharoli Tea shop owner surendar had a big smile, i picked up two water bottles and tea for the final run. Some big groups where climbing up with walkie talkies and stuffs. Bored with all this walking we tried running and succeeded for a long way holding onto every tree and branches which came by our way. We made use of all the shortcuts but let me warn you this was highly dangerous and normal people please stay away from such acts but weirdoes are welcome to try.
Now we could hear the Neel
ganga and again the rains were heavy. Took out the tarpaulins and covered
ourselves and continued till the Neelganga river bridge. Sun was back and the
river was so clear we could see the sand and stones through the water. Had some
snacks and our next stop upto Rankadhar was a steep climb with colorful trees
in this autumn month. Apart from the vultures at Bedni the only bird I spotted
was the Yellow Billed Blue Magpie. A kid was eagerly waiting for chocolates and
she happily posed for a photograph with Loga. While sitting at the Rankhadhar
tea shop we had one final full view of those hills upto Bedni. Reached Wan Gmvn
guest house at 1 pm. Trek ended successfully in 75hrs.
We never knew that getting a
shared vehicle upto Lohajung was a tough affair. Lavish lunch and Chatting with
Mr Rana we got to the village only by 3pm and waited till 5pm there wasn’t a
single vehicle to Lohajung. Since no train ticket was booked via Kathgodam to Delhi
we had two plans one was to visit Jim corbet national park and the other was to
take a road trip through Karnaprayag, Rishikesh and Haridwar. I opted for the
road trip and the Holy cities because Jim corbet was not a place to finish off
in hurry and I will be returning for a long stay in Corbett soon. At the wan
market we got decent rooms to stay with hot water. There was also a bus at 5am
directly to rishikesh so I went and spoke with the driver to hold two seats
till karnaprayag. All was well we freshened up after 4 days. Dinner was cooked
by them with Dhal, rice and chappatis. Took a long time to repack and recharge
all the stuffs for our road trip ahead.
5-10-16 4 Wan- Tharali - Karnaprayag - Srinagar- Rishikesh
Ready by 5am we were near the bus having tea. Even though
the bus was going upto Rishikesh I hate travelling long stretches in public
transport. Karnaprayag was about 100km and we reached there by 10:30.The road
conditions were terrible and unspeakable, felt like the bus journey just broke
our already broken spines into more pieces. The only solacement throughout the
journey was following the Pindari River along with the hundreds of mountains on
either side. Upon reaching Karnaprayag we had breakfast, the Pindari River
meets Alaknanda here and the confluence can be seen from a bridge. We walked upto that bridge and took some
photos.
6-10-16 & 7-
10- 16 - Rishikesh - Haridwar - Delhi - Chennai
Heavy rains woke me up at 5am and once it stopped we decided
to walk around Rishikesh. We walked from 6 am to Laxman Jhoola through the
small roads. It felt like I was in Kerala. Saw Trayambakeshwar temple which had
13 storied building. Crossed Laxman jhoola, walked through the
town and finally ended up at Triveni Sangamam which is a confluence of
three holy significant rivers the Ganges, the Yamuna and the Saraswathy.
On the
way back had breakfast and reached Parmarth Niketan by a boat by crossing the Ganges, vacated
the room and again took another boat to the other side where an autowala was
waiting with a family asking us to join them till Haridwar. I was given the
front seat near the driver and the next one hour was a fun ride with the big
blue auto till we reached Haridwar. At mid 1pm Haridwar was more of a picnic
spot for all the surrounding village people. There was no reason for a trekker
to roam around here. Had lunch and visited some nearby places, shiva linga, Har Ki Pauri Ghat. We were tired but wanted to check out the Ganga
Aarti performed daily at 6:30 pm and we waited. By 7pm the aarti with all the
people who assembled around the Ganges was a beautiful experience.
After that
we decided to leave the place and headed to an internet center. Booked our
confirmed train tickets to Delhi that night at 10:30 pm and Flight tickets to
Chennai next day afternoon. After dinner at Haridwar we headed to the railway
station, boarded our Delhi train which will reach morning 8am. Slept comfortably
because of the tiredness. Morning reached old Delhi and booked a room to fresh
up at Chandi Chowk. After breakfast a quick visit to Red fort and a drive to
Airport we boarded the flight exactly on time and reached Chennai by 5pm.
Clicked by : Anish
Team: Loga, Anish
Place : Roopkund Skeleton Lake, Uttarakhand
Elevation Min/Max : 8200 ft to 16,700 ft
Km Covered : 4 days || 52Kms
anish@ambikadigitals.com
