[DogNDamsel12]

Also check Samba's Travelogue (Sailed through Uttarakhand in a Nexon & a Duster AWD)!

For 15 years of my stay in Delhi, I have been putting off any plans of travelling to Uttarakhand for a sheer mental block. Especially, these last few years ever since the infamous floods ravaged Uttarkashi and everything up North of it – across much of the headwaters of the Ganga, rendering the region as one of the most flood-prone Himalayan Region, I have said “thanks but no thanks!” every time there were plans for any part of this region.

So, when a plan was being made for a summer circuit of this region, and worse still an intense travel plan was doing the rounds, for an extremely unplanned and unorganised traveller like me it was “way too much!” Had it not been for the group’s unwavering enthusiastic discussions, I am pretty sure I would have given this a miss, and not even known how much I would have missed because pictures only manage to capture a portion of what we saw and felt.




Samba has already covered much of the travel in his log with chornology of events. It has been a task to skip the framed that he has already captured. And I am not that organised, so I will stick to the storytelling of the river trails and of course also include the peaks, meadows and everything else that makes up the mighty Uttarakhand.

Before we go: My (no) planning for the trip

It is important to provide an unsolicited insight into my traveling style so that the reader knows what a lousy planner I am!

I am used to travelling alone and randomly, planlessly, bookinglessly! I do not research about a place before I get there – I just show up! Especially in the mountains, I am willing to submit to the uncertainties of travel, to devour any food that is available, if it is hot and fresh, to stay at any hotel that can offer a bed with clean sheets and a clean bathroom, and a good view.
I readily offer myself to the magic and madness of what each day could bring. My only saving grace is that I can make friends with anyone - the caretakers in hotels, cabbies and fellow travellers; I seek out people I can talk to, and pretty much figure out the trails based on whatever hearsay I like.

And, when I am in a place, I like to guzzle the folklores, stories on culture, history, mythology and everything that maketh the character of the place. I vanish from anything or anyone who looks familiar or speaks my vernacular.
I often would not book hotels in advance let alone knowing route plans. So, although the trip was being discussed for some time now, I would not have been able to tell anyone the route plan beyond saying, “we were going to Auli”.

The names Harsil, Tilwara, Chopta, Chaukori, Munsyari were only words without any sequence or consequence – except that I was going to a region that I have been wary of for some years now!

So, as we took to the milestones, what unfolded at each tortuous turn are some of the most important and breathtakingly beautiful places in the Himalayas – along the Gangetic tributaries and confluences, each with its own characteristic geology, and mythological and religious significance.

[DogNDamsel12]

Ganga at Rishikesh

Not much to say here, except a stroll in the night with full view of the Janaki Setu. The GMVN gates close at 10.30, and especially owing to the yatra - so had to work our charm to have the gates open at odd hours. I have been to Rishikesh twice before – once when I camped here with my besties and the second time I was here with my cousin and his friends.

The trips had been memorable with a dip in the Ganga at Har ki Pauri at Haridwar, and a camp and bonfire at Shivpuri and of course the river rafting cliche. So, Rishikesh was the old friend I wanted to tip my hat at and wave goodbye as soon as I could.




An old photo from archives during river rafting

Bhagirathi at Uttarkashi

Our first rendezvous with the river was beyond the checkpost of Uttarkashi, when we were stalled in a traffic jam for 2.5 hours, also our first tryst with the traffic facilitation for the Chhota Char Dham Yatra.





The route was along a very boisterous Bhagirathi – one who had found a purpose to meet with her twin, Alaknanda, only a few more milestones left in her journey. We were stalled here for 2 hours. It was raining. The banks of the Bhagirathi have reinforced by steel enforcements.

And then together at Devpryag, the two rivers - Alaknanda and Bhagirathi merge to become the Ganga, which runs across the Northern Plains and drains in the East into the Bay of Bengal, saving the world in between from famines and drought. The Bhagirathi kept us company through our way to Harsil.

[DogNDamsel12]

Bhagirathi at Harsil – As we headed north (day, date, time and km in Samba’s log) at Harsil, the Bhagirathi ambles along through dense coniferous forests – sweet smelling apple trees and cedars, interrupted by gregarious waterfalls, giving the valley the character of a quaint hamlet that is completely raw with rugged cliffs hanging over the thin.

Compared to Uttarkashi, the Bhagirathi here looks a lot more pliant and less intimidating. Apparently, after its decent from Gangotri, there was a fight between Bhagirathi and the Jalandhari, to mediate which Hari (also the name of Lord Vishnu) was called upon to mediate. He became a stone (a sila) to make sure that the river calmed down upon touching this sila. Hence, the name "Harsil."

Though, along our entire trip, this was the only place that seemed to have a fair amount of Tibetan/Buddhist settlement.













During winter when Gangotri is frozen, the water source “comes down to” Harsil - a place called Mukhwas, where they have built a temple to the Goddess - around 5 km from where we stayed in Harsil.


The beauty of Harsil, besides of course the peaks, lies in the countless waterfalls that hurtle down the slopes from everywhere to join the Bhagirathi.

[DogNDamsel12]

Jadhganga at Gartang Gali and enroute to the Nelong Valley National Park

The waterfalls at Bhaironghati, a few km from the Gangotri pass.








The Jadhganga, also known as the Jahnvi river, emanates at the Mana Pass and is a true fiesty match for the cragged cliffs all around it – rebellious, edgy, and making a way for itself through an extremely obstinate terrain, and blue in its own right as a sharp contrast to the scraggly green of the trees and stony rock faces. The colour of the buoyant river is a distinct cyan, and it confluences with the Alaknanda near Bhaironghati.









From someone in another group I overheard something about the Gartang Gali being a restoration of an old route taken by Pathans (remember that I do not research a place beforehand). And that is when it occurred to me that this must have been somewhere a part of the old silk route – that made walking the Gartang Gali immediately familiar and interesting!

I am an enthusiastic trekker, albeit a fairly slow one – pausing to catch a breath after every strenuous little climb. But the trek was fun, though the dead-end was disappointing.


At the end of the trail at Gartang Gali

As I looked up at the caption on the gateway, it read Nelong Valley National Park. “Really? Aren’t we going to go in? ... may be just a little?” Samba and I looked at each other and wondered what can be done.




The Nelong Valley drive along the opposite rift of the Jadhganga had a sinful, stolen quality to it, as we had, like school kids, convinced the forest guards to “please let us take a sneak peek at the road.” And they were kind enough to find a way to oblige.

The Jadhganga from the opposite cliff to Gartang Gali -

[DogNDamsel12]

Mandakini at Tilwara

The Mandakini next to the GMVN Tilwara was balmy and inviting. This river is along the Kedarnath route, and starts at the Chorabari Glacier in the Kedarnath region. No one could tell from its unassuming gait that this river and its tributaries would have wreaked havoc on its banks during the Uttarakhand floods of 2013.

I absolutely loved the GMVN here. The architecture was modern, albeit with minor and forgivable plumbing glitches, the menu card was peppy and inviting, the food was delectable, and the staff were polite.

After we reached the hotel, we wasted no time in gorging on the basic rice, daal and paneer dishes that the cook and the kitchen staff were gracious enough to cook for us at an off-hour.

And the natural, cold water of the Mandakini felt healing on the tired legs, as the kids splish-splashed on.

This river drains into the Alaknanda at the Rudraprayag. And at Rudraprayag, my river lust had only begun.

[DogNDamsel12]

Alaknanda stories
By the science of water DNA, the Alaknanda is the rightful parent of the Ganga, though Bhagirathi mythologically claims the maternal proprietorship emanating from the Gangotri (a name closer to the name Ganga).

We had to give Gangotri a miss owing to the Chhota Char Dham Yatra that saw throngs of pilgrims en masse everywhere, starting right from Haridwar up to Badrinath and Kedarnath and everywhere in between. Temporary toilets and shelters were being erected everywhere for public amenities.
At Uttarkashi, we had already experienced the wait.

The policemen and guards, in order to manage the traffic on the treacherous winding roads, were letting the vehicles in one direction pass through for a chunk of time, completely arresting the traffic from the opposite direction for what seemed to be eternity but turned out to be for a little over an hour, or two.

And once a certain number of vehicles, which seemed to be a hundred, had passed in one direction, they were stopping that side and releasing the vehicles in the opposite shoulder. It was a long wait, but everyone was patient, and unlike Indians generally, waited their turn.

With that experience, we had wanted to avoid traffic everywhere, and hence would start early. And that made it worse for a tardy person like me, when the entire group was up and about, and I was still scurrying to find excuses for my lateness.

We skirted the three Dhams – Kedarnath, Gangotri and Badrinath, but never really planned to be in any of those places. Thankfully for the group, more than religion, it is the absolute delightful locales of where these shrines are located is more exciting!

And this is where the geographic and religious and mythological lineage of the place began to unfold before me, and I started to keep an eye out for all the prayags (confluences) and realised that after Uttarkashi, we crossed three of the five prayags – Rudraprayag, Karnaprayag, and Nandaprayag, as we proceeded from Tilwara to Auli.

The Alaknanda was gorgeous, the drive was delightful and eerie because of the large pieces of rocks hurtling down the slopes after Pipalkoti. The Alaknanda was liberating in how simple and magnificent she was – accepting everything that anyone had to offer her – God, religion, the distant snow cover, the other rivers, an outlandish terrain, a colourful flora and fauna, an NTPC hydel project for god’s sake. She was all of them and more!

Photos of the Alaknanda terrain















The pilgrims intrigued me.



Religion draws me to it for the sheer personal, spiritual experience of it and what each personal journey looks like. I can weed out the collective, divisive, fundamentalist, spiteful versions of an organised religion, and gaze and marvel at individuals undertaking their spiritual journeys under the umbrella of any religion. And that experience I find enduring and beautiful!













One of the pilgrims I had met at the Alaknanda Filling Station was from a village in Maharashtra. He was with a group headed for Badrinath that same morning as us. I had a chance to speak to him when we had both stopped at the Alaknanda Filling Station - “We got back from Kedarnath at 3 am this morning”, he recounted excitedly, “and now we are on the bus to Badri.” I could not help but admire his commitment to pay a visit to god, for whatever personal reason it may be.

To our surprise, there were quite a few young Sikh bikers on the same road. “There has to be something of the Sikh on this same route, Samba! There are so many bikers braving the cold and rain to be at Badrinath? Doesn’t make sense!” Badrinath, as I had figured during the trip (pardon my wilful ignorance) was a shrine for Mr Badri Narayan, the most significant of the divine Hindu Trinity, a peek at whom remains the penultimate absolution for many Hindus.





So, it seemed odd to me that Sikh youngsters would undertake the painstaking pilgrimage to pay their homage to a Hindu divinity. And there were one too many bikers for this to have any Hindu alignment. Some of these bikers could easily be identified by their monocoloured indigo attire and turban and the Kirpan fastened at the waist hanging from sling around the shoulder – the Sikh Sadhus; a resplendent flag masted on the pillion of the bikes with the hallmark logo of Sikhism fluttering proudly on that frosty afternoon. And then my research yielded another place that was a glorious divine magic amidst the mighty Himalayas – the Hemkund Sahib! This is certainly another place that becomes a part of my list of to-do’s at some point.

[DogNDamsel12]

Pindar at Karnaprayag and Sarayu at Bageshwar

At Joshimath, we had taken a diversion for Auli and had spent two days, brace yourselves for the cliché, in the lap of Himalayas.

As we came down to Joshimath, two days later I was mortified and nearly hated Samba for taking me out of Garhwal to be at Kumaon. What could possibly Kumaon offer that could be more beautiful than what Chamoli had revealed to us. Duh! To the shocked reader who has already balked at me upon reading this, I think I should clarify that I had confused Kumaon to the crowded, touristy, populous Almora district of Uttarakhand and had no clue what was waiting for me in the Pithoragarh District.

Coming down from Joshimath, we crossed the Nandaprayag. At Karnaprayag, we took a turn on the River Pindar to leave the road to Rudraprayag and head for Chaukori. I wished at the time we could have gone towards Vishnuprayag and Nanda Devi National Park, and perhaps Mana. But that was not possible because of the pilgrimage clutter in the mountains.

The Pindar was, right now, in true essence a huckleberry friend, keeping me patient company while I brooded over leaving behind the Alaknanda trail, Uttarkashi and the confluences that I had come to have a relationship with .

















And I still hated Samba, who was quietly driving and occasionally between his annoying chuckles pointing out at the broken road ahead and saying “see, it’s not so bad, it’s still raw!”

The entire route was like a carefully planted garden of cedars, most of them burnt at the base from forest fires, which were very common in these parts of the Himalayas.



The Pindar took us to Bageshwar which is a district, as well as the main town in the district, on the banks of the Sarayu river.

Bageshwar with Sarayu in the distance



The idea of staying in Chaukori was to split up the travel to Munsyari. By the time we reached Chaukori, we had a very brief glance of the snow-peaks and then it began to pour all evening and through the night.





The snow peaks from Chaukori at sunset

[DogNDamsel12]

Ramganga from Thal – A date to remember

After a lazy and not-much-to-do evening in Chaukori from Bageshwar, we headed for Munsyari. In no time, my river lust was back with a bang! I cannot compare the beauty of Munsyari and Auli at this time.

I can compare even less between the effect Bhagirathi has on Harsil, or the Jadhganga has on Nelong or Alaknanda has on the ambience of the road between Rudraprayag and Joshimath or the Ramganga has onward from Thal to Birthi. The Ramganga changed colour, hue and width at every step of the way.











Old lady at Nachani

At Nachani, there is a camping site one can stay and rent a raft in the Ramganga river. It was rainy, but B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L. As we went up from Nachani, the view was breathtaking - with lone walkers and school children with umbrellas. At one of the tea stalls, an elderly lady waved at us signalling for a lift. With nature's generosity brushed off on our moods, we readily complied. She was delighted that we had given her a lift for a couple of kms - regaling us with her recommendations of where we should go in Munsyari.
"Sab jagah paar... Munsyar.", she said, which translated in English means - "Munsyari, beyond all places".. and we could see how true that was turning out to be!



Birthi falls

At one of the turns on the way to Munsyari, piercing right through a verdant hillside is the Birthi falls presenting a view so surreal that it stills all else around you for a while. The overcast sky and intermittent rainfall have been a blessing to us, only adding to the subliminal experience.

[DogNDamsel12]

Why the drive to Munsyari had become a personal fairyland for me

The drive after Birthi was a literal walk in the clouds. Snow-capped mountains, a panoramic view of the hilly roads snaking along on one side of the mountain, quaint houses straight out of a kid’s colouring book, changing hues of the sky, and the play of green, blue, grey and white everywhere.

[DogNDamsel12]

The Peak Cliche
Now, pretty much done with my river tales, I can shift to a magnificent cliche - the peaks

It rained everywhere we went – Uttarkashi, Harsil, Tilwara, Chopta, Auli, Chaukori, Munsyari. But the rain was well-timed!

It poured at so many places, during our drive, while we were in our rooms, when we..err.. they planned for the next day, clouds loomed large. Sometimes we were left wondering if we will even get a view (of the snow peaks of course!)

But it cleared up, it was pure grace - and this only added to the overall ambience and experience! Except for Chaukori where we had a brief flitting glance of the range, everywhere we went, we got a striking "view"!

Peaks at Harsil and Gangotri

Harsil lies cradled in the Gangotri range, with peaks like the Harsingh etc. encircling it

















Peaks at Auli and Joshimath

The primary peaks visible in these regions are Mana, Neelkanth, Kamet, Nanda Devi to name a few.
























Peaks at Munsyari

The primary peaks are the Panchachuli range which are mythologically the five cooking hearths of the Pandavas from Mahabharat. View rooms here are a must, as we realised later.





















Peak at Uttarkashi
A view of the Gangotri range begins here -

[DogNDamsel12]

The meadows of Chopta & Auli - “Spring is nature’s way of saying let’s party”


If not for the scare of a leopard springing at us, I could have simply spent my time in Chopta just lying down on the grassy odyssey that lay ahead of us.

As for Auli it was the scare of the rain. After our ropeway ride, we had decided to walk down. We had quite a distance to cover downhill and the clouds loomed over us.

But both the walks were so refreshing to say the least.

[DogNDamsel12]

Notes on amenities (for the ladies!)

I hope many will feel the pain of a private person, with nature calling (puns intended) and having to worry about a place to go. So I will note down down a few possibly helpful points (despite my hibeejibees).

Dare I say without racially offending anyone, before one hits the Purvanchal Expressway, finding clean restrooms is a pain (in the bladders), especially with the Reliance petrol pumps having been shut down.

If I pass through a crowded area, I usually use the restrooms of the best-looking hotels, and though you can choose to stay or eat or pay the place, it is not mandatory to do so. No one refuses a lady a restroom when she has to relieve herself.

From much before covid days, I carry a travel pack of toilet seat sanitiser in my waist pouch. And, handwash, toilet rolls.... blah blah blah!

Another psychologically uncomfortable but handy possibility on a remote hillside is a “car toilet”. The car is parked at an odd angle and the front and rear doors are opened to create a "sacred" private enclosure with the face of the hill as the fourth side. Did not believe in till there came a point when I absolutely had to use it.

(Worst is over, I will stop talking on this topic and breathe!)



Nature on the loose!

































Parting comments- How people with exactly opposing travel styles end up being friends

For 16 days my life was sure as hell on a clock and a compass. I figured that while I may be a keen kindergarten student of driving, he and Arindam are what I have come to call “driving junkies” or a “driving nerds.” They can drive for perhaps an entire day if they must get somewhere or save time etc. They would set alarms, wake up on time, take a shower and start planning away the day. I am still in bed barely awake, reminiscing the previous day, basking in the feeling that I am amidst God’s exotic neighbourhood.

Arindam had suggested some of the best places to stay - especially the GMVN at Tilwara was my favourite. He was our negotiator with cabbies and hotel guys, when we have to hire a service, with a natural knack for managing people.

Sutapa is a rockstar mom of two beautiful kids and a wonderful travel partner. While I struggled to get myself ready, she had two kids readied and packed for the day on time. And, she makes the best coffee I have ever had, and would be kind enough to make it for all of us early in the morning.

The kids, Babula and Mithi - my tribe! Babula is prim and proper and organised and disciplined. Mithi is the mischievous one. She knows how to find her way around with a smile and a wink.

Samba knew the maps, the time it should take to get from one place to the other, the start and the finish line, the bend and bottleneck of the roads by a millimetre and microsecond when needed.

I have travelled alone for so much of my life that for me to adjust to anyone else is triggering. Samba knows this and when I am snarling at him for rushing me along with the group’s plans, he is patient and lets the storm pass.

And, when I walk out of the hotel room late, I know how to be invisible and quietly slip into the navigator’s seat telling myself all is well with the world and make eye contact with anybody!

Packing tips
I know my altimeter and weather.com. Because I can pack an entire ship in my suitcase if it comes to that! I knew where to expect cold, where to expect rains, when one could possibly need a pill to not be feeling sick on the tortuous roads. And I had all the gear to combat the next apocalypse! From dry food to tent lights in case there was no electricity, to swiss knife to medicines for giddiness to umbrella for bad weather, my bags had the entire home (as Arindam’s daughter had quipped with a twinkle).

While Samba’s suitcase looks like he is going to the beach for the weekend, though he packs enough car gear perhaps to even be able to tow a wrecked ship from the bottom of the ocean. So most parts he was donning my spare hat, gloves and muffler!


The Duster and the Nexon were both trouble-free, and always ready to go!






In the end, travel is brutal. It makes friends out of strange people, and makes you find commonalities like no other activity can.

We rhymed really, without a reason!


A little mint plant that I brought back from UK as a memory and have planted in my garden along with some Uttarakhand soil. I picked it up from a random trail that I went down on while waiting for a meal at a roadside shack, found this area with a very familar smell and look at the plants to see mint growing in the wild - just like that! We cut open a plastic bottle and then placed the plant with some soil in it and preserved it for the entire trip.

[libranof1987]

Lovely travelogue!

Uttarakhand has such a beautiful topography, and the rivers are just magical. The areas where rivers / their tributaries meet make for fascinating sights. We've done the Valley of Flowers trek, and then onward to Badrinath, thoroughly enjoyed that trip.

Originally Posted by DogNDamsel12

Notes on amenities (for the ladies!)

I hope many will feel the pain of a private person, with nature calling (puns intended) and having to worry about a place to go.

Here's something that can make things easier. We've used this during camping and the set up works like a charm.

1) The shower / toilet tent for privacy: takes a few minutes to set up and dismantle

https://www.decathlon.in/p/8576260/q...8576260&type=p

2) A portable toilet seat like this; we'd put disposable bags around it so once someone did their business, they just had to collect the bag, tie it up and dispose. Minimal issues for multi-person use.

Happy travelling!

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to Travelogues. Thanks for sharing!

Going to our homepage today

[thirugata]

It amazes me how 2 people can go for the same trip at the same time and write 2 blogs so differently to make it sound like 2 separate trips. Just beautiful...