Benaras

Varanasi – a city lost in time, a city where time stands still, the place where one attains salvation - these are the epithets and odes that one usually hears when the city is described. While these aren’t incorrect, Varanasi or Benaras is so much more!  Of course, these were the epithets that had drawn me to the city since long. Finally, an impromptu vacation idea led me to take a trip to Benaras. 
Benaras is an experience that one must personally undergo in order to feel the vibrations of this mystical place. A day to day account of a trip in Benaras would do grave injustice to the experiences that I had during my travel here and so I have decided to give an account of my experiences here instead. Mornings are when one will truly be able to feel the vibrations of this city and I was fortunate to experience not one but 3 such enchanting mornings here.

The moment I got rid of my baggage and entered the airport arena, the realization that I was finally going to Benaras set in! In my excitement, I bought 2 Benarasi silk stoles and then regretted it thinking that I was anyway going to Benaras where I would get the same stuff at half at the price. My flight was made miserable by a man who wanted to have sweet talk with a sour faced person like me. He tried to sweetly draw my attention to how small things on the ground looked like while we were high up in the air. I, on the other hand, pretended to be deep asleep.

I landed in Benaras and then got into the cab to my hotel. The airport road was impressive and with malls and high rises everywhere, it felt nothing like an ancient city. I must admit I was disappointed but then I realized the selfishness concealed behind my disappointment. Every city has a right to development. There was a lot of traffic on the way. I noticed something very interesting. If a bike bumped into an auto rickshaw, the drivers of the 2 vehicles would just acknowledge each other and move on. Had it been Mumbai, there would’ve been a brawl that would’ve held up traffic for a long time. This was a feature that I would be noticing over the next few days in Benaras.

I reached my hotel after an hour’s drive. As I carried myself and my luggage upstairs, all I could think of was catching some sleep. My better half’s train was getting delayed. He wouldn’t be there until another 4 hours. And so I dozed off. I woke up with a start as it was quite dark and then I realized that I was in the eastern part of India. It gets dark pretty early.

As I lazily set out of my room, I first noticed the beauty of the guest house I was in. The rooms were basic but the corridor of the guest house commanded an excellent view of Assi Ghat. A “ghat” is an open area on the banks of a river that has a series of steps leading on to the river.
Standing there by the window, witnessing devotees go to and return from the ghat while sipping a cup of steaming chai was my idea of the perfect vacation. My better half arrived in some time and after an early dinner, we retired for the night.

MORNING 1

It was 5 am in the morning when I was awoken by the Aarohan (ascent of musical notes) of Raag Bhairav. What a wonderful morning call it was! I was almost startled having never expected it at all! That was the moment that I realized that I was indeed in Benaras. Not wasting any time, I quickly put on my shoes and rushed out with my camera. Deepak had no clue as to why I was behaving thus but not wanting to miss out anything that Benaras might have to offer, he followed me close behind. As we reached the ghat, we were stunned to find a conglomeration of hundreds of devotees. We soon realized that it was Chhat Puja or the worship of the Sun. Hundreds of devotees were waiting for the sun to rise while I watched on speechless. As the first rays of the sun reflected in the holy waters of the Ganga, hundreds of hands went up in the air with their owners chanting “Har Har Mahadev”! In cue, Deepak did the same while I stood there speechless again, the metro city girl in me not knowing how to react. A couple of chants later, my arms lifted themselves up a bit. The atmosphere was now electric. A few chants later, I found myself one with the sea of devotees chanting “Har Har Mahadev”! All devotees paid obeisance to the Sun that sustains all life on this Earth. I, for one, remained spell bound by the way the morning had unfolded for me. There are some moments in life when words fail you, when your heart feels full. This morning was one such day. Benaras had cast its spell on me.

EXCURSION TO KASHI VISHWANATH TEMPLE

Our trip to the Kashi Vishwanath temple was enriching and funny as well. Like soldiers on a mission, Deepak and I set out to visit the famous Jyotirlinga of Lord Shiva determined to enter the shrine as commoners. As expected, we were greeted by a queue of devotees. I immediately took my place but better wisdom prevailed on Deepak as he suggested that we walk ahead and check where the queue started from. We kept walking through the lanes. The queue was never ending. After a long walk through winding lanes, we came to the mouth of the queue. A policeman was guarding the entrance. If you were a foreigner and were carrying a passport, you could skip the queue. But interestingly, the policeman told us that if we had our passports, we could go through. I didn’t know I needed a passport in my own country. But looking at the plight of devotees from West Bengal, I thought I fared better. The policeman wouldn’t let them go without a passport. He alleged that they could be illegal Bangladeshi immigrants!

Deepak and I accepted defeat realizing that negotiating this queue was not our cup of tea. We decided to return in the evening and get a VIP entry to the temple. On our return to the main road though, we passed through various lanes that were nothing short of a maze. It is very easy to get lost in one of these winding lanes. There were vendors frying savouries at every lane, vendors selling art curios, flower vendors, tea stalls, mere onlookers and not to forget – The Holy Cow. The Holy Cow made her presence felt at almost every lane. Not just pedestrians but riders on 2 wheelers also made way for her. She owned the lanes and moved without a care. Some decided to sit and laze about right in the middle of a lane but no one seemed to mind. In fact, as I was alighting from a “tuktuk”, a Holy Cow even nudged me with her forehead on my elbow from behind as I was standing on her way! Well, until now, I had only seen people clinging on to their cats and dogs as their own kids. It was quite endearing to see people treating the cow with reverence!

We were back in the evening armed with a VIP pass to the Kashi Vishwanath temple and in no time, we had entered the temple premises. We were now awaiting our turn to enter the sanctum sanctorum. There was a television telecasting live the events unfolding inside the sanctum. Deepak and I observed, with deep amusement, devotees scrambling to get a good view of the Shiv lingam, pouring milk over the lingam and then for a reason unknown to me, vigorously caressing the head of the lingam. It led me to almost feel sorry for Shiva – imagine having hundreds of people rubbing their hands over your head one after the other! Perhaps, Shiva had temporarily left the sanctum. If any devotee’s devotion lingered on for more than 30 secs, a priest, who would be sitting right across, flung a ladle full of milk on the devotee’s face. This left Deepak and me in splits and we avoided each other’s eye to not break into hysteric laughter.

It was our batch’s turn now to enter the sanctum. Once I was inside, though, it felt different. I was there for probably only a minute, but that minute meant a lot. I was wrong earlier. Some part of Shiva was definitely present there patiently accepting the huge waves of devotees.

EXCURSION TO SARNATH 

No visit to Benaras is complete without a visit to Sarnath – one of the 4 holiest pilgrimages for the Buddhists. This is where the Buddha first preached Dharma. Most of the place is in ruins and, as most beautiful structures of ancient India, were destroyed by barbarians in the form of Turks. These are times when I shudder to think about the amount of hatred and bigotry that is prevalent in the human race that would drive one to destroy beautiful pieces of art - art that is reminiscent of and a testimony to the greatness of the human race. The ancient relics, the ruins, the imposing Dhamek stupa will transport you to a bygone era. The areas are spotlessly clean – a marvel when you are travelling from Benaras. 

The archaeological museum out there is another must visit place. It houses magnificent sculptures found during excavations at the    archaeological site of Sarnath that date back to the 5^th century. Most of these depict Hindu Gods and Goddesses mainly Shiva, Parvati, Ganesha. There are other sculptures depicting the Buddha in various forms.

On our return from Sarnath, we decided to visit the silk factory of Benaras. This is where Benarasi silk is actually woven! As we set out, we were greeted by a rhythmic sound that we later found out to emanate out of the weavers using their tool. Numerous maze like lanes, some dark and some lit only by a street light that seemed to be on its death bed, took us to an old dilapidated weaving factory where we witnessed the weaving of a silk saree.

MORNING 2 Benaras is a city that comes alive in the morning and is best explored in the early hours. So we first set out for a boat ride from Assi Ghat to Manikarnika Ghat. Hand paddled boats, although more expensive, will offer you a much more authentic experience. Looking at the condition of the boats, Deepak wasn’t too keen to board one. But I insisted. Reluctantly, he boarded the boat with me. As soon as I got on the boat, I noticed floating water. I didn’t want to start wondering now if this boat was filling with water and add to Deepak’s woes. However, as the boatman started paddling, Deepak noticed the same and tried to bring it to my notice. I reassured him that the boat wouldn’t overturn. My reassurance, however, seemed to have the opposite effect on him as he, clearly, had never thought about the possibilities of the boat over turning. Deepak kept mumbling to himself that the boat was filling with water while the boatman and I ignored him. Well, his mumblings didn’t have the intended effect on me and I had to stifle a laughter. The rest of the boat ride was mostly spent in silence. The morning was cloudy, and we didn’t get a sunrise. Nevertheless, I found the boat ride quite enchanting. Manikarnika Ghat is the much coveted place where the dead are cremated. While we were approaching this ghat, a couple of cremations were going on. It is said that one who passes away in Benaras, goes directly to Shiva's abode. It may seem weird that people specially come to this holy city to breathe their last, but death is only seen as a new beginning here.
On our way back from Manikarnika, we spotted the bloated bodies of a cow and a dog who may have been inadvertently wandering about the ghats at night and had probably slipped into the river. Although the bodies of the departed souls would be fished out soon, the idea of taking a "holy" dip in the river after this sight didn't quite agree with me. I'd rather live with my unwashed "sins", I decided.

We alighted at Dashashwamedh Ghat and from there we could see the sun rising. After a cup of tea there, we decided to take a hand pulled rickshaw to a temple. What a wonderful experience that was! The time was just after dawn and as the rickshaw pulled into the narrow streets, we heard beautiful shehnai playing all along. It was not just a pleasant surprise. It was an explicable experience to be out on the streets and not hear honking horns but pure Hinduatani classical music! The memories of that morning are etched on my mind forever now. In fact, walking along the ghats will bring to your notice budding musicians holed up in corners and doing their morning riyaaz. While on a lazy stroll along the ghats in the mornings, I came across such musicians everyday.

THE SURPRISE EVENING
Our last evening at Benaras gave me an even bigger surprise. We were just wandering about from one ghat to the other when we stumbled upon Shivalik Ghat which was hosting a musical evening. Watching a musical performance in Benaras, I later realized, is in itself an experience. The crowd is extremely knowledgeable about ragas. It was an electric atmosphere as the crowd sang along to Kabir’s dohas while some burst onto impromptu dance routines. I have seen crowds swinging to rock music and Bollywood music, but never have I seen a crowd not just swinging to classical music but also singing along and cheering the musicians! I listened to some great music to my heart’s content. Good fortune had smiled at me more than once at Benaras. Benaras had left me captivated and spell bound for more reasons than one. Despite the filth, the pollution, the crowd, there’s something about this place that leaves a deep impression on you.

THE LAST DAY

On our last day at Benaras, we checked out and since our train was late in the evening, we decided to spend some time at the ghat. We found a comfortable bench and sat there observing tourists and devotees go back and forth. There was a father who bought a balloon for his child and just as the child held the string of the balloon, the balloon soared upwards and got stuck high up on the branches of a banyan tree. The child was dejected, the father bought her another balloon and they left the area. No sooner had they left, another child who presumably lived in one of the shanties near the ghat, came up with a game plan. He was carrying a balloon too and now with this balloon he was going to try and fetch the balloon that was stuck. Within a few minutes, the child had grabbed both Deepak and my attention and we found ourselves discussing if and how the child would fetch the balloon. The child kept going while Deepak and I were fervent in our commentary and making inaudible suggestions such as “a little more to the left”, “no! the balloon’s going to burst!”. Two hours passed by. The balloon was still stuck there. The boy was going for a little break after which he, I am sure, was going to resume his quest. It was time for us to leave. 
At Benaras, there never is a dull moment!

Kedarnath – The Unexpected Adventure

It was the last week of September, 2014. I didn’t have too many leaves in hand, so I decided to spend a few days in Rishikesh. It was an uneventful journey until Rishikesh and I wasn’t complaining considering that in my last trips, I had once almost missed a train and on another occasion had reached my destination dehydrated with motion sickness.

As I reached Rishikesh, I didn’t quite have any plans in mind for the next day. I met a friend there and when he asked me if I had any plans, I simply said that all I wanted to do was to sleep and would think about it in the morning.

Morning arrived and my friend came up with this wild idea of going to Kedarnath. I call it wild because we had no clue about how many kms we’d have to trek, we didn’t have enough money to rent a vehicle till the nearest road head SonPrayag / Gauri Kund and so he decided to rent a bullet for the journey. I couldn’t refuse this offer as in my entire lifetime, I had ridden pillion on a bike on only 2 occasions and that too for not more than 10km. And this was a bullet!

Before I tell you my story, let me tell you the story of the legend of Shri Kedarnath. The story dates back to the great Indian epic Mahabharata. The Pandavas (5 brothers), having slain their own brethren in the great war of Kurukshetra, decided to ask forgiveness from Lord Shiva for their deeds. Shiva, in turn, wanted to avoid the Pandavas and hence disguised himself as a bull. The Pandavas kept searching for Shiva but he was nowhere to be found. They, then, somehow came to know that Shiva had disguised himself as a bull. But to their dismay, they found that there was a large herd of bulls passing by. How were they to recognize Shiva in this herd? Bhima, the second brother, had an idea. He spread his legs across the the valley through which the bulls were passing such that the bulls had to pass under him. He knew Shiva, the Great , would never pass under him. Thus, Shiva was discovered. But Lord Shiva was not one to be fooled easily. With his great power, Shiva blasted the earth and disappeared within it. He then, emerged at 5 different places known and venerated today as the Panch Kedar (the 5 holy places in the Himalayas for the worship of Lord Shiva and a pilgrimage on its own). Shiva's hump emerged at Kedarnath. Kedarnath is also one of the 12 Jyotirlings (pillars of light) of Shiva.

We managed a good bike but it had no luggage carrier. Ugh! This meant that only one rucksack could be tied to the bike. I’d have to manage mine on my shoulders. This wasn’t good news. We were planning to go up to Guptkashi and it was a good 170 km from Rishikesh. Nevertheless, we started. The sun was up and the heat was scorching. We had forgotten to factor in the fact that until we reach the higher altitudes, we’d be travelling in the open air in the scorching heat. As I was totally new to travelling on a bike, I just tied my hair in a pony tail and didn’t bother to cover it. We stopped for a break in a restaurant just before Dev Prayag. As I looked at myself in the mirror in the washroom, I was shocked at the figure staring back at me. I have fairly straight hair but the figure staring back at me looked as if it had just been given an electric shock! When I asked my friend, he didn’t say much out of gentlemanly courtesy, but he couldn’t stifle a small giggle either. He suggested that I cover my head with a bough to avoid more such figures staring back at me. I had a hard time entangling the mess and after I had done so, I obediently covered my head.

DevPrayag

Our next pit stop was RudraPrayag for lunch. By now, we were drenched in perspiration and didn’t want to think if embarking on a bike was a good idea after all. At DevPrayag, we had moved a lot of my stuff into the rucksack that was tied to the bag, yet I was finding it difficult to carry the relatively lighter load on my back. And the heat was making it worse. We decided that we wouldn’t stop any more and would head straight to GuptKashi. We reached GuptKashi a little before dusk.

As we checked into a guest house, we chatted with the owner over tea about the route to Kedarnath. I almost got a shock when he casually mentioned that it’s a 23km trek. In the past, I had trekked more than this, but this time, I simply wasn’t in the mood for trekking that much. And we had no clue about food and staying arrangements on the way. Tired by the journey, we decided to call it a night and to start early the next day.

The next day I woke up late and cursed myself for this. It was going to be a really long day for us. We had to travel 30km on our bike to SonPrayag, park our bike there, get a medical test done and then embark on the trek. We couldn’t start earlier than 9am. The road wasn’t very good and we reached SonPrayag at about 10:15am.

Towards SonPrayag

I sat down for a cup of tea at the nearest tea stall while my friend went to part the bike. The porter charges were exorbitant (Rs 1800 / day)! And I was not in a position to carry my rucksack all the way. So we decided to put all essential stuff in one big rucksack and one small one (a spare that I always carry with myself). The medical tests were more of a formality and after we were done, we started on the trek. We came to know that there were basic lodging available at various places in the trek and so we walked without any particular stop in mind. We’d walk until we felt we could go no longer or until it would be dusk. That was our plan.

We started the trek at about 11am. We reached Gaurikund at about 12:45 am and my friend quickly had lunch. The trek from SonPrayag to Gaurikund was quite boring and the weather was very hot and humid.

Happy in the rain!

I couldn’t eat much and only sipped some tea. As I was doing so, my friend came running to me and said that we need to get out of Gaurikund by 1pm as they wouldn’t allow trekkers after that. I left my tea there and then and we made out of Gaurikund sharp at 1pm.

As we started from Gaurikund, the entire trail was laden with horse poop and the real challenge of the trek was to not stamp on it. It started drizzling after a while and I didn’t know if I should complain. While the rain brought respite to the heat, it also made the poop trickle down thus making it difficult to not stamp on it. We took a short break at Jungle Chhatti and resumed our trek. Avoiding horse poop and incoming ponies, we made it to Bhimballi by 3:00pm. We were hungry now and had to take a decision if we wanted to go further. The trail from Bhimballi looked steep and the next stop was Limchouli about 6km away. Bhimballi looked to me like a forlorn village and its very sight helped me to take the decision of going to Limchouli. We had a quick lunch and started from Bhimballi at 3:30pm.

Bhimballi to Limchouli

To be honest, the trail until Bhimballi was nothing to write to home about save the oodles of shit strewn around the route. However, the thing to marvel at was the stupendous work done by the team from Nehru Institute of Mountaineering in restoring the route after it was destroyed in the 2013 floods. As we started climbing up from Bhimballi, the valley started becoming picturesque. At times, in order to get rid of the monotony of the perfectly paved trail, we took short cuts on muddy trails and grassy lands.

On the way to Limchouli from Bhimballi

Limchouli

Limchouli was soon at sight. This stretch was quite steep and tired us. We reached Limchouli at 5:30pm and decided to go no further.

Accommodation in Limchouli is dormitory style. There are no private rooms available. There is a dining room where for a fixed rate, a decent meal is available. We finally felt cold at night and slept quite early. We decided to leave early the next morning, mainly to avoid ponies on the way.




As I woke up the next morning, I was granted the first views of the mountains and suddenly the world seemed more beautiful, life felt less complicated and the rat race seemed immaterial. Oh! Why do the mountains have such opium like effect!

The first view!

Approaching Kedarnath

                                             

Accommodation

After breakfast, we started for Kedarnath. It was steep but not tiring. We walked at leisure because it was only about 5km from Limchouli. As we were on our way, we saw helicopters zooming in the air transporting pilgrims to Kedarnath. This was a very viable option for Senior Citizens and ailing pilgrims still wishing to catch a glimpse of Lord Kedarnath. We also saw a couple of pilgrims on ponies glued to their tablets. These were the pilgrims who didn’t believe in the Pilgrim’s Progress. We reached Kedarnath at just around noon. Again accommodation here was dormitory style and just as we checked into our room, there was heavy rain. I wasn’t complaining.

We freshened up and when the rain stopped we decided to pay a visit to the temple. The temple is located at least 500meters away from the accommodation area. As I walked towards it, I could see the scars that were left upon this place in the 2013 floods. Tons of debris still to be cleared, houses and shops still buried under heaps of rubble. I wondered if bodies were still buried in there. As if reading my thoughts, a local said that more bodies (or skeletons) would be recovered once these were cleared. Work was on in full swing, but the workers were helpless when confronted with Nature. They had a very small window of time when work could actually take place, with snowfall and rains taking up a lion’s share of the year.

As we approached towards the temple, we were first greeted by Lord Shiva’s best friend, Nandi, The Bull. Nandi always stands guard wherever Lord Shiva resides. What is more interesting about this is that during the Himalayan Tsunami of 2013, Nandi was fully buried under the debris for days. When the rubble was cleared, there was not a single scratch on his body!

 As I was admiring this, I was ushered inside the temple by a priest and before I knew what was happening, I saw myself offering flowers, milk and water to Lord Shiva. Inside the sanctum sanctorum, there were stone carvings of the Pandavas from the epic Mahabharata. The most striking feature was that there was a carving of Lord Krishna as well, but in a meditative mood / posture. Lord Krishna is usually never found in this state anywhere.


We then went behind the temple and what you behold there sort of restores your faith, your belief in the fact that there surely is an Almighty somewhere. The temple would’ve been completely destroyed in the Himalayan Tsunami of 2013 had it not been for this gigantic boulder. As the cloud burst occurred on that fateful day, boulders of the size of small cars came hurtling down a high mountain top along with water mixed with slush from the Gandhi Sarovar (a lake about 3km just behind the temple). This particular boulder happened to position itself in such a way right behind the temple that the flow of water was directed on either sides of the temple! The locals now worship this huge stone as Bhim Shila (Bhim is one of the Pandavas known for his great physical strength and devotion to Lord Shiva; Shila means Stone). For me, that boulder was the highlight of the trip.

Bhim Shila (Monolith) right behind the Kedarnath Temple

The region was now covered by clouds and we were denied the view of the great mountains rising above the temple. With all these years of travelling in the mountains, I knew it was futile to sulk or complain at not having got a view of the mountains. They’ll show themselves only when they feel like. So we went into our rooms and rested for a while. In the evening, when I came out for a cup of tea, the clouds were still there and it had started raining. It was getting cold now. Two cups of tea and a couple of hot samosas (an Indian savoury) later, we went to the temple to witness the evening arati (worship).

It was getting even colder as the evening progressed. The rain didn’t help matters. We decided to go directly to the food canteen. We ate a very humble dinner and called it a night soon.

 We woke up early the next morning and packed our bags. We decided to visit the temple one last time before embarking on our return trek. And just as we were approaching the temple, we caught a glimpse of the mountains. That view where the temple is flanked by the majestic mountains… Mission accomplished!

Mission Accomplished!

Like two happy children, we found that there was a spring in our step and we came down to SonPrayag in no time.

Triyugi Narayan temple

Again, we had no immediate plans except that we needed to have lunch. It felt very hot and humid at SonPrayag. Over lunch, we decided to visit a temple called “Triyugi Narayan”. It was about 12km from SonPrayag. According to legend, this is the temple where the Indian God Shiva and Goddess Parvati got married. It is believed that the sacred wedding pyre burns to this day! And a priest keeps offering wood for burning on the pyre such that it never extinguishes. We found that there were many couples offering wood to this fire. That is the beauty of India… you find such lovely stories attached to many places you may visit.

From the Triyugi Narayan temple, we hopped on to our bike. We still had a couple of days in hand. We decided we’d go to Tunganath and Chandrashila. But that is another story!

Things to know before you plan:

1. Number of days needed is 5 
2. Total trekking days is 3
3. Maximum altitude reached is 3584m
4. Best time to visit is May-June and End August to Diwali (End October) 
5. You can reach Kedarnath on a helicopter too which leaves from a helipad at Phata near Guptkashi. The to and fro cost comes to around INR 7000

For a detailed itinerary and package inquiries, please visit Real Adventure Gangotri

And Then I was on Tapovan Top!

I was devoid of the usual nervousness that I encounter each time I embark on a solo trip simply because I was almost sure I wouldn’t make it till Tapovan.

The great Shivling

                                          
For the uninitiated, Tapovan is an alpine meadow located at an altitude of 14500feet above sea level in the Gangotri Valley of the Himalayas in Uttarakhand. It is also the base camp of Mount Shivling. It is a 23km trek from Gangotri and takes one across the Gangotri National Park and one of the most ferocious Himalayan glaciers in the world, the Gangotri glacier. The 5km stretch from Gaumukh to Tapovan is the most challenging one as one has to literally walk over the Gangotri  glacier dodging crevasses and moraines which dangerously lurk beneath seemingly well-held rock boulders, which give way no sooner one steps on them.  The glacier changes its nature often and there is no fixed trail. The easiest part of this stretch is only TO LOSE YOUR WAY! The services of an experienced guide are a must as also is to keep altitude sickness at bay which affects most trekkers at the first stop (Bhojbasa) itself. All in all, any Himalayan trekker’s life is incomplete without trekking to Tapovan.

I had already made arrangements for a guide. However, I insisted on having not just a trekking guide but an experienced mountaineer. Mountaineers have this uncanny ability to push one to reach a destination and can also spot any signs of altitude sickness that one may be experiencing but unable to comprehend. Mountaineers are also very authoritative when it comes to making decisions as to when it is right to not go further or retreat depending on the trekker’s progress which is essential since one of the effects of altitude sickness is the loss of decision making abilities and a trekker may not be in a position to decide for himself/herself the right course of action. I, thus, chose Real Adventure Gangotri , RAG (www.realadventuregangotri.in) to arrange for the trek and insisted that its owner, Deepak Rana, himself accompany me.

I always carry tetra pack juices and chocolates with me when going on a trek but if you’re going with RAG, it’s a waste really as they’ll themselves carry these for you. It was a last minute decision to buy myself two packs of Glucon D and I later realized how right that decision was.  Rucksack packed, I set out on my journey – my first solo trek. I took a flight to Delhi. As luck would have it, the flight was delayed, so much so, that catching the Nanda Devi Express the same night was becoming a close call. I was almost in tears as I boarded the flight. I quickly began to think of Plan Bs if I truly ended up missing my flight. I came up with a decent Plan B but was praying that I didn’t have to employ it. I reached Delhi airport at a time when the metro services were already closed for the day. This was getting too close.  I prayed for my baggage to arrive quickly. Once it had, I sped out of the airport and hired a Meru cab. I had only about 30min until my train’s departure. I told this to the driver and on hearing it, it almost seemed as if he had made it his life’s mission to help me catch my train. I boarded the train with 5min to spare and I literally had my heart in my mouth.

I reached Haridwar the next morning at 4am. I had already hired a cab to take me to Uttarkashi. I later realized that this was an unnecessary expenditure. The better way to go to Uttarkashi is to get down at Dehradun itself (the last stop of the train) and get into a hired jeep until Uttarkashi. It is absolutely safe and way cheaper. My cab arrived at 5am at Haridwar and I was pissed off on losing a whole hour. Nevertheless, we started and I caught the first glimpse of the Himalayas when we were just entering Chamba. I’ve never quite understood what it is with the Himalayas. One glance at them and it has just a calming effect on one’s body and mind. We were only 30km from Uttarkashi when the car had a breakdown. The driver took 30min to inspect it and came up with the news that it’d take at least a couple of hours if not more to fix it! It felt pathetic to say the least. It was scorching hot and there I was in the middle of a dusty road with a rucksack and a broken car. I announced to him that I’d be moving ahead on my own and paid him his dues. After an hour of standing in the heat and dust, I managed to flag down a jeep that was going to Uttarkashi. I reached Uttarkashi at 1pm and enquired for rooms in Hotel Bhandari (it is bank opposite to the petrol pump). It is a very basic hotel with clean rooms for Rs 400 a day. You can also find single bedded rooms for Rs 200 but they were all taken. I accepted whichever room was available, had lunch, called up my mom informing her that I was safe and went off to sleep. I was so tired!

I woke up in the evening and

A lady offering prasad to devotees outside the temple

went for a stroll outside. I visited the Kashi Vishwanath temple in Uttarkashi and went on to meet few fellow trekkers who were also going to Gangotri the next day. 

Kashi Vishwanath Temple

 I came back to my hotel and went off to sleep after dinner. Deepak advised me to leave as early as 6am the next day and get into a shared jeep to Gangotri. The next morning I missed the 6am deadline. I went to the shared jeep stand and heard someone shouting Gangotri. As I went to him, he put my rucksack on the top of the jeep and asked me to sit inside while he went on to look for more passengers. There was a couple sitting beside me who I overheard were talking about things they’d like to do after reaching Mussourie. Their conversation planted a seed of doubt in my mind and I couldn’t help but ask them where this jeep was going to. They promptly said “Dehradun”.  I was at my wits’ end! I called out to the driver, asked him to take out my rucksack and gave him a earful for putting me in his jeep.  I was told by others that the jeep to Gangotri was further ahead. I reached the point and boarded the jeep. I was the first passenger and it was 7:15am. It took the jeep more than 2 hours to be filled and we finally left at 9:30am.

The journey from Uttarkashi to Gangotri is a beautiful one.

Beautiful Harsil Valley

On the winding way, one comes across Gangnani which is famous for its hot springs. One also passes through Harsil, a small picturesque village 25km before Gangotri. There is a view point in Harsil and the Himalayan valleys with the Bhagirathi flowing between them look stunning. Gangotri is only 95km from Uttarkashi but it took us almost 5hrs to reach there.  
Deepak met me at the Gangotri bus stand and helped me check into a hotel. It had a clean bed and bathroom just what was needed at that moment. Hot water is readily available.

Surya Kund

Later in the afternoon, Deepak took me to some places such as the Surya Kund and the Pandava Gufa.  There were beautiful rock formations at the Surya Kund. 

We returned back in time for the evening arati at the Gangotri temple and the Bhagirathi (which later, is known as the Ganges). As the arati (worship with fire) of the Bhagirathi began, it was a spiritually charged atmosphere and it is impossible not to feel disconnected from the world then.

Ganga Arati in Gangotri

I had planned to stay 2 nights at Gangotri for acclimatization. Gangotri itself is at 10000ft above sea level, so the trek starts at that height making acclimatization all the more important. I retired early that night and slept well.
I spent the next day loitering around the National Park. As evening approached, I met Deepak to know when we were leaving the next day and he gave me the biggest shock that I could ever get. He said that I’d have to carry my rucksack myself during the trek as the porter would only carry the food articles, tents, mattresses etc. Although, I was expected to carry items for only 2 nights, it was still a lot for me because I was suffering from a chronic neck and shoulder pain (common work place hazard!) and was strictly advised against carrying any load for a long time. I didn’t say anything to him but he was kind enough to accommodate the warm (and hence heavy) stuff with himself and the porter. I went to bed with a lot of stress on my mind. The next day we were to start at 8am but I woke up quite late. I got ready quickly but we still couldn’t start before 8:45am. I cannot express in words how nervous I was that day. The trek starts by climbing a few steep steps from the Temple Road. With the rucksack on my back, I was heaving and puffing after climbing only a few steps. And just like it happens when you lack confidence, I felt that the porters and other trekkers were all laughing at me. I cursed myself for being so stupid as to undertake a trek like this and that too alone. I was putting each foot forward with such nervousness that all I wanted was someone to tell me to go back.

I reached the check post of the Gangotri National Park (about 2km away) with the burden of a rucksack and immense self doubt. As Deepak went into the office to submit a few papers, I just hung my head down and didn't even bother to look around. 

But as soon as I started from the check post, the entire valley opened up before me with the Bhagirathi flowing below the valley. It was nature at its best and it was at that very moment that all self doubt vanished. I told myself that I’d be happy even if I made it only until Chirbasa, such was the captivating beauty of the place. And this was only the beginning!

The Valley after crossing the Gangotri national parl checkpost

On the way to Chirbasa

On the way to Chirbasa

After walking for 5km more, I began to feel immense pain on my shoulders. I knew I could carry the rucksack no more. I told this to Deepak and he was very kind enough to carry my rucksack along with his. 
 One can start feeling the rising altitude as Chirbasa approaches. Chirbasa is at an altitude of 3600m. The vegetation becomes sparse and all one can see are the mighty Himalayas towering above almost as if they were watching over you. There are stretches which are completely over boulders and one has to be extremely careful in negotiating these boulders. No one wants a twisted ankle! What I found interesting here is that you simply cannot just marvel at the beauty of the mountain peaks and trek simultaneously. You need to pause and be stationary if you want to admire the beauty of the surrounding nature, otherwise, you could easily take a wrong step and well, you do not want to think about where that wrong step would lead you to! Being a novice trekker, I found the 9km trek fairly challenging. We reached Chirbasa at 1pm, a decent enough time. We were supposed to break for lunch here. Deepak sensed that I was tired and suggested that we camp here for the day but I insisted on going until Bhojbasa (5km away). Camping at Chirbasa would have meant trekking an extra 5km the next day and I wanted to avoid that.

The boulder laden trail

We had a lunch of aloo parathas, chocolate and juice. This was very refreshing. We resumed our trek to Bhojbasa (3780m)at around 1:40pm.
Besides the fact that this trail too was boulder laden, there were a couple of rock fall zones too in this stretch. We surpassed large boulders, some as large as a sedan. We found fellow trekkers on the way already feeling the effects of altitude and again some trekkers feeling nothing at all and taking big strides to their destination.


  The rock – fall zones are areas where the wind speed is so great that it dislodges boulders hanging precariously on the mountain walls, thus causing them to roll down. Remember that while on the one side you have the mountain walls, the other side is a steep valley and if one such dislodged rock were to hit you, you’d have a 100ft fall at least. It takes immense agility and alertness to dodge these falling rocks and that’s when you’ll either thank yourself for having a good guide or curse yourself for not having one. This is also why it is necessary to start the trek early so that this region can be crossed by noon time. The weather in the Himalayas is very unpredictable post noon.

One has to cross a few streams on the way to Bhojbasa. There were asbestos planks laid across a couple of streams that have a relatively strong current. For the others, the rocks made it convenient to walk across them.

Catching my breath and soaking in the views

That pole was really not necessary

I walked in stark silence with the only sounds of my breath and my footsteps. This silence was occasionally broken by sounds which seem as though there were blasts going on somewhere far away. These are nothing but boulders dislodging themselves from the opposite side of the valley. Experiencing these sounds coupled with the sound of the Bhagirathi roaring across the valley is so divine that one is completely oblivious to the physical strain and exhaustion that one is going through. We crossed 2 such rock fall zones and finally arrived at our destination for the day, Bhojbasa at 4pm.

Bhojbasa

The Bhagirathi

The Bhagirathi group of peaks welcomed us at Bhojbasa. There were already a few trekkers there who had begun to feel the effects of altitude and some of them who were supposed to start for Tapovan that day had stayed back. But I didn’t want to think about the next day just now. Accommodation at Bhojbasa was very basic with a dormitory style tent to sleep in. The beds were clean and comfortable. However, after this hard day’s trek, you wouldn’t really mind tugging into any bed. There is a GMVN guest house also nearby but I opted for this one as it was quite cheap. 

One can hear the Bhagirathi flowing close by. It’s flow is so fast and furious that it almost seemed to me as if the Ganges from the plains had made an SOS to the Bhagirathi to cleanse her of the dirt of both body and mind being dumped into her every day. 

We had a steaming cup of coffee and then went to a nearby ashram (Baba Nirmal Das) where a man who sang bhajans lived. We listened to the bhajans for a while and as evening approached, we came back to our tent.

Bhagirathi Group of Peaks at night

I sat there on a bench and as night fell, I beheld a stunning view. It was a night with clear skies and with no electricity, the snow covered peaks of the Bhagirathi rose majestically against the backdrop of the night sky. Dinner was a modest khichdi and we retired to bed early. I was unable to sleep for the whole night partially due to the altitude probably and more so because of my nervousness for the next day. Although I knew that going until Gaumukh itself was an achievement, in my heart of hearts I knew that I’d be utterly disappointed if I couldn’t make it till Tapovan.

First glimpse of Shivling

I woke up the next morning with an upset stomach. It was the last thing that I had wanted. I only had a cup of tea with a few biscuits for breakfast. Deepak said that I must eat more as the trek ahead would be challenging and exhausting. But I decided to remain on fluids. It was a 5km trek up to Tapovan. We would be gaining almost 1000m today and this was quite something at this altitude. We started at around 7:45 am. For the first 2km or so, the trail was quite leveled. After walking for around 1.5hrs, the great Mt. Shivling made its appearance. Oh! What a wonderful sight it was! If the Kanchenjunga looks like the Sleeping Buddha, then the Shivling from that angle almost looks like the face of Lord Ganesha. What a grand mountain peak! And you wonder why sages since time immemorial have meditated in the Himalayas to achieve enlightenment. Gazing at the Shivling, it almost felt embarrassing that we fret and complain about things like commuting to office, performance, appraisals, home rents, inflation. Such things seemed so small at that moment that I was astonished that we actually waste precious time in thinking about these issues. 

Gaumukh

In about 45min more time, we reached Gaumukh.  This is the source of the Ganges although, the source does not really look like a cow’s snout as the name suggests. This is because global warming has melted the glacier and it no longer has its original form.

The trail leading to Tapovan from Gaumukh!

The trail from Gaumukh to Tapovan cannot really be called a trail. Broken rocks, pebbles, boulders are spread over the whole area. This is the stretch where one is more likely to come across crevasses and moraines. Traversing that stretch is an experience in itself as I remember myself climbing up most of the time and at times, holding onto one rock for support to climb up. I was feeling extremely thirsty and the bottle of glucose that I had was finishing up fast. We broke at a point for lunch (above 1.5 – 2km before Tapovan). I was unable to really eat anything as I was feeling extremely thirsty and exhausted too. I had only 2 slices of bread, cucumber and a chocolate. We resumed. This last lap was undoubtedly the most exhausting as well as challenging of all. We were now only climbing up. And Deepak said that now we wouldn’t be able to take long rest breaks (My rest breaks were only for 5min). I, probably, paused after walking every 2minutes. But the pauses were not more than 30secs just enough to gather your breath. In many places, rocks came down rolling but thankfully, these weren’t large in size and we were able to dodge them. The trail is so slippery (being a typical scree zone) that it is advisable to not halt in this trail.

See the blue water body? That's where we had to climb up from!

That's the Akash Ganga from a distance

We, soon, reached the Akash Ganga flowing down with great force. When Deepak said that we would have to cross this, I thought that this is the end of my trek. I simply told him that I cannot do this. He reassured me saying that the flow today was quite mild. I didn’t want to even imagine how this is crossed when the flow would be strong in his words. But going back now would be equivalent to a crime! – A crime for which I’d never forgive myself. Deepak asked me to follow his footsteps. I looked neither up nor down and did just that, stepping on the very stones that he had stepped on. When I had crossed it and looked back I couldn’t believe that I had just done that. 

After crossing the Akash ganga

After crossing the Akash Ganga, I almost felt as if I was climbing a wall. My mouth and nostrils were full of dust. My hands were dirty with holding on to rocks for support. I felt grateful that I had invested in a good pair of hiking shoes rather than wearing my sneakers as usual. After what seemed like an eternity, Deepak suddenly told me to look up. 




 

A Dream Finally Comes True

The great Shivling stood right in front of me. It was simply a grand sight! And finally, I was on Tapovan top. 

I had made it! I simply didn’t know how to react. That dream that I had been weaving since almost 2 years had finally come true!

All I wanted to do after reaching Tapovan was to drink water and wash my hands and face clean. We had to walk on a fair bit of snow even at that time of the year. We went to Mauni baba’s ashram. He is thus called as he has taken a vow of silence since the last 7 years. He communicates via signs and although it was difficult to comprehend him when I met him, I soon was able to understand what he was trying to convey by his signs. We made good “conversation” for the 2 days that I was at Tapovan.

Mauni Baba is an excellent cook and it seems that he completely believes in the adage “Atithi Devo bhava”. The care and love with which he served us the food which he had cooked himself can be compared to only how a mother serves food to her family.

Neela tal

After lunch I went inside my tent and rested for a while. In the evening we explored the meadow for a while and had dinner right after sunset. It didn’t take me very long to fall asleep. It had been a hard day, after all!

We woke up early the next morning to view the sunrise on Mt. Shivling. The sun’s first rays fall on the tip of the Shivling and that’s when this peak truly resembles a shivling. After breakfast, we left for a short trek to Neela Tal (literally, Blue Lake). It’s a mountain lake which has crystal blue waters and the fortunate ones also get to see the reflection of the Shivling in its waters. Neela Tal is about 1.5 km from Tapovan. But at that altitude, it seemed

Climb to Neela tal

 endless. Again there was no trail really and we were walking on scree zones, loose rocks and this time the wind was blowing furiously. The sun simply scorches you at that altitude, yet, you cannot let go of your wind cheaters as the wind is very cold. I took it easy today. As I had the whole day to myself, I trekked to Neela Tal taking all my time. It took us about an hour to reach Neela Tal. The lake, although not too big, is very beautiful and stays true to its name of bearing a sky blue color. It was extremely cold near the lake and after spending about 15min there we traced our way back to our camp. I rested for a while after lunch.

Shivling towards sunset

In the evening today, we were granted the beautiful night view of Mt. Shivling. In the night sky, the Shivling looked even closer to the naked eye. It was much colder on the second night than the first. We had an early dinner and I went off to sleep early. It was difficult to sleep though as it was very cold.

The next morning, we explored the area a bit more and soon it was time for us to leave this sacred place. We started our descent at around 12:30pm. Not a good time to start but I wanted to postpone the descent for as long as possible. The descent was horrible. I couldn’t grab a steady foothold on that steep slope that was nothing but loose soil and small rocks. I had Deepak leading me and the porter covering me from the back. I am glad they had this arrangement as I was saved twice by the porter from falling backwards.

After climbing down that surface, we had to cross the Akash Ganga again. This time its force was much higher than while coming here. Crossing it was the most terrifying part of the whole trek.

Bhojbasa

I kept climbing down and in some time reached Bhojbasa. Just as I reached, the weather turned itself and it started raining. I was saved from the rain, thankfully.

 Sitting at Bhojbasa, the feeling of actually coming back from Tapovan had still not sunk in. But I felt as if I could conquer the world at that moment!








The next day, we trekked back to Gangotri. I checked into the guest house and refreshed myself with a hot bath,  It was only after I called up my family and close friends and listening to their reactions, I realized that this was some achievement.
All through my journey back to Mumbai, all I could think of was Tapovan. 

It is very difficult to explain the feeling of achieving something you have set your heart on for a long time. Amongst the many other things, it reinstates your Faith in your own Self and in Life.
All I knew is that I had gone there empty handed and I had returned with a lap full of presents, presents that were for a lifetime!

Things to know before you plan:

1. Number of days needed is10
2. Total trekking days is 5
3. Maximum altitude reached is 4463m
4. Best time to visit is May-June and End August to Diwali (End October) 
5. Take a shared jeep from Dehradun to Uttarkashi and then a shared jeep from Uttarkashi to Gangotri. 

For a detailed itinerary and package inquiries, please visit Gaumukh Tapovan Trek