It had started to rain when I left home at 5Pm on October 6th. My cousin and I had registered for the trek. Both of us left my home in taxi to reach BMC Indria Nagar by 5:50PM. We started in the Tempo arranged for the journey by 6:50PM. By then the rain had started pouring heavily. There was one more pickup at Silkboard Junction. By the time we left Bangalore city limits, it was passed 9PM - due to heavy rain the and terrible traffic inside Bangalore city.
After a long drive, we reached kurangani by 6AM. Its a small village adjacent to western ghats mountain in Bodi district, Tamil Nadu. The village has a very small population and people were awake by 6:30 in the streets. A small place was arranged to get fresh after which we went to have breakfast in a small hotel at the village. By 7:45 am we were ready with our packed lunch to start the trek.
It was a group of 8 people and 2 guides for this trek. We walked for 5 mins to reach a place where we had a short briefing and introduction session. After the briefing we started the trek to reach a forest check-post in few mins. We has to enter name and contact details of all the participants.
It was 8AM when we started from there. It started with a small ascent and covered with trees. The trek path was a mix of rocks and sand which is well settled and firm soil. It was not straight and had turns as the trail leads with the great view of mountains on the sides.
The Mountains
It was quite sunny by then in that place but the trek route was under nice shade. We reached the first water point which is a nice waterfall by 8:40 where we took the first break.
There is a small rocky slope which we climbed to get a good view of the fall .
Waterfall
We started again after a break of 15 mins.
Lots of butterflies and dragon flies were seen around.
The Flies Around
Lots of flowers were seen as well. There were stretches where the morning glory were grown wild and beautiful.
Blue flowers grown wild
By 9:25AM were crossed another water stream!! There were many coffee plants seen which were not cultivated but grown wild. The local villagers plucks these coffee seeds, dry them and sell in the local market as well.
Coffee Beans
By 10AM we reached a small house where we took another break of 10 minutes.
Coffee beans for sun drying in front of the house
The next stop was expected to be Center station which is kind of midpoint to Top Station. The trek was under tree cover till just before reaching center station. Then we exit out into a beautiful hill top with great view of the mountains surrounding.
View of mountain before reaching center station
We enjoyed the view for a short while and then proceed towards center station, where we had our packed lunch. The Center station is a small village. After the lunch, i got few very good shots of butterflies and couple of birds.
Butterfly
Butterfly
The entire trek had lots of birds but those were very very sensitive. The slight sound of people were driving them away. This most common in that area was the Red-Whiskered Bulbul.
BulBul
The trek route was bit more tougher after the center station point. The route was bit steep and uneven ground. The tree cover is lost and we were in the open sun. It was bright and sunny for almost an hour after we started from Center Station. Then is started to get more better and we started seeing misty clouds at a distance.
The initial path when were were climbing from Center Station we saw lots of "kurinji flower". This blooms the complete western ghats once in 12 years and every year there will be a very less flowers seen in patches. Also the size of flowers will be bigger on every 12th year.
kurinji flower - Next full Bloom in 2018
I was able to shoot a white-eyes as well on the path. Though i had to struggle to get a shot as they were very sensitive.
White Eyes
Soon we started seeing more villagers on the narrow path. We were reaching closer to Top Station. The last 1KMs had lots of huts and villagers living on the trek path.
Finally after a nice trek of ~9KMs we reached Top Station. We took a break at a tea shop and had snacks tea. It had already become very misty by then.
I had lots of Pineapples which are sold at on the road leading to the view point along with other fruits. It was very misty, but still as a checklist item we entered the view point and came back after seeing the misty view.
We started out unending 2KMs walk to our camp site - every kilometer we were told only 200mtrs more :D ...but finally after walking through the beautiful tea garden we reached the camp sight.
Tea Garden View
We reached the misty and cold camp sight by 4:50PM. It was supposed to have a great view of the mountains but for the time we could see only mist. There were tents setup already for us. It was a nice environment. We got some hot tea and relaxed in the camp. Few of the guys went into the tent for rest after the tiring trek for the day.
The guides started the camp fire preparation by 7PM and we had a nice warm fire for dinner. Thanks to the clouds for not pouring heavy rain on us!!!
The fire
The dinner was arranged a local helper brought at the camp sight. After the tasty dinner and reaxing beside the fire, we all called the day off planning to wakup by 6AM.
The close of day!!!!
I wokeup by 6AM on Sunday morning after a very satisfying sleep. The clear weather and dawn sky gave great energy along with the chirping birds.
Morning View from the tent
The early morning view was very very refreshing to start the day.
We got the breakfast served at the camp sight. The food was good. After freshup we started the trek by 8AM. The weather was just prefect and there was a minor drizzle when we started. Not strong for us to take our raincoats out. The morning view of the tea garden and the mountain was just perfect.
The return trek route was the same for the initial 2 KMs. Then we deviated out into a different trail which turned out to be much better. It was a climb down via the open mountain but still each instance we feel as-if we are on top of the mountain. It was much more scenic than the previous route. This route might not be possible if it was raining, also this was slightly tougher as it has more uneven ground in sections.
And there were long grass on the route as well!!!
Finally after a nice trek with multiple breaks we reached the a village named "Muduvakudi".
It took a bit more time then expected as there was a minor leg twist for one participant. Hence we did not trek down from this village for the final 3km instead we hired a jeep. The local guide ran down to Kurangani to call the jeep for us.
We spend about an hour in this village . This was a very unique village as told by our guide. Its a very old adivasi settlement . Its a very close community and even the language seems to be different from other South Indian language - Interesting !!!
Finally after a very nice trek we reached Kurangani by 2:50PM and started our return journey after a short break. We took break for Lunch and Dinner on the way and reached bangalore by around midnight 12:30.
Credits:
Thanks to Bangalore Mountaineering Club for organizing this trek.
Thanks to Shamanth from BMC for Guiding and Supporting everyone in the group
Thanks to Mari - Very nice and humble person being our Local guide for this trek.
The day started with a good darshan at Badrinath temple. It was a cloudy morning. The group had breakfast by 8am and started our journey to Rishikesh by 9AM.
The road was very Misty for about 30 minutes. The visibility was very low. It was cleared up soon but we got stuck in few places where road clearing was going on. While crossing in one of the landslide prone area we did see few sand and pebbles sliding thru, it seemed risky for us but driver waited for a minute and then drive thru.
We took a break at 10:30 at Govind Ghat. Proceeding again our journey was very slow when compared to the earlier drive. We got stuck in traffic in few places where road clearing/road work was happening.
It was hot and sunny day. We stopped for lunch at 12:45pm at pipalkoti.
This route was exactly the route where we traces Alakananda upstream. The only spot of interest was the Rudra Prayag which the driver had told we would see during return journey. We just took a glance of the prayag from vehicle itself and then proceeded further. It was 4:35 in the evening when we crossed Rudra prayag.
Finally after couple of more breaks, we reached the resort by 8:30pm. I had booked with few friends in the resort at Shivpuri which is 10kms before Rishikesh.
Date: 25th August 2017
This day was planned as rest day ater the long trek. Also just to be used as a buffer incase if Badrinath return travel had some delays due to road conditions. Morning time was spend in the resort just relaxing in the raining weather. We visited Vashishta gufa and then went to Ganga beach for taking bath in flowing water.It was a refreshing feeling.
Date: 26th August 2017
It was time to return back to Bangalore. With lots of memories, i left Rishikesh by 8:30AM. I reached home at 6:30PM after a long day of travel and transit at Delhi airport.
This being my first trip to the Himalayan area, this was definitely "The Experience Of Life"
The group was ready for the last trek by 5:15AM. For a change we were waiting for the leads to come, and we had tea in that time. We started the trek down by 5:30AM. The plan was to trek down as fast as possible so that we have the day ahead to visit Mana and then return to Badrinath.
No camera - this was the thumb rule to increase the speed and we did strictly follow that!!
At 7:45AM we reached the break point. We had breakfast at the same place where we took food during the 1st day of trek. The group continued the trek by 8:35AM. Finally at 9:20AM we reached the point where our luggage was dropped off by mules. This was the easiest trek in the trip, i am sure its the same for the entire group. The Leads were surprised by our pace and that we reached the destination by 9:30.
The Leads had arranged the same tempo traveller to take us back till Rishikesh the next day after visiting Mana Village and Badrinath. We came to know that due to heavy rain, the road towards Badrinath was closed for last 3 days and its had reopened just the previous night.
Thus by we started the Journey to the last village in India - "Mana Village".
We continue to drive along the Alakananda upstream. This is a continuation after the journey from Rishikesh to Govind Ghat on 19th. The router is very scenic. Its also landslide prone. There are 2-3 places in the entire distance from Govind Ghat to Mana village where its landslide prone. There are guards controlling the traffic and inspecting the place to ensure safety.
The above video is one such place!!!The road overall is very good apart from these few spots. There are many waterfalls on the way.
We reached Mana Village at 11:50AM. This village has lots of significance.
This is the last village in India beyond which its area controlled by Army till Tibet Border.
The Village entrance.
The Village has very different architecture and building constructions.
Houses under repair at the village.
The garden in the village is really beautiful, both floral and vegetables.
This is the only place where we can visibly see the River Saraswati. It originates from the Himalayas and merges with Alakananda at Mana. This river has great significance both by India Mythology as well as scientifically.After the confluence, its said that river saraswati can be differentiated which flows as under-current. This river finally merged into the Ganga.
The Triveni Sangam at Allahabad which is a confluence of 3 rivers - the Ganga, The Yamuna and the Invisible Saraswati which is seen only at Mana.
Apart from this, Mana village has 3 sports which is of great importance in Indian mytholgy.
The Bheem Pul - Its a single Rock made like a bridge. Its supposed too be a rock put by Bheem as mentioned in scriptures.
Bheem Pul
There is Vyas Gufa and Ganesh Gufa in the same place. These are 2 caves about a kilometer apart. As per Indian scriptures, these are the caves where Veda Vyasa and Lord Ganesh lived. Vyasa is supposed to have lived this entire life in this place and hence this becomes the place where he has done all his vedic compilations. This makes the place very sacred.
Part of the group had split here to see the saraswati waterfall whereas few of us spend time in the village itself. We had lunch - Maggi and a special herbal juice called "Bburaz". The remaining group came back fast as the waterfall was really far off and it was getting late.
The group exited Mana village at 2:45PM and checked-in at Badrinath by 3:15PM.
We went to TapKund - the hot spring just adjacent to Badrinath temple. There is a man made Kund where people are not entering , probably the water was too hot for anyone to venture directly. There is a separate Gents and ladies section. We took bath in the steaming hot water - and we had to mix some cold water which was available there. It was a very refreshing. The group reached hotel to keep the wet cloths by 4:30PM and just before we were about to go to temple, we got a clear site of Nilkanth Mountain. Its a snow cap mountain behind Badrinath and the other side of it is Kedarnath. The clear view lasted only for 15 mins and after which the clouds covered it off..
Nilkanth
We went to Badrinath temple by 5PM. We were at the temple till 6:30PM. The crowd was less and we got good darshan.
Panoramic shot of bridge leading to temple. Alakananda flowing below and hot spring is visible on the right side
Badrinath temple
We did some shopping in the streets and bargained a lot. The prices were high but we got good deals to satisfaction after bargaining. After dinner at hotel we dispursed to start early next day morning.
After two days of tiring trek, I woke up by 6AM for the valley of flowers visit. After the breakfast, we started the trek by 7:45AM. The first 1KM is the same view as the previous day where we start our trek with the view of Lakshman Ganga flowing through Ganghria. We reach the 1st checkpoint at 8AM. The Valley was open in time since the weather was clear overnight and no rain. The trek forked towards the valley direction leaving behind all the Hemkund pilgrims.
At 8:05AM we reached the check-point where the registration needs to be done. The Leads had collected the Name, Age and Address of all the group to be submitted at the registration office. This registration needs to be checked while existing to ensure all the guests have exited the valley by evening.
The Valley of flowers is a UNESCO world heritage site. The valley is
completely guarded and mules are not allowed. There are no commercial shops allowed as well. We had carried our packed lunch due to this reason.
The trek started with slight drizzle but it cleared when we reached the registration point. The scenic view of the path and the river flowing continues to be a delight to watch. This was much like a trek route and very different compared to the Hemkund ascend. No Mules, No Pilgrims and narrow path!! For people who cant walk, there are people waiting with carriers where they carry people on the back. I was fascinated with these people and had a casual enquiry - I was surprised to hear that they can carry people up-to 90kgs in their back.
We crossed 2 bridges , 1st one immediately after the checkpost, and the 2nd one at 8:50AM
Temporary bridge
Weak Bridge
There are couple of points which turns dangerous if the valley had rained overnight. The water level rises and bridges might be washed away. Apart from couple of landslide prone ares in the path as well.Due to this reason the valley wont be opened unless the security inspects these key points before the start of the day!!
We continues out slow walk along the trek route. The entire route was full of flowers.
Flowers on the way
Apart from these flowers, there were few wild fruits also growing there.
Looks like wild verity of pomegranate
Pine fruit - Local name Raga
The entire route was full of these balsam like flowers which the local people call it dog flower - the reason being the design in the leafs resembles dog shit!!!!
Dog flower
After the long walk with one break at 9:30, the group reached the 3rd bridge where the valley starts. Time was 10:55AM and we waited there for the complete group to reach the spot.
The white water of River Pushpawati was flowing with full energy.
By 11:15AM, the group entered The Valley Of Flowers.
It was a treat for the eyes, all the elements of natures beauty seems to be present in that place. It was green, the weather was perfect with sun shine, the misty clouds, the river flowing and the waterfalls on the way, the beautiful flower dancing in the wind.
This beautiful scenery at the valley is for the eyes to watch, no camera can explain the beauty as seen by human eyes.
The water flowing inside the valley was adding a different texture to the beauty. The white water was there in every place where we see - behind the flowers or in front of the mountains or be it the landscape.
Water flowing with Misty mountains behind
Waterfall surrounded by flowers
There was a clear view of a glacier from the valley, The leads told that its the Tipra Glacier in Bhiyundar valley.
Tipra glacier - Shot from the 300mm lens.
By 12:00PM, the group found some place to have lunch. We had the packet lunch and took rest for a while. Another key highlight is the water - Its so pure that in the last 3 days we have not bought water from store. Just keep filling the water bottles from these water streams and everyone in the group relished that.
Few people in the group started to explore more into the valley while few in the group wanted to sit and experiments with the camera.
The below video is one such compilation of times lapses by Satish.
Thanks to Satish for sharing this excellent video for the blog.
I went on to explore more and taking picture of flowers and the landscape.
I reached a point where I could see the Joan Margaret Legge's memorial grave. This is one of the destination where people reach due to historical importance of the valley.
The valley is very big and we realized that we will not be able to cover the complete length of it, Rather we were enjoying in the areas which we visited.
By 2:15PM we started to walk back.
Path inside the valley
The group started to walk down towards Ganghria and mostly the group was together for this trek.
Path on way back
We reached the checkpoint by 4:30PM very much satisfied and relaxed but tired after the 3 long days.
After the regular snacks, dinner and then chatting for sometime the group decided to close the day planning to start the next day at 5AM.
The overnight rain and cold weather accompanied with excitement made me wakeup many time during the night. Each time I think its already 5AM just to see the watch and realize that there are few more hours to go!
Finally I woke up at 5:30 AM to see that it was still raining. It was not heavy downpour but these continuous rains which keep the environment damp throughout. I was lucky to get the hot water first as my friends already arranged and I was ready for shower. So I got ready very early.
The plan was to trek to Valley of flowers but the Leads had warned that the valley might be closed if there were overnight rain. So the group had prepared either for the Valley or Hemkund based on the situation.
The group assembled at the restaurant at 7:30AM.After the breakfast, and a packet lunch in bag, the group started the trek by 7:50AM.
First sight of River Lakshman Ganga when trek started
At 8:10AM we reached the checkpoint where the roads diverge for Valley of Flowers and Hemkund. The Valley of Flowers was closed after the overnight rain and Forest department guards has gone to inspect the situation. The Leads had anticipated this and the group were dressed with the inner fleece for Hemkund Shaib ascend.
The misty clouds and the Lakshman Ganga waterfall came closer as we climbed the slope adjacent to the falls.
The Lakshman Ganga River flowing down
In half an hour, we had gained quite good elevation due to the steep climb. The initial 15 mins of the trek was quite tiring due to acclimatization. Then the body got adjusted!!!
The Ghangaria town already a tiny block in the beautiful landscape.
Ganghria view
The rain started lightly and I was walking slowly witnessing the beautiful landscape, the wet flowers and chirping birds.
The Pika seen in the collage is one of the common sighting during the trek to Hemkund and also the Valley Of Flowers.
Due to the rain, the entire path had small streams of water flowing and the surroundings were quite misty.
The trek was gaining altitude quite fast and the temperature was low. The slight rain is making it feel more colder. There was a water stream where solidified snow seen on the sides.
Solidified Snow
The climb was slow and we took a long break on the way. By 11:00AM we could hear the bajan from the Gurudwara. So it seems that we are reaching the peak!!! The weather cleared for a brief moment to make us realize the steep winding path in ahead of us. It seems as if we reached but yet we have not reached 3/4th of the distance.
Weak Bridge on the path
Finally after a long and tiring climb up the slope, the 1st group of the group reached Hamkund Sahib at 12:15PM. There is a small place where all the mules stop before reaching the Gurudwara.
The group went to the Gurudwara first. Spend about 10 minutes inside the Gurudwara where prayers are continuously happening. After that we came out to see the Hamkund lake.
Just the sight off the water and the waterfall freaked us out!!!! The sight was soooo beautiful.
Initially when we reached there, it was drizzling and misty. Then later the weather started clearing. The temperature was really cold and probably below 5 degree Celsius.
Gurudwara and Lakshman temple adjacent to the hemkund lake
Misty Lake
Panoramic view of the misty mountain
Hemkund lake clear water
Reflection of waterfall on the lake
The below video of the lake when it was misty.
During the time we were present at the Hemkund Sahib, we have seen different kinds of weather. It was raining when we reached, then it turned misty, it cleared for a while and again rain started. The weather was just swinging quite fast.
By around 1:30PM the entire group had reached the Hemkund Sahib and we took some photo at the lake for a while.
We went to the Sri Lakshman temple after which we went to have food from the Gurudwara.
The group was hungry - the khichdi and tea was just awesome. The tea which we had at the Gurudwara was probably the best tea in the entire trip.
The Brahma Kalam is also the highlight of this place. The flower grows only about 14000 feet altitude.
Brahma Kamal
The time was 2:30PM and we need to start the descend soon. We used the restrooms facility there which was really maintained very clean.
We started the walk down by 3:10PM. This time is quite late than usual for Hemkund trek.As per the Leads, the group has to start by 5:30AM for the Hemkund trek. Our case was different since our original plan was to go to the Valley. This turned out to be blessing for us. The entire morning was raining , but the weather started clearing quite well when we started to descend down the path.This help me to shoot lots of good pictures of flowers, sceneries and few birds on the way.
I met an Sikh Uncle who was explaining about the history of Sri Guru Gobind Singh and the importance of Hemkund Sahib for the Sikh Community. It was interesting and informative. I slowed down my walk to shoot pictures and later noticed that the uncle has been explaining the same to many people on the way.
Continuing the walk, there was a clear view of a glacier mountain from far away. Time was 5:45PM by then.
Glacier Mountain
I reached the Ghangaria by 6:45 PM. It was late, still I had a cup of tea before reaching to my hotel room.
It was a long and tiring trek for the day but still very very refreshing. The weather had cleared very well by then and no sign of rain. This gave us even more excitement about the dreams of the Valley of flowers trek for the next day. The hope of Valley being open was very high if the weather remained the same throughout the night.
The group had dinner by 8PM. The night sky was very clear and the view of stars in the sky was amazing. Few of us ventured into the street to see the beautiful stars.
Gangria streets at night
The Night sky
The night sky view on that day was something which no camera could capture. Our eyes are the best camera and it was one of the best night sky with stars I have seen for a long time.
We settled in our room after the watching the sky and awaiting the Valley of flowers trek on the next day!!!
