Mighty Gangotri

This is was a biking trip to Gangotri, the birth place of river ganga, in the uttarkhand state, distance 500 kms from delhi, at an altitude of 10300 feet, with 220 kms in plain roads and 280 in the mountains, and our decision to go with the bikes was because of our passion of riding and the curves of the mountains and excellent scenery on the way to gangotri from rishikesh. One of the restriction of our trip was they are of few days bcoz of leave problems to some, and we three friends decided for gangotri all of a sudden.


The route to Gangotri is as follows,

Delhi ,Ghaziabad, Muzaffarnagar, Roorkee, Haridwar,Rishikesh, Chamba, Dharasu,

Uttarkashi, Gangnani, Bhatwari, Harsil, Gangotri.



Day1:- Noida to Rishikesh, 220 kms, 7 hrs.


We started at 2 pm from Noida and left for rishikesh after lunch, and headed towards rishikesh on the national highway, we had two bikes, one honda unicorn, and another hoodibaba, so i was riding the caliber 110, and was doubt full of this bike bcoz of lack of power whether it could make this 1000 km, and the 10000 feet ascent, but finally we reached rishikesh around 9 pm, this leg of our journey was full of highway traffic, with trucks and buses, and dusty which we did not enjoy much, we had our dinner and slept in a hotel in the night to start Early morning next day, as driving in the mountains in night is banned.

Day 2:- Rishikesh to Harsil, 250 kms, 12 hrs.

We started early the next day morning at around 6 am, we had already left the hotel and took a snap at rishikesh and headed to gangotri, through one of the most beautiful valleys, and a memorable bike ride, from rishikesh we started our ascent towards the mountains and reached chamba 50 kms from rishikesh, as soon as we left rishikesh we started getting a good panoramic view of the city and landscape below us, after chamba we were moving along with the sides of tehri dam, on of the biggest, and also the clear, unpolluted and green ganga was flowing by the sides, and a great view in fact, believe me by the time the river reaches Banaras this beautiful clear green ganga is turned to brown, and becomes polluted. The picture shown is taken near the ganga river, and also the valleys are very big, with deep gorges, we enjoyed the ride till we came across a landslide, where we had to halt for a few hours, landslides are common phenomenon in the Himalayan regions, we used this time to take rest and spend some time by the river side, and sandeep took this opportunity to make some meditation.

As soon as the BRO cleared the landslide, we again started our travel towards Gangotri, as it had become late it was almost dark, and also the deep gorges below, we were just travelling in some of the most dangerous roads in the world, on single mistake on ur bike will be ur last, sandeep was going in a taxi jeep with out luggage, and we were travelling behind the jeep with its light, and it helped us move easily without the luggage, finally at around 8 pm we reached Harsil, gangotri was around 30 kms from here but we decided to stay here as it was not good to travel in night in the mountains, we were about to go still higher and colder, we hired a room and stayed there for the night, and it was damn cold there, with the scorching heat of delhi to chilling cold of harsil in one day, such diversity in temperature u can find, i india, we spend the night with discussions , chatting, verbal conflicts and some funny topics, and finally slept at around 11.pm. It was a hard journey of 250 kms, the scenic beauty made it joyful.

Day 3:- Harsil to Gangotri - Bhajbusa - Gangotri.

We started at around 7.00 am towards Gangotri, today we came across some wonderful scenery found only in the Himalayas, and we realized what we had missed yesterday while travelling in the dark, u just find might mountains, and deep gorges below, the mountains are majestic u can think it inspired to do meditation, u can think about the reason why great rishis's mediated here, as we approached we came across some huge glaciers in road, and sky touching mountains, masked with snow on them a wonderful view. and reached gangotri finally.

We took Dharshan of the bhagirath temple and headed towards our destination Gaumukh, we started our trek of 20 km with the help of a local guide, along the shores of the river ganga, and it would have inspired many a people to mediate here as sandeep again started mediating here and it was a small trail for walking only there as vehicles cant move ahead, as we were the earliest trekkers and the GMVN had still not cleared the trails, we came across some huge glaciers, and we did manage to cross this glacier and move ahead , and we again came across one more glacier and it was dangerous to cross this glacier without rope or ice axe and we aborted the further progress. we played for some time on a glacier below which water was flowing.

While returning we meet a team of American people on a education tour , they were trying to write something about the place they were seeing, and we had a chat with them for a while and headed back, to Harsil, it was dark by the time we reached Harsil and we planned to leave early morning at the earliest to Delhi, which was supposed to be a marathon drive of 18 hrs 500 kms, but in my mind i was cursing our timing bcoz we could not reach Gaumukh after coming so far.


Day 4:- We were ready at 6.00 we meet tapavani matha ji, who did tapasya in tapovan for 10 years, we had lot of spiritual discussions and some doubts w.r.t to god, and by 7.30 am we left Harsil, we were supposed to reach Delhi without going anywhere else and we raced as early as possible, we had our lunch at Uttarkashi at around 11.30 am and we took some snaps on the way, with some beautiful man made water falls, and had a break for a few minutes and headed to rishikesh, i was wearing thermacoat inner wear to beat the Harsil cold and as we descended to rishikesh the temperature increased and it my body was being baked in this heat along with thermacoat, and we very much tired after 250 kms of mountain ride, and it was difficult to carry the bag and cover another 220 kms to delhi, so we decided that sandeep will carry our bags and go to delhi by bus and we would pick him up in delhi, and it was becoming very hot for me, i found a place and changed my dress, and was much comfortable now, and at around 10 we halted at a dhaba for dinner had it and moved forward, my ass was in fire after sitting for around 12 hours in bike and we were too tired, and finally at around 1.00 am in the night, we were so tired to took a two or three nights sound sleep to get back to normal.

We took back in memories the wonderful scenery of the Uttaranchal along the mountains, and Tehri dam, and our beautiful riding experience which enjoyed to the fullest along the beautiful mountains.

Paradise on Earth Gulmarg

A Few places have inspired me as much as Gulmarg, as soon as i saw gulmarg i felt, god as created such beautiful places on this earth, and i am lucky enough to see it, and felt one has to see it in life to experience its beauty, otherwise is life will be useless. The land of eternal beauty, its much more than a swizterland.

After a failed solo attempt to Gulmarg on the newyear's eve, finally i got only one company, who had enough courage to come with me to Gulmarg, bcoz of the militancy in kashmir many of our friends were relectunant to come to kashmir.

Day1:- We headed out to jammu on bus, left delhi around 9.00 pm and reached jammu at around 11.00 am, and found that the traffic was one way that day from srinagar to jammu, tommorow was our turn from jammu to srinagar, and we spent the time in seeing jammu that day and finally boarded the bus from jammu, while we at in the bus, people around us were talking in unfamiliar lanugage, which only brought the thought in my mind that all of them might be terrorists, and i dont know my plight by morning, soon they started asking us in hindi, from where we were going and why,

Day2:- It was morning still we had not crossed the Jawahar tunnel, it was mid Feb and it was a sunny day, i was not optimistic about finding the snow in Gulmarg as it was sunny here, and finally we entered the jawhar tunnel heavily gaurded by the army personal, the tunnel itself is a great delight to see, bcoz it is one of the longest tunnelt at 2.5 km, the only route to enter kashmir valley, as soon as we crossed the Jawahar tunnel, the whole atmosphere, weather changed, there was no trace of sun, it was some snow on the outskirts of tunnel, and it totally cold over there with mist, this big mountain seperates the kashmir valley from rest of the india this is the reason why it is so cold over there, all along the way we some wonderful scenery, as i was winter with the trees shedding there leaves, it was again the start of the planes, and reached srinigar at 1.00 pm and as our destination target was Gulmarg not srinigar we went directly to Gulmarg instead of seeing Srinagar, we were already lagging behind by one day bcoz of the route problem in jammu, and the bus got delayed even more, and while on the way to gulmarg, it was just a plain road from srinagar, unlike manali where we travel fro almost 250 kms in the mountains after chandigarh, here while travelling i saw a huge fog on the road, and it was just totaly a hughe mountain of fog with nothing visible but just fog, slowly we starte climbing gradually and it was snowing midway, after going still above out sumo got a complete 270 degree turn while taking one of the cureves and everyone was frightned if it had slipped downward evryone would have been down, but i was totally exicted by the snowfall and beauty around and was taking pictures and then everyone was scolded that u were about to die and ur taking pictures there. we reached gulmarg by 4.00 pm finally, and i was spell bound by seeing the beauty there, where ever u see there snow snow and snow in all four directions, it was covered by white blanket and its not possible to open ur eyes without a sunglass, with vehicales stranded there bcoz of heavy snow, hotel doors locked up due to heavy snow, and just took a while to enjoy the beauty of Gulmarg and was thinking so many things in mind after seeing this place, we booked a hotel room and went out for skying.

The temperature was the coldest i have ever seen, colder than manli, and it goes till -15 to -20 during night and all water streams and nallahs are freezed in night.

Day3:- Next morning we had our brekfast and headed to the Gondola cable car,we get to see some wonderful scenery, Gulmarg has the highest Gondola cable car in the world and longest in asia it takes to a height of more than 4390 mts to apharvat peak, to see the beauty from this place either u have to take a helicopter or an exterme mountaineer to go to that height in this winter, and temperature is chilling cold over there. we took some snaps there and headed downwards to base.

Today again we started doing skying till the evening and enjoyed the skying in the wonderfull slopes of gulmarg, i was almost learning to run from uphill to downhill without falling and it was a joy to be remembered for a year. once u learn skying u will become addicted to it. we headed towards srinigar that evening, and finally landed at srinigar in the night to find out that there are no buses to jammu for next 36 hrs and were forced to stay in a hotel, instead we choosed a houseboat which was a wonderful experience. house boats are a novelty of Kashmir, it is floating boat with rooms, made famous lately the famous serial "Gul,Gulshan,Gulfam" in DD.

Day4:- we had a local sight seeing of srinigar in the Dal Lake had a shikara ride, and did water skying, in Dal lake, and went to some gargens, and headed back to Jammu, while returning we also saw some of the spectcaular views of the kashmir valley and some memories to remember for a life time, the answer for the question is there a paradise on Earth, Yes it is Kashmir.

Best time to visit:-
Jan to Feb for skiing to see winter season, Remember it is chilling cold in this time, u need to be equiped with the best equipment.

May to july :- To see the lush green meadows and flowers in Kashmir, in full bloom.

Srinigar distance from delhi :- around 900 kms, by road it takes a minimum of 24 hrs.

Note:- Get information about the Current Situation in Kashmir before going there.

Encounter With death & Immortal happiness (Hemkund Sahib)

Yes the title might be confusing, but u will come to know about this as u go through this blog, it was time to realize one more dream, which was left unrealized since a year ago, to visit valley of flowers, supposed to be one of the most beautiful place, as heard by so many people, I started alone for this journey after hearing about solo trekking concept from my friend who motivated me to do this trek alone, and also convincing four guys to come for this trip is difficult, off course if had sticked on to doing with a group, i wouldn't have been able to write this blog, this is the story of sept, 2009.

Encounter with death:- How does it feel when u see death, meeting death means knowing that ur going to die now and u still being alive, daily we curse on so many things not being proper in this world, we curse our jobs, govt people, etc, But when u come to know that ur going to die, u suddenly feel like everything has come to an end, u turn back and see this beautiful life with a different angle, will feel u will no longer be there, and u will do every bit of ur breath to Live, U will Struggle, u try to Survive against all odds, its a fight in the mind, and again as Darwin Said, its the Survival of the fittest.

Destination:-

1. Valley of Flowers (VOF) 3300mts = 10086 feet.


2. Hemkund Sahib (Holy place of sikhs) 4300 mts = 14100 feet.

Day 1:- Delhi to Rishikesh, 10.00 pm to 5.00 am,

Nothing to boast about, board the Rishikesh bus from ISBT Delhi, Overnight journey on friday night, Saturday morning i was in Rishikesh.

Day 2:- Rishikesh to joshimath 6.00 am to 6.00 pm,

Route:- Devprayag, Srinigar,Rudraprayag, KranaPrayag, NandaPrayag, Chamoli,Joshimath.

It was raining out there in the morning, and as our vehicle started the ascent into the mountains it was a beautiful scene outside as u say the joy is in the journey not the destination itself, it was very cold outside, we were travelling in a sumo, and the mountains were as beautiful as they were always, and reached karnaprayag at around 1.00 pm, although the journey to joshimath is a very long and tiring one the scenery along the route made it less fatigue full, and finally before reaching joshimath there was a landslide which is common in this area and we had to halt for a hour( lucky) before it was cleared, and finally reached joshimath, Joshimath is one of the major city, and here u find mighty himalayan mountains, which are much bigger than your imagination, we get hotels and restaurant here, I halted for the day here as vehicles don't move beyond evening in the night except for urgent needs, and joshimath is also the place from where u can go to auli (A hill Station, where i went next year during winter) u have to use a rope way to reach there.

Day3:- Joshimath to Badrinath:-

Morning i woke up at 5.oo am like military precision according to my plan, and started my journey forward by 6.00 am, today i made a wise decision, by not going to GovindGhat (Starting point of VOF trek) instead decided to go to badrinath first, as the trek from govindghat to ghangria takes 5 hrs, and it is not possible to visit the valley of flowers the same day. badrinath is around 70 km from joshimath, the road from Joshimath to govindghat is horrible and very dangerous across huge mountains, and again ur first mistake will be last here, Govindghat to Badrinath here u find very beautiful scenery(not seen anywhere till now u have to see it to experience it ), and reached badrinath at 8.30 am, and took a bath at the sulphur hot water spring, and had the dharshan of badrinath ji, and headed towards govindghat, reached govindghat at 11.30 am, bought some Rain coats and biscuits to eat on the way.

I started my trek to Ghangria at 12.00 am in the afternoon, and i was walking through the narrow path along the river stream, the road is a non motor able path with only donkeys used to ferry foods to the above villages for their daily needs, my destination was somewhere far far away behind many mountains, but the Beautiful and good scenery along the way kept me going without boring, and was meeting many pilgrims who visit the Hemkund Sahib shrine, who are more than the people who visit the Valley of flowers, i halted at only one place to climb a rock, for some pics and time pass, and then again started moving without any halt at any place, and reached Ghangria at 4.15 pm, and had a walk around the town, and stayed in a lodge, and seen a documentary on Valley of flowers as i had lot time in the evening, and collected all the necessary information for the next day's most gruelling trek.

Day 4:- Judgement day, Trek to valley of flowers and back to ghangria and hemkund sahib and back same day. Yeah this the toughest trek i have done till now, and no novice or tourist had done it i can challenge, and also my encounter with the death, completing the valley of flowers trek itself which is 10 km one way from Ghangria and back is difficult, and my insane intentions, told me to attempt Hemkund sahib, which was a mistake, bcoz i underestimated its steepness, and difficulties. and altitude and climatic changes.

OK i started the journey to Valley of flowers at exactly 6.00 am, and headed into the valley of flowers national park, and this is suppose to be one of the most memorable moments of my life which are about to be captured in my brains visual zone, i was greeted with slight drizzle, but rain or shine, landslides or mudslides, or storms nothing can stop Sudeep from reaching his goal, i headed into the valley of flowers with my rain coat on. After Entering the VOF i was greeted with a valley full of flowers, u see flowers all the side except the sky, where u find mist filled sky along with the river streams and some hard rock ice, of glaciers along the way, the sight was just so good, as i moved forward i was greeted with some water flowing streams, and flower plants all around, imagine this, the sound of water stream, the wind blowing into ur ears, the pulsating flower plants, and absolute silence, no one to disturb u, this is a feeling u have to experience, not to describe, only i was there so not many people to shout or talk, but luckily i meet a few bad photographers on the way who

were kind enough to take my pictures, and i moved forward where i saw some plants taller than me, and and flowers in it, and i continued to move forward to explore the place to the other end of the park, where some repair work on the path way was being done, all along this path u will find the type of flowers changing after some distance, and i really don't remember the names of flowers, but these are rare flowers which are found only in altitudes of above 3000 mts not found in your backyard or any flower show or park, I sat somewhere for some time just to experience the Surroundings, and do some photography.

I just concluded my trip to valley of flowers and headed towards ghangria, i also got my shoe wet when i placed my foot in water while crossing the stream, and it is going to irritate me for the next two days, i got some company while returning from VOF, and we had a chat regarding similarly beautiful places in India ( this is where we get to know about beautiful places not written in any books) , and when reached ghangria at 12.00 am in the afternoon, and told them that i was heading to Hemkund Sahib, they told me are u crazy, we are so tired with this trip only.

But i was reluctant, adamant and stubborn to hear any one, no one was going up at this time, all people who go to Hemkund Sahib start in the morning at 6.00 am, many people advised me not to go further as climate can change drastically in that high altitude, but still i had my lunch and headed toward Hemkund, and the biggest mistake i made is by seeing the temp at 12.00 in the afternoon at 3000 mts i did not take my sweater, I went in only a half sleeves t shirt, i started the trek at 1.00 pm being over optimistic and keeping a target of reaching the top at 3.30 pm or 4.00 pm, but as i started the trek i found that it is too difficult as it is steep inclination, but above all as it was nearing dusk, and gaining altitude the temperature started to drop too much, and by this time almost all the pilgrims who had gone to hemkund sahib were returned and i was the only insane guy going uphill.

Encounter with the death:-

I started feeling the pinch with only a T shirt on my body it was becoming difficult to keep my body warm and brain working, i started rubbing my body to keep myself warm, fear of death was started in my mind and the pituitary gland started releasing adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) into the blood system, ACTH stimulates the production of cortisol, cortisol affects the body's reaction to fear, and i was not able to walk for a long time, as the air is very thin in high altitude and we get tired with just 4 steps, i also broke my mobile display which was kept in my back pocket when i sat on a rock, for resting, things were getting very difficult for me to survive in that cold without any protection, and for the first time, i was thinking of aborting the mission and thinking of going back, but even if i go back, it was too far before i get some warm clothes,

i started shouting for help, but no one to listen till miles, What kept me alive is just the will power to survive and push myself to the limits, kept pushing on myself unknowing how far ahead the destination is, it is just the will to live and survive which kept me going on, i had still not got beaten in my mind, and kept going in spite of so less oxygen in the atmosphere to move forward and cold, finally i saw the arch of the temple and some loud speakers noise and i was happy to be alive again, i had survived this cold attack, and suddenly i went inside the Gurudwara, they gave me some hot tea, which gave lot of energy and some warmth, and i entered the holy lake and took some water, and the people told me that i cannot sleep in the gurudwara that night, so they gave me a kambhal to go down in the cold, as it was difficult to go in that cold, and also it was very dark, and there was no moon light that day neither was my mobile working for light and with no torch, i had to face lot of problems, with the shoe becoming wet again, i was estimating the steps with the help of a stick, and walking how a blind man walks, to know the route, and it was an experience to be remembered for a life time to come, and after all this hardships i reached ghangria at around 9.00 pm, in the night. and took rest in the hotel.

Day5:- Woke up at 5.00 am & Headed down to Govindghat at early Morning 6.00 am, again in military precision, as i am alone there are no chaces of cursing anyone that he was late, i was going according to my plan and reached Govindghat at 9.00 am, and headed toward joshimath, and caught a Sumo which was going to Haridwar.

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