Roopkund a Dream well cherished….
Since when I completed Basic Mountaineering course I was in
search of real adventure, a trek to taste my mettle to cross all the limits and
to know my limits, and while searching on net it took me to Roopkund trek. The
description fascinated me so much that I started reading about it and soon the
Mystery Lake of Roopkund took over my mind…decided to visit Roopkund this
summer and “Trek the Himalayas” came to help….
After 4 months advance bookings and with all preparations, I
left Silvassa on 16th May 2013 for Delhi Next day on 17th
May 2013 I was melting in burning Hot Delhi. Delhi metro came to the help to
make my travel from Hazrat Nizamuddin station to Old Delhi station quite easy,
Delhi was bustling with crowds and people from different corners of India as
always. I took evening train to Kathgodam the bogie in which I had reservation
was full of trekkers. There was another group which was going for Nandadevi
Base Camp trek, where I found some dumb and deaf kids too going for the trek. I
curiously watched how they communicate with each other unendingly and untiringly.
The whole bogie came alive with hustle bustle and chit chat of trekkers the
journey soon got over and took us to our destination “Kathgodam”
“Kathgodam” is a
small town in Nainitaal District and known as Twin city partnering with
Haldwani. This is also a last railway station of Uttarakhand, further one has
to travel by road
It was 11 in the night and we took resort to a small hotel
for spending the night….
18th May 2013, the jeeps were ready to take us to
“Loharjung” our Base camp. The Road goes through Bhimtaal Almora approximately 11 hours journey and we
reached to a very
small town of Loharjung. We stayed in ‘Patiyal guest house’, met rest of
the trek mates, it is always amazing to meet many interesting and diverse
profile folks in treks, this trek was not exception…Sandeep Rawat our Leader
introduced himself and briefed about the overall trek plan and precautions and
answered our queries, from next day morning our trek was to start, hence we
finished our dinner fast and retired for the day. The height of Loharjung is
7575 ft. above sea level.
Next day, early morning after chai and breakfast we did our
packing, dumped the extra luggage at the base camp and after a small puja for
the safe trek, we started for our first camp Didina Village. Didina is situated
at a height of 8530 ft above sea level
some part of the route is also known
as Lord Curzon trail and first half goes
through picturesque forests. A gradual descend takes you to an iron bridge on
the river “Neelganga” After the iron bridge a gradual and sharp ascend starts
in a deep forest and leads your way where you can hear only sound of water of
‘Neelganga’ and chirping sounds of birds. You can make rhythm to that sound of
music and reach Didina in around approximately 5-6 hours. It was a first day of
our trek and due to lot of transitions in climatic conditions many of us faced
troubles and low health conditions, although reaching our campsite and having
nice hot “chai” made it worthwhile. Didina is a picturesque village the main
source of income is agriculture. We stayed in a home stay, this is a new alternate
income provided by trekkers to the locals. After little rest, we went little up
for acclimatization walk and came back for soup followed by dinner. Today many
of us had bitten by flies called Pine flies this was the new experience. The
flies made their marks on our hands and legs. We slept early as tomorrow’s
trekking distance was more and we need to leave early to reach in time.
20th May 2013, After having bed tea and breakfast
we started trek to “Ali Bugyal” our next campsite, which is at 11520 ft. and
total walk is of 11 kms the trek starts with gradual ascend and takes us
through Rhododendron and pine forests and green meadows…it’s a pleasant and
easy walk without the fear of getting lost and one can enjoy natural beauty
getting nearer to the campsite. In Garhwali language ‘Bugyal’ means Meadows.
After crossing the pine forest one can walk on the ridge for best views of
meadows and valley and reach the campsite in about 1 hour. This campsite has 3
‘trekkers hut’ built by forest dept. It can accommodate 8 persons in one hut.
We had lunch after reaching and then we spent our time in some photography,
playing and music.
21st May 2013
Early morning we met a group from Netherlands, who were
returning back from Munsiyari. We spoke to them and after sumptuous breakfast
left for our next campsite which is called as “Patar Nachani”. As now we had
come at a high altitude there was nothing other than bushes and grass. Today’s walk
was also a gradual climb and then plain walks till campsite. This trek is easy
compared to last two days and hence we were enjoying the route even more. After
climbing up we reached at a pass which goes parallel to the ridge on the left
we could see Bedni kund and Bedni Bugyal, this place is supposed to be the
place where “kali” mata killed the “Mahishasura”. While walking we could see
peaks like “Trishul” and “Nanda Ghungti” in front. The name Nanda Ghungti is
quite interesting and as told correctly by our leader Sandeep Rawat, this peak
is exactly in front of the famous and highest peak in India -peak ‘Nanda Devi’.
If it weren’t there, we could have easily seen Nanda Devi .Since Nanda Devi is
a goddess, it is assumed that this peak is a “Ghunghat”(a cloth used for
covering the face of a woman) of Nanda Devi. Wondering about how the mythological
stories and this region are correctly woven together, we reached “patar
nachani”. This camp site has a huge camping space and quite windy too. It was
amazing spending time looking at snow clad peaks of Himalayas. Himalaya is ever
changing and mysterious for everyone trying to find what Himalaya is. Today’s
stay was in tents. It soon started getting windy outside hence we took our
dinner inside the dining tent and went to sleep.
Next morning, it was sunny and warm with less clouds
indicating good weather. Today’s climb was a steep up climb till the snowline
for around 3 kms. Today for all slow walkers we made a different chain system
which helped in getting rest at regular intervals and to reach to the top in
less time without any gap between the team. Soon we reached at the top where we
could see a small but nice temple of Lord Ganesha. It iss called as “Kallu
vinayak” the statue reminds of the carved sculptures in south. Generally, god
figures in mountains are just carved in the stone. This figure is however
a statue 3D and perfectness in making is
remarkable. This place is known as the place where Parvati placed Ganesha to
guard while she went for the bath. The snow line starts from Kallu Vinayak. We
needed to wear “crampons”. This is an equipment with nails, worn on the shoes,
which enables to walk on snow without sleeping off. Till this point, many members
amongst us hired for mules. Now from here onwards, mules will not be able to
come hence everyone needed to carry their own luggage. We walked 1 kms in snow
and reached the campsite. Walking on snow was a first time experience for many.
The views of totally snow clad mountains are astonishing and we were stepping
forward carefully in the snow to reach the campsite. After approximately 1 hour,
we reached our next campsite “Bhagwabasa”. This campsite also has two trekkers
huts, while one hut was covered with snow and was in bad condition. We used one
hut as our kitchen hut and pitched our tents on snow…yes we had no other
option, we sure were excited thinking about camping on snow but soon everyone
realized it is not easy as it seems. We were now at a height of 14075 ft. Here weather can change suddenly. We sat
around kitchen hut and spent time chitchatting with each other. Many of us now had
some common altitude problems like cough, on and off headache breathing difficulties,
vomiting. The best remedy is to drink lot of water and take deep breath…we were
lucky to have comparatively good weather.
kallu Vinayak temple
Pradyumanji, our guide agreed to tell us stories about the
area and Roopkund and the bones found here…..
The locals gives more importance to goddess Parvati. than
even Lord Shiva. As per the mythological stories goddess Parvati turned in the
avatar of Maa kaali to defeat and kill “Mahishasura” a demon. After killing him, Lord Shiva calmed Maa
Kaali and asked her to convert back as Parvati. Parvati asked, “how could I get
back as I have no mirror or anything to see how I look and to comb my hairs?”
Lord Shiva took his weapon Trishul and made a lake with it in which Maa Kaali saw her face and returned back in
her normal attire as “Parvati”. Parvati saw her face (“roop”), hence it is
called as “Roopkund”. Then, we obviously asked for the heaps of bones. Pradumnaji
said there was a king in Kannauj, who
was a devotee of goddess Parvati. One day Parvati came to his kingdom to bless
him in a beggars attire. Not knowing who she really is, the queen told her to
leave. The result of which, king started having many problems. When asked to
the scholars, they asked him to go take asylum of goddess Parvati. So the king
and many people with him started for the journey. When they reached Roopkund
there was a hailstorm due to Parvati’s anger and without a proper shelter all
the people died. This part is also known for its unique pilgrimage of four
horned goat called as ‘Nanda Devi yaatra’. It is celebrated every 12 years and
assumed as sacred of all….
No wonder this region called as “Dev Bhumi”. God must be
loving to stay here in these beautiful mountains without disturbance of anyone
else and in the serene beauty and peace.
The evening was well spent in hearing these stories and
sipping soup, we went off to sleep very early on 7.30 as we need to get up at
4.00 in the morning for summit to Roopkund.
23rd May 2013
The whole night I could not sleep as I was shivering due to
cold. Sleeping bag and carry mat was unable to make the surroundings warm and
the whole night was spent just waiting for the getting up whistle…at 4 when I
got up I thought, whether I should attempt it if I will feel loss of energy due
to no sleep. But my mind won over my body and I was ready to go. We left at
4.30. Today’s walk was of 3 kms But we will be gaining altitude and hence
making it more difficult for us to walk fast…we were walking slowly and
steadily. In such conditions, mental strength plays an important role and so the
support staff, they really help you in increasing your capacity. As rightly
said by one of my friend, guides play important role to make or break your
expedition. We were fortunate to have a very co-operative support staff with
us. We walked few steps and could see an amazing scene of Chaukhamba peak
blazing with first sun rays on it. We could see “Trishul” and “Bandarpunch” too.
While enjoying the views, we crossed small snow patches one after another. It
was a plain walk and gradual climb. For some time we had to walk 3 kms in snow.
Walking in snow though seems fun it is hard to walk in snow for longer time. Crampons and gaiters ( a garment worn over the trouser
and shoe which saves snow going inside the shoe and feet getting wet) were
useful in keeping the feet dry and walk able. Now we are having real trouble in
breathing we need to take baby steps, walk very slow and take care of our
breathing as well. This time is quite crucial and testing for any mountaineer. If
the mountaineer fails mentally, he might go back without summiting, hence we
need to be mentally as well as physically strong.
chaukhamba peak on the way to roopkund
While not knowing how far ,we had no choice but to keep
walking crossing slopes after slopes and there was a final steep climb and
there it came…..Roopkund a Frozen lake….my eyes were full of tears. Himalaya is
a wonder and when we reach at our goal the happiness can be expressed only in
tears….We were finally here at a frozen lake surrounded by small hills and with
breathtaking views of peaks. We were now at a height of 15690 ft. above sea
level. We searched for bones to take with us as Souvenir, but due to heavy snow,
could not find any….we had a breakfast of Maggi. Now, Maggi people could have
done a different advertisement. “Meri 16000 ft wali magi!!” We spent some time,
trying to store whole lake in our eyes, and started our return journey climbing
up now seemed easy, as while returning the snow had already started melting and
resulting in slipping and skidding. We needed to put every step carefully,
checking if the snow is not melted much…it took another 4 hours to come back to
the camp…we were welcomed with claps of other participants and the kitchen
staff…
Today we have to start back to our previous camp “Patar
Nachauni”, so we had a quick lunch and with the luggage started back. On the
way back, we could see many local people searching for something. When asked,
our guide told us about “Kida buti” a kind of insect found in this area and
which has medicinal value and sold in China at a very high price of 3,00,000/-
per kilo!! We tried searching for same, thinking, some cost of the trek will be
incurred selling the buti!! Now due to descend it didn’t take much of our time
to reach campsite. Today’s total walking distance was around 11 kms so everyone
rested after a nice hot dinner.
camp "Patar Nachauni"
Next morning we started descending. We first wanted to reach
Bedni Bugyal, which was on our left while climbing up. On our way to Bedni
Bugyal, I met some old members of “Girikujan”, the group with whom I introduced
myself to the wonderful sports of trekking. It was quite nice to meet them
again after almost 12 years. We chatted
a little and wishing them good luck for the ascend, came to Bedni Bugyal. One
can see some small temples with a statue of Mahishasurmardini and another of
Shiva and Parvati. The statues are nicely carved and there were many bells tied
on the temple, also a small lake called,”Bedni Kund”. The temples are in the
premises of Bedni Kund .After relaxing for some time we started our journey by
a little different route via “Wan”. It is a small village, where we get the
road head till Wan it was steep descent hence the walk was troubling with knee
pains and shoes bites. But, I had a good company of some local farmers and some
kids. I enjoyed talking with them till Wan, discussed their traditions and the
Roopkund yatra. It was fun knowing about simple but not easy life of the locals…every
person should do a trek in his life to know hardships, to experience challenges
and to learn how to overcome them.
On the way, I encountered some birds too. The journey was
over. We came back till Loharjung in a jeep, what we have taken with us is a box
full of memories of some happy and painful moments, trees full of
Rhododendrons, shivering and starry nights, snow clad and foggy mountains and a
souvenir of Pine fly bites!!!
Roopkund trek taught me many things. I could witness a
different culture of Garhwal Himalayas, got to know about a mythological
connection of this place, shown us the hardship of the people. I thanked the
almighty to give me a passion to trek and travel and see the world created by
him, beautiful and mysterious just like him.
Roopkund trek made a dream come true and gave a bigger dream in eyes to
be achieved………
Madhuvanti Godse
No comments:
Post a Comment