Recently, our company, Express India Journey, organised a Do Dham Trip to Uttarakhand. In this trip, we visited Badrinath, Tungnath with Chandrashila Peak, and Kedarnath. In this Blog, we’ll share our honest experience of this Trip with you.
We started our trip on July 31st at 5:00 am, and we went directly from Delhi to Pipalkoti, which is 75 km away from Badrinath Dham. En route, we also visited Haridwar. After visiting Har-ki-Pauri and Triveni Ghat at Rishikesh, we went to see the confluence of the two rivers Bhagirathi (originating from Gaumukh Glacier) and Alaknanda (originating from Satopanth Glacier), which make the holy river Ganga at Devprayag, which is one of the Prayags from Uttarakhand.
After that, we went through Srinagar, the market of Srinagar was very attractive, and then visited the Dhari Devi Temple, the protector of the Char Dham of Uttarakhand. The entry gate was well designed with multiple colours.Then next we saw another Confluence of the rivers Alaknanda and Mandakini (originating from Chorabari Glacier) at Rudraprayag.
After this, we leave for Karnprayag through Gochar market, which was a well-organised and developed market with a beautiful view. The Board of Shops was in the same pattern in a dark Brown colour with a white border, which was attractive. Then we reache d Karnprayag to see the next confluence of the rivers Alaknanda and Pindar (originating from Pindari Glacier). We saw this confluence in the late evening, and the view was very majestic and unforgettable. The city was shining with yellow light and giving a magnificent view. Next, we saw another beautiful confluence of rivers, the Alaknanda and Nandakini (originating from Nanda Ghunti Peak) at Nandaprayag.
You might be thinking why all the confluences are with the Alaknanda River. The answer to this question is that Alaknanda is considered the prime source that carries water from the top of the Himalayas. It is the main river and then forms different confluences at different locations.
The route of the mountain was beautiful and dangerous as well, because we did this Tour in the Monsoon Season, and this season is risky in Uttarakhand. The water level of the rivers was high, and we went through lots of small landslides but reached our destination safely. Monsoon Season in Uttarakhand is dangerous because of the landslides, but it also offers the lush greenery and view of dense forest with lots of small waterfalls.
Around 8:30 pm, we saw a very stunning view of the village Chamoli, at night the village was shining like a Galaxy with lots of stars, which was surrounded by clouds. The view was unexplainable. We were stunned by the view at that time; we were not able to stop ourselves from capturing that moment, and it was that beautiful.
After this, we finally arrived at our destination, Pipalkoti, for an overnight stay at the Hotel.
The next morning, on August 1st, we woke up early in the Morning and visited Badrinath Temple, so we got ready and left for the temple. En route, we visited the Vishnuprayag, where we saw the confluence of the rivers Alaknanda and Dhauli Ganga (originating from Basudhara Taal). The flow of both rivers was swift. Then we visited the first temple of our Yatra at HanumanChatti, there we worshiped lord hanuman and went to Badrinath, the temple
which is dedicated to Lord Hari Narayan. At Badrinath, we visited the temple, which was very majestic and big. After capturing that beautiful moment of us, we saw the Alaknanda River, and also went to Badrinath’s Kund (hot Spring).
After that, we went directly to the first village of India, Mana Village. There we saw the last viewpoint of the Saraswati River, which vanished after that point. The story behind this is that when Lord Ganesha was writing the Mahabharata, he was disturbed by the noise of the flow of the Saraswati River, so he cursed her that after this spot, you would disappear and go directly to Patal lok (Underworld). In front of the river, there is BhimSheela, according to legends, at that time when the Pandavas were going to heaven, one of them, Bhima, brought that Sheela (a large rock) with himself and placed it there as a bridge.
Then we visited the Vyas Gufa and Ganesh Gufa. We also met the local people of Mana village, their lifestyle was so simple, and they also sell the woollen clothes, which were mostly handmade. The women did not wear the normal Suit and Salwar; they had their dress attire, which is called Honja (Blouse), Paakhi (a woollen Saree), Ghagri (An Indian Ghagra), Pangdin (apron), and a Pegri (a white cloth Belt). This general attire showcases the Bhotia’s Tibetan roots.
After the visit, we directly went to Mandal for an overnight Stay. Firstly, we had planned to stay at Chopta directly, but we got late, and the route was through dense forest, so we decided to stay at Mandal. The Hotel location was perfect and cool because it was Riverside. Now, have a guess at how our morning would be. Imagine waking up early in the morning with a beautiful view of the river and valley. It was all perfect.
Then next morning on August 2nd we went to Chopta for our Tungnath Trek. The route from Mandal Village to Chopta was covered with Dense Forest. We were at the top of the mountain, and when we looked down, it was only clouds there. It was such a mesmerising view.
Finally, we reached Chopta, and after having Tea and a Sandwich for breakfast, we started our first Trek to Tungnath Temple. The trek was moderate, but it was monsoon season, so we faced a little bit of difficulty. But with lots of dedication and courage, we arrived at Tungnath Temple, one of the Temples of Panch Kedar. According to legends, when the Pandavas came to find lord Shiva to be free from their sins after the Kurukshetra war, following Krishna's advice, they gave control of their kingdom to their relatives and went to find Lord Shiva to get his blessings. But Shiva wanted to stay away from them because he was very upset by the death and lies during the Kurukshetra war. So, he did not respond to the Pandavas' prayers. He changed himself into a bull (Nandi) and hid in the Garhwal region. So lord Shiva’s arm appeared here in Tungnath, and the other part in the remaining Kedars.
After visiting the Tungnath temple, we went for our next trek, which is very famous, the Chandrashila Peak trek. The Peak was 1-2 km high and more slanting from Tungnath. It was fully covered with clouds from its surroundings. We could feel the heat rays of the Sun, but the interesting thing was that the Sun was not there; we were not able to see it because of the clouds. The climate was changing within a second. Once it was warm, and the next time it was raining, and then it was getting colder.
After spending some time there, we trekked down to Chopta, and after having lunch, we went directly to Barasu (near Phata) for an overnight stay in Hotel. Again, the location was so beautiful, it was in front of the valley, and we clearly saw the Helipad from there.
Next Morning on August 3rd, we woke up early so that we could cover the Kedarnath Trek on Time. So we got ready and went to Sonprayag. The turning point was when we had to trek from Sonprayag to Gauri Kund because of the fear of landslides, and a taxi was not available. We went to Gauri Kund, and the real trek started from Gauri Kund. So after having breakfast there, we started our trek to Kedarnath. The trek from Gauri kund to Rambana was moderate; after that, the trek was more of an ascent. We trek in the rain. The trek was watery, and the water was downstream on the trek route.
The Experience of Kedarnath trek was both Interesting and horrible. Interesting because we did the trek with lots of people, en route, we saw lots of waterfalls and clicked pictures there. The view from the height was very stunning.
Now, it was horrible because of the condition and the Atrocity to the animals. Between the treks, we saw a horse that was left behind in a deadly condition; he was shivering. We did not understand why, when people can do a trek, they did not choose to do it on their own; why choose an animal that can carry them and do an 18km trek? The horse service should be limited to elderly persons, pregnant ladies, and children. We were just shocked by seeing that incident. At least they should bring him back down for a check-up or rest.
After that, we saw a small horse that was thin but carrying a lot of mattresses; its legs were shaking because of the loads, and it was not able to move forward. His owner was just beating him and shouting. It is not acceptable that you are torturing an animal for your benefit.
Other thing was that we were surprised that the elderly people were trekking and the young ones were on the horse, Palki, or in Doli Seva. Our youngsters should get some inspiration from them, and at least they should try.
After the trek, we finally reached Kedarnath at 22:00, and after seeing the temple, our tiredness went away. Then we directly went to our homestay, we did not care about dinner, and went to sleep.
The next morning, on August 4th, we got ready for the darshan of the Kedarnath temple. The temple was incredibly beautiful and exuded positive vibes. After that, we saw Bheemshila, the large rock that protects the temple, which was visible back then during the 2013 flood. The view of Snowy Mountain was so majestic after that, we visited Adi Shankaracharya Samadhi. After all the visiting, we trekked down to Gaurikund. We arrived a bit late, so the gate was closed, so we had to stay overnight there. All the facilities were good there.
The next day, on August 5th, we arrived at Barasu, where we left our luggage and then had brunch. After packing and collecting all our beautiful and adventurous memories, we depart for Delhi. Again En route we got the chance to saw all the confluence at Rudraprayag and Devprayag.
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Advise during the trek.
