Roopkund Trek

Day 1 (Friday, 4th June 2010): Bangalore to Delhi, Kathgodam

Got up early in the morning, all excited, as the day we waited for since more than 2 months had finally arrived. It was my first flight journey today as well, apart from the so many firsts' waiting ahead in the next 10 days. Our flight was at 10:50 am and i decided to reach the airport first, ahead of all others. So started early at 7:30, just missed the bus and caught another one at 8. Due to the traffic jam, managed to reach the airport just in time, at 9:45 :). Everyone was already there -> Prasanna, Nithin, Sheikhi, Harsha, Shashi, Deepak, Sachin, Abhiram and Chandan.
Just before check-in, weighed the bag and it was 6.9kg, was very happy as the Indiahikes guys had asked us to pack the rucksacks within 7kg. The flight was on-time and i enjoyed the view of bangalore city as we took off. Later Sheikhi decided if at all he has to give a b'day treat to us, it ll be a mid-air one. Most of us were hungry and Sheikhi happily treated us with the parathas, sandwiches and coke, all served chilled ;)
As the descent started to Delhi, got a nice view of the Yamuna river, Lotus temple and a patch of greenery which looked like a small forest. Got 3 taxis to Qutbminar and spent around 2 hours there. Had lunch and went to Akshardham temple, where the security was more strict than that in the airport or our office :). Took the metro to Old Delhi railway station through the famous Chandni Chowk.
The railway station was way too crowded and the train was even more crowded. However we located our seats and called the day off.


Day 2 (Saturday, 5th June 2010): Kathgodam to Lohajung

Reached Kathgodam railway station at around 7am in the morning. The bus to Lohajung was waiting for us. Started the bus journey without any break. Traveled through Bhimtal and were welcomed by very very delicious Alu parathas at a restaurant in Bhowali.


The view of the lower Himalaya range of mountains from this place was breath-taking. After about 3 hours of ride through the ghat sections, reached a place called Kausani. Had lunch here. Kausani is famous for the woolen products. Bought woolen gloves and a muffler here, the woolen gloves really saved me from the freezing cold nights later during the trek. After the lunch, continued the travel playing games and got introduced to the other group of 6 cousins, Ansar and Sagar.

About an hour later we got the first view of the snow-capped peaks. It was the Trishul range of mountains and we headed in that direction.


Had tea and noodles at the next stop, Deval, where you get a nice view of the river Pindar. As the stop was for a very short duration, didnt get enough time for shopping or to walk around the place. Finally after another about 2 hours, reached the destination of the day, Lohajung.
We were welcomed by Dr. Ankit and Dineshji and shown into our rooms. Except Harsha and me, rest of our group got rooms at a higher altitude and i got into the doctors' room(Harish and Vinay). After we settled, Ankit called us for collecting the Forms and gave us the Trek pass and the IndiaHikes hat. We were introduced to Patwalji, the owner of the lodge and his son, Ganga, who was our cook.
It was around 7 in the evening and we got a nice view of the sun rays falling on the Nanda Ghunti peak (6309m). Had a sumptuous dinner as we had to start the trek next day. Guess the Temperature was around 8 to 12 degrees C and the water was really very cold.
Ankit and Dinesh narrated the stories of Lohajung and a bit about Roopkund.


Significance of Lohajung: "The demon, Lohasur was killed by Godess Parvathi at this place, Hence the name: Lohajung"
Lohajung is a nice village where you get most of the stuff required for trekking. Also there are many local people who are ready to assist as guides to the Roopkund lake. Airtel, BSNL and Spice signals reach the village, although you will have to go on searching for signal all round the village.
After dinner and calling home using the landline in Patwalji's outhouse, packed the rucksacks for the next day's trekking and slept. The quilts provided were very warm and i was actually sweating in the night at a temperature of about 4 or 6degrees in the night.


Day 3 (Sunday, 6th June 2010): Lohajung to Didna
Trek Distance: 9km
Altitude: 2530m to 2620m

The scheduled start of the trek was 7am and we were all set to start by 7:30. Pradyumnaji and Narendraji joined us as guides and Swapnil also came with us till Didna. Swapnil was supposed to be the camp manager at Didna for the next batch of trekkers.

The mules carried tents and sleeping bags and other stuff and also took the heavy jackets from us. The trek started with an initial descent, with kids at Lohajung waving goodbye. The descent was for about an hour. Everyone started collecting trekking sticks. The lucky ones got their trek sticks early and the others were assured of getting much better ones later, by the guides.

The ascent started gradually and at around 10am we reached an open area which everyone thought was the breakfast spot and rested there. Unfortunately, the breakfast spot was much ahead, near an Iron bridge. The view from this open area was amazing. We could see Kulling village from here, which looked like small toy houses placed on stairs. Had photo sessions and started off to the iron bridge. All were hungry and all the bridges on the way looked like iron bridges to us. Finally after crossing some 2 to 3 small bridges we got the big iron bridge over the Raun Bagad river.



Started having breakfast(packed Poori) here at around 11 am. The river was the last water station of the trek for the day. From this place we started to see the difficulty level of the trek, dont know if it was the steepness or the loaded breakfast. i guess it was both. We tried avoiding the zig-zag path by taking shortcuts but later realized that both were equally energy-consuming. i took out my camera and started clicking so that i got frequent breaks, while climbing the hill. Swapnil was with the last group and helped them climb slowly up till Didna. Didna can be reached by 2 or 3 different paths from a distance of about 400m. Just when the argument started as to which route was better, it vanished as we were welcomed with very nice braas juice (rhododendron) by the locals at Didna.

We had a dorm like room in the home stay camp here. After about an hour we had lunch and Swapnil showed us the next day's destination, Ali bugyal, which was visible from the camp. Relaxed for an hour or two, talking with the guides and locals about the place, their occupation etc... Then in the evening, someone suggested that we play cricket/volleyball. As soon as the local kids heard this, they came ready with a desi bat and a very hard (really hard) tennis ball. i got a feel of the hardness when Sheikhi hit it straight to my nose. Harsha calculated that the ball reached my place in 0.27s and my reaction time was much slower :P. i fell down and for a few moments thought that my trek was over at Didna. In 5 minutes, Thank God i recovered and watched our team lose the game (quite obvious :P), in spite of Harsha displaying all his umpiring skills.


Had dinner and Swapnil gave an overview of the next day's trek. At 9 we were all off to bed.


Day 4 (Monday, 7th June 2010): Didna to Ali Bugyal to Bedni Bugyal
Trek Distance: 12km
Altitude: 2620m to 3354m

The day started with Warm-up exercises from Swapnil. After about half-an-hour of stretching, we were all ready to start the trek. Swapnil waved us all goodbye as he was the camp manager at Didna and had to stay there. We were told there was no water source along the way and hence carried water required for the whole journey.


The weather looked very different from that of the previous day. It was cloudy even at around 8 in the morning and the locals predicted rains in the later part of the day, asked us to hurry and reach the destination asap. The trek started with steep ascent and most of us were tired in the initial few minutes itself. Picked up the rhythm later on and continued the ascent through the forest. The trekking stick we had all collected the last day was of great use on this day. As we climbed higher, started realizing every ounce of weight in the rucksack. Although we could continuously hear the chirping sounds, not much birds were spotted on the way up. When we had reached about 80% of the hill, Didna came into view and it was a nice sight from here.


Further up, we were treated to much nicer views of the other mountains. Just before reaching Ali bugyal, small mountain flowers started to appear and it was a very nice sight. As we entered Ali bugyal, there was a great sense of joy seeing the endless lush green meadows. The last 4 hours of steep ascent was really worth the views of the meadows.





By now, our batch had split into a lots of smaller groups and the group ahead of us was nowhere to be seen. We tried taking some path which seemed like the peak of the hill, but we were fooled as the meadow extended to a much greater height. After about 30 minutes of searching we almost gave up and started eating our packed Alu paratha lunch. Meanwhile the group behind us (with the guide) joined us and we started after getting directions to Bedni Bugyal.

















In just a few moments, drizzling started and we covered ourselves with the ponchos. The light drizzling looked like it had come to water the meadows in the noon. Later realized it had come to fully drench us. We spotted 3 green huts, which we thought was our destination. But that was not and we had to walk for another hour or so. The rain also started to get heavier and we started walking faster. By the time we reached Bedni, we were mostly drenched. We were welcomed here with wonderful hot tomato soup. One sad thing is we missed capturing the splendid scenery between Ali and Bedni Bugyals. The view from our campsite was amazing. The groups who had reached earlier were lucky to spot the Trishul mountain. It was covered by fog by the time we reached :(

Campsite at Bedni:

This was our first stay at tents in the trek and we were served lunch inside the tents itself as the rain had got heavier. Our camp manager Sandeep called for a meet and told significance of the place and plans for the next few days. We sat in our tents till evening praying for the rains to stop (i dont remember any other time when i prayed for the rains to stop :) ). At tea time, the rain stopped for a while and we had a good walk around the camp site. Again it started to rain and we were back in our tents. Dinner was served in a similar way as lunch. There was a sweet Halwa as promised and it was really delicious. We couldn't get out to wash the plates and hence slept soon after dinner. The rains got heavier and the winds made it even more worse. All through the night, whenever strong winds blew, some rain water was sprinkled on our faces. It was very very irritating in the beginning, but later got used to it and spent the night praying for a clear weather tomorrow.


Day 5 (Tuesday, 8th June 2010): Bedni Bugyal to Ghora Lotani
Trek Distance: 6km
Altitude: 3354m to 3906m

Our prayers were answered: the rain stopped just as the sunlight emerged through the clouds at 5 in the morning. We were all happy and started to pack for the trek. The clouds slowly started to move away and we got excellent views of Mt. Trishul and the other ranges. As today's trek was a little relaxed one (6km), we started a bit late at around 8:30. There was an initial climb of about half-an-hour after which we could see the trail leading into the clouds. Lots of sheep came here to graze on this slope which we had to climb. The weather was awesome just after the rainy night.


Once we reached the trail, our Bedni campsite looked very beautiful. All along the way, we had very beautiful sights of the mountains and meadows. Every step along the trail you feel like stopping and taking a snap. The beauty of this place is beyond any words. After about 2 hours of trekking we all assembled at a place where Ranjit bhai was able to spot some Keeda jadee, which is sold in China for a good price. He was very happy from then on. Ppr and myself also tried our luck but we could spot none.


From this place, Ghora Lotani was a moderate descent and it was enjoyable with the trails looking easy. Reached Ghora Lotani at 12 noon and after about an hour we had lunch. The guides and other guys had started a bit early to set up the tents here as we were unable to get the forest huts. The afternoon was sunny and the wind was very strong. Inside the tents, it was like greenhouse effect and everyone started to feel the heat. There was a waterfall visible on the other side of the mountain. We had a discussion as to where to have our evening walk (waterfall/forest hut) and later decided to go up to the forest huts as they sold some chocs/biscuits.















The view of the mountain ranges from the huts was amazing. Also the clouds opposite our tents cleared and we got a view of the other side of mountains as well. Met another group here, who were lucky to get accommodation in the huts. Took kitkat and biscuits and came back to our tents at around 6 in the evening. We could see the trails leading to Kalu Vinayak temple. This was our next day's hike. The path looked very neat :)


Had dinner and prayed for no rains and good sleep. Many in our group (including me) started getting headaches (maybe becoz of the altitude). Sandeep confirmed that it was quite normal and should be ok by tomorrow night.
Today was the easiest trek of all days and the views were also amazing right from 5 in the morning to the end of the day.


Day 6 (Wednesday, 9th June 2010): Ghora Lotani to Bhaguwabasa via Kalu Vinayak
Trek Distance: 6km
Altitude: 3906m to 4600m

Morning it was very clear weather and we started at around 8. The slower group had started the trek at 7:30. The tents were all removed in a matter of minutes and the guides joined us by the time we reached the forest huts. The trail started with a moderate ascent and then as it circled the mountain, the steepness increased. There was more traffic on this route as compared to other days. Most localites were coming to Kalu Vinayak temple, i guess. Some other group we met, looked happy and we could make out that from their faces they had reached Roopkund. Through the ascent, we crossed the clouds and it became very much foggy. After about 2 hours, reached the Chota keluva temple, which many of us mistaked with the Kalu Vinayak temple. The Chota Keluva temple has a single bell. Kalu Vinayak is about 30 minutes from here (my speed :) ).
















Kalu Vinayak is the highest point that we reach on this day and we can see snow covering over the path from here. It was nice for me as it was my first time in snow :). Spent about half-an-hour at Kalu Vinayak. Prayed for clear weather till Roopkund and a safe return :).
Shortly Pradyumnaji and Sandeep joined us and we tried our hands at the conchshell. Some managed to blow it quite well. Started the descent from here to Bhaguwabasa. It takes roughly about an hour to reach Bhaguwabasa. Reached the forest huts of Bhaguwabasa at around 1pm and we had Maggi for lunch :)


Sandeep came to our tent and told the significance of the place and the story of Roopkund:
"After Shivji and Parvathiji's wedding, Shivji sat for a penance and Parvathiji went for a stroll in the Himalayas (for years). When Shivji woke up, he was quite angry as Parvathiji was not there. Hence he summoned some demons, such as Lohasur to find Parvathiji. Parvathiji took the Kali avatar and killed all of these demons and after killing these demons, Parvathiji was not willing to return to Kailash in that form. Then Shivji formed a lake with his Trishul and here Parvathiji got ready to enter into Kailash. This lake is called ROOPKUND. A few years later, Shivji came in the dream of the King of Kanauj and asked him to visit the Roopkund lake and do pooja. The Raja, in spite of being asked to come alone, carried his wife and soldiers and his men with him. Shivji again came in his dream and told him to leave behind the troop and come alone. He did not heed to the message and continued the trek. The dancers who came with the Raja became stones at a place called PatharNachauniya (this place is just before Kalu Vinayak). The King still continued the trek and his wife and kid also died just before reaching Bhaguwabasa. Maybe the king didnt want to return after the long trek and he decided to trek till the lake. Here there was avalanche and all the king's men were killed as he had disobeyed Shivji. Not sure if the king also died in that. It is said that there are about 500-600 skeletons in the area. In 1942 some researcher studied the bones and came up with a theory that some group of people were crossing the mountains and were killed by the hailstorm. There is a NatGeo documentary on this lake. It comes in the Series: Mysteries of the dead, the Skeleton Lake. Searched all the net and could not find this documentary. Only the trailer is available (quite scary to watch if you are starting the trek now :) )



As Shivji's penance was for about 12 years, theres a yatra to Roopkund every 12 years. Every 12th year, in a village from where the trek starts, a new breed of mountain goats come, which have 4 horns. This indicates the trekking/pooja/yatra season. At this time, the locals alongwith these goats start the yatra to Roopkund. They cross Roopkund, Junargali, Shila samudra and reach Homkund. Here these goats are said to disappear. Nobody knows where they go and its impossible to follow them from Homkund. The people offer prayers at Homkund and return. The next yatra is supposed to be held in 2012.
"

After listening to the story we played some games in the hut. Later all moved outside to play in the snow. As i had severe headache, stayed back taking pics of the snowfight. The day ended with dinner inside the huts and prayers for clear weather tomorrow. It also started to rain (hailstorms) in the night.


Day 7 (Thursday, 10th June 2010): Bhaguwabasa to Roopkund, back to Bhaguwabasa, then Ghora Lotani and finally to Bedni Bugyal
Trek Distance: 22km (5+5+6+6)
Altitude: 4600m to 5029m, back to 3354m

Guess it was decided in the night itself by the guides that we wont start at 5 and go to Junargali as there was very heavy snowfall in the night. When i got up at 5, was relieved that the headache had gone and was feeling very fresh. We were all wondering why we were still inside at 5:30 as the scheduled start was at 5. Later we started from the camp at 7:30, the slow group moving half-an-hour ahead of us. It was nice experience walking in the snow (first time for me :) ).


Before the trek we got awesome views of Mt. Trishul and the other mountains, when the first rays of Sun touched the peaks. Took chocs and Jumpin Mango and started the trek.


It took close to 4 hours to reach the peak. There was a great sense of joy and accomplishment as we saw the Roopkund lake. So many prayers for clear weather were answered and it felt really great. Did sliding, searching (for jaws and skulls) and enjoyed in the snow for about half-an-hour. Later, Sandeep called for breakfast. i was already fed up of the dry rotis and alu and dal and took shared the breakfast with ppr, who was also almost fed up eating the same thing.

Skeleton-Lake:
Small Temple at Roopkund:

We started our descent shortly after all the photo shoots. Then we realized how difficult it is to climb down the snow peak. All the guides who had come were very helpful and they assisted most of the people to get down safely. The fear factor is the major hurdle stopping us from getting down the snow peak. A few metres down, Shashi slipped and fell a few feet away from the trail. All were scared and some were fearing the worst. The guides who were helping the slower people rushed to that spot. Sandeep almost ran like a 100m race downhill and Shashi had got a grip using his trekking stick. Sandeep and Ranjit bhai brought him down to safety and we were all relieved.
Shashi's group (ansar, nithin, deepak, abhiram) crossed that point (christened Shashi gully :) ) and i was next. Hailstorm started and i somehow felt that the descent had become even more slippery becoz of the hailstorms on the snow. Stopped there and shouted for Ranjit bhai for help to climb down. He came and we had an argument there. Ranjit was asking me to climb down and i was asking him to climb up to help me. Later he motivated me to come down :) and from there it was a nice slide through the Shashi gully :)

From here onwards, we moved quite fast to the campsite and reached at around 2pm.
Lunch was served and again was in no mood to eat the same stuff. Ate just a bit of rice as we still had to cover 12km more distance. It started raining hailstorms and the ponchos were of great use. However due to the wind, we were not able to hold on the ponchos properly. After reaching Ghora Lotani, asked a local to tie the ponchos to the bag tightly and from here on walked very fast to reach Bedni Bugyal. We had snowfall on teh way and the views were awesome here. Some parts on the way, the wind was so much that i felt like flying. Reached Bedni at 6:30 pm. Here we were welcomed by Swapnil and it was a great sense of accomplishment.
As i was in the first group to reach, selected a nice tent and dinner was served to us in the tents itself. As a prize for our completion of the trek, the porters only took our plates for washing and trust me, it was a very big treat for us in the blistering cold.
Had a sound sleep in the night and we were all happy about the completion of the trek.



Day 8 (Friday, 11th June 2010): Bedni Bugyal to Wan to Lohajung
Trek Distance: 14km
Altitude: 3354m to 2530m

After the completion of trek:
Started at 9:30 in the morning. It was a 4 hour descent to Wan village through the forests. It was a nice walk in the beginning. later began feeling the pain of the descent. But somewhere there was the happiness of the completion of the trek which kept us moving forward (or down :) ). Chandan, Harsha, Abhishek, Sachin had formed a chorus band for the descent, singing all songs. i also joined them and It was great fun walking down. The descent was till the Neel Ganga river. The water was unbelievably sweet. Wanted to take a bath here, but all the clothes were with the mules and had no option but to sit and relax in the river for a while.

The chorus band:

There was a steep ascent after the river and we reached Wan in another 2 hours time. The children here were all greeting us with 'Namastey'. It was wonderful to see the kids and people greeting one another. Felt sad that we didnt have enough chocs to give to the kids :(


Reached teh village where the jeeps were ready to take us to Lohajung. The ride was too good in teh mud roads, listening to the Gadwali songs that the driver played in the Sumo.
The trek this finally ended at around 3pm.

Seeing motor vehicles after a week :)

Ankit and Dinesh welcomed us back once again and we had a nice lunch. and nice cozy accommodation in concrete building :)

Links:
Indiahikes Roopkund trek: www.roopkund.com
Snaps: http://picasaweb.google.com/manjunathmb/Roopkund?authkey=Gv1sRgCIO-jpia4oqpZg#