Uttarakhand Trekking Experience-3

Continued  from:

Day 2:

Time: About 5 a.m. in the morning.

Date: 19th June.

Location: A Hotel in Rishikesh.

Our day started early in the morning at 5:00 a.m. The room had visible signs that it had witnessed a storm last night which all of us missed because of our deep slumber. After a frenetic packing we all rushed to the Rishikesh Bus Stand where we had to catch the bus for Govindghat. 

The bus was of medium size, having 2 seats on each side. Since we were 7 in number, 1 of us had to sit alone throughout the journey. Unfortunately it was my turn to share the seat with some unknown person. Surprisingly there was huge no. of Bengalis who boarded the bus at Rishikesh Bus Stand. They were headed to the famous Hindu pilgrimage Badrinath/Kedarnath. After a small period in the dark, Sun came out in the hills. The journey was fun, the weather was pleasant and the view from the bus was awesome.

View from the Bus

After a couple of hours, the bus halted near some dhabas where we had a cup of tea. The next stop of the Bus was at another scenic location where we had our breakfast/lunch. From there the bus headed to Joshimath which was the next major stop. The view of the surroundings from the bus was one of the best parts of this trip. Though all of us were seated for most of the period, the scenes which emerged one after another compensated for the same. Throughout the path we witnessed mountainous terrain, deep valley, tree laden hills and full flowing river. Though there were some hiccups in the journey because of road jam but the scenery we witnessed throughout the path was awesome enough to compensate it. Unfortunately not everyone in the bus was enjoying the journey. Our fellow passengers from West Bengal (now Pashchim Bang) who were neither used to the mountains nor to the Bus Ride at such a height developed motion sickness and had an altercation with the conductor of the bus. The bus reached Joshimath near about 3:00 p.m. in the afternoon.

Joshimath has a unique Traffic Control System which is being managed in coordination with the traffic authority at Badrinath.The road from Joshimath to Badrinath is very narrow and can accommodate only one vehicle at a time. To ensure smooth and risk free travel, two gates are installed one each at Joshimath and at Badrinath which operate alternately. When we reached Joshimath the gates were closed and we had to wait for almost an hour for the journey to resume. Govindghat, our destination for that day was only 45 km away from Joshimath.

After a short while the journey resumed and we headed to Govindghat. We were the only group to get down from the bus at Govindghat and rest of the passengers headed to Badrinath/Kedarnath. Govindghat is used by most of the passengers as a base camp for Ghangariya. Though there are many hotels and lodges in that area but initially we had to toil a little in finding the suitable one. After a brief search we found a hotel with appropriate location. Since we were on the cost cutting mode we booked a single room for all 7 of us.

It was almost 7 in the evening and the sun had set down. The area was heavily crowded by the Sikh pilgrims. There was a market over there which is situated in two narrow lanes. Beyond the lanes there was a Gurudwara which plays host to hundreds of pilgrims every day. After roaming in the streets for a short while we went to the bridge which is built across the river Alaknanda. There was huge rush near the Gurudwara and the bridge. The river was flowing at full vigor and the scene was enthralling. The flow of the river was accompanied by the roaring sound which added a special effect to the whole scene. This was the same bridge which we had to cross the next morning. After making few enquiries regarding the next day’s journey we returned back to our hotel.

On our way to hotel we had our dinner and then went to the bed planning to wake up early tomorrow. The next day was supposed to be the most adventurous day of our journey till now.

OUR PATH

                                                                                                                   To be continued ...