Blissful trek to the Valley of Flowers, Uttarakhand

There is a reason why well-kept gardens are so salubrious to the mind and soul of living beings. Swathed in variegated shades of green and offering respite from the polluted environment of our cities, gardens and similar landscapes allures everyone to spend time. But there is a limit to such expanses in cities. One usually has to escape the bounds of the cities to find larger and more pristine environment. Our protected areas offer us the desired solace. It is always an invigorating feeling in such habitations. My visit to the Valley of Flowers in Uttarakhand stirs in me similar feelings.

The Valley of Flowers National park is open only for nearly four months in a year from June to September. Mid-July to mid-August is said to be the time when the glory of the national park is at its acme as the myriad flowers, which are the USP of the park, are at their full glamour. A group of seven, Bilal, Dinesh, Gaurav, Nishant, Paritosh, Suryakant and Utkarsh, belonging to six different states of India got together for the trek. It was quite a task to bring everyone on board. We had planned to visit VOF around August 15 but the monsoon rain was, as usual, battering the state with immense downpour around this time. Occurrences of landslides were commonplace. Finally keeping aside the risk, we went ahead with our plan with a couple of days as buffer for any hindrance in the trip.

Since Utkarsh was to join from Haridwar the next morning, the six of us left from Delhi at midnight on August 12 from Kashmiri Gate bus station, taking a bus to Haridwar. The Delhi station was teeming with tourists. We missed at least 5 buses until we found one with seats for the 6 of us. That bus broke down at Roorkee, an hour short of Haridwar. Luckily another bus was arranged in no time. But it had taken us nearly 6 hours for a 5 hour journey by bus and we reached just before 6 am.

August 13: Utkarsh was waiting for us at the bus station. He had enquired with the taxi union for the road ahead. We booked a taxi (Tata Sumo) from the taxi union stand just outside the Haridwar bus stand till Govindghat for INR 6550 and buckled up for another long leg of the journey. After having our usual bun-makhhan breakfast at Haridwar bus station along with a cup of tea at 7 am, the journey began. Together, we all felt pleased and excited for the journey. It was Suryakant’s first visit to the mountains and on certain occasions I thought he would jump out of the vehicle to take a wholesome view of the sprawling natural beauty. The windowpanes were small enough though. Sitting at the back of the vehicle was dizzying and whoever sat there felt like vomiting, so we kept switching places.

We did make several pit stops before we reached Pandukeshwar, 1.5 km ahead of Govindghat, at 5:30 pm. We lodged ourselves in two rooms at Pandukeshwar for INR 800 for the night with hot water costing dearly at INR 40 per bucket. It was getting dark and the valley looked formidable in the rains that followed. We freshened up and left to have dinner. A chat with locals helped clarify our doubts and concerns about the VOF. They mentioned that while the trek till Ghangharia (base camp for VOF and Hemkund Sahib) is 14 km long, one can take a taxi from Pandukeshwar to Pulna, from where the trek is only 11 km. A helicopter service is also available from Govindghat to Ghangharia that would curtail the 5 hour journey to 5 minutes but we were all set to embark on the trek the next morning.

August 14: It was raining when we marched ahead the next morning at 6:30 am. We hired a taxi from Pandukeshwar to Pulna for 4.5 km; it dropped us at Pulna for INR 400 within half an hour. Considering one also has to carry one’s luggage till Ghangharia, it was a good decision to take the taxi till Pulna. It not only saves significant effort but it does save a lot of time. One can buy make-do raincoats and small bags for low prices at Pulna. Our trek to Ghangharia began from here. We wore our raincoats/ ponchos to keep the light drizzle at bay. We also

donned our winter-wear as it was cold outside. Clicking photographs and taking selfies on the way, we moved forward with little difficulty. Suryakant, however, started showing signs of weariness in the initial kilometre itself. First he handed over his luggage to Dinesh and kept pace. Later, we put his luggage on a mule and he somehow managed to walk through the rest of the trek.

The hills offer amazing vistas and panoramas, from thick forests to open ridges with cascade of waterfalls. There are shops after regular intervals where one can eat, drink and catch a breath. But as one gains altitude, things start getting costlier for valid reason. The last stretch of around 4 km takes a toll and tests trekkers. We pulled ourselves together and reached Ghangharia at around 12 pm after an arduous trek of nearly 11 km. Many tourists had already flocked Ghangharia. We looked for hotels and got two rooms in two separate hotels. We were really tired and didn’t look further to get rooms in the same hotel. We all met for lunch again. Ghangharia is a small place meant to house tourists for the treks to the VOF and Hemkund Sahib (HS). A lot of tourists, mostly Sikhs, make a pilgrimage to HS. Two separate routes go to VOF and HS and one can’t and shouldn’t cover both the places in the same day. For us, VOF was the priority.

We had plenty of time after lunch and wondered if we should start trekking the VOF once today. But we chose not to as the VOF closes at 5 pm and then there was always the fear of rains getting harder. We rather decided to explore Ghangharia. In addition to housing several guest houses and restaurants, the place also houses a few medicine shops and a couple of clinics. During our exploration of Ghangharia, we got a chance to meet Mr. Raviraj Chauhan, who has been guiding tourists for more than 15 years in VOF and the surrounding areas. He was enthralled to interact with youngsters like us and describe the magnificence of the VOF’s flora and fauna. He showed us his prized collection of photographs of various terrestrial and avian fauna. He shared the plight of the environment around the VOF due to climatic disturbances, something which we also strongly believed. We bid goodbye as we left him to cater to his customers. Gaurav, Dinesh and I then climbed down to a waterfall, where I soaked my shoes but managed to take beautiful photographs.

August 15: What a morning! India’s Independence Day. Nestled in the hills, we felt independent ourselves. Gaurav, Bilal and I vacated our room. We all had a mediocre breakfast, packed parathas for lunch and left for the days’ trek to VOF at around 7 am. The park opens at around 7 am and we were there by 7:30 am. The VOF National Park (NP) is spread in 87.50 sq. km and as mentioned by one of the guards at the entrance of the NP, the trek within the park goes as far as 10-11 km. If one is planning to go that far in a single day, one must begin early with food packed for the long journey, as no food is available once one enters the NP. Indian citizens have to pay INR 150 on entering the NP, which is the cost for 3 days. We entered along with several other tourists to the NP. There is clearly marked trail and it passes through thickets, undergrowth, open areas, large trees and a number of waterfalls. Later that day we would get to know that this was the day when the NP received the highest footfall ever, 362 tourists visited VOF in just one day.

I had caught severe cold. One of my hands was taking photographs while the other was carrying a hankie serving my running nose. Bilal and Suryakant too were not very comfortable. But the magnificence of the place kept everyone going. Suryakant went back after some 4 km. The rest of us carried on further till we reached the Pushpawati River flowing in wide open area. The time was still

11: 30 am and it had just started to drizzle again. We could see the clouds enshrouding the valley just above us and the biting wind blew. We celebrated the insurmountable beauty of the valley taking lunch together. We silently ruminated over the spirit of the valley in the backdrop of the majestic Pushpawati River which bifurcated the resplendent flora in the foreground and the verdant mountains & cascading waterfalls in the background. Dinesh, Gaurav, Paritosh and Utkarsh continued further while Bilal and I decided to go back.

We saw a lot of people still climbing on our way back. Bilal and I climbed down and headed straight to have some tea and Maggi. We also booked another room, since we had left our previous room in the morning. We found a room close to the other room and booked it for INR 400. Signs of weariness were visible on everyone’s face when they came back. But the sense of achievement was more overpowering. Tiredness soon took over and everyone slept after a short while. After the exhausting journey, some people offer leg massage at a cost of INR 50-100. One such person also took Paritosh’s and my shoes to dry out. While the cost is high (INR 150 per pair to dry), you do need dry shoes. Others went for leg massages. We discussed the plan for tomorrow at dinner. Nobody seemed to come to consensus on going to HS, but it was anyways decided to trek to HS the next morning at 7 am.

16 August: It was raining incessantly. Paritosh and Gaurav were still sleeping. I too was never feeling well after that cold and I asked others to trek HS without me. But others also backed out. We thought it was better to climb down from Ghangharia to Govindghat. Within an hour and a half, everyone had had their breakfast and was ready to descend. We began the descent in the downpour and it almost never ceased completely even by the time we reached Pulna. We hired a cab till Joshimath and it took us there in an hour. From Joshimath we again hired a cab till Haridwar for INR 5500 and were there by 10 pm. We then had a sumptuous dinner and settled our accounts. It was just before 12 by that time. Dinesh and Suryakant stayed at Haridwar as they wanted to visit Rishikesh again while the five of us left for Delhi seeing an AC bus calling for passengers to Delhi. We reached Delhi by 5 am on 17^th August. INR 4000 was enough to see through the journey.

Since we had 4 more days of holidays, Bilal, Gaurav and I left for Pushkar, Ajmer and Jaipur on 18^th, which is another story for some other time.

Tryst with Royalty in Jaisalmer and Jodhpur

With an extremely fascinating history, Rajasthan enchants more than just domestic tourists from India. It ranks 5^th for the highest number of foreign tourists arriving in India. And it’s not for nothing. Every city delivers something unique. Ergo, no wonder most of them have earned their sobriquets. I decided to visit The Golden City, Jaisalmer and The Blue City, Jodhpur on an extended weekend in early October, 2015.

I chose it to be a backpacking adventure, without any company except myself, surprising many on and off the trip. Although it meant no friend to talk to, it gave me ample opportunity to interact with people hitherto strangers. The overnight journey from Delhi to Jaisalmer by train took me nearly 19 hours and it was already afternoon by the time I reached Jaisalmer. I put up at a decent Jain Dharamshala for the next one day.

Almost all cities in this kingly state have a regal history. Kings used to build forts to protect their kingdoms. Jaisalmer fort or the Sonar Quila is one such living fort. King Jaisal had built it in 12^th century. The streets inside the fort are always abuzz with activity. Several people have their residences inside the fort premise and tourism is their mainstay. The museum in the fort premises is vast and fascinating for history buffs. It offers panoramic views of the Jaisalmer city. Spellbound, I spent more than a couple of hours observing the museum.

 

While I was deciding where to head next sipping tea outside the fort, someone gave me a visiting card for camel safari tour operator and I gave the person a call. Excitedly he came to pick me up and next we were negotiating the cost of camel safari. But it was getting nowehere as the place for camel safari was nearly 40 km away from Jaisalmer and I had no way to  reach there. Fortuitously, I met a few strangers from Sancher in Rajasthan who also wanted a similar package. I made a deal with them and together we left to enjoy camel safari in the Thar desert. I paid INR 400 for a package which included a camel safari, folk dance and music programme from tribals and chai pakoda. I rode along with these strangers, befriended them on the way and we reached the place where camel bearers took us for a desert safari at sunset. Later, we watched the dance and music show by the tribal artists at night. We left at around 9:15 pm from there to Jaisalmer again and reached there at around 10:00 pm.

 

Something in me asked me to start my next morning by offering prayers at the Jain temple in the dharmshala premises, which I gladly did. Patwon ki haveli was also on my cards. I walked till the haveli and paid INR 100 for the entry ticket which also included photographing. The haveli is very well maintained and surely worth a visit. It captures the lives of a Jain businessman and his family, including five sons. The businessman, Ghuman Chand Patwa, gifted separate havelis to each of his five sons. The patwon ki haveli contains artifacts from their life preserved in different rooms. A local market surrounds the haveli and I could not stop myself from buying some goodies for friends and family. The weather outside was getting really hot but I walked till the Gadisar lake. This lake was constructed to supply water to the city of Jaisalmer. In winters, you might even find migratory birds who take pitstops enroute the bharatpur bird sanctuary.

I went back to the dharmshala, packed my bags and caught a bus to Jodhpur at around 1:30 pm. It took me nearly 4:30 hours to reach the blue city. I roamed around just to get the buzz of the city, had dinner and found some time to browse through a few pages of 1984 and went to bed making up my mind to begin another adventure the next day.

As a researcher in the natural resource management field, I feel particularly inclined towards nature. Thus instead of beginning my last day of the trip from the famous Mehrangarh fort, I chose to visit the less frequented yet amazingly well maintained Rao Jodha Desert Rock park. Way to the desert park and the Mehrangarh park are same for most part of the overall distance except in the end where the steep and rounded road bifurcates to these two places.

 

I had read about this park on the internet and had high hopes from it. And it did not disappoint. I met couple of people on entering the park and they guided me to follow the yellow color coded trail to avoid getting lost in the 200 acre park. I found the red one and still came out fine. I am sure I was the only person roaming in the whole park. Although, I did see a bunch of adventure buffs trying their luck on the flying fox in the backdrops of the Mehrangarh fort. This park boasts of both floral and avian diversity. While I did find floral diversity but the marvelous scenery would not really allow me to focus on noting the avian diversity, instead I chose to click pictures.

Somehow after some 1.5 hours I emerged from the trail victorious. Such nature walks will invigorate me forever. The hot weather was a letdown though, which I could not have managed without the water bottle I was carrying along. Mehrangarh fort is not far from the park and I walked from the park to the fort gates. Luckily, for some festival, I got free entry at both the park and the fort. To be frank, I found the Mehrangarh fort to be a bit overhyped. However, the strategic location and the thick walls of the fort are definitely one of the best among all Indian forts I have seen. A number of canons are perched on top of the fort, which was done to prevent attacks from enemies in those times. The museum is well-stocked and has several stories to tell. The fort also houses the (in)famous Chamunda Devi temple, wherein the stampeded that killed more than 200 people, took place. This fort is also the place where shooting of the Batman: the Dark Knight Rises took place.

Coming back from the fort, I headed to the extremely popular Umaid Bhavan Palace. But reaching the palace-cum-hotel was not easy. I had to change many buses from the fort to the palace before I stopped at a point from where the palace was still at least 2 km away. It’s always better to take a rickshaw to reach the palace directly but they all ask for exorbitant amount, especially if you are alone. City buses are a cheap option if you are able to find your route by yourself or by asking the locals, who in general are very helpful.

An entry ticket of INR 30 to visit the museum and the vintage car collection is paltry compared to exorbitant tariffs of the rooms in Umaid Bhavan Palace. The palace is spread in 26 acres and one of the largest private residences in the world. Henry Manchester, designer of the palace, left no stone unturned to prove his mettle in art deco. A security guard told me that 90% of the palace has turned into the Taj group of hotels, 5% is museum and the remaining is where the royal family still lives.

Visit to this palace brought me to the end of this fantastic solo backpacking adventure. I took the train back to Delhi that would drop me to Delhi Cantonment next morning. My understanding of Rajasthan as a royal place with rich culture and even 'richer' people has only strengthened. I wish to come back to the state again, that time for some other adventures.