Uttarakhand Chardham tour (Part 2)

Yamunotri to Gangotri

Yamunotri   to Uttarkashi  Day 3

Starting leisurely at 9.30 AM from Janaki chatti campsite at Yamunotri ,we reached Uttarkashi at 1.00 P.M. Uttarkashi is the holy town set on the banks of Bhagirathi River at an elevation of 1158 meters. Its significance among Hindus is no less than Kashi.  Visited sacred Vishwanath Temple  dedicated to Lord Shiva . There is a trident made of eight imperative metals. According to Hindu Mythology, Lord Shiva slaughtered Vakasur with his Trishul at this sacred place. 

Lord Kashi Vishwanath Temple

Trishul inside the temple

Evening was spent at leisure walking through 1 Km long tunnel connecting 2 parts of town , purchasing varieties of  pahadi  fruits ,later had sumptuous buffet dinner at the hotel.

Uttarkashi  to Gangotri   -Uttarkashi Day 4

 Early morning at 5.30 A.M, all of us were out to make the awaited trip to Gangothri. The road to Gangotri passes through Maneri, Bhatwari, Gangnani and Harsil. Thoroughly enjoying the scenery with swooping ranges and gazing changing facets of Bhagirathi as she makes her way across the Himalayas, we reached Gangotri at 10.00 am. The road is very bad after Gangnani, it is quite dangerous also, a driver must be very cautious on this route. Flowing Bhagirathi, green valleys with cedar and pine trees kept company through- out our journey. Gomukh glacier becomes visible as we approach Gangotri.

Gangotri is located at an altitude of 3100 meters above sea level, on the banks of Bhagirathi river. From Devprayag onwards Bhagirathi meets with Alaknanda  to form Ganga River. Location of the temple is very picturesque, in the backdrop of  high mountains, watched by Gomukh glacier in the east. The  white colored granite ,20 feet height exquisite temple  houses  Ganga Devi's idol, Goddess Yamuna and Lakshmi. Bhagirath Shila, where King Bhagirath is believed to have performed his famed saadhna to bring Ganga from heaven to earth, is located within the compound. The river water was cold ,I could dip hand/feet for a few minutes to collect the holy water , Pradeepji  took a small bath . On the banks ,we all members sat in a circle performed the pooja under the guidance of priest and paid our respect to the mother divine by offering a coconut carried from Sullia.

With our friends at Gangotri temple

View of Gangotri Glacier from the Ghat

Pranams to King Bhagirath who performed 500 years of penance to bring River Ganga to earth

Pranams to Maa Bhaghirathi at Gangotri Ghats

Bhagirathshila inside Temple premises

Maa Ganga Temple 

We took same route to go back to Uttarkashi. Way back had Idli  sambar at Gangnani and took bath in hot spring here. It is said that in ancient times, Rishi Parashar used to live here. Stopped for a shorter while at other attractions like Khedi Waterfall  and the captivating region of Bhairon Ghati  near the convergence of Bhagirathi River and Jat Ganga.

Captivating view of River Bhagirathi near Harsil

Khedi waterfall

Pilot Baba Ashram

 After Bhatwari, as we approach Uttarkashi, there is an  ashram of  Pilot Baba. It  looks like a spiritual disney land with gigantic images of Ganesha, Shiva and numerous other sages. The ashram has a pleasing natural ambience with landscape, lush green gardens with beautiful flowers.

That evening we took a stroll round the Uttarkashi town,way back to hotel had vegetable momos . Next morning we had to drive a long way to Kedarnath.

Uttarakhand Chardham Tour (Part I)

Chardham tour (Part I) 

Journey from Dehradun to Yamunotri

Uttarakhand is a renowned tourist destination for Indians and foreigners for its Chardham yatra, Himalayan splendor and originating points for significant rivers Ganga, Yamuna. Char Dham circuit  covers Yamunotri (origin of river Yamuna), Gangotri (origin of river Ganga), Kedarnath (shrine of Lord Shiva) and Badrinath (shrine of Lord Vishnu) in the different locations of Uttarakhand in Himalayan Mountains. Apart from spiritual glory, the region abounds in marvels of nature as well offering immense scope for fun, sightseeing and adventure. The hilly terrain and unpredictable weather conditions make travel  quite difficult and risky. Besides this the reminisces of June 2013 flashfloods, news of forest fires, cloud bursts deters one from planning a tour here ,only those with a strong inclination  to be in Himalaya can go ahead.  A slight assurance from Sri B. Prakash Shenoy -our troupe guide ,prompted  us (me and my husband)  to book  to and fro flight tickets from Mangalore to Dehradun only 20 days in advance.  He convinced us with the tour itinerary of the 11 day journey, fixing of a local driver to steer us through the circuit. Cheerfully looking forward to be in the company of other 10 friends from Sullia and hoping for safer, smoother and shorter yatra , we left for Dehradun from Mangalore on June 18th 2016. We reached Dehradun at 6.00p.m spent that evening strolling and shopping at Pacific Mall near our place of stay  Hotel  Sakoon  .Our group members stayed at Haridwar and would pick us next day morning .

TOUR ITINERARY

Dehradun  -Mussorie- Barkot  Day 1

Prakasheshwar Mahadev Temple on the outskirts of Dehradun

Jai Jai Mahadev

Owing to a traffic snarl our troupe from Haridwar dropped in late to pick us. Haridwar-Dehradun-Mussorie route  has its own traffic woes during weekends to accommodate  the crowding tourists.

En-route we  visited Prakasheshwar Mahadev temple ,no donations are accepted here , ate sweet prasadam . Enjoyed  the beauty of mountains ,scenic  route  with bends as we drove uphill towards Mussorie. We passed through crowded  Mall road in Mussorie, LBS Training Institute for IAS officers  & congested road near Kempty falls .Had first day's  lunch at 3.30 p.m.

Mussorie Centre Point, Towards right Mall road

View of  Kempty falls  

Lakhmandal temple declared as protected monument by Government India

A slight deviation from the circuit route, we stopped at Lakhamandal -a very less traveled town but with a lot of heritage associated with it. Walking through some of the old wood homes covered with stone slabs was a pleasant feeling.A staircase leads to a  beautiful stone carved  Shiva temple.Many Idols said to have been worshipped by the Pandavas were found  during excavation by Archeological Survey of India .

Adhi kedareshwar Temple-This is the place of wax palace where Duryodhana plotted to burn Pandavas 

Shiva Lingams of varying designs : Lakh Mandal means many Lingams

School- boys trained as guides took us around the temple complex . Graphite Lingam(above pic -right one) that provides perfect reflections when water / milk is dropped is the main attraction. Our schedule was to reach Janki chatty on Day 1, but  our driver could manage to  make it  till Barkot. No vehicles are permitted after 8.00p.m in the hilly region

Barkot -view of flowing river  Yamuna

Barkot-  Yamunotri  Day 2

We started early morning at 6.30 towards Janakichatti. 36 Kms journey took 3 hours of steering through lush valleys, tiny hamlets, curvy  roads meandering the  flowing  river Yamuna. As the Owner of Hotel Atithi Niwas was expecting us, the rooms were ready and checking in was smooth. . From Jankichatti where we stayed, its a 6 km trek to Yamunotri, we hired a pony uphill . The elevation of Janaki Chatti is 2,576 meters whereas that of Yamunotri is 3,323 meters. In other words, the average gradient is about 12.5%. This is a fairly steep climb of 747 metres in two and half hours on a pony. Mountains, greenery and waterfalls create a beautiful and breathe taking scene on the route to Yamunotri. According to the legends, Yamuna is the daughter of the Sun God Surya and the twin sister of Yama, the God of Death.  The actual source of River Yamuna is at a fewer distance from the temple, two hot springs can also be seen at Yamunotri Dham out of 2, Surya Kund, has boiling water properties whereas  the Gauri Kund has lukewarm water suitable for bathing. After taking bath in the Kund ,worshipped at Yamunotri temple, watched the beautiful waterfall, immersed our legs in the spine -chilling  river flowing from Kalind mountain.

Pilgrims riding ponies      notice the road width for trekking pilgrims

Spotting the beauty of  Kalinda mountains

Yamunotri temple visible from last bridge.. What a divine energy!!

Temple housing idols of GoddessYamuna &Ganga

I had parota and chole,to be energetic for downhill walk, it tasted delicious,the edible oil used at these places is refined Soya bean oil.We decided to walk downhill ,our earlier experience riding downhill on mule at Maa Vaishnodevi hill was a scary one.it requires more concentration to balance the torso and arms in a sloppy track. . The stunning scenery, the breathtaking views of mountains on both sides (our road itself is part of the hill with acute hair-pin bends), the gushing river Yamuna flowing down, waterfalls from the opposite side mountain, at some places from our side as well ! captivated us.

After a simple lunch at the foot hill ,reached our room at 2.30p.m, very soon it started raining and  weather turned cool. Because of presence of ponies, flies are a nuisance in this area. By now our legs started throbbing, had to apply pain relief oil and lay lazily. Night supper was boiled- rice porridge.Early morning next day we had to get ready for another Dham - Gangotri.