Kedarnath, The Land of Lord

I actually planned a Bike trip to Kedarnath in the same manner as my last one to Badrinath but God wanted something else. All of my friends back out and weather suddenly changed.

If Lord Shiva is calling you then he will arrange the way, even a better one. I punched my i-card at 3.30 PM, packed my bag and reached metro station, target was to step into Haridwar at around 1 or 2 AM because mostly GMOU buses or other busses to hilly areas started their journey from Haridwar in between 3 to 5 AM.

Reached Kashmiri Gate ISBT and boarded on the very first bus to Haridwar. I thought it will reach at around 2 AM, will spend the rest 1 hour nearby Bus stand. But unfortunately i reached at around 11 PM. Seriously, travel time from Delhi to Haridwar in a normal State Bus was just 4 to 5 hours.

Note: Busses are easily available from Kashmiri Gate to Haridwar, you can also book seats in Super Luxury and AC busses. And also book seats to Sonprayag(Bus stand) from Haridwar in advance because sometimes its difficult to get seats in those small hilly busses. You can use Redbus to book seats.

I already booked my seat to Sonprayag and the departure time was 4 AM. So now next task for me was to spend next 3-4 hours in Bus stand. Actually it is fun to spend few hours with hundreds of strangers, serious discussions among a group of old people and one guy was snoring who was sitting with me. I am too much social person, this helped me and i wasted few hours of those nearby sitting old people with numping into the discussions on the Government, Mordern culture etc and those old youngsters were really doing healthy discussion at 12 AM.

Tea, the only drink available for survival for only 10 bucks.

So in this way i spent my few hours at Haridwar Bus stand.

Finally i boarded on my bus at around 03.30 in the morning and within 5 minutes i slept and had no idea when the bus started and all. Cold and clean air coming from the small opening of window forced me to open my eyes and i saw the sun was peeping through the pine tree, Ganga was flowing in her own way, that beautiful smell of hills and bus was jumping because of some construction work.

Note: This construction work is there from last many months, the project of All weather Road connecting all 4 sacred Dhams.

Finally our bus stopped before Devprayaag for refreshment, which was very much necessary as i wanted a cup of tea. "Pahadi Chaha" is not like the tea you'll get in Delhi, it is not that much strong and all but it is really good with full of milk and sugar. We stopped there for almost 30 minutes. Many small restaurants are there where you'll get Chole Parathe, Pakodi Rayta (must try), Aloo Fry etc.

After a short break we reached Devprayaag, a small town in Tehri Garhwal district where Alaknanda and Bhagirathi rivers meet and get the name Ganga. It is one of the Panch Prayag. I was boarded on a Bus therefore didn't get time to capture picture but last time when i was on a road trip to Badrinath, then i stopped there and admired the beauty. You can easily identify both the rivers.

Yes, let me tell you the route of my bus:

Haridwar-Rishikesh-Devprayag-Srinagar-Rudraprayag-Guptkashi-Sonprayag.

After a slow journey of around 2 hours we reached Srinagar. It is a beautiful city in Pauri Garhwal district located at the banks of River Alaknanda. It is also an educational hub of Uttarakhand.

Note: If you're coming from Delhi and you have your own vehicle then you can also reach Kedarnath via Delhi-Kotdwar-Pauri Garhwal-Srinagar route.

Now our major stop was Rudraprayag which is also a major town and bus stand, also the route for Badrinath diverted from Rudra Prayag.

When you go ahead of Rudraprayag, the air changes suddenly because of change in altitude. There are many beautiful places nearby Rudraprayag which i cannot explain in this blog but will post soon.

The condition of road wasn't good and finally after few hours we reached Guptkashi and again i wanted one more cup of tea.

Within 2 hours we finally reached Sonprayag, the last stoppage of Bus and then after walking few steps i hopped into a Jeep going to Gaurikund. Gaurikund is not that far away from Sonprayag and In June 2013, these two places were highly effected by that deadly natural calamity.

Note: Plan to reach Sonprayag till 4 PM, you will easily get Jeep (Taxi) to Gaurikund, stay overnight there and then start trekking early in the morning.

When i reached Gaurikund, i felt something amazing you know, i felt someone is calling me, i just lost myself there. Before i planned to stay there but i don't know why i took my bag, closed my jacket and start trekking. It was around 6.00 PM and everyone told me not to continue but i thought i should continue so that i will get more time in Kedarnath. You know when you want to do something, God always listen to you and i alone started the trek, met a boy, elder than me and we together start trekking. I came to know that he was also in that same bus and pursuing his PhD from IIT-D.

Note: Yeah, one more important thing, before starting your journey, register yourself for Dashan. You can book directly from onlinechardhamyatra.in This service was started by government after 2013 calamity.

It was around 7.30 PM, already dark enough, chilled breeze, noise of waterfalls and sound of our boots. Stopped after trekking few kms. and refreshed by having maggie and a cup of tea. Still 13kms left. ???? I stopped there for almost 30 minutes and then continued my journey till i reached GMVN, bheembali which is almost 5 kms ahead Gaurikund, i actually stopped there for dinner and it was my bad luck or you can say i was late, food wasn't available and i again ended up with one plate maggie and a cup of tea. I also came to know that in 2013, where i was sitting was completely vanished or washed away. They also suggested not to continue further as it is not safe to trek in dark, also you will feel the scarcity of oxygen. It was around 10 PM and i decided not to continue further and asked for blankets to sleep. I tried to sleep but my mind was still in Kedarnath.

It was around 01.30 in the morning and was ready to continue our trek. It was dark and temperature was nearby 0 degree and not a single person was there. This also effected my trekking speed and after 1 hour trek i reached Rambara, area which was completely washed away during 2013 calamity, even after this place i had to cross the temporary bridge.

Note: After 2013 disaster, the old route from Rambara to Kedarnath completely washed out and government started this new route beyond Rambara.

I had goosebumps while crossing that temporary bridge at 2.30 AM in the morning, just few feets below River Mandakini was flowing in its full speed. Somehow i crossed it and continued the trek.

I met a black "Bhotia" dog and now he was leading my way like a pro. After trekking for 2 hours i almost reached, Kedarnath was just 1 kms and decided to wait for the golden disc to rise and to see its first ray to fall on the mighty Himalayas standing proudly infront of me.

At around 6 in the morning i reached Kedarnath, the moment when i saw the temple i was just smiling nothing else, felt that Lord Shiva himself standing and smiling back to me.

Now next task was to search a room or tent to rest as i was traveling continously from last 36 hours. Near GMVN i hired a sleeping bag in a sharing tent and put my bags there. Accomodation is affordable, you will easily get a sleepimg bag in a tent for just Rs. 200 to 300. If you are 3-4 people then it will be good to take a tent or a room. But yeah you can't sleep if you are here in Kedarnath.

At around 10 am, i took my camera and reached near the temple which is at a height of 3,583 m. "Kedarnath" means "the lord of the field", this temple is one of the Panch Kedar temples.

Finally i was here, standing in a long queue waiting for our turn to see our Lord. It was a sunny day but temperature was around 8 to 10 degree celcius. There is a big rock at the back of the temple, commonly known as "Bheemshila". This huge rock got stuck behind the temple and protected it from the ravages of the flood. The waters gushed on both the sides of the temple destroying everything in their path. Now people worships this Holy Rock.

After worshing, i searched food. Actually i love pahadi food but frankly speaking if you are in a holy place where thousands of public is visiting daily then don't experiment with food, also at high altitude food is not that tasty. So just go for a normal light and healthy diet.

You'll get good food easily at very genuine price, just add Rs 150 per plate in your budget.

Then i slept for few hours and when i wake up weather was totally different. It was cloudly with cold breeze. I headed to the temple again to attend the evening aarti. It was really great, i mean the environment at that time was really different and positive.

Note: Don't miss it. Seriously.

After having dinner at a small food stall i reached our tent, where few youngsters were sitting around a campfire, temperature was around 2 degrees. We all sit there for around 3 to 4 hours, did some chat, dance on the beats of pahadi songs and then we all slept. It was really a great and adventurous day and now finally after 48 hours i took a good nap.

At around 9 am i reached Gaurikund and took the shared taxi to reach Sonprayag. I was fortunate that got the bus but it was going to Rudraprayag only. Actually i was late as most of the busses to Rishikesh and Haridwar were in the early morning. But somehow i managed to reach Rudraprayag at around 3.30 PM and fortunately again got the bus to Srinagar, reached Srinagar at around 6 PM. Now it was impossible to reach Rishikesh or Haridwar same day.

Either it was my luck or the blessings of Lord Shiva, i got a taxi who was going back to Roorkee and searching for passengers. And finally i reached Haridwar at around 9 PM, boarded on the first bus to Kashmeere Gate and reached Delhi at 3 AM.

It was really a great solo journey where i really learn alot and completed in around 72 hours using public transports.

Life is all about experiencing new things, living your own dreams, surviving with yourself in your own way.