A Solo Trip to Kedarnath #TravelAdventure2019

The hike Day:

I had already inquired with the locals the previous day about the mode of commute and timings to reach Sonprayag. At 5AM, my next journey started in a Tempo Traveller. Rudraprayag to Sonprayag route is scenic till Gupt Kashi with river accompanying the road and make sure to seat on the left side to enjoy the views. From Gupt Kashi onwards till Sonprayag, it is one of the worst roads I have ever seen in my life after Ladakh as over here the vehicles get stuck thanks to mud and sludge formed by road widening work and landslides. It took us 4 hours to cover 75Kms to Sonprayag. After feasting on Parathas and energizing myself with Glucose Biscuits, I was prepared for the strenuous 17Kms trek to the top. From Sonprayag you have to take a maxi cab to go to Gaurikund which is the base of the trek and that's the only mode of commute allowed. You cannot take any other vehicle to Gaurikund. They charge ₹20 for a seat.

Considering I had significant trekking experience in Sahyadris in Maharashtra, I was at least optimistic about reaching in daytime to the top. But after all, Himalyas are Himalayas and I was going to be tested like I have never been before. My hike started at 10AM (Ideally start at 5AM by staying at Sonprayag). The sun was perfectly covered under clouds so as to not sap much energy out of me. Hardly 1.5Kms must have passed and I stared feeling the gravity of the hike. I had to take a break. I put entire electrol powder within my thermos, filled it with the amazing tap water service provided by Uttarakhand government along the route and quickly gulped few sips. After waiting for few mins, I started again. I felt much better now as my body was starting to get acclimatized.

Always remember one simple rule when you hike: Take it slow, take short controlled breaths, rest if needed and keep having few sips of water after regular intervals.

Following the same mantra, I reached Rambara, a place where you witness the 2013 destruction up close. Over here, you need to cross a river bridge and start the hike on the mountain on the other side. Your real struggle starts from here onwards as so far you have gained quite some altitude and now the hike has becomes much more steeper. I literally halted after every turn of the zig zag shaped hike path. I knew my 8kg bag was the real culprit but honestly there was nothing in it as extra to keep in the Cloak rooms available at Sonprayag. The drinking water from tap which was at regular temperature at the base, has turned freezing cold now.

Lunch and next journey!

Around 2:30PM, I finally decided to have lunch which was again laddus and dry fruits from my bag as I badly wanted to reduce the weight as much as I can. There was no network coverage so far after I had left Bhimbali (7kms from Gaurikund base).

Talking about the major locations during this hike, you first reach Jungal Chatti which is 3kms from base, Bhimbali which is 7kms from base, Linchauli which is 11kms from base and finally Kedarnath base which is just 1kms from Temple. All of these places have staying rooms and medical facility available and you aren't charged for availing the medical facility. You can grab a few electrol powder packets too over here.

After lunch, as I started my hike again, I witnessed the might Himalayas peeking through clouds for the very first time and the view was stunning:

Srinagar..in Uttarakhand though!

After reaching Sonprayag via Maxi Cab, I got a bus going to Srinagar via Rudrapayag. I decided to go till Srinagar knowing that its going to be late by the time I reach. A local female professor who was travelling with me from Rishikesh to Srinagar while coming had told me about a Gurudwara in Srinagar which I should look out for a stay. I had that at the back of my mind and that was the place where I ultimately rested for the day after reaching around at 9:15PM. I had survived the day on Milky bars, remaining laddus and dry fruits as the bus didn't take any halts.

The Gurudwara Hemkunt Sahib doesn't charge you at all if you are travelling solo or are comfortable to sleep on a shared area which has multiple beds in open but covered area. After getting refreshed, I enjoyed the langar for the dinner and was off to sleep. I had already inquired about a bus which generally leaves around 5AM in the morning to Rishikesh.

-Day 4: 15th September 2019-

When I got up at 4,15AM in the morning, I was astonished to see so many people up and helping to prepare the langar for today. I had the best tea in last 4 days and departed for the bus stand. The bus stand was actually nothing but an area at the side of road where a bus is standing with driver shouting 'Rishikesh', 'Rishikesh', 'Rishikesh' after every 5-10mins. I had already seen the road on the map and reserved myself a left window seat which ultimately gave me this beautiful shots of Ganges:

I missed the opportunity to book same day late night Vistara flight back to Mumbai which was available for 2.9k only so I had no other option but to stay in Rishikesh where I reached at 11:30AM, after 6.5hrs. From Rishikesh bus depot, I had to take a shared rick to Ram Jhula then walk nearly 1.5kms to finally reach this amazing place called 'Skyard Rishikesh' which is like a hostel with bunker beds. I paid only ₹260 for one bunker bed in AC dorm. I took care of my next day travel bookings like my Flight back to Mumbai from Delhi (₹3.3k) at 9PM and 7:30AM bus from Rishikesh to Delhi (₹776). Later, I went out for a stroll nearby and visited 'Little Buddha Cafe' which was hardly 2-3 mins from the stay location. This place has a beautiful view of the Ganges and you can enjoy various cousins over here. It's slightly on the expensive side and you will meet lot of foreigners over here. I spent the evening experinceing the evening Ganga Aarti at a temple near Laxman Jhula.

-Day 5: 16th September 2019-

For the first time in entire trip, rain decided to show up and I finally had to use the poncho while going to Rishikesh Bus stand at around 6AM. Now talking about the rickshaw stand at Laxman Jhula, the thing is that for a single person, from Laxman Jhula to Rishikesh bus depot(5KMs), rickshawalas will charge ₹250 if they don't get any other person to share the fare with you. So just walk a few meters towards the main highway and you will reach another rickshaw stand where you have better chances of getting either shared auto or at least a bus. I got two more people and managed to pay only ₹50 as my share thanks to initial bargaining done by them. There are stalls at the bus depot and nearby to have breakfast or a tea and the morning scenes with mountains in the backdrop at this bus depot will leave its nostalgia forever.

The UPSRTC bus to Delhi left on time at 7:30AM and thanks to it being a Volvo, I finally had the smoothest ride after past few bumpy days. The bus journey ended at ISBT Kashmere Gate at 2.15PM and as there was still plenty of time for my flight which was at 9:00PM, I decided to first visit Chandni Chowk and feast on Chhole Kulche. I took Violet Metro Line just outside the bus depot and got down at 'Lal Quila' from where Chandni Chowk is hardly walking distance. I had tough time walking though the road leading to this place as there was renovation work going on. You can also visit Parathawala Galli in Chandni Chowk too appease your hunger with variety of Parathas.

Then I again got into Violet Line Metro at got down "Central Secretariat" and visited the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Finally I called it off with my Delhi Darshan trip and got into Yellow line at the same "Central Secretariat" station (this station has interchange of metro line) and finally my metro rides too, ended at New Delhi Metro Station.

The New Delhi Metro station has baggage check-in facility available at the Metro Station itself. Air India and Vistara have their counters as far as I remember. This saves you from the hassle of carrying you luggage all the way to the airport. The airport express metro line(Orange line) dropped me at 'IGI Airport Station' as I had Air India and it flies from T-3 Terminal which is mainly the International terminal. If you have domestic terminal flight then you can get down at "Delhi Aerocity" station and take the feeder buses available at the station which will drop you to the terminal.

As I had one more lounge access left on my card, I visited 'Plaza Premium Lounge' in 'Lounges-B' section which has entrance from the ground floor. I found this lounge lot better in terms of occupancy and ambiance as compared to same lounge in first floor under section 'Lounges-A'. There was no delay in the flight schedule and for the first time I actually flew in a plane which had international seating space of 3-3-3 meaning 3 seats on left and right side and 3 in middle. The flight was headed for Newark in USA after a halt in Mumbai. Wish I would have been allowed to continue :P

So finally, here are some of the things I learnt from this trip:

1. Always carry one small foldable bag with you so that if you have to push your huge backpack in common storage space of bus or at the top of cab or tempo traveller, you still have a small bag with essentials like food, water and medications if any.

2. Don't think much about "What If and How". I know its not everyone's game to just get up and go on an completely unplanned trip very next day that too so far, but yeah if you can plan one with days in advance, and if can pull it off, trust me that the confidence and self belief that you will get will stay with you for a very very long time. I always wanted to have one such trip. And after having done it, I can firmly say that sometimes things are only difficult till you do it. All it takes is that one step. During most of the time of this trip, I didn't knew what my next day is going to be like but I knew my end goal and had the strong willingness to reach there so I always spent my last half hour of each day thinking about different travel information I got from locals, seeing maps and I used to make rough plan. Rest automatically fell in place.

3. It challenged me to know myself much better and challenged my comfort zones every day in ways like never before and it will for you as well, in some way, have meaningful and lasting impact if you happen to taken one such solo trip because seriously guys, life begins when you leave your comfort zones.

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Hope you have your solo travel stories to tell the world very soon :)