Yamunotri - A Sacred Pristine Valley SOLObecauseYOLO Bucketlist2019

Disclaimer: Long read

April to August is the most boring period of the year if you are not travelling. No vacations, no exciting festivals. The travel bug slowly starts biting you, now it is in your head. Beautiful landscapes start appearing in your mind. A trip 60 km away from your city be it casual or official makes you excited.

This started happening to me, I used to come up with a new trip plan in every 2-3 weeks but sadly, none executed.

Months passed ...

And "all at once summer collapsed into fall."- Oscar Wilde

Hello! September. The beginning of autumn, a new season and a fresh start. Trees get new leaves, all shades of green. So, time to make it a September to remember.

I was travelling to Roorkee for dropping off my sister to her college. I was excited because finally, I was going somewhere. Uttarakhand has a plethora of beautiful places, indeed a Devbhoomi.

But everything happened in such a hurry that I didn't get time to think about where to go for. Reached Roorkee, was done with dropping off my sister in a day. My mind was still boggling between places. At last I decided to go Yamunotri. One of the sacred shrines of Char Dham yatra. Yeah, sort of offbeat destination for a solo traveler but wherever the heart says.

Day 1

Roorkee

And My First Solo trip begins -

Nothing was planned, all I knew was to reach Barkot from there I will get a bus to Janki Chatti and then trek the rest to Yamunotri. Time to test how decisive I am. When you travel solo, you have nobody to rely on but yourself, and that pushes you to learn how to deal with any situation. It's sink-or-swim time ! If something goes wrong, it's down to you to figure out how to get out of the situation and celebrate every moment, especially the bad ones. Learning how to deal with them makes you a better traveler. Its a part of traveling. Sometimes those bad moments turn into your most memorable moment.

Solo travel is something everyone should try at some point in their life. There's no better way to get to know who you are as a person than by spending time with yourself away from the distractions of life.

How to reach -

There are direct buses from Dehradun and Haridwar to Barkot then hire a taxi or get in a sharing one till Janki Chatti. Please kindly do your research and check the connectivity while planning. I had to change a few buses and cabs due to my unplanned schedule

Best time to visit - April to November

In the morning I hopped onto a bus for Haridwar as when I asked around people said I may get bus to Barkot from Haridwar. Arrived Haridwar in an hour, enquired about the bus to Bakot they said there's only 1 or 2 bus early in the morning, which already left. So, then I caught a bus to Rishikesh hoping I'll get a bus from there but there were no buses from Rishikesh too.

It felt like giving up as I was out of options.

While roaming in Rishikesh I reached the taxi stand and asked the drivers if they would take me to Barkot. They said you won't get any direct vehicle to Barkot from here, although you can go via Uttarkashi. At 3 pm we departed from Rishikesh. The ride was beautiful with mesmerising landscapes which had my eyes locked to them.

The evening in the mountains does have some magic in it, now I know why it is termed as the Golden Hour. As we crossed Chamba, the driver took the route adjacent to Tehri dam - the highest dam in India. The view was breathtaking, those brilliant, saturated yellow, orange, and red wavelengths illuminate the sky, and bring out all that brilliant details of the scenery, you just need to wait for it a little longer.

Day 2

Hanuman Chatti

After 6 long hours, I reached Uttarkashi, the time is 9 pm now. There were many lodges & hotels. I rented a room (a cheap one) in a lodge. The bus to Barkot was next day at 5 in the morning so, I had my dinner & went to sleep, I was really tired. I tried to sleep & was attacked by bed bugs. This night was horrible.

Well, I was wide awake, had a bath at 4 in the morning, packed my belongings and caught the bus to Barkot. Reached Barkot, but missed my bus to Janki Chatti by few minutes. And again I went to the taxi stand asked them if anyone is going to Hanuman Chatti,because it was late so I planned to stay for a night there. After a few hours of waiting for passengers, the taxi departed.

Hanuman Chatti

Hanuman Chatti

Hanuman Chatti is a small picturesque townlet surrounded by mountains. It is located 8 km before Janki Chatti at the confluence of Hanuman ganga and Yamuna river. Earlier it used to be base camp for Yamunotri trek, now its accessible by road till Janki Chatti. Hanuman Chatti is also the base camp of Dodital-Darwa top and Gulabi Kantha trek.

The word "Chatti" means rest stop or पड़ाव in Hindi.

So, I made this पड़ाव my पड़ाव :D

Stay -

This place has very few stay options. I came to know about Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam's (GMVN) accommodations, you can also book online. So, there was one in Hanuman Chatti, got me a bed in a 5-bed dormitory for just ₹300. It was really good and clean. Its located beside a stream, in the foothills.

Took bath and went for a walk in the village. Everywhere you look there are rolling hills covered in nature's lush green blanket. There are so few green spaces in the city. So, this was attractive in a way. Had some maggie on my way back to the room.

Grabbed my speaker, sat beside the stream. Facing a big rocky mountain which was like a huge wall. Sun was setting and the temperature was dropping slowly. Amidst cloudy weather, the sun kept peeping through the clouds. Life lesson learned - no matter how dark the cloud is there's always a little bit of sunshine and that is what we must look for.

This is a quiet place to relax. Life sucks a lot less when you add mountain air, bonfire and some peace.

Make peace of mind your priority, I got mine.

A Few hours later had my dinner, and went to sleep. The bus to Janki Chatti was at 6 in the morning. The bed was damn cozy. The blanket and mattress felt like heaven. With the sound of rhythmic stream flowing, I was in deep sleep in few minutes. Woke up at 8, missed my bus, I kept waiting for two hours sitting with a group of locals in a tea shop. A small storytelling session started and it was fun. Time passed real quick. The shop owner stopped a truck for me and asked the driver to drop me to Janki Chatti. Within half an hour I reached.

Day 3

Janki Chatti

Janki Chatti

Janki Chatti is a small settlement in Uttarkashi District of Uttarakhand. It is the base camp for Yamunotri. Yamunotri is 6km trek from this place which takes almost 2-3 hrs. There are numerous dharamshala, ashrams and hotels which provide good stay.

So, as soon as I got off from the truck I started my trek to Yamunotri.

Yamunotri -

Yamunotri temple is one of the sacred shrines among the Char Dham Yatra. Yamunotri temple is set in a serene pristine valley which is dominated by Himalayan ranges which are called Bandar Poonch peaks. It is located at a height of 10,502 ft along alluring river Yamuna. The actual source of river Yamuna is located at another 10 km trek to Saptrishi Kund which is at an altitude of 15000 ft.

The trail to Yamunotri is marked and well constructed. There are many rest points, sheds and benches along the trek. The trek hugs the mountainside and is adjacent to Yamuna river throughout. It was a decent walk up to 2-3 km, I was enjoying the view. But the remaining trek was exhausting, some steeps were tiring, it drained out my excitement. It was the pilgrimage month, there were 1000's of tourist some trekking and some take ponies and palkis/pitthus. With heavy breaths, I finally reached the pristine temple valley. I could see a narrow stream coming down from a huge mountain. The Himalayan range was not visible as it was cloudy.

Offered my prayers, rested for a while witnessing this mesmerising valley and the headed back towards Janki Chatti. Grabbed a taxi to Barkot, stayed for night there and returned to Dehradun the next day in an early morning bus.