[Tim Hagan]

This is the second of five reports describing some hikes I made during a month-long trip to the Garhwal Himalayas of Uttarakhand state in northern India: 1. Valley of Flowers and Hem Kund 9/22-9/25/08 2. Badrinath, Vasundhara Falls and Auli 9/25-9/26/08 3. Kedarnath and Tungnath 9/27-9/29/08 4. Gangotri and the Source of the Ganges 10/3-10/6/08 5. Yamunotri and Mussoorie 10/7-10/9/08

The Perfect Plan

9/25/08 – Badrinath and Vasundhara Falls Kim and I arrived in Govind Ghat at 9 a.m., pretty foot-weary after hiking the 14 km (9 miles) down from Ghangaria. Sameer, our driver, was there to meet us. We quickly loaded up the car and were off. About 6 km (4 miles) up the road towards Badrinath there was a long line of vehicles waiting to get past a large landslide that had occurred just past the small town of Pandukeshwar. There were huge boulders hanging above the road at this notorious "risky point", as Sameer called it. It was very frightening as he maneuvered the car along the narrow, muddy single-lane track. I had visions of us slithering over the edge into oblivion. The underside of the car suffered some knocks from rocks but we made it through okay and breathed a sigh of relief on the far side. We continued up the spectacular gorge of the Alaknanda River, zigzagging up the very rough road, and arrived in Badrinath (3150m/10,300ft) about noon.

Landslide on the Badrinath road

Landslide on the Badrinath road

Landslide on the Badrinath road

Badrinath road

Badrinath road

Badrinath road

Hindu pilgrims following the Char Dham Yatra (pilgrimage) usually begin their excursion in Haridwar or Rishikesh and visit the four sacred temples of Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath, and Badrinath, in that order. Thousands of pilgrims take bus tours, hire jeeps, ride ponies, and trek (or are carried) to each temple in turn during the April-November pilgrimage season every year. We visited the four temples in reverse order, beginning with Badrinath and ending with Yamunotri. The main reason for doing this was so we could visit the Valley of Flowers, which is in the vicinity of Badrinath, as soon as possible after the monsoon. From Yamunotri it is a relatively short drive to Mussoorie where we could relax for a few days at the end of the trip before flying home. Also, since we aren't Hindus we could, in theory, visit the temples in any order we wished. It is a short walk through town to the colorfully painted temple at Badrinath. A narrow street lined with shops selling religious souvenirs leads down to a foot-bridge over the Alaknanda River. The temple was founded in the 9th century and is dedicated to Vishnu. Below the temple are baths fed by hot springs where pilgrims take a ritual dip.

Badrinath

Badrinath

Badrinath temple

Badrinath temple

Badrinath temple detail

A short drive beyond Badrinath is the small village of Mana (3200m/10,500ft), which is only a few miles from the Tibetan border. It is home to "India's Last Tea Shop". We walked through the village about 1km to Bhim Pul, a natural bridge over the Saraswati River. The huge boulder spanning the deep gorge was supposedly placed there by Bhima, the strongest of the Pandava brothers of Hindu mythology. The Saraswati River seemingly gushes straight out the rock above the bridge.

Bhima's Bridge, Mana

Waterfall at Bhima's Bridge, Mana

Confluence of Saraswati and Alaknanda Rivers near Mana

The trail continues another four kilometers to Vasundhara Falls, but actually seems more like four miles. The cobblestone path climbed about 550m/1800ft up the Alaknanda Valley to the base of the waterfall. It is an amazing spot, with great views of giant peaks farther up the valley. The slender waterfall is 145m/475ft high (For comparison, Snoqualmie Falls is 82m/268ft high.) Two sadhus (holy men) living in a nearby hut invited us up for cups of peppery tea made from herbs growing in their little garden here at 3750m/12,300ft. While we sipped our tea a group of Indian pilgrims arrived to pay their respects to them and to us! We hurried back down the trail to Mana to beat the afternoon thundershowers that never materialized. We were both pretty worn out, having hiked over 24 km (15 miles) today.

Trail to Vasundhara Falls

Trail to Vasundhara Falls

Vasundhara Falls

View up Alaknanda valley from Vasundhara Falls

Sadhu's hut at Vasundhara Falls

Sadhu at Vasundhara Falls

View towards Vasundhara Falls from near Mana

View towards Badrinath from Mana

Peaks above Badrinath from Mana

Nilkanth at sunset from Badrinath

9/26/08 – Joshimath and Auli Nilkanth (6596m/21,640ft) was luminescent in the pre-dawn light and was beautifully lit up at sunrise. Our driver had some difficulty starting his diesel-powered Indica because of the cold temperature. The car eventually sprang to life and we set off at 6:30, following a long procession of tourist busses down the endless switchbacks towards Joshimath. About 8 a.m. we joined the line of traffic waiting to drive through the "risky point" near Pandukeshwar. It took about half an hour to clear the road. There was a whistle-blowing man standing half-way along the track watching for falling rocks and waving us through the most dangerous section. We slithered through again and arrived in Joshimath at 9:30. It took three hours to drive 24 kilometers (15 miles).

Nilkanth at sunrise from Badrinath

Nilkanth at sunrise from Badrinath

Nilkanth at sunrise from Badrinath

Automobile Service Center, Badrinath

Slide area on the Badrinath road

Video of the drive through the slide area on the Badrinath road. Keep in mind that this is a major highway and the only road between Joshimath and Badrinath. Note: A longer India driving video (which includes the above clip) can be found here. At Joshimath (1900m/6200ft), we paid Rs 500 ($10) to ride India's longest cable car up to Auli (3000m/10,000ft). The weather was clear, so we got excellent views of Nanda Devi, Gauri Parbat, Hathi Parbat, and other Himalayan giants as we ascended. Nanda Devi (7816m/25,643ft) is India's second highest peak and the highest mountain entirely within India. (India shares Kangchenjunga with Nepal.) We had lunch in the decrepit Cliff Top Hotel, next to which they are building a lake, an enormous blot on the landscape. While Kim enjoyed the view from the cable car station, I went for a stroll above Auli. An easy trail climbs through open woods, passes a little Hindu shrine, and finally breaks out into a beautiful green bugyal (alpine meadow). I climbed to a little knob at 3282m/10,768ft that I had reached in 2006. The trail continues to Kuari Pass, a popular trekking destination. I returned to the cable car station about 1:30 and we descended to Joshimath an hour later.

Cable car from Joshimath to Auli

Auli

Nanda Devi from Auli

Gauri Parbat and Hathi Parbat from Auli

Man-made lake under construction at Auli

My retirement home at Auli, with Nanda Devi in the distance

Hindu shrine in the woods above Auli

Alpine meadow above Auli

View from the meadows above Auli

My high point above Auli

Upper cable car station at Auli

Back in Joshimath we witnessed one of the most bizarre rituals of the entire trip. We had asked Sameer where we might find some beer. He asked around and took us down the street a short distance from our hotel to a steep, dark, narrow alley leading down to a small shop with a metal-grated doorway. Money was passed through a slot in the grate and four bottles of beer were handed out. It was a speakeasy! Since drinking in public was not allowed, we had to hide the bottles in our jackets when we left.

[Mega-Will]

Thank you very much for posting these trip reports. I know almost nothing about the Indian Himalayas, and reading these is like a window into some sort of lost world. Keep exploring and keep posting!

[bobbi]

thank you again for an informative TR. well written, too! who said india is overpopulated....your photos look like a very small crowd, empty in fact ! you were brave to head down the steep, dark, and narrow alley for beer! was it cold beer? the himalayan peaks are beautiful......my only comparison is when i was in the kumbu area of mt. everest, nepal.

[GeoTom]

I Nanda Devi

[Sabahsboy]

Nanda Devi and the many other large Himal peaks are magnificent. Wish you could have gone farther on your walk at Auli. That sub-alpine landscape is extraordinary. You were lucky to see woodlands? Is there interest there to re-establish forests? I understand many forests and woodlands have long disappeared due to the need for firewood. Were you able to identify any of the trees seen on your hikes/treks? So far, your two submissions describe a most splendid place. Thank you for sharing the experiences and the wonderful photographs.

[Flora]

And I just read "Far Pavilions" again... Thanks for the photos and trip report.