It’s 5 pm on Friday evening and I am eager to close my laptop and leave office but last minute work keep coming in and irritating me. I want to leave and be in the mountains, the sound of the Mahindra’s battered engine as it makes the curves on the Himalayan foothills keeps crossing my mind.

It’s been more than 2 years that I have been to the mountains, so much has changed, now I am a father, so much more responsible, so much less risk taking. I want to be with Saira, I see that spark in her eyes, curious and eager, wanting to know, wanting to explore, one day we will go to the mountains together, so she can experience the pure joy of nature, the sound of the gushing river, the moist chilly mountain breeze, the crackling of dry forest flowers, the minty smell of juniper as you lay on the darkest green grass looking up at the pure bluest sky.

I leave office at 6 pm and that kick on my Royal Enfield and the roar of the Bullet engine, finally declares and trumpets to the world that my long and much awaited tour can finally begin. I reach home, pick my bags and soon board the Metro to Delhi ISBT to take the night Volvo to Rishikesh.

It’s my first night since Saira was born ten months ago that I am away from her and while my body is speeding away to the mountains, my mind is with her, holding her, and my deepest urge to be in the mountains is fighting with my desire to be with my daughter.

I arrive in Rishikesh at 5 am.

It’s from Rishikesh, the mighty Ganga leaves the Himalayan foothills and flows into the plains of northern India. Legend has it Rama did penance here for killing Ravana, the Lanka king and Lakshmana, his younger brother, crossed the river Ganges, at a point, where the present Lakshman Jhula bridge stands today, using a jute rope bridge.


Ganga from Laxman Jhula / Wikimedia Commons

During the 8th century, Adi Shankaracharya, built several temples and ashrams in the region. The Bharat Temple is one of the last remaining temples built.
In the late 1960s, Rishikesh witnessed the arrival of The Beatles, the most famous English rock of those times, seeking answers to life’s larger questions.

Rishikesh, once a sleepy town has become a major commercial hub in the Himalayan foothills, swarmed by both Indian and Foreign tourist alike pursuing their own objectives of relaxation, meditation, yoga, adventure and so on.

My desire to be in the hills had been finally fulfilled and was driving towards Uttarkashi onwards from Rishikesh in a much battered Mahindra Max which seemed would just give up on any of the next curve. By 2 pm I had reached Uttarkashi and soon boarded the state roadways bus to Gangotri – from where the road would end and my trek would commence.

The distance between Uttarkashi and Gangotri is only about 100 kms but took 5 hours, both because the road is narrow and the traffic due to the Chardham yatra – the annual Hindu pilgrimage to Yamnotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath temples, which had just started for the year. The drive to Gangotri is scenic taking one through Bhatwari, Gangnani, Harsil, Dharali and Bhaironghati. I had already been to Bhatwari earlier while pursuing my course in mountaineering from the Nehru Institute, Uttarkashi and had some fond memories of this region, my trek to Tel and beyond to NIM base camp, advance camp and camp 1 of Joanli and DKD II peaks back in 2015.

Gangnani is famous for its hot waters springs and generally flocked with yatris making a stop here on their journey to Gangotri; Harsil has an army base and is a picturesque and relatively untouched mountain getaway for a relaxing holiday, Dharali is a typical Garhwali village and is the launch pad for Sattal hike—a cluster of 7 lakes at varying altitudes.


Harshil / Wikimedia Commons

Bhaironghati is where a detour off the Gangotri road take you through to Nelang, Naga and Jadung valleys on the old trade route between India and Tibet.

I had finally made it to Gangotri (3042 m) about 8pm on 11th May 2019. It was a wet and cold evening in Gangotri, very contrasting to Gurgaon, where I had been just 24 hours ago, both in terms of the weather and altitude.

After meeting with the trekking group with whom I booked my trek and a sumptuous hot dinner, I slept off under multiple layers of warm clothing, hoping to be both relatively acclimatized as well as rested the following day.

The next day was a sunny day, bright and warm compared to the previous chilly evening, the window of my hotel roomed opened up on the roaring Bhagirathi river overlooking the balcony of the neighboring restaurant, which is where eventually I would end up spending most of my day. After the brief acclimatization walk, we spent the day recuperating from the travels the previous day and acclimatizing.


Gangotri Temple

Bathing Ghat and Surya Kund

Gangotri temple was constructed with white stone by Amar Singh Thapa, Gorkha captain in the early 18th century. Just before winter each year after Diwali the door of the temple are closed & reopened in May. During winters when Temple is closed due to the heavy snow fall, the idol of the goddess is kept at Mukhab village near Harsil.

The trek finally commenced on morning of 13th May, a cheerful day in the mountain, bright and sunny, perfectly warm to trek with gentle breeze, cooling you along. Being the first day into the hike, the group was in high spirits. After a brief stop at the forest check-point to verify the permits we proceed to Chirbasa (3585 m), 9 km from Gangotri where we stopped to lunch and proceeded further to Bhojbasa (3795 m) which is another 5 km ahead in the trail to Gaumukh. Overall, the trek was long but easy with mostly gentle gradients.


Onward view from the forest check-point


Herd of Himalayan Blue Sheep/ Bharal spotted on the trail

Both Chirbasa and Bhojbasa are famous for Bhoj or birch trees from which Bhojpatra a type of natural paper is made on which the Mahabharata was written in the ancient times. Although with the mass tourism and increasing destructive infiltration of people in this relatively untouched region, much of the birch forests are starting to disappear.

We reached Bhojbasa by 4 pm, and gained over 700 m vertically, much higher than the norms of acclimatization—go high sleep low and do not ascend more than 500 m in a day. The evening with was rough as I had nausea and no appetite. After a brief acclimatization climb, we settled in the mess tent for dinner. It was cold evening and after dinner, it was time for the sleeping bag and the sleeping tent.

I don’t know if I enjoy the idea of being zipped up first in a mummy style fluffed up bag, surrounded by 2 layer fabric dome around me. However, I suppose it’s the feeling of not sleeping under bricks and concrete that is particularly liberating. Being in nature, and in rather extreme conditions such as this is what reminds of the journey the homo-sapiens have taken and the endurance of our ancestors to become the “human beings” we are today as a species. Has this been the best evolution? This is rather debatable and will leave it for the reader to decide. Consequently, it is this reminder of the determination to survive and quest for knowledge and progress that drives me to continue my own quest of discovery within me and around me.

The next morning we woke up to bad weather. Both our destination and the route we had to take were lost in white. After much discussion between the guide and the expedition leaders, we finally departed from Bhojbasa around 10 am towards Gaumukh.

Gaumukh is the snout of the Gangotri glacier, surrounded by the Bhagirathi peaks of Garhwal Himalayas, at an altitude of over 4000 m. Named after its shape like the mouth of a cow, has retreated by over 3 km since 1817. It was nearly two centuries ago that the retreat of the glacier was first documented by John Hodgson, a Survey of India geologist. Moreover, data shows that the rate of retreat has increased sharply since 1971 and the current rate of retreat is 22 m per year.

The retreat points to lesser ice formation each year than its current rate of melting. Winter precipitation is when the glacier should receive adequate snow and ice for maintaining itself. About 10-15 spells of winter snow as part of western disturbances feed the glacier. However, more rainfall instead of snow and a slight temperature rise in the region, both of which transfer heat on to the glacier are warming it resulting in its retreat.

Although debatable, it may well be that the process of global warming and climate change could well be part of a normal natural cycle and the climate change phenomenon of melting glaciers irreversible.

The river Ganga originate from Gaumukh and is the largest river within the Indian subcontinent. 2500 kms in length, the river flows east through the Gangetic plains of northern India into Bangladesh. Ganga starts as Bhagirathi from Gaumukh, named after the ancient king Bhagirath. Onwards from Devprayag the river is called Ganga, where Bhagirathi meets the Alaknanda.

We reached Gaumukh by 12 pm and our guide, an experienced mountaineer – Dharmu Sherpa, led the team onwards towards Tapovan. The climb to Tapovan is steep, as you need to climb the wall off the Gangotri Glacier from Gaumukh, onto the meadow called Tapovan. Certain section are prone to frequent rock falls, moreover, requires crossing the river stream – Akash Ganga multiples times flowing down from Tapovan.


Lunch above the Gangotri Glacier beyond Gaumukh

The group reached Tapovan by 4 pm and it was completely white out and snowing.

We spent the next 2 days in Tapovan itself, exploring the nearby Kirti Glacier and the team climbed on the ridge connecting Shivling with its nearby peak to get a closer view of Meru peaks and also to see Neel Tal, which is usually frozen.


Sunrise at Tapovan as seen from my sleeping tent


Bhagirathi Mastiff comprising of Bhagirathi I,II,III with the height of 6856 m, 6512 m and 6454 m respectively, first climbed in 1998


Meru peak (6660 m), lies between Thalay Sagar and Shivling and is one of the most technical and hardest peaks to climb on the planet. The name “Meru” originates from the Sanskrit word for spine, referencing the shape of the mountain. The mountain has three peaks: South (6660 m), Central (6310 m) and North (6450 m). The two higher peaks were climbed earlier than the harder central peak, which was first climbed in 2001 and for the first time along the “Shark’s Fin” route in 2011 by Conrad Anker, Jimmy Chin and Renan Ozturk. The movie Meru is a documentary based on this expedition. The “Shark’s Fin” before it was climbed was described as “one of the most coveted lines in the entire Himalaya” and “one of the last remaining challenges of big wall mountaineering.”


Black and White panorama of Shivling peak (6543 m), pure and calm, yet fierce and harsh to the unwelcomed, rising in grandeur from Tapovan


Thelu peak (6002 m) among others rising behind the southern perimeter of Tapovan


Route onwards to Kirti Glacier/ Kirti Bamak


The left plateau above the Gangotri Glacier is Nandanvan, and the route from here behind the Bhagirathi peaks goes towards Vasuki Tal (4880 m).
The onwards journey to Nandanvan and Vasuki Tal as per the original plan could not be completed as a safe route to descend from Tapovan onto Gangotri Glacier could not be traced. In fact, no other team had been able to reach Nandanvan this season till the time of our trek. This year has experienced the highest snowfall after 15 years and the Gangotri Glacier visibly has enough snow to disguise hidden crevasses, which the glacier is notorious famous for.


Mauni Baba’s Shelter enroute to Kirti Glacier from Tapovan; Baba is a local celebrity sage who has been staying at Tapovan for a couple of years

Earlier the Gangotri glacier appeared as a convex shape structure from atop Tapovan, but now the glacier appears to be caving in and is concave in shape. The melting of the glacier feeds the Bhagirathi River, the source stream of the Ganga.
Small lakes have formed on top of the glacier, as you go beyond Gaumukh towards Tapovan. It was the blast of one such glacial lake in Chorabari that led to the June 2013 flood disaster in Kedarnath.

We descended from Tapovan on 17th May, with a brief stop at Gaumukh, proceed onto Chirbasa, where we camped for the night.

The following day, we descended to Gangotri and I took a Mahindra to Uttarkashi, where I could finally indulged in worldly pleasures – hot shower, 2 shots of local whiskey, butter chicken and finally some puffs of rolled organic Himalayan herb before crashing into a soft bed with a comfy pillow— WAH!

On Sunday, I took another Mahindra to Rishikesh, followed by the night Volvo back to Delhi.

~~~~~


Source: THE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA, by J. B. Auden, 1937 AD. Auden is the renowned explorer after whom the treacherous Auden Col has been named.

Trek Maps: Screen grabs from Google Earth

Trekking Company: Bikat Adventures
Trek Dates: 11th – 19th May 2019
Trek Leaders: Rohit and Harvinder
Tour Guide: Dharmu Sherpa
Total Participants: 11

Other popular treks starting from Gangotri:


Auden’s Col and Kedar Tal— Planned in June 2020


Vasuki Tal


Kalindi Khal