Yamunotri and Landslides

Narrated by Palak Jain

I thought we are going for a pilgrimage tour as “Yamunotri & Gangotri” always echoed with the Char Dham (of Uttrakhand) - “Gangotri, Yamunotri, Kedarnath & Badrinath.” But it was a different ball game altogether. We were lost in the wild, the love for forest, mountains, trek and riding made our journey a mix of thrill, some suspense and adventure.

 

The Destination.

Three bikes and four of us started our ride in the early October, to be precise on the long weekend of second October (2017). The time is perfect as the sky is clear and the weather is supportive. We will also get the chance to visit the temples of these great originating rivers - “Ganga and Yamuna”. After Diwali the main temple is closed for four months and these Goddesses are taken to a lower seat till the end of April and early May (till Akshay Tritiya). So we had a great chance to visit the main temple shrine during October.

So we packed our bags with all the essentials and started our ride in the morning. Our plan was to cover as much as possible on day 01. We had planned to cover Yamunotri first, which is about 180 kms from Dehradun. Riding on hills is not easy and 180 kms was a big task ahead of us. We were unaware of the road conditions and decided, would stop as per our strength at the end of the day.

With high on energies we didn’t stop in between and kept riding. The roads were beautiful and the lofty peaks ahead of us were taking all our attention. On the way we crossed Nanda ki chowki, Nainbagh, Yamuna pool.

Our first stop was at a place called Naini, we had our lunch at Hotel Rautela around 4:00 pm there. This place is almost 10 kms before Barkot, which is one of the biggest junction before Yamunotri. The food did wonders, as we were starving from morning and it was a good break for us. After relaxing for 45 mins we did start again. Crossed Barkot, some police officials stopped us just for security reasons. After which we continued, covered the next ten kilometers and halted at Kharadi for the night stay.

Kharadi is 25 kms before Yamunotri and this was the closest village where we could find some accommodation. We were all tired and wanted to relax for the evening. Our stay was absolutely local but the best part is, it was close to the following river - Yamuna. The sight was captivating and the surrounding valleys were worth riding so far. After dinner, we decided to sleep early as we had to trek till the temple and then continue riding to Gangotri on day 02.

As planned, we got up early even before the sun came and started our bikes. It took some time to start the bikes as it was too cold outside. We covered the next ten kilometers crossed Palighat and saw many vehicles parked in queue on the other side. We were suspicious but continued as we had two wheelers. Asked a few locals and they said that there was a landslide ahead and we cannot move forward from here. We couldn’t believe this and continued till the place we could. Then what???

The Hurdle

The security stopped us, and said we can’t go ahead of this spot as the roads were not clear due to the landslide. We were disappointed and didn't  know what to do. It was a tough call for us and was dangerous too. We asked what’s the alternative to reach Yamunotri, as going back was not our choice.

So what’s next ~ we had parked our bikes and started discussing with the locals. They said, we had to trek down five kilometers, on the opposite side of the road and then take a local jeep ride to reach our spot crossing Janki chatti and Hanuman chatti. A sigh of relief  on our faces. This was the extra five which we had to take, that was never in our plan. Very smartly one of us said it’s just five we can do it. All of us agreed and started trekking.

We crossed the pristine and remote areas, it was sticking to my eyes. We were not alone but many pilgrims who had come from so far (like us) were doing the same. As this is a once in a lifetime event for many.

Walk to Yamunotri

The trek was not easy, and I was losing my breath, stopping every now and then, but my friends did encouraged to complete the trek. The roads were rough with the rocks fallen from the opposite mountain. I was scared to see that but realised we are safe. It took us almost two hours to reach the place from where we could find the local jeep.

We had to wait for our chance to get the seat on the jeep as there were many people and the jeeps were limited. It took us fifteen minutes to reach the spot from where we had to actually trek for Yamunotri. It was 9 in the morning and we had to return as quickly as possible, since its a long way to reach Gangotri too…

We halted for a while and took a sip of tea. It kept me warm and comfortable from the cold winds. Soon we started again and decided that, we have to complete this trek in the next two hours. With so much efforts we managed to reach the temple. It took us more than two hours to cover one way. Of course we were tired as we had covered ten kms by walk from morning.

Nevertheless, the beauty and the hard work was worth the efforts to reach this spot. It was an achievement for me and I feel proud about it. The fresh breeze gave me immense peace, I wanted to spend some time here. The rapturous views of the Himalayas brought a smile on our faces. We entered the temple together and the main Deity of the temple was made up of Black marble, as beautiful as it could be. We saw the afternoon aarti and sat for some time to take the blessings of Hindu Godess Yamunaji.

Yamunotri

The hot springs was another highlight here. People were taking a dip as it is believed that these hot water will wash off the sins. After relaxing for some time I was feeling pure, calm  and enlightened. I was in my own zone of happiness.

Time was precious and we wanted to head back, it took us almost next three hours to reach Kharadi. It was 4 in the evening, and there was no point traveling to Gangotri, we were too late for it. So then, we had some fun and all of us went to the backside of our hotel where we saw the flowing river. We wanted to take a dip in the cold water. But who would jump first???

Yamuna River

Damn, it was so cold, but all of us tried more than once and then spent almost an hour there. The cold water took away all our pain temporarily and ended our day on a happy note.

Day 3, we had to return to Dehradun and kept Gangotri for our next trail. But, we did cover Paonta Sahib and Mussoorie on our way.