On 25th Oct (the day after Diwali) myself and Cmde Ravi Nautiyal left Dehradun at 0700 hrs on our bikes for a 3 day trip to Mana. Ravi was keen to trek to a place called Vasudhara falls which is 5 km from Mana, the last Indian village 4 km ahead of Badrinath. On the first day we rode around 300 km and reached Joshimath at 1830 hrs. Taking time off for breakfast at a place called Kaudiyala and lunch at Gauchar it took us 10 hours on the saddle to reach Joshimath. This was because of the poor condition of the road which has been damaged by landslides and excessive rains this year. There are some really bad patches which reminded us of our Ladakh trip last year.
We stayed at the Gharwal Scouts Guest House at Joshimath and left for Mana village at 0900 hrs the following day. The distance involved is just 45 km or so but it took us 2 hours as the state of the road was worse than the previous day. Had a short break at the Gharwal Scouts detachment at Mana and proceeded for the trek to Vasudhara falls on foot. Mana village is at 10500 ft above sea level and the 5 km uphill trek would take us to the falls located at 12000 ft altitude. As per mythology, the Pandavas are supposed to have trekked their way through this very route on their last journey. The source of the river Saraswati can also be seen from the "Bheem Pull". There are numerous other places of historical and mythological relevance in and around this village. Details are available at 'Google Guru'.
We took 2 hrs to reach the falls owing to the bad terrain in places, the rarified atmosphere and the constant climb. The views of the mountains around were spectacular, particularly the Neelkanth peak which was within touching distance. The trek downhill was shorter and lasted 1.5 hrs. Had a delayed lunch at Mana detachment of Gharwal Scouts and rushed to the Badrinath shrine for the "darshan". We were lucky to visit this holy place during the current "Kartik" month which is dedicated to Lord Vishnu as is the "Badri Vishal" (Badrinath temple). Thanks to our hosts we had a VIP darshan seated in the "Garbh Grih". At 1700 hrs we hit the road for Joshimath as we wanted to cross the bad stretches before it got dark.
On 27th Oct, we left Joshimath at 0830 hrs for our return trip. We wanted to leave earlier but got delayed while refuelling at Joshimath's lone petrol pump. The going was slow as there was a lot of oncoming traffic. This year has seen unprecedented number of visitors/pilgrims flocking to Badrinath and Mana. I hope the state government gets cracking on repairing the road once the shrine closes for winter. The journey to Dehradun was uneventful and we rode with caution at a sedate pace. At Devprayag we did not see any tourists and thus stopped to click some pics of the confluence of Alaknanda and Bhagirathi rivers which is an amazing sight, a muddy river merging with a clear turquoise green one and forming the holy Ganges river. Stopped enroute at Gaucher for "Aloo ka Paratha" and at Kaudiyala for tea. Refuelled at Rishikesh at 1700 hrs and entered Dehradun at 1800 hrs. Then we got caught in the evening rush hour and reached home at 1915 hrs.
This was a memorable trip which combined an arduous bike ride with a 10 km high altitude trek on foot. We did not suffer any static falls or skids throughout the journey which was nothing short of a miracle. The Pirelli tyres on my Interceptor cannot handle off-roading at all. I think there was divine intervention at play which made our trip so smooth despite being ill prepared and the prevailing adverse conditions. So, thank God for small mercies. Photos of the said ride are attached as follows:
No comments:
Post a Comment