Gomukh-Tapovan Trek 2008: Anniversary time: Part 3

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Chirbasa halt: Day 2 evening/night

We did not realize that we had walked for almost 4 hours and we were nearing Chirbasa. On the way, there were few signboards mentioning about the importance of the place. We decided to halt at Chirbasa for the day so that we get acclimatized with the weather and also to avoid any trekking crowd (if any) at Bhojbasa, the main halting point for most of the trekkers. We are slowly entering the cooler shades of the several Chir trees when we started to enter Chirbasa. An arch which read “Chirbasa mein aapka swaagat hai” welcomed us and as we went inside this arch, we saw the remnants of a half constructed building which supposedly was used as a halting place by people. There was also a huge rock on another side where the height of Chirbasa was mentioned as 3600m above sea level. I think most people know this that Indian lovers are known to attain an orgasm whenever they reach such places of importance and they declare their undying and immortal love for each other in their unique way by carving their names on every possible rock available. There was no shortage of such writings like “Monu loves Sonu” alongside holy writings like “Ram Narayan Ram”. Anyway, our guides had already decided on the place to put the tent. We had to climb a small hillock, then go through a small nursery and then get down towards the Bhagirathi to reach the place. There was a small PWD temporary accommodation too nearby where few people were staying. The location was just awesome. You can directly see the Bhagirathi peaks from inside the tent if you open the tent-entry flaps. There was a long moment of silence as me and Pradipta just looked at the magnificent snow-clad peaks which were shining under the sun’s patronage. It was around 13:00 hrs and our guide and helpers quickly set up the tent and then got into the process of preparing lunch for us. Meanwhile, we decided to take a stroll near the river and walked for quite a distance along the river banks admiring the three majestic ice-clad peaks of the Bhagirathi which was right in front of our eyes. The one in the front was Bhagirathi II, then Bhagirathi III and the last one was Bhagirathi I. If your mind needs rest, this is the place. Only the senses are at work. The sound of the flowing Bhagirathi waters is something like a continuous fast paced symphony for the ears and the encompassing beauty of the surroundings provides an eternal pleasure to your eyes. We wanted to take a bath, but the spine-chilling coldness of the water deterred us.

We were back to our tents for lunch. Our helpers had made chapatti, rice, a vegetable dish and dal and it was a feast for all of us. It started to drizzle just as we were finishing our lunch and we huddled inside our tents for a quick rest. There’s a nursery at Chirbasa which we thought of exploring during the evening. The drizzle was still on when we entered the small make-shift cottage of the caretaker (Mr. Thapa) of the nursery. He showed us all the plantations which are mainly to preserve the medicinal plants found the Himalayan region which were probably getting extinct due to environmental degradation. These medicinal plants it seems are very expensive in the market and are natural drugs for several common ailments. It was getting dark, the drizzle became heavy and the temperature was reducing, so we went inside the cozy “living space” of the caretaker. The hut was made very nicely with big stone walls to have a strong protection against the strong Himalayan winds and the stone walls were further covered with huge tarpaulin sheets on top. He had a place to sleep inside his abode, sleeping bags, a gas stove for cooking and some traditional utensils for cooking and eating. He prepared strong pepper tea for us which was very refreshing and acted as the stimulator for the prevailing chilling temperature at that time. We started our discussion on the nursery and the need for preservation.



The nursery initiative is the brainchild of Dr. Harshvanti Bisht, Reader at the Govt. P. G. College, Uttarkashi and funded by various government agencies and the project is run under her supervision. Read details about her work here (http://gangotri.prayaga.org/location.php). The caretaker was from Uttarkashi and he stays in the nursery 6 months in a year. The only people who come to visit him are the forest officials and he has the Himalayas and her warm embrace to give him company. Can you imagine his luck? These are jobs which someone has to love to do it and when talking to him, we realized how much he loves and takes interest in his work. He gets his supplies like food and gas cylinders either by walking down to Gangotri himself or some of his friends who are forest guards deliver those things whenever they are on duty. He mentions that he goes very frequently to Tapovan to see the vegetation and plants which grow there. I felt that probably he is one of the happiest persons around. We did not realize that we had already spent more than an hour in chatting and it was already dark. Meanwhile, a forest guard came in to have water and the caretaker offered another round of pepper tea for us. How can we resist? Another round of discussions started over tea and the guard told us several stories about why the forest department had to be strict regarding permissions to trek to Gomukh and Tapovan and beyond. It seems many people had lost their lives due to landslides and snowstorms during the treks and everytime, the forest department was blamed for lack of proper information. And there are tales of sadhus who in search of eternal peace wanted to go right up to the mouth from where Bhagirathi emerges and then got killed due to landslides. The forest guard wanted to go to Bhojbasa and then halt for the night there and left after urging us repeatedly not to trek very far beyond Tapovan and all. It was already late and our helpers came searching for us for dinner. We offered the caretaker to have dinner with us and we again had a nice feast. The one thing we realized was that we could not eat as much as we ate the previous occasion. It was quite cold and we were inside our warm sleeping bags in no time. If the weather were good the next day, we wanted to start as early as possible so that we reach Gomukh early and spend quality time there. The only sounds which were heard at this time were the sound of the flowing Bhagirathi, the fall of the raindrops on the tent and the occasional wind which blew past. Else, it was silent, an everlasting silence which all of us yearn once in a while.

Chirbasa-Gomukh trek and tent at Gomukh: Day 3

Rains had stopped when we woke up in the morning. The air was chill, very misty and visibility was almost zero. Morning tea was served right inside the tent. The hospitality of our helpers was beyond doubt. They wanted to make us as much comfortable as they can. After finishing the morning chores and breakfast, we were all set to start for Gomukh. All the tents and other accessories were packed. Our guide was extra cautious and wanted to ensure that we move only after the visibility improved a little bit. We waited for some more time and then started our trek towards Gomukh. Visibility was restricted to only a few meters ahead of us and it was very cloudy. The peaks of Bhagirathi which were very clearly visible from Chirbasa the previous day were not visible at all. The mountains on our left were still green and beautiful Himalayan flowers lined the sides of the trail as we kept on walking with the anticipation that the weather would improve slightly. We were also wary of the fact that the sides of the mountain on our left side seemed very loose and we saw rock tumbling down ahead of us. After walking for a few more kilometers along the winding but comfortable and beautiful trail, we could see an open bed of white sand on the valley below. We had reached Bhojbasa and the place looked extremely beautiful. You can have cricket ground here! We could see an ashram down there by the side of the Bhagirathi and a few houses which our guide told us is the GMVN rest house. Bhojbasa is the usual camping place for trekkers. We did not want to go down to the valley below and so continued on our trail. In a short while, we were able to see the mouth of Gomukh, the origin of the mighty Ganga at a distance. Fortunately, we were not able to see any of the makeshift tea shops which, it seems, used to be there on this trail every now and then during the season. That makes the trek much more pleasant I feel.

Between Bhojbasa and Gomukh, the width of the Bhagirathi was less and there were many open and sandy spaces on her banks. I can imagine how Bhagirathi would look like at this stretch during the rainy season when there will be lot of water flowing down from upstream. Our guide suggested that we put up our tent at a place which was around half a kilometer before the actual camping place at Gomukh. This place it seems was going to be right on the banks of the Bhagirathi and much more peaceful than the regular camping place for trekkers. So, we deviated from the trek path and started moving towards a side path on our right. In a short while, we could see a small beautiful tented hut ahead of us. Mr. Balbahadur told that a researcher stays there for 6 months in a year. Wow, that’s more like it, he belongs to our genre. The spot next to his hut was the ideal place for a tent and our helpers prepared the ground for setting up the tent. Meanwhile, we got introduced to the researcher, Mr. Bhim Bahadur who was associated with a faculty from Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi. He was kind enough to treat us for tea and for the type of weather at that time, tea was an elixir for recharging our energies. It was very cloudy with occasional short bursts of rain and damn cold. The tent was set up in no time and lunch preparation was on. Bhagirathi was just around 300m from this place and we walked towards the banks and also around the place to get a good view of the surroundings. Gomukh mouth was clearly visible from this place if you climb on any of the small rocks around. Today, I would rate this spot as the best place to camp on a Gomukh trek.

When we were sitting and chatting on the river bank, I could spot some movement on the other side of Bhagirathi. They were some animals and we were very excited. Initially, we thought they were some wild animals, but it turned out to be the Himalayan mountain goat, Himalayan tahr. They were camouflaged against the color of the rocks and it was difficult to sight them. We were delighted when we came to know from our guides that one has to be very lucky to sight animals during a Gomukh trek. From our location, we could have a glimpse of the Gomukh mouth at a distance and that’s where we were going the next day. We just walked around the rocky terrain by the side of the river before it was time for lunch. As usual, we had a big lunch and what do you think – we won’t take an after-lunch nap? Impossible, we are Indians, folks. We had a quick nap and during the evening we decided to take a walk towards the mouth of Gomukh to get a first view of what it looks like. It was drizzling, the view ahead was hazy and the trek path was slippery. One of our guides came with us and he told stories from the past when several people were killed in trying to reach to the mouth of Gomukh. We were at an elevation and we could see several rocks tumbling down from the top and it was dangerous surroundings. We were not able to see the Gomukh mouth very clearly due to clouds and mist. We located a safe place from where we could have a good look at the Bhagirathi gushing out of the mouth. It was a magnificent sight to see this great river at her origin. It was getting dark and we returned to our campsite. Dinner was under preparation and we spent the time chatting with Mr. Bhim Bahadur on his research activities. The night was very peaceful with only the sound of the flowing Bhagirathi to give us company.



... to be continued

Trek to Sandakphu - Heralding 2010 with Kanchenjunga

[Dec 29, 09 - Jan 03, 10]

Fact file:

Place: Sandakphu (near Darjeeling in West Bengal, India)

Famous for: Breathtaking views of Kanchanjunga

The trek route: Follow the map (courtesy www.travelkr.net), there are many different routes you can take, but under any circumstances, one has to reach Maneybhanjang and the best route would be Maneybhanjang - Tumling - Gairibas - Kalipokhori - Sandakphu and then return via Gurdum - Srikhola - Rimbik.

How to reach:

Nearest rail head - New Jalpaiguri (NJP)
Nearest airport - Bagdogra

Reaching Maneybhanjang from NJP: Just outside the NJP railway station, you can see the jeep stand where you can get a shared ride to several places. You might be lucky if you can get a direct jeep to Maneybhanjang. Alternately, if you are around 5-8 people in number, you can hire a jeep (around Rs. 175 per person) directly to Maneybhanjang.

Otherwise, board a jeep to Darjeeling and get down at Ghoom (Rs. 150.00). From Ghoom, take another jeep to go to Sukhiapokhori (shortly called as Sukhia, Rs. 20.00 p.p). From Sukhia, change jeep to go to Maneybhanjang (Rs. 30.00 p.p).

Sometimes, it is also possible to get a jeep directly to Sukhiapokhori (Rs. 150.00 p.p).

Best time to visit: September-December, March-April

Place to stay: There are several places to stay, check those places out yourself.

Notes:

- There might be delays in the jeep stand at NJP because they wait for the jeep to become full.

- You have to take a guide for the trek, else you will not be allowed to enter into the trek route beyond Tumling.

- You have to pay fees for your camera and forest entry.

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I expected Pradipta to be already there at the New Jalpaiguri (NJP) railway station when my train, the Kanchenjunga Express from Guwahati entered Platform No. 2. His train was scheduled to arrive 30 minutes before mine. I tried calling him up on his mobile, but it was not reachable and an inquiry revealed that the his train was late by an hour or so. My best companion during this wait was The Telegraph, the national daily from Kolkata. There were several news reports about the possibilities of a road blockade in the Darjeeling area and I was slightly worried whether we can reach Maneybhanjang early and in time. We were teaming up for a trek to Sandakphu for the New Year 2010. The planning for this trek started around November 09 and we zeroed in on Sandakphu (3700 m height) for the reason that at this time of the year, it is quite difficult to trek in the himalayan territory of northern India. Sandakphu is one of the highest points in the eastern part of India from where one can have a very good view of Kanchanjunga peak, Mt. Everest and a portion of the Himalayan range. Our idea was to be present at Sandakphu top on Jan 1, 01 and herald the first sunrise of the new year within Kanchanjunga's warmth. My thoughts were suddenly disturbed by the announcement that Uttar Banga Exp. is entering platform 3. Very soon, Pradipta embarked with his huge rucksack behind. I did not have a rucksack of my own, so had to buy a medium sized one at Guwahati. It was 8:15 AM and we briskly walked towards the taxi stand to enquire about our trip to Maneybhanjang. We were asked to board a taxi going towards Darjeeling and get down at Ghoom. Ghoom is around 5 kms before reaching Darjeeling. It was 8:30 AM, but the taxi waited and waited for two more passengers and by the time we started for Ghoom, it was 10:30AM. Squeezed between 4 passengers at the back seat of a Tata Sumo for a turbulent ride along the pot-holed roads of Siliguri is not an experience good enough to narrate. It took us around 45 minutes to get on to the main road which leads to Darjeeling. The driver of the vehicle decided to take a short-cut road which goes through Makaibari.

Sandakphu is a popular trekking destination in the Darjeeling area. Although there is a jeepable track to reach to this place, trekking is the preferred mode unless people are too lazy. I am told that the trek through the Singalila National Park and the views of the valleys and the himalayan mountain range en-route is a great experience. The most frequented trek trail is the one which starts from Maneybhanjang and ends at Rimbick and this takes around 4-5 days depending on the trekker. We had around 3-4 days for the trek and we were not sure how we are going to complete the trek. It was a turbulent ride along the steep and winding roads until we reached Kurseong, one of the important towns in Gorkhaland. The surprising part was that all along the topsy-turvy ride, there was one guy (a local) who was standing on a small pedestal at the back side of the vehicle and all of us inside appreciated the balance he was able to maintain. But, then we found that such a standing mode of journey is popular amongst the local people. From Kurseong onwards, the roads have become wide and more interestingly, we could see the narrow gauge railway line for the Himalayan Mountain Railway. I remembered several scenes from old movies where the small train used to be picturized, the most popular being the song "Mere Sapnon Ki Rani Kab Aayegi tu". For us, Sapnon ki Rani became less and less important, the journey was so painful that we wanted to reach our destination at the earliest possible. The main vehicle road crisscrossed the railway line and at many places, the railway line was right in the front of houses. Soon, we reached Ghoom and we got down near the Ghoom Railway Station. The location and the building of the railway station looked nothing less than a similar one in Switzerland, but the only issue was the dirt which was spread all around the place. From Ghoom, we have to go to Sukhia Pokhri and from Sukhia Pokhri to Maneybhanjang. We had a company now. His name was Maharaja and he was also going to Maneybhanjang. Taxi services in the Gorkhaland region is quite well organized and a very popular means of transport because of the narrow roads. It took us 20 minutes to reach Sukhia and then further 20 minutes to reach Maneybhanjang. Maharaja helped us a lot in giving us inputs on the road network and also a brief information about the trek in general. It was 14:30 hrs when we reached Maneybhanjang. Our plan was to have food at Maneybhanjang and start the trek immediately by 16:00 hrs, camp at one of the places en-route for the night and then proceed further the next day. When feasting on hot momos, we initiated the discussions with the owner of the restaurant on the possibilities of starting the trek in the evening and the associated necessities. The suggestions were not very encouraging - a guide was a must for the trek and if we started the trek that evening, it would be dark in No Man's Land. There were other groups of trekkers who had also assembled at the same restaurant and were discussing about going to Sandakphu. In the process of discussions, somebody told us to consult with Jivan sir, who it seems was well versed with the technicalities of the trek. A short chat with him gave us the easiest solution. We were not starting the trek that evening but the next day morning, i.e. on the 30th Dec.

We shifted to Jivan Sir's (he is a teacher in the local school at Maneybhanjang and that is why the Sir with his name) lodging place for the night stay. During the evening, we chatted with him on all the details related to the trek. He arranged the guide for us, booked our accommodation at Tumling and everything seemed to be ready. We were also lucky to meet an elderly person (Mr. Ray) from Kolkata who organizes trekking to Sandakphu (www.travelkr.net) and many other Himalayan trips and treks. Suddenly, we realised that we had more information on the Sandakphu trek than we need. The evening was spent walking around the small town around the only football ground and on the main road. The most unique thing we found about this place was the so called Land Rover, the jeep which ferries people and goods up on the mountain roads up to Sandakphu. Sometimes the engineering solutions at these places are nothing short of a marvel. That vehicle which looked like probably redone with an aluminum body is able to transport both people and good without any problem in that rough terrain. It was getting colder outside and we got back to our hotel quickly, had a good hot dinner and huddled ourselves in our cold room. We had our sleeping bags with us and that saved us from all the trouble during the night.

It was bright and sunny the next day morning. Bimal, our 22 year old guide was a bit late in reporting, but then we were told that we will be taking a short-cut, but a steeper route close to Bimal's house, to climb up. The time was 8:00AM and off we started with our heavy rucksacks. We hit the trail pretty fast through the short-cut. A part of the trail is along the jeep road which goes up to Sandakphu. We were told of the complexities of the trek route the previous night, so we were expecting what was ahead of us. The initial stretch of climb up to Chitrey (2 kms) was supposed to be steep and it really was, maybe around 60 degrees or so. Soon, it became clear that our stamina had taken for a beating. We were already puffing our way up within 30 minutes of the trek, but then, we were determined. It took us slightly more than an hour to cover the 2kms up to Chitrey, a beautiful place with a monastery. We stopped at the monastery for sometime and proceeded on our way. We were not in a hurry, as Tumling, our last halt for the day was around 6 kms from Chitrey and we were pretty sure that we will hit that place around 14:30-15:00 hrs. The trail beyond Chitrey was just the sort of terrain we required to boost our stamina - easy walk on grasslands along the side of a hill with sights of Kanchenjunga at a distance. This stretch of trail occasionally crossed the road and you could see few jeeps passing by and also . It was not long before we reached Meghma, a beautiful valley with a very small settlement. We were very close to Tumling and there were two ways to get it. One way is to climb up to Tonglu along the stairs which were visible right in front of our eyes and the other option was to go along a short-cut route along the side of a hill. The weather was changing quite fast - it was a very sunny and bright afternoon, but now clouds have started hovering and it was becoming gloomy. We took the shorter route to Tumling along the side of the hill. It took us around 30 minutes to reach Siddhartha Lodge where we were booked. It was getting dark and cold. We were planning to walk up to Tonglu in the afternoon if the weather permitted. It was time for lunch and the menu was noodles which we had brought with us. The weather became really bad by the time we finished lunch and it was just not possible to go out anywhere. We somehow passed our time partly sleeping, partly going outside the lodge to see the surroundings and partly chatting with the owner of the lodge. The night was very chill, there was no electricity (which was of course good !) and after having hot dinner of rice, dal and sabji with another group of trekkers, the best thing to do was to try falling asleep. Good night!

It was probably around 5:30 when I woke up the next day morning. It is generally a well-known theory that the weather is usually good early in the morning and most of the peaks are visible without much difficulty. We wanted to see the sunrise from Tumling. I just looked outside my room window and the only thing I could see was total mist and this gave me some additional time to sleep and be warm inside. The next time I woke up, it was around 6:30 and what I saw outside the window was white layers which looked like snow. I woke Pradipta up and rushed out of my room and to my surprise, it was really snow everywhere outside. Wow, thats fantastic - in Europe or in the US, we would have known through weather forecast that it would snow on that day, but in India, these are surprises which people would certainly like. I got all my warm clothes on and ventured outside. The weather looked like clearing up and the sun was about to be seen on the horizon. Thick white clouds were hovering all around and moving very fast, so I was waiting for the moment when the clouds in front of the Kanchenjunga peak would clear up. It seemed like it had snowed quite heavily, maybe around 2 inches or so and the entire shoe was getting covered almost. Even the two dogs from the lodge were happy on seeing the snow and they were running helter-skelter all around and tossing themselves up in the snow. Meanwhile, Pradipta had also come out and the surrounding atmosphere was just the kind of atmosphere which can pep anyone up. It was now time for us to pack things up and leave - our aim was to cover the stretch from Tumling to Sandakphu in one day. There were two thoughts running in our minds - the fact that we did not have proper clothes and shoes to hike in the snow and secondly, in such a weather whether it would be possible to view Kanchenjunga from Sandakphu.

After a quick breakfast, we started from Tumling around 8:00AM and we were mentally prepared to walk in the snow. Our guide told us that now in this weather, it would be difficult to take short-cuts as the trail wont be clearly visible and we might end up in a ditch or hurt ourselves. We decided to walk along the stony jeep road. Our next target was Gairibas from where the real steep trek supposedly starts. It was tough to walk in the snow with those heavy rucksacks and the weather was playing hide and seek - sometimes clearing up and sometimes making it difficult for us to view the path ahead. In half an hour, we were at the check post for entry into the Singalila National Park. Trekkers are not allowed to go ahead beyond this point if they don't have a guide with them. Most of the time, it was a downhill trek to Gairibas, but the road was difficult to walk as the snow covered most of the stones on the road. In spite of the poor weather, there were people outside - one has to of course work for survival. Our concentration was more on the road just to ensure that we do not fall down and break our bones. Well, there was nothing else to see around too as everything was embossed in thick layers of snow. By 10:00 AM, we were at Gairibas. Our guide tells us that the real trek should start from here. We took a short break with tea at Gairibas, registered again at the forest check-post there and off we started our climb. The climb was again along the jeep road with occasional short-cuts once in a while. Our guide kept on telling us that the uphill climb was not too long and pushed us along. Our next destination was Kalipokhori. The weather was not good at all for trekking. Sometimes, the visibility ahead used to be very clear, but in general, it was very misty ahead, there was light snowfall and the occasional wind. There was nobody on the roads except us. The trek was becoming real tough and we had to stop more often than required. We had no other option, but to keep going ahead. After 2 and half hours of strenuous trek, we could see a pond with water which looked black in color. That is how we realised how the name of the place Kalipokhori was named. We took a much needed break in one of the small huts which worked as a part-time restaurant of sorts, got ourselves close to the fire and then had vegetarian momos for lunch.

We did not spend much time here as we wanted to reach Sandakphu before it got dark. After crossing the last house in the village, Bimal suggested we take the short-cut route. Well, the tracks were not visible at all, but Bimal was confident and so we kept following him. The path was really steep, it was very slippery due to the snow and the visibility was nil. The challenge was most welcome for us. Along the route, a few young chaps rushed and crossed us. It seems a jeep got stuck in the snow and help was required. We probably walked for almost one and half hours before we hit the jeep track. A couple of jeeps which were going down stopped and asked for water so that they could pour into their engines. It looked like the jeep folks also had a tough time. The road ahead was steep and we could realise that we are reaching our destination quite quickly. It was another one and a half hours before we could see the Sandakphu peak ahead of us. It was a thrilling experience. Gathering the last bit of energy we had, we climbed the last stretch of steep climb. Bimal had already gone ahead of us to find a place for us to stay for the night. Our excitement was at its peak when we reached the summit. The only sad part at that point was the fact that we could not see any of the peaks for which we came there. We could also not imagine that we will trek up to Sandakphu in almost two days of trek. Bimal had already fixed our lodging and we rushed to have a change of clothes. Our hands and feet had already started freezing. We requested the hotel supervisor to light the fire and also arrange hot water. It was 5:30 PM when we sat around the fire-place deciding what to have for dinner. The supervisor suggested that we have "khichuri"... We added some more flavor to it by asking him to prepare "crispy aaloo bhaaja"... All along we felt bad for the fact that we may not see Kanchenjunga at all due to poor weather. But, our hotel supervisor tried his best to convince us that, based on his experience all the years, the weather would be very clear the next day. There was no harm in accepting his confidence. It was cold outside and we were also very tired. It was the night of 31st december and we knew that people in the cities would be partying the whole night. But we had no scope. Dinner was ready by 7:30 PM and it was an awesome meal at 3000 metres. We crashed into our beds immediately after dinner and the cold and damp room did not allow us to sleep immediately. After sometime, I did not know what was happening. Around middle of the night, I was awakened by lot of noise outside and the song "Sandeshe Aate Hain, Humein Tarpate Hain" disturbed the peaceful night. I realised that it was midnight and the first day of January had just set it... I was in no mood to get up... Getting back to sleep was tough and I was waiting desperately for the morning to arrive. It was around 5 AM when I heard some sounds outside and I woke Pradipta up from his deep sleep. From our window, we could see that the sky was crystal clear and that some people had started gathering to view the peaks. We were excited. We took our jackets and rushed outside to one of the vantage points from where we can get a good look at the Kanchanjunga peak.

People (including us) began to get desperate as the skylight slowly began to get bright. There was lot of chatter around. We could see the white peaks of Kanchenjunga in the semi-darkness and I was missing my camera stand to take some snaps. The sun was still not visible, but there was sufficient light now to see the Kanchenjunga peaks. But, the wait was for the view when the first rays of the sun falls on the peak. We did not have to wait longer. As soon as the first rays of the sun began to fall on the peak, the white peak started to become golden in color. This was an awesome and beautiful sight. We have achieved our goal. First, we completed our tough hike to Sandakphu and next we could see the Kanchanjunga peak glowing in eternal beauty with the first rays of the morning sun. We rushed to different vantage point to get different views of the entire range. At a far off distance, we were shown the peak of Mt. Everest also. We were told that this was a very rare day since all the peaks were visible with very high clarity. We were considered lucky. After spending a good two hours enjoying the breathtaking surroundings, it was time to start our way back to mainland. We have to go down 22 kms before we can hit the first village, Rimbik, from where we can get a jeep back to Darjeeling.





It was a bright and sunny and we expected a nice downhill trek. After a quick breakfast, we started going down. The trekking path was filled with snow and it was slippery since the snow started to melt. The excitement of the morning still remained and with a few stops for water in between we trekked down quite quickly to the first village Gurdum. The last stretch of 3 kms to Gurdum was extremely steep and it was difficult to trek down. We wondered how it would be if climbed to Sandakphu from this end. That would be a great challenge no doubt. Gurdum had a small settlement of around 10-15 families. We realised that the people out there would have to trek quite a bit to get essential commodities for their living. And I am not sure what they did if they needed a doctor urgently. Our next destination was Srikhola. The trek sometimes passed through thick jungles all along and for the first time we found a small waterfall just after reaching Srikhola. You would be surprised to know that Srikhola has a youth hostel. We were getting tired and Pradipta had a sore heel to add to it. Our progress was slow as we knew that our next halt would be Rimbik where we have to stay for the night. It took us 3 hours to trek from Srikhola to Rimbik and we checked into the first decent hotel (Hotel Kanchanjunga) as we entered the village. Dinner was exciting again: dal-bhaat :) Jeep tickets to Darjeeling were reserved for us for the next day early morning. It took us 5 hours to reach Darjeeling from Rimbik the next day. We spent a peaceful day in Darjeeling roaming around the beautiful place. The weather was great and lot of people were there on the streets. Soon, the time came when we bade goodbye to Darjeeling and then returned to our respective destinations - Kolkata for Pradipta and Guwahati for me.

True memories die hard and this one was really special. Expecting more such treks in the near future.

Hej Da.

Bababudangiri to Santaveri trek

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[Dec 21, 2009]

Fact file:

Trek route: Bababudangiri to Santaveri village (Karnataka)

How to reach:

Vehicle: Bangalore - Chickamagalur - Bababudan Hill (on the way to Kemmanegundi)
Trek: Bababudangiri to Santaveri

Let the vehicle pick you up at Santaveri and come back to Bangalore

Best time to visit:Winter

Trek duration: 1 day

Complexity: Easy

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The deadline to reach Santaveri village was 16:00 hrs. One of our trek mates, Gupta had to catch a train from Bangalore to Chennai at 23:15 hrs and the only way it was possible was to start from Santaveri at 16:00 hrs. Now, the time was 14:00 hrs and we were nowhere near Santaveri. It looked like we have lost the trail somewhere which could lead us down to the village. We could see some settlements far down, but how to reach there was the question. The valley was steep and thick jungles posed a challenge for us. It was time to take a break and deliberate on the different possibilities. We went up to the highest point on the plateau where we were held up and tried to have a good view of the surroundings. Kottada and Pradipta then climbed to the top of a nearby hill and after a tiring effort found that we could take a jeepable track to get down to the village. The decision then was to go back to the fort ruins which we had left 3 kms behind and then start from there. The sad part was that Gupta was going to miss his train and we can't help it :)

We came back to the fort and from there followed the jeep track down. Probably, this trek route has not been in use as the thick undergrowth made it very difficult to go ahead. But, we had to and also fast as it was getting dark. After crawling through thick bushes, we finally landed on open space and in another 30 minutes of trekking, we saw a gate which marks the entry point to Santaveri. We could see the village quite below meaning that we have a lot of distance still to cover. All of us were very tired and a couple of them were limping. We somehow managed to walk down for another 45 minutes or so on a road filled with lot of stones. Our vehicle was there to take us back home and we were relieved. We freshened ourselves and sat in the vehicle for the trip back to Bangalore.




Now, exactly 36 hours before, we were sitting at Prof. Choksi's lab and were trying to find out a suitable place for a day trek. There were several constraints for a leisure and longer trek. We had only 24 hrs at hand to reach a certain place, do the trek and get back to Bangalore. After considering several options, we decided to go with Kottada's suggestion to trek from Bababudangiri to Santaveri which it seems he had done it several years before and was doable in a day's time. Immediately, a vehicle was arranged and we decided to start for Bababudangiri around 01:00 hrs in the morning. We were seven of us for the trek. It was Rajesh's job to arrange the logistics for the trek. Time passed very quickly, the vehicle arrived dot on time and we were on Tumkur road by 01:30 hrs on the 20th. When I had left Bangalore, there was heavy construction going on at Tumkur road. I found the situation still the same, but we were traveling in the night, so there was not much of a problem with traffic jams. Most of us were in a tired state and very soon, we were transported to the sleeping mode. Kottada and Kiran were the active ones amongst us, so they maintained the task of sitting besides our driver.




We probably stopped a couple of times midway, but I was totally unaware till early in the morning when the continuous swirls of our vehicle due to the winding roads woke us up. We were on the stretch of road between Chickmagalur and Bababudangiri. The sun was just about to rise and the sky horizon was lit in orange. Kots could not resist the temptation to take a few snaps and for some of us like me, we wanted to answer nature's call. So, we stopped for a while to finish our respective tasks and within a short while we were at the Bababudangiri shrine. It was very foggy and very chill. Rajesh suggested to have bread omlette for breakfast at one of the shops around and after filling our stomachs, we marched along the trek path which goes towards Kemmanegundi. It was around 08:30 hrs. The initial stretch of road was tarred and the trek was more sort of an early morning walk. Thick mists engulfed our path and also restricted the visibility off and on. On the way, many of us had to answer nature's untiring and repeated calls and all along we kept trekking. Very soon, we reached a lake on the bank of which we could see a small makeshift temple. This spot was a photographer's paradise and everybody took turns to pose for a few snaps. Thick mist challenged our photographers and it was the right time to display their skills in handling their sophisticated equipment. Right after we crossed the lake, we could see that there was no tar road ahead, rather it was a regular trekking path cut along the side of the hills. Soon, it became sunny and we all had to remove our warm clothes. There were very few uphill climbs and it was a pleasant walk through open grasslands and occasionally through thick jungle vegetation. This trek doesn't seem to be frequented, so the there was no clear trekking path which could be seen. One has to use their sense of direction, a GPS or intuition to move ahead and it is fun. Soon, we were hungry again and we decided to take a break for some snacks. The place was near a communication tower on top of a smaller hill. The diet was as usual a combination of bread, jam and pickles with slices of cucumber and tomato in between, maybe together I think we can call this as the sandwich.



With a bit of recharge, we started our march. We were basically following another batch of 4 trekkers who were quite ahead of us. After an hours walk, we could see that there was no trek path as such, but then at a distance we saw the guys ahead of us, and we thought they were in the right direction. We followed the direction but very soon, we realised that we were lost. We were atop a hill and from there, we could see that the actual trekking path was on another hill which looked quite far. The problem was that there was a very deep valley of jungles in between these two hills which we have to cross. We found out from where we have to cross this valley and barged through the thick undergrowth of the forest and soon emerged on the other side on the right trek route after overcoming a steep climb. Now, it was around 2 hours from our last long break and friends decided to break again for a so called lunch. Again, it was the same stuff. We did not want to waste much time since our deadline to reach Santaveri was 16:00 hrs. We finished quickly and proceeded for the next target and thats the ruins of a fort. Within half an hour, we could see the fort ruins at a distance. We realised that now, we are within our time targets. Me and pradipta were the first people to reach the fort, but once we reached there, we could not see any trek path which could lead us down. We were stuck. We waited for our friends behind to reach us and they told that they saw the other group go in a particular direction. So, we too headed in that direction. The sun was right on top of our head and after eating the food, we were finding it lazy to walk. We kept on walking for maybe around 3 kms when we reached a dead end. There were no trek path at all ahead of us now. We looked around the valley from the highest point and we could see a village down, but how to reach was the question. We spent almost an hour deliberating on the directions we should take. Then, we realised that the group before us had vanished in thin air. We looked all around and at distance, we could see sort of a path which leads into a thick jungle. We felt that the trek route is probably there and then proceeded in that direction. Then we could hear some voices from inside the jungle. One of us went and then came to know that there was no route in that direction at all. Now, the time was 14:00 hrs and we were nowhere near Santaveri.







This trek is a very average trek and is doable by anybody of any standards. The distance is long maybe around 20 kms, but the route all along the side of a hill and I can recall only a couple of steep climbs. The only issue is that people should not get lost. It is a day's trek to cherish....

Team members: Kots, Kiran, Ramkrishna, Rajesh, Pradipta, Gupta and Santanu

Photographs courtesy Kots and Kiran.... That why I am in most of the snaps :)

Till the next one... Adios