Trek to Harish Tal

Everything was decided in the Facebook. 
While chatting with a friend a day before Dushera we came across the Idea it was a long week end and we could utilize it in in doing something constructive.
Harish Tal and Lohakham Tal it was. The event was constructed but the response was poor.
yes-2
may be-0
and declined -22.

So it was two of us me and Monts who decided to take the challenge.
The check list was created and I went on a shopping spree had to arrange for every-thing from food to medicine, from toiletries to camping equipment.

There was one problem. None of us had ever been to the place and the people who we met had taken the journey 15-20 yrs ago.
Somehow the itinerary was created.

Day 1- Nainital to Khutani to Dhanachauli to Patlot to Doba.

We started at 7 AM from Naintal took a Jeep to Khutani then from khutani another jeep to Khanshu and then a third to Patlot. we reached Patlot at around 11 :30 am.

Unfortunately we found out that the jeep leaves for "doba" in the morning and the next was only at 1:30 pm and as luck would have it didn't turn up the next was expected at 4:30 pm and no surety. Would suggest all the travelers (budget travelers) to either arrange for their own conveyance or make sure that the jeep/bus timings are correct.

So the only alternate left was to trek all the way to Lohakham Tal  through the less traveled "paidal marg" which meant now we had to trek around 16km that is 12km more than the one we had intended to.

The route to Lokham Tal starts just opposite to the Bank of Baroda the stairs takes you up the marg and is situated just at the bend in the main market.
Its a grueling 3-4 km climb which then becomes a bit relaxing though it still elevates up and is a lush green jungle.

At times we came across the paths criss- crossing each other and there were no sign boards to show the directions and we did not meet anyone till the time we reached Doba village. Whenever we came across such crossings we took the one which were man made i.e stone laid paths as they were most certain to reach the destination. Later it came out that we took the left ones and finally reached the village at around 7:30 pm.
It had become dark and we were getting freaked up with every sound that we heard.
We decided to ask the first house that we came across for help.

Its something with the people of my India(Jim Corbetts India) that the very first house offered us a room to stay and food which we politely declined. It was supposed to be a camping trip and we did not want to stay indoors.
so finally we camped at one of the fields in the vicinity, we were given plenty of firewood that would keep the surrounding hot and possibly the wild animals at bay.
We cooked our food on the fire and then went on a photographic frenzy till we have had (basically it had become quite cold and we were tired).

It was time to gather some sleep before the trek in the morning.

It was a horrible yet exciting night we could easily hear the wild animals in the vicinity from the barking deer to boar we were sure we even heard the leopard call.


Day 2

We woke up at 5:30 am, no actually the landowners son came in checking if the idiots that we are had survived the night.
Soon we bid thanks to the family and continued our trek to Lohakham Tal.
It was a short one around 2km we reached a small shop had a refreshing cup of tea and the Lohakhmtal it was. 
The first look at the Lohakham Tal we had reached it.

 



It was a small lake about the size of the Khurpatal but densely forested, the old temple of Lohakham Dev is still awaiting renovation.
One thing that excited us was the sight of fresh water Trout , but we could just watch as we had not brought the fishing line.
After a round of photography , it was time for Coffee, baked beans and buns.

we stayed there for around 4 hrs just watching the lake and admiring the beauty.

Then it was time for the 1.5 km trek downhill to Harish Tal.

Here we were Harish Tala a dream come true.

It was awesome and we were awestruck by the beauty.
 A small lake full of fish we could see the red colored carp swimming freely and the lake itself was surrounded by the fields and a small hamlet.

We just stayed at one point with our camera clicking like crazy. 
We again visited one of the family which owns the fields next to the lake and got permission to camp.

A small shop in the hamlet helped us replenish the depleted stock of coffee and milk. We also got a fishing line and a hook along with bait and lot of firewood, which we also gathered from the nearby fields(sorry for not asking).

We soon were able to fish 4 small fish which we had for dinner along with Maggie and a lot of coffee.

It soon became dark and we decided that it was enough photography for the day and went to sleep.
We were again woken up by the calls of the wild animals it was scary and we decided to sit near the fire along with some more rounds of Coffee.
Finally the day ended at 1 am and we finally dozed off to sleep.


Day 3-

The day started at 6 am some more photography and the 8 km trek to Gaza.
There is a jeep service from Gaza to Haldwani which leaves at 12 noon and not during the monsoon season when the Gaula river through which the Jeep comes becomes in-assessable.

Reached Haldwani by 2 pm and then back to Nainital
 

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Hemkund- The Trek and more

The woods are lovely dark and deep

But i have promises to keep

places to go before I sleep .

Day 1- 

We start our Journey at Haridwar, after having reached from different places me from Haldwani and Arnab from Meerut.
(There is a route from Haldwani that takes one directly to Karnaprayag but the bus not available hence i traveled around 220 km more.

Day 2- Reached Haridwar at around 3 AM  Arnab was already waiting. We started our two hrs wait for the cab to get all its share of passengers(needless to say plight of a Budget Traveler) and we finally left for Joshimath at around 5:30 AM.

The journey was hot and uneventful and the driver irritatingly slow as we meandered in the curvy roads to Josimath.We reached Joshimath at around 5 PM, and proceeded for our visit to Auli.

Auli the ski capital of Uttrakhand the places which hosted the 1st south Asian Winter games was all dry, Surprise surprise but  the hills were lush green no comparison with the burning forest of Kumaon region, it seems it is raining good  here.

The Greenery caught my sight.

At a Local resort at Auli

The Famous Ski slope at Auli

The Bell at the Hanuman Temple at Auli

The Resort at Auli

Day 2-
The day started early at around 5 AM , we were at the gate trying to hitch hike to Govind Ghat journey of around 20km from the town of Joshimath it is the base camp for the Treks to Hemkund.
Govind Gaht offers all kinds of accommodations  for every budget and also a Gurudwara that offers descent  accommodation.

For those who are not into trekking Air Deccan offers a Helicopter service to Ghangeria.
Porters and Horses are also available from Govind Ghat for Ghangaria for the "Haves" of our society.

First Look at the town of Govind Gaht

Air Deccan's Helicopter service to Gahangeria

's

We had our stomach fill and started our journey to "Ghangaria" our first stop and base camp for the final ascend to the Hemkund lake.
The journey is tough with a steep ascend for around 16km that takes around 5hrs, the sights though are magnificent as the journey takes you through valleys, rivers and glaciers.

Porters Waiting for the "Cargo"

Water fall over a small Glacier

Majestic Himalayas

Steep Ascend of 16 km greets the trekkers

The route is dotted with shops that offer luxurious refreshment which offer everything from fresh Juice, packaged drinking water, Tea, all sorts of Cold-Drinks practically everything however at a extremely high price that increases with the distance traveled for example the packaged drinking water will cost from Rs 30 to Rs 80 per liter based on the distance travelled. Cold drinks are prices between 40 to 80 and tea can cost Rs 15 to Rs 25 per glass, so much for our Budget Travel.
 

We reached Ghangaria at around 4:30 PM when it had started raining, it was time to hunt for the cheapest accommodation for  Gurdwara was all full , we got a descent accommodation 3 bedded room  @ Rs 900/ day could have got it cheaper had we enough strength to search more.
We soon found out the place runs on private electricity that is rationed 2-3 hrs in the morning and 2-3 hrs in the evening. All your camera batteries and mobiles need to be charged then, by the way place does not have mobile signals so we are practically cut off from the rest of the world.  



Had our dinner and settled to sleep early as the next day was supposed to be grueling a good night rest is advisable.



Day 3- The final frontier 

The day 3 is what I would like to recall as the "Final Frontier' its a 6.5 km steep climb that takes you to a height of 4400 Meters. The climb is certainly not for the faint hearts, its tough very steep and the way is tough to walk on, though again the views are spectacular as the route offers Glaciers, valleys, peaks
and at the end a lush green treeline.
However reaching the summit the very site of the Frozen lake was enough to ease the pain caused in climbing. 

Route through a  Galacier

Another Glacier

The frozen Hemkund Lake

The LAKE again

Glacier on the way

Hmmm its impressive.

The Visit was cut short as it had started snowing we decided to head back to Ghangeria our base camp.
This time a different Hotel and cheaper accommodation @ Rs 700/-.



Day 4

Homage to Badri Vishal and a visit to MANA "The Last Indian Village"

All tired and exhausted we decided to pay a visit to Lord Badrinath and visit the Last Indian Village "Mana"
Badrinath is only abut 24km from Govindghat and buses and taxis continuously ply in the route however the timings are fixed one should make sure to confirm the timings of the gates (trafic is only allowed to pass through at fixed intervals) the last gate being at 5:30 pm.
Badrinath offers all sorts of staying arrangements from small Dharamshalas to luxurious hotels there is a Youth Hostel but it requires membership KMVN provides simple staying arrangements at a 500 bed "yatri niwas" @Rs 100 per bed per night but do remember to carry a bedsheets as the ones provided are not clean enough.

Mana  supposedly the "Last Indian Village" is situated 3km from Badrinath the jeeps/ taxis charge Rs300 for a visit and back that we found to be outrageously expensive( remember we were budget travelers).
It offers a awesome view of Neelkunth and has certain of its own attractions like the Bhim shila, saraswati mandir, etc it is also the base for all the treks to Satopanth Glacier.

The woods were lovely dark and deep

i have promises to keep

that I shall return before I sleep .

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Rediscovering -Mukteshwar

Rediscovering -Mukteshwar

I had visited the place twice before last time during the autumn of 1997-98,  its been a long wait.

It was decided suddenly, a trip to "Mukteshwar" for an official meet, I grabbed on to the offer.

Till the day i kept on dreaming about the place, guessing with open eyes how i would find it.

Then the big day came.

28th Jan 2012- We that is Me , Arvin Bappa and the entire team boarded the cars to Mukeshwar.

I was so excited that I could not even realize that we have passed the lake of Bhimtal, i barely had a glance of it , for i was too focused , Mukteshwar I was coming.

At around 11  the Himalayas were visible and i got my first shot.

Mukteshwar now is dotted with Resorts fortunately a lot of it is a reserved forest.

We checked into Shree Hari Resorts which is owned by one of my friends and his brother looks after the resort, beautiful location, clean rooms and excellent tasting food.

Had a delicious Lunch then went for a small trek, Mukteshwar has one of the most dense forests at Uttrakhand and thanks heaven nearly all of it is "Reserved Forest".

Lot of treks are available , we took the nearest one, it was decided that we would trek for 1 hour and then return back.

We soon found ourselves surrounded by dense forests, wild animals are in plenty and one can see lot of tracks.

I only hoped that the boys would have kept a low profile as the noise would have certainly scarred away any game, couldn't get any pics but yes as expected the landscape was awesome, forest presented a lot of shades to choose from.

Having completed the Trek in exactly 3 hours, 1 hour behind schedule, it was  time to head back .
Surprises were not over for the day, our Host Siddharth the owner had made arrangements for a nice  Bonn Fire, surely we wouldn't have liked to stay indoors and the fire gave us respite from the cold outside, it was freezing cold and not at all possible to stay away from the fire.

It was awesome, however at around 12 AM we all dozed off.
Next morning after the breakfast, I and Arvin Bappa decided to quickly visit Chauli ke jali, a rock face at Mukteshwar and thanks god we did,for the place has some awesome views.

The woods are lovely dark and deep,
                                                  But i have promises to keep,
shall return again before i finally sleep.