Roopkund and the Magnificence of the Himalayas

Roopkund was my first high altitude trek in the mighty Himalayas and boy were people right, it's romanticism at its best. This trek has everything from forests to unending meadows to storms to snowfall to snow-capped mountain peaks to a FROZEN lake.  I went with Indiahikes and the experience was superb.

Group picture at the start of the trek

      We started our first day from Lohajung in a car and were driven to Wan amidst breath-taking views and treacherous roads.The first day physically was the most taxing for me. The same day we began climbing towards our first camp Ghaeroli Patal.  On the way we passed over this beautiful bridge over the Neel Ganga. The climb through the forests was beautiful with very less sunlight streaming in through the dense canopy of Oak and rhododendron trees.  The first day was the most difficult as our bodies just start adjusting and I would motivate first timers to go at their own speed, to keep themselves hydrated , breathe rhythmically through the nose and to enjoy the beautiful scenery. Below are some pictures from our first day.

Credits : Rushabh Bhide

Sun Streaming through the dense forest cover

  

Credits : Sai Tilak
The beautiful bridge at Neel Ganga

     The second day we started out and a short ascend later we had left the forest behind and had entered the bugyals. The meadows were just splendid. Miles and miles of grassy meadows till as far as the eyes could see. They were simply splendid. From our first camp site we had a choice of 2 trails, there was a shorter steeper trail that we did not take and I am so glad we did not because then we would not have come across the beauty of Ali Bugyal. Our second campsite at Bedni Bugyal was simply beautiful. We faced a little rainfall but the sunset that followed over the meadows was fantastic.  It was a clear night and lying down in the meadows stargazing ranked in my top 5 experiences of the trek. It is fantastic where you can actually see all the constellations clearly. In fact you may even spot Mars and Jupiter with the naked eye. The night was so beautiful you honestly do not feel like going back to your tent. Below are some pictures from the second day.

Sunset in the Bugyals

Credits : Raj Morbia
A fellow trekker mesmerised with the beauty of the Bugyals

Credits : Onil Shah
The endless bugyals

Credits : Onil Shah
Look at the stars...Look how they shine for you...

     The third day for me was the easiest climb as our bodies were continuously acclimatising and getting used to the increased regular physical demands. The trail was also beautiful where we could see our campsite from miles. Today we camped at Pathar Nachauni . This campsite taught us a lot where we faced some rough weather. There was a point where we were standing in the dining tent and our trek lead came running and told us to get out and minutes after that our tent collapsed. We went and sat in our tents amidst heavy rainfall. When it seemed to calm down and we exited our tents the trail and mountains in front of us were covered with snow and it was brilliant. Below is a picture from our third day.

The Fourth day started off with me coming out of the tent and looking at the trail disappearing beyond the snow-capped mountains at Kaluvinayak. The thought of climbing it literally took my breath away. We started off and after a point we had left the lovely meadows and now had reached an altitude where nothing grew or survived on the rough terrain. After a few hours we reached the highest point of the day’s climb at Kaluvinayak temple which is a beautiful temple set amidst the Himalayas there. There was one incident that is imprinted in my mind which is when we were climbing and our guide reached the top and blew the conch (shankha) there was a sense of this beautiful positive energy that seemed to flow all around. Our camp of the day at Bhagwabasa was a short descent away now. The campsite was beautiful. The tents were literally pitched on snow. At that high altitude of around 14500 feet when we were having hot kadhi chawal which was delicious by the way, a friend ran in and asked us to come out. On walking out I saw my first snowfall. After having lunch I went and sat in this small dhaba that served Maggi and Tea and sat there enchanted watching the heavy snowfall for hours. I then went into my tent to layer up when it had turned into a bit of a snowstorm. When I came out, after a bit the snowstorm had stopped and there was a beautiful sunset taking place in the background and what followed was a huge snow fight amongst all of us. We were then introduced to our technical team of six people who were going to guide us for our final summit climb tomorrow. We were given spikes and gaiters and taught how to use them. After an hour of practise we had dinner and retired early with a plethora of thoughts in our head about the final summit climb. Below are some pictures from our fourth day.

Pitcure of my tent with today's trail in the background.

The Beautiful Himalayas

Kaluvinayak Temple

Credits : Romit
Stepping out of the tents to have a snowfight.

Credits : Romit
All of us practicing how to walk using spikes with help from the technical team and Squadron Leader Amrit

Fifth day- We were all up and about by 2 am packing and getting ready. We left at 4 a.m. in pitch darkness with the help of head torches. We had to be much disciplined on the final ascent and technical team was very strict and rightly so. The motivation by the team and some people in the group was superb. We reached the summit at 7.30 am. The last ascent is superb and a little taxing at the same time for first timers as it is quite a steep angle and a considerable distance. All this aside when you reach the summit there is no feeling that can match the exhilaration you feel. If you are someone who keeps their emotions locked up it all comes out at once and that is how overwhelming it is. The view is superb and cannot be put into words. There it was Roopkund right below us sitting there all frozen and beautiful with the skeletons and souls resting peacefully inside the lake. There is also a temple built at the summit. After a few celebratory punches in the air we had breakfast of hot aloo parathas with pickle at the top at 15,750 feet. We started our descent at sharp 8.45 a.m. because it gets treacherous once the snow starts melting because of the sun being overhead.Below are some pictures we took at the summit.

Team Picture at the summit.

Credits : Rushabh Bhide
Roopkund

The Mighty Himalayas

Credits : Rushabh Bhide

      The descent was a lifetime experience for me with some renewed confidence and self-belief. We then had lunch at Bhagwabasa and spent some time listening to music and looking at the snow-capped mountains. Bhagwabasa truly was the most beautiful and stunning campsite. It is absolutely magical. We then continued our descent to Pathar Nachauni. On reaching Pathar Nachauni we continued listening to music and staring up at the beautiful clear skies and the mighty mountains we had just conquered. What followed after that was a huge storm where we had to sit in our individual tents for hours. Our kitchen and dining tents had collapsed and so was the might of nature that it took a few other empty tents with it as well. Why I am mentioning this is because the winds were something I had never experienced. I finally know how powerful a storm can be. A special shout out to the team at Indiahikes and the locals here. There was a point when amidst the heavy storm and the first kitchen tent collapsing, they continued cooking for us in another tent with 14 people holding the tent up while 2 people cooked us hot dinner and that is what is commendable. They were also keeping a watch on all our tents. The spirit of everyone working selflessly in that weather was commendable and something I will never forget. Thank you.  Next morning we woke up to find clear weather and we continued with our descent after thanking everyone there. I descended as slowly as possible not wanting to let go and not wanting this beautiful journey to end. Something amazing that I noticed was on the way down every child who I came across folded their hands and greeted us with a smile which was such a treat. Slowly as we descended we left the mountains behind and then the meadows and then the forests but we carried with ourselves renewed belief and memories we made and the lessons we learnt. Below are a few pictures and a video we took during our descent.

Credits : Sai Tilak

     The experience was invaluable. I would just like to improve on what Edmund Hillary once said by saying that we never really just conquer a mountain but we also conquer our fears, our apprehensions and everything else. We also start appreciating the small things in life and nothing seems impossible anymore. A big shoutout to Salman our trek lead, Harsh our assistant Trek Lead, Yogambar Bisht our head guide, Balbir our sweeper who never left a man behind and made sure everyone was ahead of him , our technical team, the whole team from lohajung to Bhagwabasa that helped us, motivated us ,took care of us no matter what the weather conditions and Bir whose guidance and tips were superb lifetime lessons and for teaching us Hand Uno as well. I would also like to thank Indiahikes for the brilliant Green Trails initiative that is helping to keep our Himalayas clean. To everyone out there who has never trekked before I hope this motivates them to do it once because you simply just take back so much but a fair warning that once you do go you will want to go back again and again. I am signing off with this brilliant picture a friend of mine took during the trek. P.S. : All pictures here have been taken by me unless specified in the captions and is the sole property of the photographer.

Credits : Onil Shah