Himanchal -1: ‘The Badrinath’

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      "How orderly philosophical is the landscape, are all the inhabitants of this World!  It is the creation of a god who ever plays the geometer."

    

 

   The Place:  Badrinath is a Hindu/Jain holy town and a nagar panchayat in Chamoli district in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is the most important of the four sites in India's Char Dham pilgrimage. The town gets its name from the Holy temple of Badrinath. It has an average elevation of 3,415 metres (11,204 feet). It is in the Garhwal hills, on the banks of the Alaknanda River. The town lies between the Nar and Narayana mountain ranges and in the shadow of Nilkantha peak (6,560m).

The panoramic view from Badrinath

                                                     

The Magnificent Neelkantha Peak

       The Temple: 'Badrinath temple' sometimes called 'Badrinarayan temple', is situated along the Alaknanda river, in the hill town of Badrinath in Uttarakhand state in India. It is widely considered to be one of the holiest Hindu temples, and is dedicated to god VishnuThe temple is open only six months every year (between the end of April and the beginning of November), due to extreme weather conditions in the Himalayan region.

 

    The Temple

                                                                                       

The Route: For travellers coming from New Delhi the route will be first to Rishikesh and then to badrinath via Joshimath through the folllowing route.

 

   

                                                           For travellers coming from Delhi                                                                                                     

I started from Pithoragarh so I went to Joshimath first Via Thal-Bageswar-Gwaldam-Karnaprayag and Chamoli. From Joshimath, Badrinath town is 42 Km away and you have road access to the town.   

                                                                                                                               

Route From Pithoragarh

                  

An alternate route is that you can come to Jollygrant Airport(Dehradoon) and from there you can go via Rudraprayag-Karnaprayag-Chamoli-Joshimath. You can take help from the following distance chart.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

   

The Journey:   I started my journey from Pithoragarh at 7 in the morning, reached Gwaldam in the evening at 4 and stayed there for the night. Gwaldam is a hill station perched at an altitude of 1,875mts above sea level in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand state. It lies on the route which connects Garhwal region with Kumaon. The famous Nanda Devi Raj Jat Yatra goes through Gwaldam. Trek to the mysterious Roopkund Lake is the most renowned trekking excursion of Gwaldam. I spent the evening by strolling around the nearby Forest Department bunglow. It is a very old but well maintained bunglow and from there you can have a distinct view of Nanda Devi and Trishul peaks.  

Directions to the Himalayan ranges from Gwaldam

The Forest Department Bunglow

Sunset from Gwaldam.

           

View of the Pine forest from Gwaldam

        

The Trishul peak from Gwaldam ( Pic was shot in the evening amidst a very cloudy sky)

        

 

From Gwaldam, next morning I set out to Badrinath via Karnprayag,Chamoli and Joshimath. The journey from Gwaldam to Badrinath was one exhilarating journey. You follow the trail of river Alaknanda and make your way through the tall, barren mountains with your vehicle peeping down to deep valleys at every turn. The route is curvy and you have to trust on your driver's driving skills.The road conditions are excellent and a big thumbs up to the state government for improving the road conditions. Though it gets a bit worse during monsoons due to consistent rain and land-slides but you can't avoid these things in this region. If you have your own vehicle then I can assure you that it would be an adrenalin pumping journey and for gaming geeks it would be like NFS resurrected in real life. 

 

 

The River Alaknanda (on way to chamoli from Karnaprayag)

 The Road from Chamoli to Joshimath 

Since you will be travelling in the Himalayan region , at every turn you will get to see sky touching mountains or a magificent glimpse of snow capped peaks. 

   

Glimpses of the Himalayan Range en route to Badrinath     

Finally after 5 hours of exciting journey from Karnaprayag, you reach the land of lord Badrinath. For the parking of all the private vehicles, there is a parking area near the bus stand. There is a guest house of Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam(GMVN) near the parking area. It is better if you book a Hotel/Dharamshala in Badrinath in advance otherwise you can also find rooms in Dharamshalas after reaching there or you can arrange for a lodging facility in Joshimath and make your trip from there. For eating, there are many facilities near the temple zone. You can have food like Marwari/Punjabi/Bengali/South Indian thali, or you can have local food. 

For Darshan, take a customary token from the counter near parking area and go to the temple. Take Blessings from Lord Badrinath. After Darshan, take a stroll around the other temples in that zone. Visit the 'Himalaya tirth' museum, situated just beside the Badrinath shrine. At night enjoy the splendid view of the shrine decorated with the lights .

The Badrinath Temple

Temple decorated with lights

               

 The Expenses:  The Journey is not very expensive. The major expense will be of travelling. Take around Rs. 1200(if you travel by bus) for to and fro journey from Delhi to Badrinath. For lodging, there are very affordable ashrams/dharamshala/hotels available and it will cost you around Rs.200-300 per day.Add another Rs 200 per day for food ( Food items are a bit costlier than normal but it is fair enough as those guys have to pay for their transportation cost of carrying the material to 11000ft height) and another Rs. 300 for 'Prasad' and 'Dakshina'. So for a 2 day trip to Badrinath, it will cost you around Rs. 2500 per person and if you are visiting the place in a group it will cost you even less than that.

The market and the ashrams

 So when the Kapats of BadriDham are opened pack your bags, have some warm clothings(weather can change colours at any moment), keep an ID card(necessary while booking rooms), leave all your depressing thoughts and mental loads back at the home and get ready to have an exciting himalayan experience with some religious flavour. As the Skanda Purana states that- “There are several sacred shrines in heaven, on earth, and in hell; but there is no shrine like Badrinath”, have faith on the almighty and Lord badrinath will bless you with joy and prosperity.

 

 

                                                                                                                                            

 

INTRODUCTION: ‘The Himalaya’

On a chilly afternoon high up in the mountains in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent as a shining gaze of light strikes the horizon, it reveals the most precious of nature’s magic – The Himalayas.

  

‘Himalaya’ is a Sanskrit word that literally means ‘Adobe of snow’. The Himalayan mountain range is world’s tallest and is home to some of the tallest peaks in the world. Forming a distinct geographical divide that separates the Indian subcontinent from Central Asia, the Himalayas extend from west to east in a massive arc for about 2500 kilometres (1550 miles).

                                                       image: courtesy Wikipedia.

From south to north, the mountains can be grouped into three parallel, longitudinal mountain belts, each with its unique features and distinctive geological history.

                                                                                    [Courtesy: http://library.thinkquest.org]

• Shivaliks (Siwaliks, the Outer Himalayas or the Sub-Himalayas):

Forming the southernmost belt of the Himalayan range, the Shivaliks are also the lowest and narrowest range in the entire Himalayan system, having an average elevation of about 900 - 1200 m (3,000 to 4,000 feet) and in places, a width of only 16 km (10 miles). The name Shivalik is a Sanskrit word literally meaning "Belonging to the Lord Shiva (of the Hindus)".

• Himachal (the Lesser Himalayas or the Lower Himalayas):

Lying between the Himadri region in the north and the Shivaliks to the south, the Himachal region forms the middle section of the Himalayan mountain chain. Lower than the Himadri or the Great Himalayas, this region has an average altitude of 3700 - 4500m above sea level (12,000 to 15,000 ft). It extends southeast from Pakistan and extrends through large parts of the Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Western Uttar Pradesh, Nepal and and the North-Eastern Himalayas. This region passes and glaciers and includes many of the 110 mountains in the Himalayas rising to heights up to 7300m (24,000 ft) or more above sea level.

• Himadri (the Great Himalayas, Higher Himalayas or the Great Himalayan Range):

The northernmost, longest and the most continous belt in the Himalayan system, the Himadri belt forms the backbone of the Himalayas. Lying well above the snow line with an average elevation of about 6100 m (20,000 ft), the Himadri dominates the extreme northern frontiers of India and the entire northern boundary of Nepal. It rises to its maximum height in Nepal containing nine of the fourteen highest peaks in the world, all above 8000m above sea level.

The beauty of the Himalayas has lured visitors to this region since olden times and being the world's highest mountain chain; it constitutes the greatest attraction to climbers and trekkers throughout the world.