The Hindu Business Line : Gangotri revisited

The first thing that strikes you as you negotiate the Garhwal range of mountains from Rishikesh, with Gaumukh as destination, is that save the four dhams — and Gangotri is one of them in this belt, with the other three being Yamnotri, Badrinath and Kedarnath — the Himalayas are being visited more by western tourists than domestic travellers.

For four of us in our nine-member group, it was a revisit after 18 long years of the mind-blowing Gaumukh, from where the Ganga begins its journey as the Bhagirathi river. From Rishikesh the road is motorable only up till Gangotri, a distance of 240 km. After that you have to either trek the 14 km to Bhojbasa (at an elevation of about 12,500 ft) or do it on ponyback. From Bhojbasa to Gaumukh most of the three km distance can be done on a pony, with the remaining half a km or so being negotiated on foot. Thanks to global warming the Gangotri glacier, which gives birth to the Ganga, is rapidly melting and receding backward.

Having missed the opportunity of trekking to Bhojbasa 18 years ago, partially because we had two young children accompanying us and partially because the very prospect of the 14-km trek was daunting, two female members in our group decided to do as much of the 14 km on foot as possible. Our resolve was strengthened by a young European couple — a Belgian male and his French girlfriend — that we met at the Gangotri temple where the evening aarti was being performed.

"Oh no, please don't take ponies, you must trek, otherwise you will not enjoy the beauty of the place," he had pleaded.

So how long did it take them to do the 14-km trek?

"Just three hours," was the incredulous reply. But of course the two of them must have been barely 20 or so!

The route from Gangotri to Bhojbasa is full of surprises; just when you think that the tricky loose stones and the steep slopes are making your task virtually impossible, along comes a stretch of straight, sandy road across which you can effortlessly glide. And, as suddenly come the bits that take you on a downward slope, giving your panting heart a much-required breather.

Mobile phone woes

Our first target was Chirbasa, 9 km from Gangotri. Around 7 a.m., three of us set off on foot, armed with the wooden sticks picked up from the bustling bazaar at Gangotri. We got a head start of about 90 minutes, but 30 of these were frittered away by the ringing of the mobile phone, soon after we had begun trekking. Only the BSNL line works here, and the signal being erratic, the third and only male member of our trekking team was traumatised by his wife managing to communicate only this much: "Call me back immediately."

With ailing parents, he was desperate to make contact, even as he murmured, "Not that I'll be of much help from here". When contact was finally made, it turned out that all was well at home. The little incident did slow us down a little, but only strengthened our resolve that we should reach Chirbasa before the "pony gang" made it.

We soon discovered that three additional decades (compared to the young Europeans) of wear and tear of the knees and the leg muscles, not to mention the gasping and panting heart at an elevation of 12,000 ft, would make the trek a challenge. But even though we couldn't dream of doing the 14 km in three hours, as our young European friends had done, we surprised ourselves by making it to Chirbasa in four hours, just ahead of the riders!

The scenic beauty along the route is incredible. The gurgling waters of the Bhagirathi river keep you company all along and as you go higher, the forest-covered Garhwal range gives way first to scrubs and then to sheer rocky mountains, as the tree line ends.

Just after Chirbasa, the eyes get a magnificent treat in the form of the dazzling snow covered peaks — Bhagirathi 1, 2 and 3 — that form the Gangotri glacier. Seen a little to the right is the snow covered Shiv Ling peak. All of them have had a fresh coating of snow the previous night. Looking back, it is evident that we were able to do the 9 km distance without any problem because we set out without any breakfast and confined ourselves to a diet of Cadbury Crackle and water.

Bottled water!

That brings me to a sore point of this trip to the Garhwal Himalayas. Eighteen years ago, and even 10 years ago when we had gone to the Valley of Flowers, all of us had marvelled at the sweet taste of the water in the Himalayas. But this time around, as we Indians have discovered the joys of bottled water, most of the team members refused to touch a drop of water that did not have a label of `Bisleri', `Aquafina' or whatever. And the higher you go in the mountains, the cost of a litre of water goes up drastically. What is available for Rs 10 in Rishikesh will cost you Rs 30 in Bhojbasa.

But as we encountered innumerable little springs on the way up, fetish for sanitised water was given up and handfuls of the Bhagirathi's bounty consumed, even by the doctor in our little group. There are times when one wants to laugh at oneself... after all, didn't all of us live perfectly well without mobile phones and bottled water not too many years ago?

Anyway, as the six ponies marched to the dhaba at Chirbasa where we had taken a break, the appropriateness of the Gujarati adage — gaadi joi ne pag dukkhe (the feet start aching when they sight a car) — was driven home. After another kilometre of trek, it was decided that two of the men on the ponies would give the ladies a break, lend them their ponies and make the rest of the 4 km to Bhojbasa on foot. The offer was gratefully accepted. As we allowed Raja and Rani — as our two ponies were called — to complete the distance, the advantage of taking ponies was driven home. As you don't constantly have to watch your step — sometimes the path is so narrow, thanks to landslides, that you have just a little more than a foothold and have to be cautious how you tread — and are not puffing and panting thanks to depleted oxygen at that height, you are able to enjoy that much more the splendour of the Himalayas. The air is so fresh, the music made by the flowing Bhagirathi so melodious, and the magnificence of the entire landscape so enthralling that you want to open out all your senses to take in as much of the experience as you can.

Till of course the pony encounters a stony, steep downward patch, or a gushing stream, or goes too close to a protruding rock that can give your knee, or worse, your head, a nasty bang! And here one of our ponywallah Mohan Lal's charming stories has to be related.

According to him, recently the District Magistrate of Uttarkashi had gone up to Bhojbasa on a pony. "Ab janwar tau yeh nahi janta tha ki woh insaan nahi bhagwan hei, aur unka pair patthar se takra dala (the horse did not know that he is not a man but a god, and banged his leg against a rock). The DM saab was very angry and has given orders that when he returns to the place after a couple of months, aisey sab patthar ko theek kar dena chhahiye! (All such protruding rocks have to be taken care of!)"

While one realised that Mohan Lal had added his own dash of masala to the story, one immensely enjoyed the little story, having had adequate experience of how babudom works... and thinks!"

Fact file

Getting there: Gangotri is 240 km from Rishikesh and can be accessed by road — either private taxis/vans or public buses. It takes about 10-12 hours of driving depending on how many halts you will make at dhabas and chai stalls, not to mention breaks for photography.

Elevation: Gangotri 10,300 ft, Gaumukh, 13,200 ft.

Best season: The roads are open between May and end-October, but it is better to avoid the monsoon season during which landslides and roadblocks are more frequent, and wet weather makes both driving and trekking that much more difficult.

Nearest airport: Jolly Grant at Dehradun, 260 km from Gangotri.

Nearest railway station: Haridwar, 260 km.

What to carry: Travel light, armed with sufficient woollens, and ensure that you use several layers of clothing to trap body heat. Don't forget sunglasses and sunblock lotion. Stock enough chocolates or sweets of your preference, as these are great energy boosters.

Response may be sent to rasheeda@thehindu.co.in

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