Rushh

Garhwal,in Uttaranchal,is known for its religious places and pilgrim trails and is rightly called “the abode of the gods”. Kedarnath,Badrinath,Gangotri and Yamunotri-are integral parts of our spiritual lives. Garhwal has many destinations, which attract the common tourist,as well as innumerable treks catering to today’s young breed of nature lovers. These youngsters,to add spice to their holidays,do not visit the usual hill stations,but pack thier rucksacks and head for the Himalayas.

Uttarakashi,at the height of 1160m,is an ideal base for many beautiful treks. One of them is Khush kalyan. Leaving Delhi by a night bus for Rishikesh,one can take an early morning bus to Uttarkashi. One can also camp for the day, to take a break from the long and tiring bus journey. It is better to drive 20km to Lata and hit the trai. Lata,at 1520m is an ideal place to start the trek. Ration,mules,guides and porters must be arranged at Lata itself. Some even trek from Maneri,14km from Uttarkashi. It is famous for the dam on River Bhagirathi.

The Khush Kalyan route follows the ancient pilgrim trail of Buddha Kedar till Belak Khal(pass).

Crossing a suspension bridge over Bhagirathi,we trekked up to  Dogatta(4km),till the wooden bridge over Belak Nallah. The 13km trek up to Chunn was through beutiful terrace fields,a dence forest adorned with blooming rhododendrons,various wild flowers and a small village with simple folk. Occasionally,en route, we came across pilgrims and sadhus.

After crossing the wooden bridge,we took the trail going to the left as the one on the right came from Maneri. We entered a dense forest,home to many leopards. Following the Belak Nallah trail upstream,we gradually gained height. At 1463km at Chunn,we pitched our tent in a little clearing in the deep woods,near an abandoned check post of the forest department. This is where we rested our tired limbs and opened our packed lunch. With the rustling of leaves and the gurgle of the nearby stream for company,we rested for a while. Soon it grew dark. After a dinner of noodles around a campfire,complemented by fun and laughter,we retired for the night.

The chirping of the birds woke us up,but it was only the call for tea which forced us to get up and come out of our tent. The morning was crisp and cool. Now we had to cover only seven km, till our next camp at Belak Khal. There was no hurry;we wanted to enjoy every moment of our trek. We were quite accustomed to the climate and the high altitude by now. My friend and companion Col.Nandu Manjeshwar,who had done this trek earlier,was a great help.One does not have to be an athlete to trek in the Himalayas; all one needs is a love for nature and adventure and a little perseverance. After clearing the campsite,we moved on at a leisurely pace. It is advisable to be in a group here, as there are many leopard around.The path is well-defined all along and is often used by villagers and pilgrims.

As we gradually gained height,fresh and bright red rhodohendrons greeted us. We were mesmerised by the beauty of  nature and lost all sense of time.As we trekked along, the scenery kept changing.Then suddenly,the height of trees started decreasing and we found ourselves close to the pass. On our right was a small,elevated temple and to our left was a gujjar tribal hut. We had reached our campside for the day. At 3000m approximately,this was Belak Khal.

A little away from the temple,near a small mountain stream in an open bugyal(meadow),we pitched our tent. The day was still young,we had enough time to prepare tea,cook our dinner and explore the pass. Unfortunately,the snow-clad peaks of Bander Punch were covered in a veil of clouds.