Blogs from Uttarakhand, India, Asia - page 6

Delhi to Haridwar and Rishikesh Delhi is very hot in every summer season therefore I was planning to go somewhere nearby Delhi to spend this weekend. I, with my colleague Hemant Raj, decided to go at Haridwar and Rishikesh. I used to travel Haridwar and Rishikesh every monthly or fortnightly. So we were familiar to this place, however this time we decided to go by bus. On Saturday 9-Jul-16, we wrapped our office work and decided heading towards Haridwar. We took Metro from our Office and reached Kashmiri gate ISBT at 9pm. We came out from metro then took dinner at Dhaba near ISBT and went inside bus stand launge. After inquiries for bus to Haridwar, we found 3 options. 1. Normal bus with fare of Rs. 225. 2. UP roadways Janrath AC bus with fare ... read more

Day-6: Dunda to Rudraprayag. Dunda to Rudra-prayag is again about 7-8 hours’ drive. Started from Dunda at 7.30 and reached Rudraprayag at around 5. ‘Prayag’ means confluence – meeting of two rivers – Sangam. There are five major Prayags in Uttarakhand. Five rivers meet to form the Ganga. Two main tributaries of Ganga are: Bhagirathi from Gangotri and Alaknanda from Badrinath. Alaknanda is joined first by Dhauli Ganga at Vishnu-Prayag (First prayag). Dhauli Ganga originates in China. Next, Alaknanda is joined by Nandakini at Nand-Prayag (Second), followed by Pindore at Karna-Prayag (Third). Further down, at Rudra-Prayag, there is confluence of Alaknanda with Mandakini coming from Kedarnath (Fouth). Lastly, Bhagirathi and Alaknanda meet at Dev-Prayag (Fifth). We saw all five Prayags in sequence, on our return jour... read more

Day-10: Badrinath to Devprayag. It was one more day of long hours in the bus. It is especially tiring when your main objective is over. Char Dham Yatra was completed successfully and without a major mishap. Badrinath to Delhi is more than 500 km. At least one break is required. We were given two which accommodated Haridwar. Our starting from Badrinath was delayed by 30-40 min as one couple wanted some last words with Lord Badrinath. They had gone at six in the morning, but were denied the opportunity at the last moment – the doors closed for some ceremony, and they had to return disappointed. Badrinath to Devprayag, via Pipalkoti took almost 11 hours. At Devprayag, Ramkund Resort is RadheShyam’s own property, a good one, and is located at a perfect place – just ... read more

Day-3: Yamunotri. Barkot to Yamunotri is about 3-3½ hours (50 km). As we learned that on the previous day the traffic was very heavy with about 1.5 lac devotees visiting Yamunotri, it had taken more than six hours to return from Yamunotri, we were warned to be ready in time. Morari Bapu’s Katha was going on at Kharsali – Yamunotri. Kharsali is the place up to where the motorable road for Yamunotri is available from where 7 km trek to the Temple starts. Morning tea was announced at 4.30, breakfast at 5.00 and start up at 5.30 with food packets for lunch ready! Everything on time!! We reached Yamunotri parking area (Kharsali) at around 9.00. For trek leading to the temple and mind well, it is a steep climb from Kharsali at nearly 8,800 feet ... read more

Day -1: Delhi to Rishikesh: Our Char Dham Yatra booked through RadheShyam was to start from New Delhi Railway station at 12.00 pm on 9th May. We reached Delhi by train from Ahmedabad at 7.30. And we started at 11.30. Our first halt was at Rishikesh, about 225 km from Delhi. It was hot all throughout, although the road side views were lush green. In June, 2013, there was a cloud burst in the hills upwards of Kedarnath leading to flash floods in River Mandakini and subsequent widespread destruction and large number of deaths including many pilgrims. The authorities were at a loss even to estimate casualties. Since then a registration system has been introduced while starting Char Dham Yatra. Registration can be done at many places from Haridwar onwards. The registration slip shows your ... read more