Trip to Vaishno Devi with family #VaishnoDevi

Trip to Vaishno Devi ( Jammu & Kashmir)

Complete details to plan the trip with family

History & Tourist Data:

This was another family trip to one of most visited & famous religious shirine in India  - Shri Mata Vaishno Devi temple. Mata Vaishno Devi temple is located at Trikuta Hills, Katra which is dedicated to Maha Saraswati, Maha Lakshmi, and Maha Kali mother goddess. There are approx. more than 1 Crore devotees visit temple every year.  Katra is in Reasi District of J&K situation at foothills of trikuta mountain where holy shrine is located. Katra is at altitude of 5200 ft whereas Vaishno Devi temple is around 5800 feet.

Katra to Vaishnodevi temple – One has to trek 14 KM and another 1.5 KM trek to Baba Bhaironath temple.

Route:

One can plan to reach Vaishno Devi temple

-          Flight ( Jammu Airport) then take taxi ( 1500 for sedan/ 1900 Rs for SUV : TollTax extra – 110 Rs), Bus Fare : 60 Rs per person, Train fare from Jammu to Katra approx. 500 Rs ( 2AC)

Train goes till Katra Railway Station

Trek route/ options and process:

Registration:

-          Pilgrims need to register at YRC (Yatra Registration Counter) for the journey (Near bus stand, Katra), this is mandatory for the journey and need to produce at Banganga check post (1.5 KM from Katra), separate yatra slip is issued for each person

-          Yatra Slip is valid for 6 hours from the time of issue so, make sure that you report to Banganga check point within that else you need to go back to YRC counter to get another slip issued. This is done to control the inflow of number of tourists during peak season. During non-peak season

-          You can do the registration online as well through but, it can be done for max 5 person per account so, in case of more person, you need to have another account to perform registration, There is no validity where you must report to checkpoint within 6 hours of registration. There is no charge for the registration.

https://www.maavaishnodevi.org/OnlineServices/Services.aspx

Trek Route:

-          There are two different route from Katra to reach Bhawan ( Mata Vaishno Devi)

o   Route 1 : Balini Bridge – Tarakote Marg ( newly constructed and inaugurated by Mr Modi in Year 2018) – It’s 7 KM distance to reach to Ardhkuwari, less crowded, clean route as no Ponni/Palki/Pithu operate here, less gradient compared to Old route, easier to walk but, 1 KM extra distance

o   Route 2 : Banganga Check post / Chetak Bhawan  - 6 KM to Ardhkuwari, Pithu/Ponni/Palkiwalla operate here, very crowded

-          Both routes are merged at Ardhkuwari and there are again two routes from Ardhkuwari

o   Himkoti Marg (new route where Battery cars are available, pithu/ponni/palki use this route mostly)

o   Hathimattha Marg (Via Sanjhichat) – there is steep ascend till Sanjhichat and known as old route

Battery Car Booking:

-          Ardhkuwari to Bhawan: Himkoti Marg

o   Battery car booking can be done at following site: (This is specifically for senior citizens, kids below 5 years are allowed & accompanied with senior citizens – no fee)

http://batterycar.maavaishnodevi.org/

http://batterycar.maavaishnodevi.org/BatteryCarServices.aspx

o   472 Rs for two person ( Bhawan to Ardhkuwari) ( 200 Rs per person – online) ( it starts from morning 7 AM to 10:30 PM & there are around 20 slots at different times)

o   708 Rs for two person ( Ardhkuwari to Bhawan) ( 300 Rs per person – online) ( it Starts from 6:30 AM to 10:00 PM)

o   This can be booked minimum 4 days and max 2 months before

-          Old Route : Sanjhichat : There are again two routes – one goes to Bhawan and other goes to BhaironBaba temple, Bhawan is around 2.5 KM from Sanjhichat helipad

-          Bhaironbaba temple is around 5 KM distance from Bhawan and it takes around 1.5 hour to reach there, you can take ropeway also from Bhawan ( 100 Rs per person) – Valid for 1 hour, where you can reach Bhaironbaba in 5 mins

      

      Heli Ride:

-          You can also take Helicopter to reach Bhawan

o   Katra Helipad to Sanjhichat Helipad ( 5-10 mins trip)

o   Katra helipad is 2 KM from Katra bus stand and you can reach there by auto/taxi

o   Reporting time is 1 hour before the scheduled departure

o   Only 6 person can go in chopper at a time ( upto 2 years there is no ticket)

o   One side ticket is 1045 Rs per person, two way ticket is 2090 Rs

o   You can book tickets only through ( max 5 tickets)

https://www.maavaishnodevi.org/OnlineServices/Services.aspx

o   There are two operators:

§  Global Vectra

§  Himalyan Heli

o   They operate from 7:30 AM to 3:30 PM daily

o   There are around 16 slots available each day for Global Vectra so, around 150 – 200 people can be travelled each side using both heli operators in a day, this is the reason, it’s very difficult to get the tickets

o   Tickets get opened 60 days from date of journey and minimum 4 days before you can plan to book the ticket (Realistically, it’s very difficult to get tickets)

o   You can book return ticket as well which is at 3.5 hours gap

o   You can take approx. 3 KG luggage with you

o   You will reach at Sanjhichat Helipad (Alt: 6K Feet) and from there it’s 2.5 KM to Bhawan

o   Since it’s all descend so, won’t have issue in reaching Bhawan and it takes around 30 -45 mins to reach ( Sanjhichat is highest point at Hathimatha route)

Accommodation:

-          You can book accommodation using trust site as well

https://www.maavaishnodevi.org/OnlineServices/RoomReservation.aspx

-          There are two categories of accommodation

o   Rooms

o   Dormitory beds

-          The accommodation at Katra – Spiritual Growth center whereas Adhkuwari/ Sanjhichhat/ Bhawan is at Vaishnavi / Gauri Bhawan.

-          The Double Bed Hut charges at Vaishnavi Bhawan is 900 Rs and Four Bedded hut charges at Gouri Bhawan is 1500 Rs

-          The charge for Suite is 3000 Rs whereas double bed AC room category charges is 1700 Rs

-          The Checkout time is 10 AM for all complex

 Poojan

-          Individual Poojan –

o   Category 1 : 2100 Rs ( NRI/ Foreigner – 5100 Rs), total 50 token available for the day

o   Category 2 : 11000 Rs , total 2 token available for the day ( max devotees – 5)

-          SSVP Poojan

o   26K per person – only 1 slot available in morning & 1 in evening ( max 5 devotees)

-          Atka Arti Darshan

o   2000 Rs per parchi/ person : Total 200 slots in the morning & 200 in the evening

TRIP PLAN 

We were five people ( Myself, my father, mother, wife and our three year old daughter) I was planning from last couple of months so that there won’t be any discomfort to anybody in this trip.

The plan was to take train from HMH to Jammu, proceed to Katra in taxi from Jammu and stay in Katra hotel on that day and start journey to visit temple next day, return on same day and proceed to Jammu in taxi and stay overnight to board the train back to HMH on following day. We came to hometown in Diwali vacation and got this plan included in it. My mother was skeptical about the journey but, I assured her not to worry as we’ll be taking helicopter from Katra so, they can comfortably join us.

I registered everyone to mata vaishno devi trust website, waiting for the day when chopper ticket booking would be open. 60 days before the journey, I logged in to book ticket but, as expected, their server got crashed and couldn’t book tickets and later there was no ticket available in any slot. It was big setback as I had planned chopper trip because my parent has difficult to walk.

I started enquiring about alternate modes and got to know online that there is batter car also available but, it’s from Ardhkuwari only. Around one month before the journey, got to know that I can book battery car online also but, it’s only for senior citizen and kids( less than 5 years) can travel free along with grandparents. I booked two return tickets online for my parents from Ardhkuwari to Bhawan. Now, the plan was to book Palki from Banganga to Ardhkuwari and pithu for daughter and me and wife will go by walk.

We had to start on Diwali night, the train was from HMH station at 4 AM, the taxi guy didn’t turn up so, owner reached around 3:40 AM, by the time, we boarded taxi, it was around 3:50 AM,  the station was around 6 KM from my home and we reached at 4 AM, the train was at station, announcement was happening and it was about to leave when we all boarded train, train had to depart at 4 AM but, left around 4:10 AM and these extra minutes saved us to miss the train.

The action had started, and we got settled at our seat and did sleep for some time. We reached Jammu at 3 PM, there was escalators at station and I think at major stations, railway has put up escalators which is very helpful for visitors of old age or people carrying luggage.

We came out of station and I went to taxi stand which is around 200 meters, it’s prepaid taxi counters where I met with one taxi driver – Mr Satpal Singh, booked Dzire taxi in 1400 Rs + toll tax extra ( 110 Rs) till Katra hotel. Satpal ji quickly became like family member, continue to explain over the J&K situation post Article 370 abolishment, acted like a guide during the trip and we had comfortable ride till Hotel in Katra. 

We reached around 6:30 PM, boarded hotel and after quick shower, went to sleep as we had to start early in the morning for the Bhawan.
Mr Satpal Singh - Taxi Driver

29-Oct-19

We woke up at 4 AM, got ready, had tea/snacks and did check out hotel, deposited luggage at hotel reception counter, taxi was arranged by hotel as complimentary drop till Banganga check post.

We reached and there were hundreds of palki, pithu, mule owners who surrounded us to book services from them, there was fight among them to handover their ID card to us soon when they got to know that we needed two palki and one pithu. After bit of struggle, I had 2 palki owners ID and one Pithu’s ID, went to prepaid counter, paid 1800 Rs for one person till Ardhkuwari and 600 Rs for Pithu ( service charge for one person for carrying baby in Pram from Banganga till Bhawan). I paid total 4200 Rs approx. and started journey around 6:30 AM. We bought two stick for walking which is very helpful during trekking. The distance from Banganga check post to Ardhkuwari is around 7 KM and we reached there around 8:15 AM. My daughter didn’t like sitting in pram and was crying continuously to come out of it and this continued for around 30 mins, when she got chocolates/ candies/ juice, got settled and started enjoying the ride in pram.

We reached Ardhkuwari ( Manokarma Bhawan) around 8 AM and the battery car booking slot was at 8:30 AM , there was huge line and we got to know that it’s open for all age people and not restricted to only senior citizen. There was security guy taking online booked tickets for senior citizen separately and giving slip allotting taxi number. I asked my parents to start onward journey in battery car along with daughter, it was approx. 30-45 mins journey from Ardhkuwari to Bhawan.

They started around 8:40 AM and reached by 9:30 AM. My wife was in queue for additional two tickets of battery car, and by the time her number came up, the counter got closed ( around 8:45 AM) and we had to wait for another 1.5 hour to have counter opened. Meanwhile, one guy came to me asking if anybody needs taxi as only one seat was available but, slightly higher price ( 400 Rs per person) , we got agreed but, requested him for two seats and later he agreed to accommodate both of us and we reached Bhawan at 10 AM where we met with our parents who had bought Prasad from counter by that time near the Yatra Slip Counter No-2 / Locker number -1. 

Every pilgrim has to go to Yatra slip counter when they reach Bhawan and get their yatra slip checked and obtain the group token number. They can deposit their luggage in the designated lockers ( three lockers before entering the temple premise) . Nobody can carry leather item, wallet, mobile, camera etc inside temple premise so, they have to deposit it at lockers. 

I got to know that due to less number of tourists, it was not require to get group token number and everybody can go directly to temple. I tried finding locker but, all were occupied, the locker 2 & 3 near temple, there was big queue ( around 100 people in one line, there were two lines), they were waiting for locker guy to come and operate for them. I inquired nearby shops who were also offering temporary storage area in their prasad shops and one guy was ( Shop number 56) providing such service but, you need to take prasad from his shop, so, I also bought it and deposited all mobile phones, wallet, watch to him ( no deposit token, everything works on mutual trust 😊) 

I kept all the money and deposited rest everything at his shop and came at entry point of premise. We started around 11 AM and it took 1 hour to come out from the temple. There was little waiting time but, manageable as it kept moving. There was no rush inside temple and had easy darshan of Mata Vaishno Devi. My parents got the lift that opens inside the temple so, they didn’t have to climb even single stair to reach to temple and they returned from same route. We came out and had breakfast after collecting luggage/ mobile/ watches without any issue.

We found that there was big queue at ropeway counter for Bhairon Baba temple so, we dropped plan to visit the temple. We noticed another big queue ( around 100 guys) standing in the queue for battery car and counter had to open around 2 PM, we also got in queue as we had to take additional two ticket( each person in queue can take max 2 tickets), counter opened at 2 PM and our turn came up in 45 mins, we were lucky this time, got two tickets and counter closed with us at approx 2:45 PM

Meanwhile, my father got into separate queue for senior citizen having online ticket issued. Since all battery vehicle had left by the time we reached there so, had to wait for another 15-20 mins for vehicles to turn up. It took again 30 mins to reach Ardhkuwari from Bhawan. The only problem with these taxi was, excessive honking, these guys were going one after the another and continuously honking and creating nuisance for the people who are walking along the route.

We reached around 3:30 PM and after some wait, got palki, pithu for Banganga ( Chetak Bhawan – PrePaid counter, Banganga Check post) in 4K Rs ( 1800 Rs each and 350 Rs for Pithu). 

There were lot of food shops route, filtered water, rest rooms, dispensary availability. The taxi operates in newly path – Himkoti Marg and from Ardhkuwari there are two ways, one is newly constructed / opened  - tarakote Marg ( only available for pilgrims and no battery car/ palki/ pithu operate there ) and Banganga route.

We reached by 5:30 PM at Banganga check post where asked Taxi ( Mr Satpal Singh, Dzire taxi – JK21-B-1026) driver to pick, he was in Katra so, picked up around 6 PM and went to hotel to pick luggage, we had snacks break for 1 hour and started for Jammu around 7 PM, reached LemonTree, Jammu around 8:30 PM. The hotel is just opposite to Jammu Railway station which was advantage because our train was on following day around 7:50 AM. 

It was amazing trip and didn’t have any difficulty during the journey & trek to Bhawan. Hope the blog will be helpful for you guys as well especially when planning trip with family/ kids.

                                                 Jai Mata DI!!!

#Kedarnath Trip - All you want to know before Kedarnath trek, The complete Guide!!! ( Delhi -> Rishikesh -> Rudraprayag -> Gaurikund -> Kedarnath)

Trip to Kedarnath

We, the school friends, had amazing road trip to Leh ( Hanumangarh -> Jammu -> Srinagar -> Kargil -> Leh -> Manali -> Chandigarh ) in the year 2017 and since then, discussions were going on to finalize next destination.

The momentum was not enough this year as well where any plan could have worked out until one of friend ( Pradeep Arora) initiated serious conversation related to trip, other friend Punnet Jain, created specific WhatsApp group to discuss on this, in month of May. I suggested Kedarnath and with some resistance, the destination was finalized. We agreed for following trip plan:

• 1.     Day 0 : Bangalore to Delhi : 14^th Jun (flight in the late evening) & Stay at Hotel in New Delhi ( Near Railway Station)
• 2.       Day 1: 15^th Jun 2019 : Delhi to Haridwar ( Shatabadi Train), Stay at hotel in Rishikesh
• 3.       Day 2 : 16^th Jun 2019 : Rishikesh to Sonprayag ( Road trip via Tempo Traveler) , Stay at Gaurikund
• 4.       Day 3 : 17^th Jun 2019 : Gaurikund to Kedarnath ( 16 KM trek to Kedarnath temple ), Stay at Kedarnath
• 5.       Day 4: 18^th Jun 2019 : Kedarnath to Gaurikund ( 16 KM trek to Gaurikund – Return trip), Road trip from Sonpranayg to Rudraprayag, Stay at Rudraprayag
• 6.       Day 5: 19^th Jun 2019 : Rundraprayag to Rishikesh, Rishikesh to Dehradun Airport, Dehradun to Bangalore ( Evening flight)

Kedarnath is one of chota Char Dham Hindu Pilgrim place in Rudraprayag District, Uttarakhand, situated near the River Mandakini, located at Garhwal range of mighty Himalaya mountain. Apart from religious & spiritual significance, the sacred shrine also fill your memories with dazzling images of the breathtaking beauty of amazing landscapes of snow capped mountains. So, the place has lot to offer for pilgrims as well as enthusiast travelers because trip can be exciting for all age groups. Kedarnath is at 3580 meter ( 11755 Feet) from sea level, highest among the all 12 Jyotirlingas in India. The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and this magnificent temple is believed to had been built in 8^th century by Adi Shankaracharya, these thousands of years old temple was constructed using grey stone slabs over large rectangular platform.  The temple miraculously survived in the 2013-year torrential rain and devastating flash flood after that.

We started collecting funds, booking flight tickets, finalized hotels at Rishikesh, Delhi and booked the accommodation, confirmed train tickets for the journey. Preparation was at peak and everyone was excited for the trip though there was some nervousness as others started to realize the potential difficulties during the trip.

We had following challenge during the planning phase:

• 1.       There was a time when team was thinking of changing the destination to Mussorrie/ Nanital/ or Rishikesh itself. It was difficult conversation to keep everyone intact on the place and, we were able to.
• 2.       Fund collection for the trip at right time for different bookings and their confirmed participation for the trip
• 3.       Traffic jam : This season was having unprecedented number of tourist travelling to North India hill stations and Kedarnath was also severely affected, because of high number of tourist inflow, there was traffic jam like situation before Sonprayag ( 5-10 KMs of standstill traffic for many hours), accommodation availability at different places and traffic jam between Haridwar to Rishikesh ( it’s 30 KM of distance but, on some days it took 4-5 hours to cover the distance), with the immense pressure because of record tourist coming to visit kedarnath, and the authorities were not able to provide proper arrangements, the SDM of kedarnath resigned in first week of Jun, all these news getting published/ highlighted in newspaper, creating panic like situation in our friends group because everybody wanted peaceful vacation

With all these difficulties, we ( myself, Pradeep Bhateja, Puneet Jain, Vikrant Singh) were talking on daily basis and evaluating the different options for accommodation & travel to kedarnath.

I researched and got to know that there are multiple helicopter service providers

There are following locations near Kedarnath from where you can have chopper ride:

• 1.       Sersi
• 2.       Sitapur
• 3.       Phata
• 4.       Guptkashi

Following are the distance of each from Sonprayag:

• 1.       Sersi helipad to Sonprayag : 8 KM ( 220 KM from Rishikesh)
• 2.       Phata Helipad to Sonprayag : 16 KM ( 210 KM from Rishikesh)
• 3.       Guptkashi helipad to Sonprayag : 30 KM ( 194 KM from Rishikesh)
• 4.       Rishikesh to Sonprayag : 220 KM

You can find availability and book tickets from any of these websites:

·         http://www.aryanaviation.com/

·         https://booking.pawanhans.co.in/

·         https://kedarnath.himalayanheli.com/

·         http://kedarnath.utair-india.com/

·         https://arrowaircraft.com/

·         http://kedarnathhelicopterservices.com

The rates are different from these vendors as they operate from different locations (mentioned above). For Phata to kedarnath, the round-trip ticket cost for one person is around 5K - 6K Rs. Following are different operators in this route:

Heritage Aviation Pvt Ltd, Himalayan Heli Services PVT Ltd, Pawan Hans, UTair India Pvt Ltd, Aryan Aviation, Aero Aviation Ltd etc.

I’d suggest booking helicopter tickets at least 2 months before the travel to kedarnath especially during the peak season (May & Jun). July and Aug are the monsoon months and due to rainy seasons, the tourists are limited in those periods.

We couldn’t get any chopper ticket so, decided to trek the route. We were 7 friends, I was coming from Bangalore, Vikrant was coming from Myanmar and we both were meeting in Delhi, other friends ( Puneet Jain, Manish Singla, Rajesh Saharan were coming from Hanumangarh, Pradeep Bhateja from Chandigarh and Bhola Singh from Bhatinda, we all had plan to meet at Rishikesh.

I started my journey on 14^th Jun, the flight was delayed, and I reached Delhi at 1:30 AM instead of scheduled 11 PM arrival. I couldn’t get Metro train as last service is scheduled to run at 11:20 PM from T3 to NDLS. Metro train starts at 4 AM next day from Airport to New Delhi. Flight landed at T2 airport and you have to walk to T3 ( around 500 meters) and can have different options ( Volvo Bus [70 Rs], Ola/Uber [800 Rs], Prepaid Taxi[500 Rs]) , I took prepaid taxi and reached hotel at Paharganj in 40 mins at 3 AM, I slept around 2 hours as we had Shatabadi train to Haridwar at 6:45 AM from NDLS ( Platform – 16).

Excitement was at peak and we reached Haridwar at 11:30 AM (Scheduled time) , took taxi to Rishikesh hotel ( Gayathri Resort – Muni ki Reti/ Tapovan) – 1300 Rs. The distance between Haridwar to Rishikesh is only 27 KM but, it’s having infamous traffic jams because of inflow of vehicles from Delhi/ UP/ Haryana. It was taking 4-5 hours to cover this distance a week before per what our driver told us. It took 2 hours for us to reach the hotel. There are two railway crossings enroute and also contribute to traffic jam.

Let me tell you another factor that it was record high temperature going in plains ( 50+ degree centigrade in Rajasthan, 48 degree at Delhi and similar temperature at different places in north India), due to soaring mercury and school vacation time, large number of tourist headed to hill region for the Summer break, this caused massive pressure on infra of hill cities, resulted into unavailability of accommodations, traffic jams like situation everywhere.

We reached hotel( Rishikesh) around 2:30 PM and after having lunch, checked in hotel. Vikrant managed to get some reference of local river rafting person and booked immediately for two person while other friends were on the way to Haridwar.

We went to Shivpuri for River rafting ( 600 Rs per person) in Ganga ( Around 15 KM from the hotel), it took 2.5 hours to complete 9 KM of river rafting ( it was 3:30 PM when we started from hotel and operator transferred us to rafting point in Mahindra SUV). After the brief session on instructions, captain took us for rafting, since river water level was high so, rapids didn’t appear to be challenging to cross.

We stopped at point for cliff jumping and they transferred us back to pick point after the rafting activity. It was fine experience owing to the fact that it got planned in last minutes.

We returned to hotel at 7 PM and after quick shower were ready for the city visit. We met with other friends and it was fun to meet after long time with all of them. We went to Ram Jhula, Laxman Jhula, evening aarti at Ganga Ghat near Geeta Bhavan. Ram Jhula and Laxman Jhula are suspension bridges across Ganga river. Laxman Jhula are iconic bridge built in the year 1929. The evening aarti is performed daily at Ganga Ghat near Geeta Bhavan, where around 20 feet of Lord Shiva is placed at bank of River Ganga, lot of people gather to have this spiritual experience, clean ghat and river 
ganga in full flow, is magnificent to watch.

We returned to hotel and after having dinner, went to sleep so that we could start early for the next day to our Kedarnath trip.

Day 1: Rishikesh to Sonprayag ( 16^th Jun 2019 : Sunday)

We all got ready by 6:30 AM, we had booked 12 seater tempo traveler as we were 7 people, cab driver came late due to traffic jam and reached by 8:00 AM, by that time, we were done with our breakfast and started our journey around 8:00 AM for Kedarnath.

We had to follow route Rishikesh -> Devprayag( 70 KM) -> Srinagar ( 115 KM) -> Rudraprayag ( 142 KM)-> Augstyamuni ( 160 KM) -> Guptkashi ( 185 KM) -> Sonprayag ( 220 KM) -> Gaurikund ( 225 KM)

River Mandakini flows along with the route to Kedarnath. Mandakini originates from ChoraBari glacier and meet Saraswati at Kedarnath. Mandakini rive, then flows towards Rudraprayag where it meets with Alaknanda river. Alaknanda river then joins Bhagirathi( originates from Gangotri) at Devprayag and from there it’s called Holy river Ganga.

We had multiple breaks in between and reached around 6 PM at sonprayag. We had break at Dhara Devi which is located at banks of Alaknanda river between Srinagar & Rundraprayag.

Per the popular belief, The goddess idol was shifted from the temple on 16^th Jun 2013 for Hydro power project and coincidently, there was devastating flood ( Himalayan Tsunami) on 17^th Jun. The new temple is constructed at same place but, on raised platform so that it can stand above mighty Alaknanda River.

The road widening project is going on and govt is planning to construct all weather roads for char dham yatra ( Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath, Char dham yatra is performed in same order).

From Rishikesh to Augustyamuni, road condition is bit ok as it’s double road except few points where it’s single lane but, after Augustyamuni to Sonprayag, it’s all single lane and average speed is not more than 30 KMPH in this route. So, even if the total distance between Rishikesh to Sonprayag is 220 KM, it takes around 10 hours to cover the distance. The road condition is not good, it’s mostly single lane with good traffic, gravel/ dusty roads. If one is allergic to dust, should carry respiratory masks to avoid dust as it’ll be difficult for cab driver to run vehicle on AC during uphill.

Everyone must do bio-metric registration before starting trek,

You can register yourself at counters setup at multiple locations e.g. Haridwar, Rishikesh, Guptkashi, Phata, Sonprayag at free of cost

Or you can register yourself for it by paying 50 Rs registration fee online at:http://onlinechardhamyatra.in/frmUserRegistration.aspx

You need to provide name/ DOB details along with ID card at counters and they will issue Registration & Trekking access card for the Kedarnath Dham yatra.

Following are the operating time of counter at Sonprayag:

·         Opening time : 4 AM

·         Lunch time from 2 to 3 PM

·         Closing is 7:15 PM

So, if you are reaching after 2 PM at Sonprayag, you will be issued Kedarnath trek access for next day. Since we reached by 6 PM so, we were also issued trek access card for 17^th Jun 2019. Per the plan, we had to stay at Gaurikund. There was no queue at counter so, we were done in 5 mins and got access card. In the morning, there can be long line in front of counter so, expect it to take 30 mins to 1 hour during rush hours ( morning time).

The trekking from Kedarnath starts from Gaurikund 3:30 AM and goes on till 1:30 PM. These timings are fixed since Kedarnath Dham is located inside the Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary and this is the reason why pilgrims are not allowed to trek any time after this. 

You must leave your vehicle ( private/ commercial) at Sonprayag unless you have approval from authorities to take vehicle to Gaurikund. There is big parking spot at Sonprayag where all incoming vehicles need to be parked. We left our TT at Sonprayag, got our luggage and headed for Gaurikund.

Biometric registration counter is around 200 meters away from the parking lot. You need to walk around 500 meters for taxi pick point towards Gaurikund. There are lot of vehicle( Mahindra bolero) plying between sonprayag & Gaurikund. The distance is 5 KM and you need to take govt operated taxi to reach Gaurikund. Fare is 20 Rs per person and It takes 15 mins to reach Gaurikund. Taxiwalla takes 12 passengers in their cab ( thrill starts from here).

We reached Gaurikund at 7:15 PM, we were told that we would get rooms easily in Gaurikund and with the same optimism, we started searching accommodation there but, situation looked difficult. We searched hotels for around 2 hours but, didn’t get single room there to stay overnight.

During the planning phase, we couldn’t get accommodation booked at Gaurikund because of unavailability there so, it remained in red zone for potential threats. We were going through tough phase while climbing up and down during search for accommodation in Gaurikund. Finally, we got one room, it’s shared accommodation, under the tin shed, at first floor, stinky, small room where around 15 people had to stay for overnight. All overnight stay options in Gaurikund are like that, where small rooms where multiple people have to stay, no bed, one has to sleep at floor usin7g the given thin mattress and blanket, common restroom for all the rooms. Some rooms that are big, I saw around 30 people were stuffed inside, taking rest for the journey towards kedarnath early in the morning on next day.

It was around 10 PM, We changed our plan, came down to Sonprayag again with luggage, got one dormitory ( big hall but, in more hygienic place) 700 Rs per bed ( mattress on the floor with blanket), had dinner at 10:30 PM and went for sleep. It’s having common restrooms and one can expect long queues in the morning 😊

Day 2 : Sonprayag to Gaurikund to Kedarnath ( 17^th Jun 2019)

I woke up at 4 AM, got ready by 5 AM and everybody was ready by 6 AM to start. We were amazed to see the line for the taxi pick point to Gaurikund. The time is 7 AM and It was around 1 KM long line and it was going to take at least 1-2 hours for our turn to come, then, Manish Singla became savior and used his special skills/ references to bypass the queue and we reached Gaurikund by 7:15 AM.

We started our trek at 8 AM. It’s 16 KM trek. Gaurikund is at 1800 Meter altitude and Kedarnath is around 3600 Meter altitude.

Gaurikund -> JangleChatti ( 4 KM) -> Bhimbali ( 6 KM) -> Rambara (7 KM) -> Choti Lincholi( 8.5 KM) -> Lincholi (11 KM) -> Chavni Camp ( 12 KM) -> Rudra Point ( 14 KM) -> Base Camp(14.5 KM) – Sri Kedarnath Temple ( 16 KM)

So, we not only need to cover 16 KM distance but, need to go 2 KM uphill as well. It’s approx. 100 meter per KM and at some places, it’s quite steep ascend.

The Kedarnath temple opened on Akshya Tritya and close on Karthik Poornima. It opened on 9^th May and will close on 29^th Oct 2019. This year, all records have been broken in terms of pilgrims visiting the temple. There are approx. 20K pilgrims visited every day and within 40 days of opening the temple, around 7 Lakh ( 0.6 m) pilgrims have visited temple and by end of this season, it’s expected to cross 15L total visitors to Kedarnath temple. In first week of June, the per day visitor data crossed 35K that disrupted all services and put administration on back foot and gave them hard time to get back on track. Due to this, several people got stuck in several hours  

There are different ways to reach Kedarnath

• 1.       Helicopter – 3500 Rs per person single side, takes 5-10 mins from Phata to Kedarnath, in general, operators recommend for return trip booking ( 7K- 9K return trip Same day/next day)
• 2.       Mule ride : Gaurikund to Kedarnath Base Camp – approx. 2500 Rs per person – one side
• 3.       Palanquin or Doli ( Carried by 4 Porters) : Gaurikund to Kedarnath : 75 KG person – 4500 Rs – one side
• 4.       Sling Carrier or Kandi (carried by a person on his back in wooden basket) : for 70 KG person – 8000 Rs – One side

There are around 10 different helicopter operators available to kedarnath and running in quite a good frequency to kedarnath temple. Helipad is situated around 500 meters from the temple. There can be around 1 KM line near the helipad to board the helicopter as it can carry only 6 passengers in one go. They have weight limit for luggage, you can carry max 5 KG luggage per person.

There are around 8K to 10K mule vendors, 3-5K Doli and around 2K Kandi operators are active in the route. Mule ride takes 4-5 hours to reach Kedarnath base camp from Gaurikund. Mule operators/ Kandi/ Doli operators are heard to be complaining against authorities because of surge in helicopter services that affected their business. These guys do business from May to Nov month in a year and out of these months, two months are peak period so, technically, they get chance to earn in these months.

At Gaurikund, there is Tapt Kund ( hot water spring)

beside flowing mandakini river and one is believed to take bath before onset of journey. Gaurikund is the place where it’s believed that Lord Shiva accepted to marry Goddess Parvati.

We started trek at 8 AM from Gaurikund, we were 7 people in total and soon we got divided into two groups, we were four walking bit fast than rest three. The start pace was 2 KM per hour but, as it started steep climb and we got exhausted with continuous trekking ( 1 KM per hour).

Everyone has its own pace with respect to their body and natural rhythm and one shouldn’t get worried to match the pace with others so, even if we got divided in two groups but, it was good to be in group that suits your natural pace. No award in finishing trek but, be in good health will definitely be rewarding for your entire journey.

It was really a difficult trek as it put immense pressure on your physical & mental balance. In presence of other factors e.g. mule dung can make you very uncomfortable with the stinky path and haphazard movements of mules, running or racing against each other to reach early at kedarnath, can make you crazy while trekking as you get little space to walk.

You get lot of shops where you can get aloo parathas, tea/ coffee, maggi, cookies, juices etc

** snapshot taken from https://www.sacredyatra.com/

·         We started journey from Gaurikund at 7:30 AM , the altitude reading is 1954 meters, pressure – 800, it’s quite sunny weather. Kedarnath is 16 KM from this point.

·         We are moving forward towards first milestone – Junglechatti, it’s still 3 KM and time is 8:07 AM, Altitude is 2077 meters, pressure is 787 and distance remaining was still 15 KM to go.

·         We reached Jungle Chatti at 9:15 AM, had 30-40 mins of break, and started at 9:50 AM for our onward journey. We crossed Rudra falls and Kedarnath is still 12 KM to go, the Altitude reading is 2400 meters and pressure is 750 hPa, the oxygen saturation for me stands at 92% and pulse rate is around 100-120 BPM.

·       We reached Bhimbali at 10:50 AM, altitude is 2670 meters. There is new route formed after 2013 Kedarnath tragedy. One can still see the sign of disaster at Rambara where entire town is washed away in that flash flood of 2013. There is old route that is bit steep and shorter than newly constructed route. We took shorter route but, it was bit steep compared to other one. Following image shows the place where there used to be Village 'Rambara' before year 2013

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·      There are few detours that are called alternate ways/ short-cuts. These routes are very steep to climb but, can cut good distance. Many people prefer to take these routes and one should avoid if it’s raining as it can get slippery climbing on these paths. I found it very challenging to cross even without rain.

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·      It was getting difficult to move forward but, by seeing elderly people, people carrying their kids, porters carrying tourist on their shoulders, or sling carriers , you get motivation to continue walking as you tend to forget your challenges because some people’s earning is based on ferrying people on their back/ shoulder

·         The Distance between choti Lincholi  and Lincholi is 2 KM,  Kedarnath is still 7 KM, the ascent is getting steep, the altitude at this Lincholi is, 2840 meters, The temperature reading was showing around 20 degree, it was drizzling and the time was 1:02 PM. By this time, i had climbed equivalent to 125 floors :)

·         I've reached Lincholi and Kedarnath is still 3.5 KM from the place, the time was 2:29 PM, we had covered 12 KM till that point, the journey was getting tougher, after every few steps, we had to stop to catch up with the breath, After Rambara, the trek gets steeper till Base Camp and after that path gets flattens, it was drizzling and temperature was below 20 degree centigrade. The pressure  was getting reduced and reading was 690 hPa, Altitude reading at the place was 3050 meters.

·         We were walking slowly and taking small breaks and having food/ liquids at regular time, the base camp was still 2.5 KM and Kedarnath temple was 4 KM, The Time was 4:00 PM, we had to take  break of 30 mins because of short spell of rain, pressure was getting low as we climb and reading was 683, the altitude reading was 3211 meter at that point.

·         We had to cross glaciers and specifically that zone was very slippery and have seen Mule getting imbalanced while crossing the Glacier on the way to Base camp

·         It was 4:45 PM and the Base camp was still at 1 Km, i measured my O2 saturation  and it stands at 79, the Heart beat was 122, Pressure reading was 674 and altitude 3304 meters, It was getting colder as we continue to approach Kedarnath Base camp, Temperature reading was around 15 Degress. I got separated with other friends as i was taking VLOG/Photos, this is common problem if you don't pay attention or match the pace so, be careful to remain with friends/ family. I continued to walk and got mobile phone signal near Base camp, called up friends and after some time, we again reunited. We reached Base Camp at 5:30 PM

·         I measured O2 / HR at Base camp and O2 saturation was dropped to 67, whereas Pulse rate increased to 140, it was 6 PM and pressure was dropped to 650 hpa, and it started raining after that

It took around 11 hours to reach from Gaurikund to Kedarnath temple. I booked accommodation using GMVNL website.

In char dham yatra/ Kedarnath/ Badrinath/ Sonprayag/ Gaurikund, you should book accommodation using this website.

http://gmvnl.in/newgmvn/index.aspx

Following is the process of booking accommodation:

·         Go to Accommodation Booking

·         Register yourself

·         Identify the destination ( Kedarnath)

·         Select the property (We opted Kedardome Cottages) – it’s having bunk bed with thick blanket/Quilt

·         Select from & to date (it should be same on the day that you are arriving e.g. we arrived 17^th Jun at 6 PM and needed to vacate the room on 18^th Jun at 8 AM so, from & to date will be 17^th Jun)

·         Submit

·         It’ll show the availability at this point where you need to give number of beds = person, the room rate is 600 Rs per bed for DORM category ( since this was only available so, you need to be watchful over the availability as it can be difficult to get rooms during peak season)

·         Always book your stay at Gaurikund/Sonprayag/ Kedarnath before you start your travel

·         You can refer to given phone numbers for your queries at GMVNL websites, people are quite helpful and supportive in providing information.

You can get accommodation at different places Lincholi, Junglechatti enroute to kendarnath for overnight stay through GMVNL sites ( in case you want to stay)

Day 3: Kedarnath and Return Journey ( 18^th Jun 2019 )

It was raining all over night, we woke up at 5 AM and it was drizzling at that time as well, the challenge was to deal with icy cold water and unavailability of hot water. After some follow up, the guy turned up at 5:30 AM and got hot water after paying 100 Rs per bucket. We all got ready in another 30-45 mins and reached temple by 6:30 AM.

The temperature was around 1-2 degree and it was quite windy so feel like temperature was near zero degree. We reached temple in 10 – 15 mins, the view was mesmerizing,

we were amazed to see the beauty of nature, it was breath-taking view from Kedarnath temple, we all were quite enthusiast, feeling eccentric with the landscapes around us.  It was drizzling at that point, and even after having woolen, were shivering like anything. The queue was getting bigger so, we got into line and completed darshan and came out in 30 – 40 mins.

The best part was, no one pushes you for money inside the temple.

We were there around one more hour, clicking photos, shooting videos, visiting bheem shila ( rock) that got settled behind the temple during unprecedented flash floods, diverted its path & protected temple from the mudslide and falling debris from chorabari lake.

We started our return journey at 8:00 AM, had breakfast near base camp and started again at 9 AM, it took 5 hours for us to reach Gaurikund and we reached at 2 PM at Gaurikund. It was equally difficult to trek downhill as it puts immense pressure on knees & pelvic muscles. Due to continuous rain, the path had become slippery, we had to descend carefully without attempting to run downhill. The challenge is to have firm step to avoid injury and bending ankle was always a threat. I did accidentally twisted my ankle couple of times but, it was not hard enough to cause injury.

We started our journey back to Rishikesh around 3 PM from Sonprayag. We could cover 100 KM by 8 PM and decided to have night stay at Srinagar – Garhwal, booked hotel, had dinner together, spent good quality time in gossiping before went on to sleep.

Day 4 : Srinagar – Garhwal to Rishikesh / Dehradun 19^th Jun

We started at 5:30 AM, Rishikesh was around 110 KM and it took around 4.5 hours to reach Natraj chowk, Rishikesh from where I got down to take cab to Dehradun airport. The Jolly Grant airport is around 17 KM and it can take 30 mins to reach there. Dehradun is around 50 KM from Rishikesh and from Airport, Dehradun city is another 30 KM. I reached by 11 AM and flight was around 4:30 PM since Dehradun airport is quite small and not having any outlet stores at airport for shopping so, decided to visit Dehradun, Paltan Bazaar. I did shopping and came back to airport around 2:30 PM for my flight to Bangalore.

There was sense of satisfaction after completing the difficult trek for Kedarnath temple because it tests your mental and physical fitness and put you under immense pressure, once you are done, it can be lifetime experience and extremely rejuvenating. For me, the journey was bit difficult as I was not doing Gym/ Yoga/ Cardio exercises though I started climbing upstairs to reach to office two weeks back from the onset of journey.

While returning, It was difficult to believe that I had completed the trek!!!! The bigger question is what’s next place for vacation, The Next Challenge…..!!!!

Recommendations:

• 1.       Stick with iron base
• 2.       Dates/ Dry fruits/ Chocolates
• 3.       ORS packets with one-liter water bottle
• 4.       Rain coat
• 5.       Waterproof backpack
• 6.       Be careful with ankle twisting while walking down ( on uneven, slippery, steep surface)
• 7.       Woolen sweater/ Jacket/ cap
• 8.       Socks/ Thermals / gloves
• 9.       Eat banana/ Lime juice/ cucumber/ carbs at different spots
• 10.   Take frequent breaks and refuel yourself
• 11.   Keep hydrating yourself
• 12.   Have raincoat, probability of rain is more after Lincholi
• 13.   Keep having jacket even if it sweats during trekking
• 14.   Have nail cutter for nail injury during trekking ( downhill causes more pressure on toes)
• 15.   Have waist belt and should use during trek if someone is prone to back-pain
• 16.   Medicines – Muscle relaxant, Diamox, Acidity tab, Paracetamol, Anti-biotic tab, Volini, Dettol, cotton, bandage, band-aid, tab for vomiting/ loose stool
• 17.   Take small steps and don’t hurry to cover the distance
• 18.   Be careful with mules and palki wallas while trekking
• 19.   Trekking shoes ( waterproof )
• 20.   Airtel 4G connectivity is good till Rudraprayag, intermittent after that and mostly 3G/Edge connectivity till Sonprayag. Wi-Fi services on trek route ( haven’t tried), 4G Airtel network at Lincholi and Kedarnath.