Soaring with the eagles : The ice road to Gangotri

[Driving_Nomad]

Words fail to express how much I enjoyed reading this travelogue!! Some mind blowing pictures. Keep it coming!! Do you have any pictures of the snow chain? I haven't ever seen one or even know how it is used.

[jhaji]

I have read three wonderful travelogues in last couple of days on Team-BHP. The fort in Karnataka jungles, Kailash-Mansarovar and now this. I was already a fan of tsk's writing after reading the most hilarious and yet accurate review of Toyota Liva and other competing cars earlier. The art of travelogue is thriving on tbhp.

One thought which occurred while reading and looking at the Kailash travelogue (through the Indian side), which applies to all such places: Do we prefer the more 'developed' part of the mountains like on the Chinese side, or the less developed parts where you feel right in the lap of nature? Or, is there a middle way?

[Safari_Sid]

Lovely TL as always and some great shots. I showed it to friend of mine who did this route in Jan 2011 and he could not believe. He went on bike and trekked till the origin. Eagerly waiting for Day 4

[anzrulz555]

nice TL and keep it coming. the White Elephant looks great and blends into the background. Nice photography as well.

[tsk1979]

In season, the Dham of Gangotri is teeming with tourists. Thousands come for salvation, to the very source of Ganga. Many pack the water in bottles, and its indeed a very lucrative business.
But today, there were no such pilgrims.
The holy deity of Ganga is shifted to a temple near Dharali. Till April 24(opening dates), the deity is installed at Dharali, not to be disturbed.

During this time, the town has few residents. Mostly resident babas.
Even the mobile phone tower sleeps as power is cut to this area


No pilgrims means a very clean Ganga. Flowing as pure as she is born


This bench has rested a million behinds, today it rests snow


And far away shines the gangotri range. The very glacier, the source of Ganga. In snow, even the trek path is blocked


The shrine of Ganga, where millions throng for blessings. In winter the deity is not here


Couple more shots of the snow covered town




The river Ganga.


As many want to collect the holy water, we venture to the frozen banks


Snow everywhere


Its past noon, and we have to head back. The journey to the Sukhi top where bikes are parked is a few hours only, but everybody wants to have ample buffer time.


So its time to take the road back to Dharali

[gauravdgr8]

Excellent write-up Tanveer.

Did not know that we could still go up to Gangotri after the temple door closes. Did the army folks not stop you from going further up from Dharali?

Awesome pictures and your Safari does pack a punch.

[tsk1979]

Normally on such a narrow road, parking like this and taking pics would not be a good idea. You would cause a traffic jam, and have people curse you. However, today, I could have parked here for the entire day, without seeing a single vehicle


The mountains


The area is heavily wooded.


And since its past noon, the weather has started to turn


As for us, this snow less section is a short one, as soon as we turn around the corner, the ice road beckons


Its time to stop again, to take pictures


The white elephant. The snow here is slightly powdery, probably due to fresh snowfall in the last couple of days




Slowly and steadily we march to Dharali


and not so slowly and steadily the weather turns


Its about to snow.

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by gauravdgr8

Excellent write-up Tanveer.

Did not know that we could still go up to Gangotri after the temple door closes. Did the army folks not stop you from going further up from Dharali?

Awesome pictures and your Safari does pack a punch.

Half way between Harsil and Gangotri comes the Army cantonment of Bhaironghati. From there another road leads to posts close to border. That road is barred. However, going to Gangotri is not really an issue, since its not close to the border.

[aks2010]

Did you use any special type of tyres. How different was driving on the snow?

[mayankjha1806]

This has got to be the most adventurous trip that i have read about in recent times, the awesome pictures make it icing on the cake. I kind of love your white elephant, although it did cried a few times, and some A.S.S wories, but has always revved along whatever has been thrown at it.

Kudos, keep the wonderful pictures coming, rated paanch sitara.

[VindyWheels]

Amazing stuff TSK! Hats off for stretching the limits of the beast and bringing to us the best of the Himalayas.

The mountains and surroundings look totally different from the "peak season" time and you have captured the vistas beautifully.

Looks like you do an annual trip to the mountains, should find some time and read your previous tlogs (any pointers on which is your favorite one?)

Cheers

Vindy

[tsk1979]

Thanks for your comments everyone.
I do not use any "special tires". Just All Terrains. They work fine on snow(well barely) and are hopeless on ice. Ideally, I would recommend snow chains on such terrain. We have been thwarted from some trails this winter due to lack of snow chains. They help you go the extra mile and increase safety.

Originally Posted by VindyWheels

Amazing stuff TSK! Hats off for stretching the limits of the beast and bringing to us the best of the Himalayas.

The mountains and surroundings look totally different from the "peak season" time and you have captured the vistas beautifully.

Looks like you do an annual trip to the mountains, should find some time and read your previous tlogs (any pointers on which is your favorite one?)

Cheers

Vindy

Actually, I do a lot more than "one" trip to the mountains. Its just that, for past some time, we did not get the time.

As for travelogues, you can just search the travelogues section in advanced search "Threads started by tsk1979".

As for favorites, well those would be my 2 ladakh travelogues, and the still running sonata Europa travelogue.

Let me warn you, they are very very long.
Among the short ones, I think the spiti spring one, and the rohtang pass ones are decent.

Rest is for you to judge!

[tsk1979]

We have been on many snowed out places, snow covered roads, in the peak of winter, however, its been a few times only we have witnessed snowfall.
With the dark clouds coming in, Tilak was in a hurry to get to Sukhi top. 3-4 inches of snow, and the Eeco won't climb, even with 4 people in the boot.
He had arranged a taxi for rest of the bikers, and he was also in a hurry to go.

But we thought why not lounge around some
So the next couple of hours were spent around Dharali.
I will let the pics do the talking.

Taken around Dharali they show the snowed out town, and its submerged temples. As you can see, the town is mostly deserted. Few residents here are permanent. Its effectively a "base town" for people to stay when Gangotri gets full

[Jignesh]

Hello TSK,

We are still following your Sonata Europa Travelogue & now you are serving this fantastic set of pictures. Thank you the virtual tours of all these wonderful places. These travelogues keep us motivated to undertake such journeys in future.

Though the pictures in this Travelogue are really beautiful, but personally I feel your Sonata Europa Travelogue is best, because more than pictures you have narrated the story very well. There I saw your writing skills at its best.

Thanks,

[predatorwheelz]

It took me nearly an hour to go through the 2 pages. Some of that time was spent thinking that you're bonking mad. But most of it was spent gaping at the pics, and getting to grips with your achievement!

Congrats man! This is a mindblowing thread. I had been to Gangotri in 1999, and all I thought of it was an overpopulated (with pilgrims) dirty town. The only beautiful spot en route was Harsil. But your travelogue has changed my perception of the place forever. Its true that if you take the humans out, nature will spring back to her original glory.

My only thought now is to buy a 4X4 as fast as I can acquire it, prepare it as much as possible, then set off to do this route in winter.