Quote:
Originally Posted by Gansan An excellent and very informative thread! A small correction, if I may! Those are HDPE bags, not jute bags. The latter are not water-proof. |
Hi,
Thanks, I was looking for the right word for these bags, so glad you helped me out. Also these HPDE bags were not totally waterproof but obviously would have been better than jute bags.
I had two layers of HDPE bags over my duffle bag but the duffle bag still managed to get wet during heavy rain. Luckily every thing was in 2 layers of plastic inside hence not much of damage.
Quote:
Originally Posted by creative420 Amazing start deky. I finished reading your earlier log about 2 hours back and now I'm glued to this. I plan to take my mother too before the age gets better of her. So 2 questions:
1. What is the total cost for such a trip?
2. Do they let diabetic people with medication come along?
(Don't bother answering to question 2. They don't take diabetic people. :( ) |
1. May I answer you on the cost aspect in a separate post later?
2. Yes infact they do. If you condition is stable after medication, then the doctors will give you the leverage. They also allow High BP patients on medication on this trip, which I think is more dangerous than diabetes (?). So do not loose hope. Just make sure you disclose the ailment to the doctor and not hide it.
Before we continue, here is a map scanned from KMVN brochure depicting the Kumaon region. The area covering our journey is marked with a red line. This is to give you an idea of the route we took.
(click on the picture for a bigger map)
DAY6: DHARCHULA TO SIRKHA
Dharchula: 1015 mtrs
Sirkha : 2200 mtrs
Dharchula to Narayan Ashram (44 kms): By Jeeps
Narayan Ashram to Sirkha (13 kms): Trek
Total time taken : 8 hours
It was again an early morning start from Dharchula. It had been raining the whole of previous night but luckily iy had stopped now but the skies were still grey. River Kali was flowing along the KMVN guest house in full force. It was greenery all around and with the rain it looked all so fresh and clean.
I had no time to enjoy the scenery but had to get to work immediately. I being part of the luggage committee had to count the bags, weigh the bag, label the bags properly and hand them over to the luggage contractor. So my day along with the other members of the committee started 1 hr earlier than the rest of the group.
By 0600 hrs the rest of the group was ready after breakfast. Those yatris who had not made up their mind for a pony or a porter during the journey could still do so and order for them with the LO.
Today we would be travveling approximately 44 kms by jeeps and then approximately 13 kms by foot to reach Sirkha. With the bags loaded in a truck and yatris in jeeps we were ready to leave
Route from Dharchula to Narayan Ashram on google map
The route all along the River Kali was very scenic. There were plenty of water crossing en route which were flowing at their full strength due to the continuous rain fall thru out the night. Rain fall also meant landslides and we were kept waiting at a few places for them to be cleared all along the route.
At a place called Tawaghat we left River Kali and started going along Dhauli Ganga. Initially the route was along Kali till Mangti (refer the above map) but this route has been changed now due to lots of landslides here.
The new route is now from Tawaghat to Sobla and then to Narayan Ashram. There were quite a few hydel power stations on this route and the biggest one was on the river Dhauli Ganga.
After about 3 hours of traveling by jeeps we finally stopped 1 km before Narayn Ashram. Though the motorable road is till the Ashram but due to landslide we had to cover the rest on foot. Nobody did mind that as the rest of the journey hence forth would be on foot/pony only.
Narayan Ashram is known for its picturesque, scenic and mesmerizing beauty. It was built by Shri Narayan Swami Jee in the year 1936 and it took 10 years to complete the Ashram. In earlier days this Ashram was one of the key rest points for the Yatris travelling to Kailash on this route.
After some Bhajans at the Ashram Temple, some snacks and mind blowing Suji Ka Halwa it was time to continue towards Sirkha.
As mentioned earlier there would be no motor able roads hence forth and everything would have to be done on foot or by Pony.
The route from Narayan Ashram to Sirkha. Approximate elevation of the route travelled
Those who had elected for a pony or/and a porter were allotted here. I had opted for neither a pony or a porter so I took my bag pack and my walking stick and started towards Sirkha.
Also its necessary to mention here, that the Uttrakhand Police deputes two men to walk with the group. Both the men have a 2-way radio and one stays right in the front (head) and one stays right at the back of the group (tail) There is also a doctor from the govt. who stays with the tail. This is to make sure that no one gets lost during the trek.
The trek was as beautifull as it could be, nature was at its best and the cloudy weather made it ideal for walking. Initially the trek was a gradual ascent but after some time it got steep. We had to cross a small hill and on the other side was Sirkha village.
Walking after a long long time it was rather difficult crossing the small hill also. We huffed and puffed and somehow managed to come across the other side of the hill. On the other side we could see the village of Sirkha at a distance. Slowly and steadily we reached Sirkha KMVN by 1400 hrs.
Lunch was served here and everyone decided to have a nap. We would not be getting our luggage today so the evening was spent with Bhajans. We got electricity for 2 hours during the evening so everyone had 2 hours to charge their cameras etc etc
Dinner was served and it was time to sleep
Pics from Day 6
Early morning view from our hotel balcony in Dharchula
On our way to Narayan Swami Ashram in Jeeps
Streams at their best
Landslides en-route
A dam on Dhauli ganga River
No more motorable road due to a landslide. Its on foot from here on
Picturesque Narayan Swami Ashram
The temple
Porters and ponies were allocated here
The journey on mountain tracks begin
Every point is a photo opportunity
Initially the whole group used to be together
But slowly it stretched out
Live landslide happening on the other hill
Sirkha Village at a distance
Village kids greeting us (please carry lots of sweets to distribute)
Our KMVN guest house in sight
A day scene at Sirkha
Biggest chameleon i have ever seen
Finally reached Camp Sirkha
View of the mountains from Sirkha
The clouds just cleared for a moment in the evening and we could see this beautifull sight