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"JAI MATA DI"
Thank you GOD for shielding us from Mother Nature's Fury.
My sincere prayers for the safe return of all those still stranded at various parts of Uttarakhand. Condolence to all those who lost their lives in the tragic incident which is now being termed as "Himalayan Tsunami"
Prologue
Again this trip materialised unexpectedly as a meeting came-up on 12th evening at Dehradun. With kids vacation on we decided to spend the weekend in Dehradun.
My business meeting went off as scheduled and was over by 9 pm. While having our dinner I suggested about a trip to Yamunotri & Gangotri, Kids jumped with excitement. Wify too looked very keen about this trip. All of us were of the same opinion that instead of spending a day each at Kempty & Ddoon lets do this trip which had been long pending.
Spoke to GM Mr Nautiyal @ GMVN Yamunotri about room availability, as luck would have it he confirmed the room for 13th night. Quick googling and we planned our trip as below.
13th June Thursday : Morning drive to Yamunotri. Trek in the evening.
14th June Friday : Drive to Gangotri, Stay overnight
15th June Saturday : Uttarkashi - Vist Vishwanath Temple
16th June Sunday : Uttarkashi - Delhi
The plan looked realistic and doable, was locked.
Delhi - Dehradun - 12 June Wednesday
Started our drive on 12th noon. As usual the traffic was heavy till Meerut bypass. Nice drive on the Toll road till Muzzaffarnagar bypass and after that single lane, high traffic and bad roads all the way till Roorkee. Lunch break was at McD before Muzzafarnagar. After Roorkee the roads were good but had high traffic all the way till Dehradun.
Summary
Delhi - Start 1200 hrs
Modi Nagar - 1400 hrs
Muzzfarnagar bypass - 1530
Roorkee -16 30
Dehradun GMVN Drona - 1800 hrs
Total Distance : 275 kms , 6 hrs
Route driven
YAMUNOTRI
---------
Dehradun - Mussoorie - Damta - Sarigad - Naugaon - Barkot - Kharadi - Paligad - Syanachatti (Checkpost) - Ranachatti - PhoolChatti - - Jankaichatti
GANGOTRI
---------
Jankichatti - SyanaChatti - Barkot - Radi-top - Bhramkal - Dharasu bend - Matli - Uttarkashi - Maneri - Bhatwari (Checkpost) - Gagnani - Sukhi - Harsil - Bhaironghat - Gangotri
Delhi RETURN -
UTTARKASHI - DHARASU - Chinyali Saur - Chamba - Rishikesh - Roorkee - Delhi
Googling weather forecast predicted rain on 15th, rest all days could be cloudy or occasional rain. Never thought it will turn into such a monstrous tragedy.
After Hanuman chatti it started drizzling. Roads got narrow, slushy, potholes and in 3-4 places the road had caved in. Barely a vehicle can pass through. If a mini bus comes from the opposite side, then its too tight to cross.
None of us the taxi drivers or buses, were confident to get down from the tarred road. Hence the progress was very slow. Last 14 kms were like travelling 100 kms.
Road after Hanuman chatti Narrow escape Final ascend before Janaki Chatti Entry to Janaki Chatti - This is one of the major bottle neck areas Market area Janaki Chatti
Slowly & painstakingly we reached the entry of Janakichatti and phoned the manager for the hotel location, he instructed to drive till you reach the dead end.
WOW! this 1 km drive took another 1 hr.
Reaching GMVN - Annexy at Janakichatti was itself a project. Driving through the market with ponies, people, dolis and to top it the narrow roads, opposite traffic of buses and vans. We got stuck at the last 500 meters as a truck was off-loading and it was a one way pass through. Had to wait for another 20 mins here. Then the last climb was hair raising. Slippery and people all around. Had to stop 3 times while climbing. Moving again from the incline, there was tyre spin happening, I had to control the amount of power transferred to the tyres. At 8000 ft, Safari was choking too. I was getting a delayed throttle response.
Held up for 30 min here Paid Parking
Local taxi walas were advising "speed banake nikalo". How can we get the momentum with people madly crossing/climbing in front of safari? Even honking didn't do any good. Some of them shouting "Where are you guys taking the vehicle when there is no road ahead!!!". Finally we reached the parking lot of Annexy and were relieved. Time 13:55, we had lost an hour, plans start failing!!!
As they were expecting us, the rooms were ready and checking in was smooth. A quick chat with Virender (Asst Mgr), he told we had enough time to trek and return by 7-8 pm. It would take 2.5 to 3.5 hrs depending on your stamina and on ponies it will take 2 hrs one way. It was still drizzling and we wanted to trek instead of riding ponies. Quickly freshened up and planned to start the climb by 3 - 3.30 pm. Even if it takes 3 hrs we can spend an hr in the temple and can be back by 8 - 8-30 pm.
While having lunch, the drizzle turned heavier and by the time we finished our lunch, it was raining cats & dogs. It rained for a good 1.5 hrs non stop. All our plans for the day goes for a toss. With no other option we get into the blankets for a sound sleep.
We had to do the trek on 14th morning, and leave for Gangotri. Ponies were a faster option, but everyone unanimously decided to reach Yamunotri on foot starting early morning at 4 am.
Rain had stopped by 5pm and we walked around to acclimatize ourselves, speaking to the locals about the trek difficulty. They made us more confused, easy, very tough, kids cannot make it, you should take ponies, blah blah... Finally we decided we will face it as it comes, come what may we are walking to the shrine.
The surroundings were so beautiful with lush green mountains glistening in the sun, the bright blue sky looking cleaner after the rain, the clouds like fluffy cotton floating by and river Yamuna fully energetic rushing through the rocks besides the GMVN hotel.
Private parking in front of GMVN The steep ascent before parking. It's now empty after the rain Parking Area - There are 3 - 4 parking areas like this This is the spot where we were held-up for 30 odd minutes Beautiful mountain view
After spending about 2 hrs walking, returned had an early dinner and went to bed. Target to be ready by 3.45 am. Start the trek by 4 am.
Summary
Dehradun - 0 - 0 06.00
Mussoorie - 23 23 07.10 - (Breakfast break)
Damta - 67 90 09.20
Naugaon - 28 118 - 10.10
Barkot - 10 128 - 10.35 (petrol pump)
Syanachatti - 31 159 12.05
Phoolchatti - 14 173 12.45
Janaki 4 177 1.55
Total 177kms : 7 hrs
Thread moved from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing.
Vinod, indeed the scale of the disaster is unprecedented.
Thank God, you and your sweet family is safe. When you wrote that you were in UK in the Chota Chardham thread, a shiver went down my spine.
Looking forward for the log and your experiences.
The scale of the devastation is huge.
I am glad you and your family have returned safe.
I will follow your thread.
regards
Hi V&V,
Thanks for sharing your experience. I am glad and relieved that you could return just in time before the apocalypse struck Uttarakhand.
My heart goes out to the people who are stuck there for several days without food, water and proper shelter.
The pictures you posted are breath-takingly beautiful. At the same time, it gives us a glimpse of the fragile eco-system of mighty Himalayas. I shudder to think the state of those narrow unpaved roads and hill-towns post one of the worst landslides and cloud bursts of the century.
Look forward to going through more of your experiences.
Quote:
Originally Posted by laluks
(Post 3157629)
Thank God, you and your sweet family is safe. When you wrote that you were in UK in the Chota Chardham thread, a shiver went down my spine. |
Thanks lalu. The same was feeling i had when i went to Uttarkashi market on monday morning 17th June. It was really bad. UK has suffered heavy damage, IMO all these villages along the rivers have been badly affected.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rajain
(Post 3157632)
The scale of the devastation is huge.
I am glad you and your family have returned safe. |
Thanks Rajain. Yes most of the towns along Bhagirathi are devastated. Will take years for them to recover.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gotham_City
(Post 3157633)
Hi V&V,
The pictures you posted are breath-takingly beautiful. At the same time, it gives us a glimpse of the fragile eco-system of mighty Himalayas. I shudder to think the state of those narrow unpaved roads and hill-towns post one of the worst landslides and cloud bursts of the century. |
Thanks Gotham_city. Yup up there is so beautiful and as rightly said is a fragile eco-system. IMO all these Dhams should have some regulation similar to Amarnath yarta.
Great pics ! Glad to read that you and your family is back safely.
Last Saturday only my father spoke with one the helicopter pilots who serves for Yamunotri (He travelled 2 years back). According to him this beautiful region is badly impacted by cloudburst and its very unfortunate for travellers as well as local villagers. There will be another threat of unemployment in that region for atleast couple of years as there will not be much travellers visiting this area due to infrastructure issues.
The absolute chaos of the parking lots itself tell the apathy in planning and administration.
God bless that you are safe.
Glad to read that you and your family are safe. It is such a huge tragedy. I was in Tadoba and we got friendly with another family in the resort, they had to rush back because their father was stuck in there. Apparently they were a group of 12 that was to be airlifted, but gave their chance to some sick people and after that no more airlifts happened because of weather.
What was worse was that - there was no Mobile coverage in that area and they got to know quite late about the situation.
Hopefully, everything is ok with them and also with all the other people stranded out there.
Man, we are so relieved to know that you guys are safe. All this time, we had been discussing & hoping that no BHPian is stuck in the region. Admittedly, it was kind of selfish, but equally sad for so many people who lost their lives and for those who lost loved ones.
Regards,
Saket
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