The Nanda Devi Fascination

The Nanda Devi Fascination http://wayfayrerdiaries.blogspot.com/2016/03/interest-to-explore-realincredible.html

The Nanda Devi Fascination

       My interest to explore the real Incredible India started way long back as a teenager. But surely the fetish to get close to nature became more strong with a heavenly trip to Auli from Delhi via Rudraprayag with my "Fellow Traveler" and 8 other family members in the month April 2014.

Day 1:

    At 5:00 am we started our trip merrily settled in a tempo traveler, with rains growing our enthusiasm for the same. The night before just seemed to slipped in matter of seconds as the excitement was too much in our close knit family. Leaving Delhi traffic before the sunrise was our plan for sure.

    We were supposed to reach Rudraprayag, our first stoppage before reaching Auli, by the evening, keeping in mind that we had 2 elder family members too :-).

    The route taken was from Delhi- Haridwar (Rajaji National park)- Rishikesh- Devprayag- Rudraprayag making  it 382 kms .

    We took ample number of breaks in between. (Fortunately) There was a big traffic jam just before entering Haridwar, so our driver suggested that we should divert ourselves to Rajaji National Park.

    That was a very pleasant turn. All of us jumped to our windows in hope to witness some wildlife, but alas! Though photography is not allowed inside the park but we couldn't resist ourselves to park beside the stream of holy river Ganges gushing through, and getting ample number of pictures. (Since the "Fellow Traveler" is really fond of photography)

Rajaji National Park Road

       We continued further with our journey taking small but lots of tea breaks. Our driver Sunil skillfully drove well following all the twists and turns the road offered. Our zest grew more as we ascended and encountered DEVPRAYAG, the first prayag of famous panch prayags. Prayag literally means confluence. So DevPrayag marks the beautiful confluence of  the two holy rivers, the Bhagirathi - the chief stream of the Ganges and the Alaknanda. We jumped out of our tempo to bow down to this holy confluence and binging at the famous maggi and neembu pani point ;-) Many were taking a holy dip in this confluence with lots of small temples of shiva and ganga mata. Lots were indulging in river rafting, getting adrenaline kick out of it.

  

DevPrayag Confluence point

                               

     Travelling further we were fortunate to witness the RUDRAPRAYAG, marking the confluence of Alaknanda river and Mandakani. As the legend says that this prayag is named after lord Shiva, who performed the famous tandava over here. 

    Soon after, we reached our abode for the night by the name of Shivanandi Lodge around 7:00pm. The elders got a little scared as it was completely dark that time and to reach the cottage we had to walk down a little rugged path. i personally found it fun unlike the elders. The staff was very courteous and warm. The place had a very warm feeling to it. The temperature was cool and we received a warm welcome with a bon fire and a soothing tulsi tea. The place is very well built and has an earthy feel to it. The sound of gushing Ganges was very comforting, making us curious to explore the place next morning. The place is run by 3 guys from Bangalore. Shalab gehlot was there with us to parch all our quests regarding the place and its wildlife. I would give 5 on 5 to that place, but all the foodie people were a little disheartened, since the food was simple, bland and organic. But we all were too tired to complain and soon slept off after a relaxed chit chat in a cozy dining room.

ShivaNandi Lodge

                         

ShivaNandi Outer Area View

 DAY 2:  

     The "Fellow Traveler" and I are always too excited to never miss a fresh breezy early morning.

                                 

View from our Room

            After a good night's sleep our room opened to a clear blue and white morning with majestic mountains welcoming us and the flowing river calling us to become a teenage once more to play in the water. We were greeted by Shalab with a hot cup of tulsi tea :-) and henceforth trekked down towards the river that was about 1 km. The chilly water felt lovely in the cool weather and we all posed a lot to get that perfect DP ;-)

     

       After few minutes I just excused myself from the crowd and became aware of my five senses at once on the flowing water, the gushing sound, the fresh smell, the tingling feel. After an hour's play we again marched upwards, starving. A good hot water bath and freshening up is all we needed before a good breakfast and checked out the place towards AULI around 9:00 am.

   

       We started our journey again to cover a distance of 342 kms. Enjoying old hindi songs and the mountains en-route to Auli was a treat to our eyes and ears. We all were happy like a child every time to see a Prayag except Nanadaprayag which doesn't come on the way.  

    The road to Auli diverted from Joshimath. At Joshimath a guy from our hotel by the name of Devi Darshan Lodge came to greet us and direct us further.  Our lodge was a perfect home away from home stay with a big dining/lobby/entertainment room at the entrance. This room was exquisitely done, with huge glass walls done on three sides, wanting you to stay at this place ever, with lots of heaters and a carom board, books, computer and big couches and a dining table. After a long exhausting road trip, encountering unexpected heavy rain we all were a little disheartened, since we planned to go to a trek to Gorson meadows from our lodge. The staff was super courteous and served us with hot sumptuous meal. Ours was the only family staying in the lodge at that time, making the place all the more comfortable. We all had a good night's sleep with an electric blanket provided with comfortable beddings, since it was freezing. 

                              View From Devi Darshan Lodge Lobby                         

    

DAY 3: 

    As usual we got up around 5:00 am...and to our surprise as we entered the dining cum lobby area made of glass walls, it was one of the most beautiful view my eyes could lay on. The sky was fortunately clear and the mountains were completely white with a blanket of fresh snow. The golden eagles flirted with these White Mountains spreading their wings and flying high.

Golden eagles Viewed from the Lodge

                       

     We helped ourselves with morning cup(s) of wide variety of tea kept in the lobby along with few muchings. Mukesh, the Sherpa who is a trekker by passion and caretaker of the lodge introduced me to the most alluring mountains I have ever laid my eyes on..The Nanda Devi. My heart was full of gratitude towards these prepossessing mountains. after clicking lot of pictures of these mountains I decided to bathe at the earliest and go to a quite place to spend some time with the Nanda Devi, standing tall at 25,643 ft above sea level, which made me feel so minuscule .  This is the second highest mountain in india, first being Kanchenjunga. The peak name means "Bliss Giving Godess", since it protects the fragile ecosystem. The nanda devi national park has been declared as a UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE in 1988.

Nanda Devi In Early Morning

      Mukesh suggested that we should go to the Gorson meadows today, headed by him, which was around 3 kms from a gondola point. Apart from 2-3 layers of woolens worn by us, he gave us extra wind cheaters cum jackets to protect us from chilly weather. 

     Our fun trek with our lunch packed started soon after a hearty breakfast. The elders relaxed at the Gondola point where hot maggie and eggs were served too. We were supposed to trek from 11000 ft above sea level till 13000 ft above sea level to reach the meadows. "Fellow Traveler" and I am an enthusiast trekker. The mountain was covered with thick layer of snow, making it adventurous to trek on it and fall every now and then. 

Gondola Ride to Reach the trek point

                      

     

       There was a small temple in between the mountain which was considered to be a mountain forest god and was a ritual to pay gratitude there before continuing our trek. 

Forest god temple

                         

View from the trek

         After a trek of 1 km, our clan kids gave up and decided to halt our trek. Mukesh kept our interest alive by introducing few snow games like chest slide, which was really fun to do. There was a beautiful range of mountains with interesting names very well visible from there. The huge pine trees on our way to the trek made it all the more intriguing.

                        

On Our way to trek

                          

      After playing in the snow and an amazing trek, we headed back to our lodge. They treated us well with hot kettle of tea and yummy pakodas :-). Now sky gazing is something i look forward to, in such places. It seems like you are so close to the sky and it never is so mesmerizing in the city for reasons well known.  Mukesh shared lots of stories related to my favorite mountain

     One can spend a good quality family time in this lodge, which has really lessened nowadays. Also if I compare to some hotel, I would always prefer such a stay when with the family since it makes you feel at home, instead of just single room.

     We all dozed off early after a good family dinner since had to leave for delhi at the earliest next morning.

DAY 4:

      With a heavy heart and no intentions to go back to our our hectic schedule, we left Devi Darshan lodge at 5:00 am. Mukesh and other staff packed few sandwiches and maggie for us for our breakfast which we intended to have in tempo itself, so as to save time and get back to the hustle bustle city life.

      The journey back was uneventful, but we all were carrying with us unforgettable memories of this trip. The Nanda Devi mountain and its stories left a deep impact on my mind and heart. 

       With few breaks we reached Delhi by 11:30 pm exhausted but with new plans to carry our journey of life.