Gurudongmar Lake: A cold desert beauty

Due to landslides and water flow the road condition are very poor so much that for 120 kms distance from Gangtok to Lachen, it took us whole day ie we started at 10 am in morning and reached Lachen at 7 pm including some breaks. On the way to Lachen there are beautiful waterfalls, two of them are very famous namely Satkanya and Naga. The road was very dusty as many heavy vehicles pass frequently for work on a Dam on Tista River. Only network working there was BSNL so better inform your dear ones that for next few days you will be out of reach unless you find a BSNL mobile or landline. Lachen was very cold by the time we reached, chilling wind was blowing and we had to use all our winter wears before getting out of bed. The stay facility was very basic with a decent room and bathroom and blankets. Veggies had dal-rice and non veggie rice with some non-veg curry. Next day we woke up at 5 am in morning as the place is further 35 kms from here and it takes more than 4 hours to reach there as terrain is tough and roads are very narrow. We started at 6 am but before that we had a beautiful view of sunrise and golden arch on snow filled mountain peak from the place where we stayed. On the way we say frozen ice on many places on the road which showed that outside temperature at night was freezing. Half way to Gurudongmar we had breakfast in a small village where a family had a retail store in front and a small hotel in the backyard where they had all arrangement for a light meal. The bread is heated in a very interesting manner here. They use a perforated utensil to keep bread, below which boiling water kettle is kept. We had bread, jam, Maggie, and tea. After that we again started our journey, on the way when there were no signs of population we saw herds of yaks. We reached army check post which was at 15000 ft, clicked some snaps, saw the tough conditions under which Armymen have to live. We were asked to return before 12 pm. From here onwards the we were travelled at was flat ground or plateau. Roads were very rough and terrain was patchy with some high blockade which had to be crossed.
We reached Gurudongmar lake at 10 am. The view was mesmerizing and outside air was very chilling. Gurudongmar is situated at 17000 ft which is one of the highest in the world and is considered to be a very sacred place by Buddhists. Air pressure becomes very low and wind blow is deadly, due to lack of oxygen people are advised not to stay for too long. Rest of the people decided to stay near the temple of Guru and two of us decided to further explore the beauty around lake. There is a pathway all around the lake which we took to go further. Running will exhaust all oxygen very soon and one will not be able to walk further, so we moved slowly enjoying beauty all around. Lake is in the L shape and hence another end could be seen only after walking for few hundred meters from temple. We went upto the bend of lake and watched another end where snow laden mountain bad was meeting with lake on one side and on another side there were naked hilltops bordering China. We returned back from this point. We started our return journey but everyone was feeling exhausted so there was a complete lull throughout the journey. As soon as we reached hotel all got into bad and had a nap. As lunch got ready we woke up and packed our bags for Lachung. We left Lachen at 4 pm and reached Lachung valley at 8 pm.

Entry point to heaven: Gangtok, Sikkim

. Although I have never been to Switzerland but I have seen references which have compared beauty of Sikkim with it. The place is truely heaven.
We left in group of 8 people from Kolkata in Darjeeeling Mail which goes to Newjalpaiguri. Morning view of snow-covered mountains from train was very beautiful. It was an overnight journey and we reached there by 9 am. This is also the last railway station to go to Darjeeling. For Darjeeling people generally prefer Toy train which starts form her only. Just outside station there were many taxi men waiting for passengers and we negotiated with them for journey from Newjalpaiguri to Gangtok. The amount finalised was Rs 1000 for 130 km journey. We started around 10 am, roads were very fine as it is a national highway as well as connecting road to borders. Just when we entered the mountain terrains, we saw beauty of the river Tista which travels along the road during whole journey. Its turns and flow in valley were magnetic and that magnetism increased as we moved upstream. The place is also a famous spot for river rafting. The journey was expected to be finished in 4 hours but in between we were stuck in a jam which took 1.5 hrs extra and we could reach Gangtok Taxi stand only by 3:30 pm. In between we saw Manipal University which is situated on the bank of Tista River; the view was really beautiful due to its unique location. We made advance booking from Kolkata only and from Taxi stand we took local taxis to go there, as outside taxis are not allowed inside city. By 4 pm we were at hotel. Since it was an offseason hotel room was not a problem but during main season especially during Durga pooja vacations in West Bengal the place is flooded with people. After light snacks we refreshed ourselves and got ready for Gangtok exploration. The most famous place in Gangtok is MG road which is a beautiful well lighted road which looks more like a walkway inside a well maintained park. This road is main market of Gangtok and everything can be found here including hotels, restaurants, booking agents etc. There is a ropeway also but we could not explore it. We had our dinner there and searched for tourist agents. Most important thing to remember is to carry your I-cards and photographs for application of permit as most of the tourist places in Sikkim are near China border and one needs one day advance permission to move to those places. This all arrangement is done by tour operators only. There are different packages available for various places and prices vary across season. Since we had limited time we chose a packaged tour to Gurudongmar and Yumthang. The package tour includes travel, hotel stay, breakfast, lunch and dinner. We finalised at Rs 13000 for 8 people. We got ready by 9 am next morning to leave for Lachen. Just few meters away from our hotel viewpoint was there from where beautiful Kanchanjunga peak was visible.

White water Rafting: Rishikesh

This adventure trip was last part of our out-bound training programme at my previous organisation. The base camp was Shivpuri, a place 15-20 kms upstream of Rishikesh. A bus dropped all of us and we kept our entire luggage inside bus only. We had our lunch and enjoyed bathing in shallow water which was also necessary to acclimate body to local water temperature. Although the water level was shallow and it was a side stream, flow rate was very high and slippery rocks were making it difficult to balance bodyweight.

After this we prepared ourselves for rafting which included wearing helmet, life jackets and one paddle. We were divided in 3 groups on 3 different rafts. Initial instructions and basic training were given by trainers who were also the person guiding raft. Some basic actions were taught like how to move paddle in sync, where to stuck leg and how to get inside when situation demands. Under normal scenario all have to sit on the periphery in the balanced position. At start it was looking very easy as the stream was quite stable.  But as we went downstream, we started encountering rapids. One of the rapid pushed us towards one of bank which was solid rock walls 30-40 ft high. The water became very unstable and we started feeling it as our last journey. The highest grade rapid which we went through was grade 5. Stretch of rapids was about 5-6 kms. Because of instability we were not able to take snaps of those and had to manage with stable water snaps only. At one of the place where water was stable we stopped for cliff jumping from a rock 20-25 ft high. After finishing it we started our onward journey and after some time reached to final destination near Laxmanjhula in Rishikesh. 

Hogenakkal waterfalls Tamilnadu

It is another weekend destination, 150 kms from Bangalore. We went here from Yercaud so we took a different route ie from Salem to Dharampuri. This is the place where Cauvery enters in Tamilnadu and here it has Karnataka at one bank and Tamilnadu at another. It falls here from a great height and that is why this place is also known as Niagra of India. This place looks awesome during rainy season. Unfortunately we visited in April and hence could not enjoy the scenic beauty of waterfalls.

Just when 15 kms distance was remaining, we were able to view mountain ranges which reminded me of mystique mountains of a Hollywood fantasy.  We reached there by afternoon and it was too hot by any measures. Best would be to reach early in the morning or one can come a day before and stay here; there are many hotels to stay. Take eatables as further journey is through river, although we found people selling snacks in coracles. I learnt that boating is allowed during dry season only as during monsoon the flow of river is too heavy for safe boating. We hired a coracle for Rs 300. It can accommodate 6-7 average sized persons. The man first took us to an island kind of structure where many people were taking massage in open. We dressed up for taking bath in river and the man took us to the entry of gorge from where water level water was 100 ft below the land surface. We got down through stairs and rode in coracle again.  He showed us the main fall from a distance as due to low water level there was no way to go close to that. We took shower under a small waterfall sitting inside coracle only, ensure that your valuables are protected from water quite well in bags. After few kilometres the gorge ends and river becomes shallow. Here we took bath in river and enjoyed the panoramic view of Cauvery through foothills and surrounding greenery. We stayed there for about an hour and followed same route for return journey. 

Savandurga, Rock climbing adventure

It is one of the largest monolith hill and a famous visiting spot for adventure loving people. We visited the place in the scorching month of April, but its monsoons snaps that I have seen on other sites are heavenly. But it would be a risky place to visit during monsoon due to high slope and slippery rocks. We started our journey form Kalasipalyam bus stand, Bangalore. From there we took a local bus for Magadi which is 45-50 kms form there. It took 2 hrs to reach Magadi. Take whatever refreshment you want from here as you will not find suitable place after this. Keep water, liquid diet and food for onward journey. From Magadi we took a different bus to Savandurga for 10-12 kms distance. Be ready for a rough ride as local buses are

heavily packed but roads were fine. There is another directroute from Bangalore and journey would be more enjoyable if you have your own vehicle. The rock was visible from far distance also.

Bus left us at one spot from where we hired an auto for a 2 kms bumpy ride which took us to the foothills where there is a temple famous among locals. We hired a local kid for 30-40 Rs, which we later felt was not necesaary and started our journey at around 12 noon. The gradient of climbing was very high and we started rapid breathing within minutes and had to rest and intake water after regular interval of 5-10 minutes. After climbing up for about 45 minutes we left the boy as he was disinterested in going further. There is a transmission line going up, we tried to keep climbing around that only as otherwise there were

chances of losing direction. For directions there were arrow marks which played crucial role to reach and come back in time.

The gradient is very high and at some places as high as 75-80 deg which we found very hard to negotiate with. On the way there were many crevices and beautiful rock structures. As more

and more we climbed, our view- horizon expanded rapidly with increasing inten

sity of natural beauty. We could see a large river flowing and perhaps Bangalore city also. After 90 minutes we reached a point beyond which no view of hill was visible and we struggled to find the way beyond it because of very high slope. The periphery was covered with a manmade boundary wall. We gathered our strength and climbed straight-up with utter care as it was a risky

affair. Beyond this the climb was somewhat easier and we reached to the other side of hill. Full blown wind was flowing and even under direct sun we were not feeling the heat. After 30-35 minutes we reached to amanmade shelter. We took rest for a while, enjoyed the view and took snapshots. From here the way to destination, Nandi-idol, passes through rocks and cave kind of structure. Arrow marks are must, never miss arrow marks as it would be difficult to find the way otherwise. Ups and downs

through trees and shrubs were very adventurous and most enjoyable moments of journey. We passed through some cave like structure; saw few distant views of deep and dark caves which we later came to know could have been dangerous as local fauna includes bear and leopards. About 3: 30 we reached our destination, the

Nandi temple. As obvious we could see beautiful views in all directions as it is the highest peak in nearby area. We ate fruits and biscuits and rested for sometime after taking beautiful snapshots.

Around 4 pm we started our return journey but on the way we lost our way after

sometime and started coming down in another direction. In absence of any path we took help of narrow

dried water conduit and came down slowly in sitting position for about 100 ft. We managed with some difficulty to get back to the original path. By 5:45 we reached at the base and hired auto for going back to Magadi. There is no place to stay in Savandurga, so ensure that your

journey gets over within a day.

Ayodhya on motorbike

Ayodhya is about 134 kms from Lucknow. We left around 9am in morning after a light breakfast. We went in the month of February so day was not so hot. The road was a highway and at time of our visit construction was going on. The road was completely concreted upto Faizabad (which is 127 kms from Lucknow and it is better known as Faizabad road). In between there were some patches where work was going on. We drove at an average speed of 60 kms comfortably. On the way we took our lunch at a dhaba
After 2.5 hrs journey we reached Ayodhya. We hired a local guide for just Rs 30 who took us to various temples in the vicinity of Ramjanmabhoomi. Temples did not look very old, perhaps two to three centuries only. There are various citations which say that original Ayodhya was destroyed. Major revamp work was done by queen of Orcha who was an extreme devotee of Lord Rama. Before entering into Ramajanbhoomi premise we visited Hanumangarhi which is said to be place from where Lord Hanuman guarded Ayodhya. Next place was Ramjanmabhoomi. This place is heavily guarded by police and armed forces and no electronic gadget is allowed inside. One has to deposit all such gadgets before moving inside. Because of Sunday, the place was heavily crowded and there was a long queue. After passing through number of barricades we reached main place which was nothing but small idols kept under a temporary shelter. It took more than 2 hours to reach the place. All construction work is stopped in a ruling by Supreme Court in some kilometres periphery of this place aftermath of Babri masjid demolition.
Next place of visit was Kanakbhavan which was closed at that time. There is another temple behind Kanakbhavan. After here we went to one of Sarayu River’s bank. Because of lack of time we could not cover other major places. By the time we left Ayodhya, it was late evening and driving at night was a little bit risky because of lack of light and number of diversions. My suggestion to visitor would be, reach early morning and try to go in weekdays to avoid rush.

Yercaud: Another Ooty

Tamilnadu is blessed with natural beauty due to presence of Nilgiris and Bangalore is situated at very strategic location from tourism point of view as one can cover all major tourist spots of southern states within 12 hrs. Be it hill stations or beaches. Yercaud is a hill town in Tamilnadu about 260 kms from Bnagalore. One serious suggestion, whenever planning for any of these places on weekend, book your travel and stay in advance.
Most suitable time to visit Yercaud would be post monsoon as greenery would be at peak and one may see mist formation which was absent during our visit in summers. To reach Yercaud one has to reach Salem which is 203 kms from Bangalore. Due to good roads it took our bus only 4 hrs to reach Salem. Thereafter our journey was horrible. Bus to Yercaud was full of people even at morning 4 am. We barely managed seats to sit. Beware of pickpocketers, I could have become a victim but was saved by a co-traveller. We reached Yercaud at 6 am and after that it took us 3 hrs to get a room to stay that too with poor facilities at an amount in which a good resort could have been taken. There are many good resorts but all were booked at that time. We underestimated popularity of the place and found that many people are aware about this place.
I don’t know about the restaurants associated with good hotels but there was no place for good food. All were preparing south Indian meals only and had a long queue waiting outside. In afternoon we had snacks and hired a local auto for site seeing. First place was Sarvnaryan, a cave temple. As per a myth the cave behind the idol of deities went upto Mysore Kaveri. This place has the highest local peak and picturesque view points. Nearby is Bauxite mine. Next place was Rajrajeshwari temple. The famous Botonical garden was closed due to government holiday. Next we went to Rose garden which has some varieties of roses. Near to this place are three different view points at some distance from each other name as children’s seat, gent’s seat and lady’s seat. The final destination was main lake near to our hotel. One can enjoy the boat peddling. Main market is also situated near to this lake. At night we tried a famous local dish Mirchi Bhajji which I will say is a must to try. One fall is also there but it was dried due to summer so we didn’t go there.
Yercaud is full of greenery and people from nearby cities flood this place on weekend. It is famous for coffee gardens, orange gardens and for herbal products which are prepared from locally grown herbs. Hotel booking in advance is a must and many of good hotels also provide transportation facility to pick up from Salem. Best time to visit viewpoints will be early morning as sunlight reduces the clarity of long distance views. Advantage of hiring a taxi would be that you can stop at places for sight seeing and enjoy lush greenery on the way uphill.