Harsil: a ride along the Holy Ganga...

I have had my trysts with snow earlier



but they weren't enough to quench my thirst.. So a week off in office in march and we were riding with just one target in mind: SNOW.. We had encountered snow in april 2 years ago enroute Gangotri and so now in march were damn sure there would be more snow than last year. So on a cold wednesday morning Manik and I set out on NH58. The first destination was Rishikesh where we were going for rafting with Amit, his wife and some friends. A few kms out of Delhi and Manik took a left turn from the main road and started riding along a canal. This was the Upper Ganga Canal and from here onwards the holy Ganga gave us company throughout our trip.

the Ganges..

The ride along the canal was uneventful.The roads were not much crowded and mostly in good condition. Halfway to Roorkee we met Amit and followed him to his village. The route..

After a tasty breakfast there we headed for Rishikesh and parked at the AquaTerra Camp at Kaudiyala (around 25kms from Rishikesh). In the evening we did rafting which wasn't that much exciting. There was less water in the river and the rapids dint have much punch. The raft simply glided over them. These were omens which we should have noticed.
The view from our camp

In the evening we played volleyball with the camp guys.

and at night we had a bornefire accompanied by some tandoori delicacies from the kitchen tent. Next morning Manik and me left for Gangotri and the others for Delhi.

We had found out that the road to Gangotri was open and the prospect of trekking till Gaumukh(the source of Ganga) added to the excitement.
We decided to take i new route(which i still repent doing). Instead of going back to Rishikesh, we went towards Karnaprayag and before that took a turn for New Tehri. Then from one place we cut towards Chamba. The roads were usually good although a bit narrow and it was an enjoyable ride wizzing though the twisties. Since this wasnt a main highway, there wasnt any traffic.
As the sun was rising..

land slides..

notice the small flower in the centre..

a lovely white flower..

view from the mountain top..

After covering 160km we reached Chamba and came to know that we were just 55km from Rishikesh. Wtf!!!
Here we had lunch. We were really repenting our decision to take the new route. This delay also meant we wont be able to reach Gangotri today itself. So with the aim to reach Uttarkashi, we started again. That night we stayed at Uttarkashi and next morning left for Gangotri.
The dam on Ganga at Uttarkashi..

a temple on the way..

after a few kms the road conditions started deteriorating due to some dam being built..

then till Gangnani there was riding through dirt tracks which were at many places covered with slush. rain last night had made things worse. after Gangnani the road got better but it also started raining..

the roads made from cutting the rocks..

the rain soaked landscapes..

Manik and me at Sukhi top..

our third companion..

just after the afternoon we crossed Harsil and reached the place where we had been stopped by an avalanche 2 years ago.. and what we saw surprised us..

not even a spec of snow or even sign of snow ever fallen.. This was march and before in April we had seen this..

the signs werent good.. as we moved on i was constantly praying that around the next turn the landspace will turn white.. we kept getting closer to Gangotri but still no sign of the white gold..
bhaironghati bridge..


view from the bridge.. searching the horizon for hope..


gates of gangotri..


finally we reached the end of road and disappointment was the only thing we could find. this year it had not snowed much so all the snow had melted early. but the temple had still not been opened for public, so the whole town was closed. no sign of humans anywhere..


but all hope was not lost.. we will definitely find snow enroute Gaumukh as there are lots of glaciers on the way.. god help us..


then came the fatal blow to our hopes. the guards at the Gangotri temple told us that since the temple was not yet open for public, the route to Gaumukh had not been cleared till now, so it wasnt safe and they will not let us go. it couldnt get worse.. sulking at our luck we took a few pics around the temple complex.
the main tample..


Ganga at Gangotri..





a waterfall..


as the light was fading we started back towards Harsil. It also started drizzling..


a view point near Harsil.. (Note: remember this view..)


the empty but dry roads..


a dash of color in the bleak landscapes..


At Harsil, we took a room and unloaded the stuff from the bikes. After a quick meal we set out to explore the surroundings of the small village. Everywhere the following flowers of different colors were in full blossom..


these were Akhrot (i think in English they are called walnuts) trees.. some also had a few fruits..


white flowers..


next we crossed a bridge on the river..


the sun was setting and the light was fading..


we went down to the river to click some pics. i crossed to the centre to get a better angle..


but dint get a good shot.. me crossing back..


we tried taking long exposure pis of the flowing water but the light was still too much to get a good pic. having a small ISO range meant we had to wait for the light to fade. so we sat next to the river waiting for the sun to set further. manik waiting..


we waiting further downstream..


what was surprising was that the light dint seem to lesser. after waiting for about half an hour we got bored and decided to leave.. a last shot...


from the top of the bridge..


we came back and retired in the hotel. both of us were in a gloomy mood. we had ridden so far, over such broken roads to see nothing.. we even made plans like riding to chopta or yamnotri to see snow but in the end decided not to make the trip worse for ourself and head back home the next day. after sunset, it also started getting very cold and after a quick dinner, we went to sleep.
at night i woke up once and heard that it was raining hard outside.. great!! now the broken roads will get covered with slush which would make the ride next day even more uncomfortable.. next morning i woke up when manik was opening the door. it was unusually quiet outside but we could hear excited voices from near our door. what we saw when he opened the door, made me jump out of the bed immediately.. its was SNOWING!!!


i was seeing falling snow for the first time in my life.. i thing it was same for the south indian group next door as they were too very excited.. i quickly wore my woolens and rain gear and ran outside.. the Harsil village..


snow here..


snow there..


snow everywhere..


the river and the slopes being snowed...


manik..


we walked around the road enjoying the snow. it stopped soon and we quickly loaded the stuff on our bikes and started towards Gangotri to see how much it had snowed at the higher altitudes..
the white washed landscapes..








manik riding through the snow covered roads..


then me..


we reached the same view point which i clicked the day before.. this is what awaited us..


melting ice...


snowed out reflection..


the Harsil village.. these buildings which you see are actually the entire village.. the first building on the left of the road was our hotel..


some posing...


some macros..


thats how i shot the flower...


some landscapes..


now we were riding towards Uttarkashi.. after sometime, Manik's bike started having some problems in its chain. we stopped, manik took out the tool kit aur kaam pe lag gaya. i too took out the camera aur kaam pe lag gaya..


there was this tiny bee sitting on my hand which was moving a lot when i was taking the pics but thankfully not flying away..


after taking around 15-20 shots, then shifting the bee to the other hand and then taking 10-15 shots, i looked up and saw manik still working on his bike. i realized that i should be helping him rather than playing with the bee. but he had finished and got up to test the bike.. when things seemed working fine, we moved ahead. due to rain last night we had to ride through a lot of slush on the way back..


after it got dark, we dint feel like stopping.. the roads were good, there wasnt much traffic and we were enjoying the ride.. although we took frequent breaks to rest..


finally after reaching Chamba we decided to call it a day. we were damn tired and now just 55km of hills were left which we could cover easily the next day. the view of Chamba from our hotel..


next day we started for Delhi.. a long journey through the plains in the heat awaited us.. last of the hills..


flowers..


on the way we stopped at Haridwar to pick up some aloo poori.. it was really hot and the city was crowded.. it was getting suffocating in the riding gear..
the ghat at Haridwar..


then again the Upper Ganga Canal..




late afternoon we reached Delhi.. the trip had finally gone well.. although the first half was disappointing the snow fall and the photography made up for it...