Har-ki-Dun -- My Introduction to Himalayan Wilderness (Part 2)

Preparation, Journey and Day 1: Sankri to Seema Village
Day 2: Seema Village to Har-Ki-Dun (You are currently reading this.)
Day 3: A day in Har-Ki-Dun
Day 4: Har-ki-Dun to Seema Village and Visit to Osla
Day 5: Seema Village to Sankri and Return Journey

Part 2 Begins

" Michael Jordan was once rejected to participate in the varsity basketball team as he wasn't good enough. So what did he do? He used this rejection as a motivation; practised harder, played with a great purpose and phenomenal intent and became one of the greatest basketball players in the history of the game. Therefore there is a lot to be learnt from your failures. So please don't get disheartened for missing this trek. You can still be wonderful trekkers if you take this setback to improve your fitness and stamina". These were my parting words to few of the group members who were utterly exhausted and sick to continue with the remaining trek.

There was a rule set for the trek. Local leaders were supposed to guide the way and Yuvashakti's leader, Tejas was supposed to walk behind the group and clear instructions were given that no member would trek ahead of the local trek leaders and nobody would remain behind Yuvashati's Trek Leader.

Overhanging bridge across the river caught our attention as soon as we crossed Seema village. 

After crossing the bridge, there was a steep slope and we had to gain some altitude right at the start. 

As I was doing the photography, I was lagging behind with Tejas - Yuvashakti's Trek Leader and Partha, one of our group members. As the slope was steep and Partha was hiking very slowly, I decided to part their company and hike further. 

Soon, I came across a small bridge where other trek mates had already reached and were resting. As I came to a small bridge, I saw Partha returning back as he was feeling pain in the chest. As it was just start of the hike, he decided not to take any risk and decided to join back group members staying back. So eventually count of members staying back was increased to 7.

Seema village started looking tiny as we gained the altitude. Tiny houses on the backdrop of towering mountains provided picturesque setting. During our trail, there was a valley on our right side and mountains on the right side.  We crossed few bridges and suddenly, we were right in front of the spectacular view of a really huge waterfall cascading down the mountain in front of us. Look of this giant waterfall made us glued to the scene for a long time.

Gradually, groups were dispersed; few members went ahead and few lagged behind. I was somewhere in the middle.

Along the trail, I spotted a huge rock with the backdrop of the mountains and shouted to group members ahead of me to climb on the rock and pose for a photo.They readily obliged as they were also keen to get themselves photographed.

I made them stand on the rock and clicked other photo with a different background.

As we had formed many dispersed groups because of different styles of pace, I trekked with different groups at different times. During one stretch I was trekking with Vijay, our local guide. Vijay was a very lively fellow. A bond of friendship was already formed between us. He was keen to share his knowledge with me and he made me stop at one juncture to show a peak named "Black Peak" (or Kalanag peak). I got curious and started conversation with him:

I: "Vijay, have you conquered this peak?"

Vijay: "Sir, I have conquered it many times. I have led few expeditions of this peak".

I: "Is it difficult for trekkers like me without knowledge of technical climb?"

Vijay: "No, it is not difficult and I can make you conquer the peak. You don't need technical knowledge. You just need to trust me and I will take you to top of the peak."

I: " Vijay, in future I will come here for a month. Can you take me to all trekking destinations in your  area"

Vijay: "Sure sir. You surely come and I will take you to all places."

I don't know when I would be spending a month in this area but this conversation will linger in my mind and hopefully I would take out a month of my life to wander in this part of region.

Black Peak (Kalanag):

  

Blue sky with dispersed crowds and snow peaks provided the wonderful combination for the photography.

A good thing about the trail is that there are few snacks joint along the way. Maggi is the item most sold on these snacks joints. Not fond of noodles, I did not try it out and was happy to consume dry fruits, groundnut chikki and chocolate bars. Nevertheless, these snack joints were good to take some rest, sip some water and interact with other trekkers from other groups.

Can you ask for a better place to rest where you see only the mountains and breathe a fresh and invigorating mountain air? These are the places which are etched in your memory forever; these are the moments which you live life for.

Team negotiating one of the climbs:

Nature has really a way to connect with your soul and your soul grows when you encounter such natural splendour. You don't need to force your way of living in the moment and you just get automatically surrendered yourself to the moment, moment of absolute bliss, moment of spiritual awakening, moment of feeling one with nature!

Alpine Meadows:

At one juncture, we changed the direction completely as trail moved to the left direction and we had first glimpses of har-ki-dun. I thought that covering the remaining distance would not take much time but alas! I was wrong. Even after walking for many kilometres, the location still seemed far away. This is the peculiar things of the mountains; they look closer to the eyes because of their gigantic sizes but in reality, distance wise they are far away.

There came a stage when I was hiking alone for about 45 minutes as members ahead were far too ahead and members behind were too behind. As the trail was distinct, I started marching ahead. I had consumed all the water and there was no water stream in sight. I was feeling thirsty and was desperate to find the water source and I was delighted to see a local guy coming from the opposite direction. I enquired him about the water availability ahead and he offered me water from his bottle.  Feeling refreshed, I thanked the guy and marched ahead.

Roaring waterfall greeted me as I reached to our lunch point. Waterfall was just few meters from the trail. Before heading to the lunch point, I joined few of the trek mates who already had submerged their feet in the water coming from the waterfall. Water was extremely cold numbing our feet instantly; so we had to often take our feet out of the water. It was fun and equally rejuvenating to spend time near the waterfall. 

I got introduced to few Pune Trekker who were trekking with Youth Hostels of India group. I even met a guy who stays 100 mtrs from my home. It was weird to meet a person in your close vicinity at a place thousand kms away from your home.

Famous Irish Poet and one of the foremost figures of 20th century literature William Butler Yeats has rightly said " There are no strangers here; Only friends you haven't yet met."

Bonding with members of another group:

After resting for a while after lunch, we resumed our hike.

Weather remained predictable; sunny till afternoon and turning overcast after 2 PM. Around 3.30PM, it started raining. As there was no shelter along the way, we had to keep walking with raincoats on.

It was almost close to 5PM and still campsite for the base camp was nowhere visible. As we reached nearer to the site, suddenly temperature dropped considerably.

As it was raining intermittently and I already had wrapped my camera bag with the plastic cover, I did not do any photography for last hour. So, I am pasting photos which I took at the time of return.

A small wooden bridge crossing the stream:

Finally, we were elated to see some snow on the trail. For the snow deprived people in Maharashtra, sight of snow in any form (even snow blackened by trampling) create a lot of excitement and we were no exceptions.

Most of the time, there was a ground trail along with the snow trail and we were able to avoid walking on the snow. But while reaching to the camp, we had to negotiate two to three trails of slushy and slippery snow. At one point, a cook from our group helped me to cross one of the trails as it was too slippery.

I heaved a sigh of relief on finally reaching to the camp-site nestled amongst the snow-clad mountains. It was a moment of rejoice and moment to cherish!

Few members had already reached to the camp-site and resting inside. As there was no electricity and therefore no heaters inside the camp, it was already cold when we arrived. We felt warm only when hot tea was served to us. As it was drizzling outside and our legs were tired, we just perched on the beds waiting for others to arrive. Once all the members were in, rooms were allocated. A large dormitory was allocated to boys and a small dormitory was allocated to girls.

As it became darker, temperature plummeted further and we had to wear warmer clothes to remain warm. As we had nothing better to do, we just chatted to kill the time. Soon, it was dinner time and we were served hot dinner. By this time, most of the members had developed nausea about the food and even when they were hungry, they hardly consumed any food. As temperature was hovering around zero and no hot water was available, we were relieved of dish washing ritual which made everyone happier.

Hot Chocolate was served after dinner and everyone retired for the day. As it was getting colder, we tucked inside the sleeping bag, took the heavy, woolen pullover over the sleeping bag as a double protection from the cold. Gradually, it became warmer inside and without realizing, tiring bodies went into the slumber. Only comforting factor while going to the sleep was that next day was the rest day and there was no restriction on the waking up time.

Click here to read Part 3

Har-ki-Dun -- My Introduction to Himalayan Wilderness (Part 1)

Preparation, Journey and Day 1: Sankri to Seema Village (You are currently reading this.)
Day 2: Seema Village to Har-Ki-Dun
Day 3: A day in Har-Ki-Dun
Day 4: Har-ki-Dun to Seema Village and Visit to Osla
Day 5: Seema Village to Sankri and Return Journey

Lots of young faces, anxious parents gathered to see their young wards off! Emotions galore! A scene on Pune Railway Station on 6th May, 2015! I found myself in the company of five to six 10^th Std boys and suddenly sound of “Kaka” (uncle) reverberated through my ears making me realize that I would be reminded of my age throughout the trek. On the happy side, these cherubic kids instantly upped the energy level of the whole compartment and our train "Sampark Kranti Express" soon departed towards Delhi, our first transit before proceeding to Dehradun. Finally a journey to my first Himalayan Trek had just begun.

A choice to trek to Har-Ki-Dun was made after consultation with my trek mates “Sandeepak Phadke” and “Ajay Deshpande” who are regular Himalayan Trekkers. Actually I had planned the same trek in 2014 but had to cancel it after breaking my wrist bone. I had to really wait for a whole year to finally make it happen. As this was going to be my first Himalayan Trek, I left no stone unturned and prepared thoroughly right from achieving the extreme fitness to choosing the right gears for the trek..

My enthusiasm for the hike was marred by the disastrous earthquakes in Himalayan range of Nepal. It also had an impact on North India. Lives lost especially at the site of Everest Base Camp made Himalayan Trek too dangerous at the time. But looking at the Garhwal Himalaya region which was least affected by the earthquake, I decided not to cancel the trek plan and proceeded with it. No doubt, there were few protests from the family till the last day of my departure, but I trusted Yuvashakti Organization's network in Himalaya who assured that trek to Har-Ki-Dun would be safer.

After painstakingly slow journey from Pune to Delhi (28 hrs total) and further from Delhi to Dehradun (6 hrs), we reached to Dehradun. A long journey enabled me to finish a book "Kaali Aai" - a collection of short stories by a well-known Marathi Author - Vyankatesh Madgulkar. When I was not reading, I chatted with other group members - Tejas Joshi (our Trek Leader), Naydu Uncle (64 Yrs and eldest member of the group) and other members of our group.

It was close to 10 pm when we arrived at Dehradun. As it was late, we were directly taken to a restaurant in Dehradun where we feasted on good North Indian food.Later we walked for about 500 mts to a comfortable hotel “Drona” of GMVN (Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam).

We had a good night sleep and in the morning, we started our journey to our base camp, Sankri. Journey was through the ghat routes with quintessential Himalayan roads – narrow, winding and with a lot of blind turns. Driver was young and enthusiastic though his enthusiasm rubbed him to drive the bus with a speed that sent a chill in the spine of everyone. After certain distance, a saga of puking began and happy faces soon turned into sad and dull ones.After arduous journey of about 8 hours, we finally entered the forest region of Govind Vallabh Pant Wildlife Sanctuary where we needed to register the group. After about an hour, we finally reached to Sankri, our base camp. A sight of towering mountains and falling evening dissipated all our lassitude.

With a small introduction to our new trek leaders, we were provided empty rooms with sleeping mats and sleeping bags stacked in the corner. After a round of introduction, a hot dinner of Paneer, Chapati, Dal and Rice was served in a short while. After dinner, we were asked to wash our own dishes and we soon got the feel of the cold Himalayan water. Soon we settled in our rooms, tucked into the warm sleeping bags and went to sleep.

It had just dawned when I got up in the morning. Weather was pleasant and and despite knowing that a long hike was awaiting me during the day, I couldn't resist the temptation of morning stroll to explore nearby area and have some photography. Our campsite was looking resplendent in the morning's rays.

Though it was very early in the morning, people had begun their work. A woman about sixty was carrying the basket and I requested for her photo and she readily obliged.

As I was returning from my morning stroll, seeing the DSLR in my hand, many group members requested me to take their photos and I happily obliged.

Saurabh Kshirsagar with Himalayan Dog:

Swarali, Sharda and Vishupriya (R to L):

After breakfast of Poha and Sweet Daliya and Tea, we packed our backpacks for the next 5 days, kept the excess luggage at the base camp itself and started our journey in the Bolero Camping Jeep to the place named “Taluka” which was the starting point for the trek. 11 km journey to Taluka was one of the most scenic ones. Along the way, our jeep, Bolero Camper had to negotiate 3 water streams which were crossing the narrow road with full gusto. Road is such in a bad condition that only utterly robust “Bolero Camper” could negotiate it. In the past, even the so-called road from Sankri to Taluka was non-existent and people had to walk for distance of about 11 kms.

Bolero - the sturdy vehicle for rough terrain:

After a nervous ride and another puking incident by the fellow group member, we reached to Taluka which was the starting point for the trek. Our next camp was at Osla and a marathon walk and hike of 13kms was beckoning us. Most of the group members preferred to offload their heavy backpacks to porters (mules) to hike with the lighter load. I preferred to carry my own backpack as I wanted to test whether I could hike for long distance with the heavy backpack. As I was carrying the heavy camera, I knew I might have to hike with really heavy load. Frankly, I hadn’t hiked in Sahyadri mountains with so much of a load; so this was going to be my first time and I was little nervous about it.

So finally, we were on our way. Real excitement was palpable on everyone’s face as we started our hike into the unfamiliar territory of mighty Himalaya. It was not exactly very pleasant weather as it was slightly on the hotter side. But as compared to the region from where we had come from, it certainly was much colder and more conducive for hiking.

Start of trek from Taluka Village:

After walking for certain distance, we were into the wild; away from any habitat. Music of gushing water of Supin river originating from the glacier was accompanying us constantly as trail was just adjacent to the river. 

A beautiful Supin river:

Great thing about the trail was availability of the fresh, glacier water at frequent distance. This made us not to stack any water thus lightening our backpacks as generally water bottles are the heaviest in the backpack. So we really indulged in the fresh water which kept us well hydrated throughout the trek.

Bridge on the Supin River:

Omkar on the background of one more bridge:

Another tiny bridge:

Our first real break was at lunch point at a near snacks joint. But unfortunately, some of us followed a wrong route going to the higher elevation from the lunch point where we had to assemble. Along the wrong trail, I also lost other members as I was stopping frequently for doing photography. Shouts from below made me realize that I was walking alone on the wrong trail. Relieved, I immediately descended and rejoined the group. Other members whom I followed on the wrong route before losing them were also resting in the hut.

We had a packed lunch of Potato Vegetable, Chapati, Gul-Poli, Frooti and Chocolate bar and after resting for few minutes, we proceeded further.

Lunch Point:

Some fun around Lunch Point:

Nihar, Malhar, Saurabh and Niranjan (four close friends who had just finished their 10th exams):

Local flashing his million dollar smile:



Anurag negotiating the stream by walking on the log:

On the way, we were asked to stop as there was some landslide happening in front. Apparently a local shepherd had taken flock of sheep at the higher elevation and their movement was causing boulders to roll down below on the trekking trail. Our local trek leaders were too furious with the shepherd who they told was deaf and lacked the common sense. As we were waiting, our local leader told us the unfortunate tale of a Mumbai Trekker who had lost the life after being hit on the head by a large boulder rolling from the mountain. After waiting for about 15 minutes, we resumed our hike after confirming that sheep had moved out of sight.

We had walked a lot from Taluka without any habitat in sight. So we felt good when we sighted a beautiful village named "Gangar" in the lap of a beautiful nature. Our trail was not going through the village as there was river in between our trail and the village. Ahead, we saw a bridge connecting the trail to the village but as we had to hike further, we did not visit the village. 

Gangar Village:

There are few snacks joint on the trail just before the Gangar Village.

Local kids in the snacks joint:

In the afternoon, suddenly weather changed and dark clouds hovered in the sky and it started raining. It was kind of hailstorm and soon hailstones started lashing us hardly. We ran for a shelter and gathered below the shade of a house. Once the rain was subsided, we resumed our walk.

As we were gaining elevation, snow peaks visible from the trail created a surge of excitement.

Along the way, we came across tents of other trek group but our campsite was nowhere in sight. Vijay, local trek leader kept everyone motivated by saying that camp was just around the corner even though it was still many kilometers ahead. As few of the members were suffering from utter exhaustion, they were taking frequent breaks and it was becoming really late. Because of absence of any mobile range, it was difficult to guess where the last remaining group was.  Gradually I picked up the speed at the last stretches and walked along with Vijay at a very fast pace. Vijay complimented me about my speed; on the other side he was quite flustered about the slow moving group as we were running quite behind a schedule.

Finally Vijay halted as it was becoming darker and members behind were not in sight. As Vijay was waiting, I took his permission to go further on the trail and arrived at Seema village. I was not sure about the campsite; so I perched on the rock waiting for others to come and enjoying the evening hues on the horizon.

I waited for more than 30 minutes but there was no sign of anyone joining me. A bit worried, I again went back for about 200 meters to see what had happened and finally heaved a sigh of relief to see hoard of members coming my way.

Without waiting for all members to join, we were ushered into our campsite and after getting settled, we sat in the area in front of the house. I sat on the wall and waved to group members to show them the campsite.

Just before the dark, all members made it to the campsite; some so exhausted with the exertion that they already made their minds that they could not take it anymore and they would probably skip rest of the trek. As soon as everyone arrived, a hot tea was served and all members ushered in in their respective allocated rooms. I was sharing the room with Naydu Uncle and Ameya Dandekar.

Soon it was utterly dark outside. As this village was without the electricity, tent lights placed in each room was the only source of light. Soon, our trek leader blew the whistle to indicate dinner was ready and all members gathered at the ground floor hall. Though dinner was not sumptuous by any means, care was taken to make it healthy. Members finicky about particular choice of food found it difficult to eat their full quota really needed to replenish the calories burnt and to get ready for next day’s another strenuous hike.

After a little chat, I went in the room. As bed was only for 2, I slept on the floor in the sleeping bag. Cold had started to creep in the room but warmth of sleeping bag provided so much of comfort. A wave of exhaustion took over and I experienced really a dreamless and sound sleep oblivious to the bad state of few of group members who were going through continuous spate of loose motions throughout the night. I realized it only when it dawned the next morning and I started to gear up for another exciting hike.

After breakfast, a total count of members discontinuing the trek went up to 6. Our local trek leader made arrangement of these members to stay in a very small house in front of the house where we had stayed for the night. Members staying behind wished us good luck for rest of the hike. There was a tinge of disappointment in their voices but also relief that they would get much needed rest to cure their illness and gain back the strength. We also wished them speedy recovery and marched towards our next destination, Har-Ki-Dun.

Click here to read Part 2

Narayangad - A beautiful fort near Narayangaon

A detached hill on the eastern side of Narayangaon on Pune-Nasik road holds your attention. At night, you can see a light flickering on top of this hill. This hill is nothing but Narayangad Fort.

Narayangad had remained elusive for a long time. I earlier had planned to hike on it along with Chavand and Hadsar but both times, I ended up hiking on Shivneri Fort. One reason was that during the earlier treks, I had trek-mates who hadn't visited Shivneri; so I ended up in taking them to Shivneri thus abandoning the plan to visit Narayangad.

This time, I had planned Narayangad hike along with Nimgiri Fort. After hiking on Nimgiri Fort, we had a heavy lunch at Junnar and it was almost past 3PM. There is slight hesitation in hiking on unknown fort. Lots of thoughts occupy the mind like “what will happen if you lose your way”, “what will happen if you cannot complete exploration of the fort before sunset”. This time too there was a hesitation. But seeing the positive attitude and determination of the fellow trekkers - Tushar Kothawade, Chinmay Kirtane, Amol Chandurkar and Sameer Kadam, we decided to march towards the fort.

After reaching to Junnar, we enquired and proceeded towards Khodad - a town famous for Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT), the largest telescope at metre wavelengths in the world, which attracts radio astronomers from different countries.After about 15-20 minutes on the road to Khodad, we saw the board indicating the direction of Narayangad.

We were stopped by the hoard of sheep as we took left turn towards Narayangad.

There was a surge of excitement once we had the full view of the fort spanning East-West. 

We were quite impressed with the rich fields on both sides of the road.

Soon, we reached to the base, parked the car in the premises of the temple of Muktai Goddess. Few local villagers were resting on the benches and we inquired about the route which seemed pretty straight forward.

 There was a tinge appointment to see the ongoing work of constructing the concrete steps which meant altering the older type of construction but on the other side, we felt happy to see something was being done to maintain and make the fort accessible to all the common people.

Start of steps:

Serpentine steps:

Soon, we reached to top of the fort and temple on the top was the only and obvious structure on the fort and our steps automatically proceeded towards it.

View after reaching to the top: GMRT Telescopes in the background. Also, you can see the beautiful road coming to the base of the fort with beautiful green fields on its both sides.

Path leading to Hastamata Temple on the fort:

Hastamata Temple:

Cold wind caressing our faces rejuvenated us instantly and we spent a lot of time just relaxing in front of the temple.

Idol of Goddess Hastamata inside the temple:

Landscape on the Western Side as seen from the temple:

Eastern side of the fort as seen from the temple:

Broken structures on the fort give fair indication how rich the fort would have been in its prime.

Remnants of the sadar:

 A broken part of stone doorway with a figure of Lord Ganesha:

As we started exploring the other part of the fort, we came across a lot of water cisterns.Water in the one of the cisterns is said to have the healing power as we were told by few local villagers whom we met on the fort.

Water cistern on the North-East part of the fort which also has some inscription in devnagari on one of the walls:

Another big water cistern on the South side named as "Narayan Taake":

Another set of water cisterns on the South side named as "Chambhaar Taake":

Our exploration of the fort was almost over and large rocks on topmost part of the fort caught our attention and we climbed on those rocks soaking in the cool breeze.

Moment of absolute freedom; a moment frozen in the mind forever!

We just did not want to leave the fort. We were experiencing so much of bliss in the solitude of nature and as sun was descending down to the west, whole fort was dazzling with the golden light.

With heavy heart, we started descending. By the time, sun was rapidly taking its stride to the western horizon.

After reaching to the base, we sprinkled water on our faces to feel rejuvenated, wore some fresh cloths and started our journey back to Pune reminiscing the day full of excitement, adventure and contentment.

There are some spectacular days in one's life and memories of those days are etched in the mind forever and this was certainly one of the them. After all, life is all about collecting small, precious moments, isn't it?

Tips for the hikers:

• As Narayangad is a small fort, it can be combined with any of the fort in Junnar region.
• Distance: 80 kms from Pune, 8kms from Narayangaon
• Grade: Easy
• Water: Available on the fort
• Brief History: The fortress is said to have been rebuilt by the first Peshwa Balaji Vishvanath (1714-1720) and given in as service-grant to Sayaji Povar. In the last Maratha war of 1818 Narayangad is said to have surrendered to the British.  

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Happy hiking!

Appeal: No litter; no plastic; no wrappers; keep the mother nature clean!