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Travelling is exploring more about life.

That is what I realized from my last jaunt to a place brimming with the beauty of nature, a perfect break from the messed up, hectic daily routine.

Shivpuri in Rishikesh, a place not so famous but, one of the most splendid place you can experience being at.

I, along with my friends planned this trip for the occasion of my friend’s birthday. So, we started with a train journey from Gwalior to Haridwar, we were uncertain about the plan even 2 hours prior to the arrival of our train, however while leaving home we were already running late, but were lucky enough to catch the train. After landing in the daylight of 26th August in Rishikesh, we prepared ourselves for the rest of our journey; and set out our ride towards the destination. Then came the first step of our trip, Rafting! Heading down through the twisty roads over the mountains, we watched the water move closer as we advanced down the path.

“When I say rest: stop paddling, when I say forward: start paddling and when I say stop and jump: you may jump in the water, holding on to the rope of the boat.” The instructor mandated every one of us. ‘HURRAAYY’ we were set for the ride on our raft in complete excitement, as it was going to be an 18 kilometer long ride. Cutting through big water, cheering every moment of our ride, we felt the thrust and energy of the stream that rejuvenated us each time it hit us in our faces. After travelling around 15 out of 18 kilometers, instruction came “You may jump in water” and we all jumped in the mighty Ganga, being in the river, surrounded by cool water gave a feeling of being retrieved from the daily stress we were habitual of. Everything was beautified in the moment and about the water around us. This made our trip worth experiencing and rafting marked an exciting start to our trip. Also, having pani-puri just after rafting was a different experience, that doesn’t happen every day.

Afterwards we trekked towards our camping site, it took hours to reach and by the time we arrived it was already dark and the party had just started. The night of 26th September that was coming forth, this was going to become a memorable one. We moved in, our camps had a wonderful location that was beside a fine and clear river, so close that we could hear the sound of flowing water. Then there started the real party. With loud music, bonfire and drinks in our hands. We danced along, carefree; around the bonfire, feeling the heat in the chilled surroundings, the moment was to enjoy like never before. We had dinner and, during midnight we sat by the river, talking, our feet immersed in the smooth running cold water, spent time by the water stream, feeling the moment and the quality time we had, with the scenario around us. We stood there until it was almost morning and then went to bed, only when we were too tired to sit anymore.

The next morning, was like none other, with the reward of waking up in the pleasing scenario. It was 27th August we woke up in the morning to the aroma of fresh air, untouched by the intrication of life and the light that came chasing us between the mountains, made another day worth! And best part? We played volleyball and badminton beside the river, one unique experience it was. While the sun started to come over, we had breakfast, after which we played in water enjoying to the core, we played until noon and then we had to leave. Unfortunately we couldn’t catch the train so we had to board a bus to Delhi, and that was a hard thing, to find a bus at that hour of the day; somehow we found one! After travelling all night, by the time we reached it was 4 am in the morning. This day was also my friend’s birthday and this trip made it worth remembering. A place, so beautiful, so serene, that you would want to live there forever. Between the mountains, that was the place so mesmerizing that we can never ever forget! 🙂

Dhams are religious places admired by Hindus around the world. The word “char” signifies four seats or abodes of shrines of great spiritual significance. The idea of visiting these religious places is to remove all sins from one’s life. The central belief of the Hindu religion is to attain “moksha” or “nirvana” and finally to become free from the recycle of birth. Hindus believe that the final religious goal of an individual is to attain moksha and become closer or part of the ultimate being (God). One such way to attain moksha other than being benevolent is to visit the “Char Dhams” or “four abodes” and become one with God. It is believed that the pilgrimage to these four important places not only washes away all the sins of an individual but also frees one from the recycle of birth.

These four Dhams are located in Himalayas namely Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri. The Char Dham (Chardham) yatra or journey starts in the month of April (and continues till the mid of October) when the snow in the Himalayas melt which is the source of the water for the four holy rivers namely Yamuna at Yamunotri, the Ganges at Gangotri, the Mandakini at Kedarnath, and the Alaknanda at Badrinath.

I visited Char Dham back in 2012, exactly a year before the devastation took place. It was a 15 days long trip which started from Haridwar with a dip in Holy River Ganges at Har ki Pauri Ghat. Next morning, we drove for more than 12 hours to reach Jankichatti to have an overnight stay and start next morning with trek to Yamunotri.

The trek from Janki Chatti to Yamunotri is about 7 kilometers long and is made along a 2 meter broad paved path way, most of which is hanging from the mountain side. Most of the cliff side of the pathway is provided with railings thus keeping it safe for pilgrims. The trek is easy along paved pathways. There are ascents similar to number of hair pin bends. But what makes the trek difficult is the sheer number of people.

It took us 3 hours(although we expected to complete it in 2 hours) to reach the temple due to adverse weather conditions as well as blocked paths(due to landslides), but the scenic beauty one would experience near the temple is worth sharing. There was a hot spring right beside the temple, which was used by pilgrims to half cook the rice as a holy practice. After descending the trek, we returned to Jankichatti to explore the local market and lives of the locals. Our next destination for the trip was Gangotri, for which we decided to start early morning driving in the mountains and reach Uttarkashi.

Someone rightly said that it is not the end point but the memories and experiences during journey that matters.The 14 km trek to Kheerganga is all about those memories .The way upwards is not only mesmerizing but mystical as well . It’s a exhausting one but one worth the struggle. It’s a place that lets you – breathe, feel and listen, with mountains, waterfalls and pine trees all around, parallel to your eyesight.

With its ethereal view poins, beautiful villages and waterfalls, lovely locals and good vibes , the magic of Parvati valley pulls u towards itself, into its hypnotic beauty.

The Trek started from a village named Bashaini, in Kasol district.The first few Kms were hardly a climb. Our trek went through varied green flora, small hills and villages along the Parvati river . We couldn’t help but had pause on many points and sights to let the beauty of our surroundings sink in. With many trekkers in the sight, we reached our first stoppage; Rudra Nag Waterfall which was exactly 7kms from Bashaini, welcomed us with the gurgling Parvati river flowing through, from a Nag(snake) shaped stone pit to an amazing trek. The last part demanded a steep uphill climb in between the jungles, waterfalls and crossing of landslide areas with continuous heavy downpour – before we were finally in Kheerganga !

It was so peaceful and serene; surrounded by tall mountains crowned with white snow and dense white clouds and was nothing less than achieving nirvana . After trekking through the dense forest and some tricky trails and a crossing lot many landslide areas, nothing could have been more relaxing than taking a bath in the natural hot springs! Refreshing is the only word that truly defines the experience of having a bath in the hot water springs while experiencing a chilled weather(3 degree Celsius) outside the water.

We stayed in a tent for the night there. The view from behind the clouds was a perfect treat to the eyes, an image that couldn’t be forgotten. After the chilly night with some drinks, bonfire and soothing music, we started descending from the hill top. We covered half of our journey under the mild heat of the sun, but who can be sure of the weather in the Himalayas; to our surprise we met with a heavy downpour, but we knew that it will be become tougher and tougher with each passing hour so we decided to continue descending. Quickly putting on our raincoats, we continued to descend holding each other’s hands, trying to save ourselves from slipping on the muddy path and wet rocks. Well this was the toughest and most riskiest patch so we were careful to not slip, because one wrong step and we would be down the hill, so firmly putting our foot along with having a support of a stick we descended the hill.

As we reached back to our Traveller, we realized that our clothes were totally wet and full of dirt and mud, therefore we changed and took a cup of coffee, cherishing and laughing over the everlasting memories that we had created at this beautiful place.