Trek in Himalayas : Roopkund and Junargali pass

Date: June 12-21, 2009

Mission: Trek to Roopkund , the mysterious skeletal lake in Garhwal Himalayas at ~5000 mts above sea level.

Prologue:

Anybody who makes a mistake of venturing into Himalayas once are doomed. It beckons you forever. So after a successful trek to Kedartal last year, we decided to do Roopkund this year as Roopkund is considered similar to Kedartal in terms of difficulty, beauty, endurance required etc. We learnt that there are two main reliable guides to Roopkund. Mohan Singh Bisht and Narendra both from a village called Wan. With latter unavailable due to being hired by some other group, we decided to go with Mohan Singh and what a fantastic person he turned out to be. It was from Indiahikes and Indiamike where we got much wanted info about this trail. We had an overwhelming response this time and finally the number of enthusiastic people reached 11. It was slightly on the higher side as whenever the number exceeds 10 co-ordination, taking quick decisions etc takes a nose-dive for long amd moderate treks like this. Like last time we kept in touch with our guide Mohan Singh for close to 2 months before we started.

Roopkund has a very small window for trekking : June and Sept end to October. Even during this time the success is not guaranteed as bad weather is known to play spoilsport often. It is snow bound for most of the other periods. There are bones of 300-600 people dating back to 9th centure AD lying around the lake and research has shown that they died after being hit by cricket-ball sized hails ! The route most often taken is Lohajung-Didna-AliBugyal-BedniBugyal-Bagubasa-Roopkund-Bagubasa-Bednibugyal-Wan-Lohajung. The total circuit is approximately ~65 kms, where we start from Lohajung which is at ~2500 mts and reach Roopkund which is at a height of ~4900 mts in 3-4 days. The whole route takes 5-6 days and we somehow crammed it in our schedule and took only 5 working days off to get a total of 9 days including two weekends. We booked flight tickets to Delhi and back a few good months back to get descent discounts. Roopkund being a moderate trek needs good fitness and the usual yardstick is to jog for 2-3 kms daily at 8-9 km/hr for atleast 2 months before going there.

Day 1 (June 10): Travel Bangalore-Delhi, Delhi-Haridwar

It was Friday and we had a tight schedule of catching 7 pm Spicjet flight from Bangalore to Delhi after finishing our office-work and catch train to Haridwar from Nizamuddin at 11.55 pm. We calculated we would get 1.5 hr to reach from Delhi airport to Nizamuddin and hoped we won't get stuck in jams or taxi breakdowns ! Our calculation didn't go wrong and we were in Haridwar at 4.30 am on the morning of Saturday.

Day 2 (June 11): Travel Haridwar-Rishikesh-Lohajung (~300 kms)

This time in unision we decided to take a bus to Rishikesh which is 24 kms from Haridwar. From Rishikesh our next leg of 270 km journey to Lohajung had to be done in a jeep. As a rule in Uttarkhand a single jeep will take only 9 persons, so the latecomers amongst the 11 of us who signed for the trek (Hari and Aswin) were rewarded to come in another jeep shared by other travellers. After finding a jeep for ourselves and 2 latecomers we left to Lohajung by 7.30 am. Breakfast on the way was a light one to prevent motion-sickness on the circuitous way. We travel along the Badrinath road going via Devprayag, Srinagar, Rudraprayag and Karanprayag. Devprayag is a worthy halt to take a short break as the blue waters of Bhagirathi join muddy waters of Alakananda to form Ganga. After Devprayag we travel along Alakananda river and at Karanprayag we take a diversion towards Almora to go to Debal. There is no rule or whatsoever of how many you can stuff inside a jeep beyond Karanprayag. So 11 of us sat in cramped positions till we reached Debal by 6 pm. Lohajung where we had booked our lodge was another 30 kms and it was a late time to find another taxi to Lohajung. According to our jeep driver, the jeep with which we had travelled till Debal could not go beyond due to permit issues ! However he managed to get one, albiet for a little higher amount. It was pretty dark when we were approaching Lohajung. I was worried about the dry weather and scenery till now and was begining to think whether we came at the right season to Roopkund when suddenly our jeep was hit by heavy rains, hails and what not. Our bags including cameras on top of the jeep were completely drenched. Our heroic jeep driver managed to climb a narrow road to Patwal lodge at Lohajung in almost zero visibility conditions where we had reserved our rooms . Out of no-where our guide Mohan Singh appeared to remove our luggage from the top of the jeep amidst hails and rains. Mohan Singh along with his troops (1 porter+ 4 mules + 4 mule owners) were already waiting for our arrival. It was a damp evening and we retired for the day after few cups of tea, a stroll in the Lohajung village and a good dinner.

Day 3 (June 12): Trek Lohajung-Didna-Tolapani (8 kms)

Contrary to the previous evening, it was a clear and bright morning and Mt. NandaGhunti which is one of the bigger giants visible in this trek was visible from the lodge itself. After buying our rations and a heavy breakfast at Patwal lodge we departed to Didna by 10.30 am. Our mules and their owners would leave shortly after us. Mule owners don't carry anything and their sole purpose is to direct the mules and assist in cooking. We had hired tents and sleeping bags from Patwal lodge. We walk along the jeep track towards Wan till we reach Kuling village were we descend to the valley towards right and climb again to reach the table-top village Didna. The descent is although welcome will bring in a realisation that whatever altitude is lost must be gained in a short time as Didana is slightly higher than Kuling. Raju who was the sole DSLR owner in our group had already placed his rucksack on the mules after compalining about the weight of DSLR he had to carry. We walk through numerous terraced fields, forest, streams on the way between Kulling and Didna. Vasantha who we all guessed was carrying the lightest rucksack put it on the mule during the climb to Didna. Didna village had few houses and is located on the slope of the Ali Bugyal mountains to give excellent views of Lohajung and Kuling village. There is an excellent spot to camp little ahead but our guide suggested to walk another 2 kms to Tolapani so as to aid our climb next day. We reached Tolapani at 2.30 pm and took a stroll around the village which consisted of couple of houses and retired for the day inside our tents after chat around the camp-fire and dinner.

Day 4(June 13): Trek Tolapani-Ali Bugyal-Bedni Bugyal (8 kms)

Today's trek had a steep climb through the forest to Ali Bugyal and then a gentle walk from there to Bedni Bugyal. After a hot tea and chapatis/rotis for breakfast we started at 9 am. Mules and their owners would follow us after unpacking the camp. The 3 km climb begins soon after Tolapani. The one advantage is we climb through thick forest which shields us from direct sunlight but humidity inside the forest and the steep climb takes a toll. The mules overtook us in no time and marched ahead. After 2 hrs of steep climb we emerged out of forest to be greeted by lush green meadows and huge valleys where we could see Lohajung village which we left yesterday and also Wan. This sight is something to remember and after a brief halt of photo-sessions we departed towards Ali Bugyal which was still ~1 km away and arrived there by 11.30 am. There were few wild horses grazing around here. People who take Wan-Bedni Bugyal-Roopkund route tend to miss this infinite golf-course like scenery at Ali Bugyal. Now the weather started to get a bit worse and Mohan Singh reminded us not to waste too much time taking un-necessary photos but to get to Bedni which was 2-3 kms ASAP. The route to Bedni from here onwards was walk on the lush green grass patch with gentle climbs and descents and we reached Bedni by 1 pm. Due to the climb through forest from Tolapani-Ali Bugyal I was in my shorts and not jeans. But the weather around Ali Bugyal was cold with strong winds blowing. I caught cold and arrived at Bedni a bit feverish. However there is a tea shop at Bedni where we get omlettes, maggi and even something what they claim as pastry which one should consider as a luxury and we washed it down with some hot tea. The tea shop even had a satellite phone which works for around 5 mins in an hour. 30 mins after we came weather turned worse and it started raining hails. One has to remember that from Bedni onwards it is an open grass land area with no trees and can just guess what would happen if we encounter hails. Bedni at 3350 mts above sea leval is also one of the most beautiful Alpine meadows in Uttarkhand and the scenary of lush green meadows and snow clad peaks in the horizon is a treat to eyes and mind. By evening the clouds cleared and gave us the magnificient glimpse of Mt. Trishul and Nandaghunti. The evening sunrays played hide and seek behind the clouds and illuminated Trishul which looked like it was glowing with fire. The night temperature was near zero deg and it was time to bring out our layered winter clothing consisting of thermals, sweaters and woolen jackets for the first time. Our guide and porters had cooked our dinner of chapati and curry inside the tea-shop, where dry woods were available. I took a dose of Diamox to acclimitize my body for next day's climb to Bagubasa before sleeping.

Day 5(June 14): Trek Bedni Bugyal -Bagubasa (11 kms)

Today's trek was supposed to be the toughest, were we climb almost 900 mts from Bedni (3350 mts) to Kalu Vinayak (~4250 mts) before descending slightly to Bagubasa (~4150 mts). It takes 5-6 hrs and we were supposed to make a head start by 8.30 am. But as happens with a group of 11, it was 9.30 when we started and a look at the direction of Bagubasa showed deep cloud formation and prospect of bad weather. After a climb of 3 kms we reach Goda Lautani and our Goda's (Mules) which left 30 mins after us overtook us here. At the height of ~4000 mts the warmess comes from the sun rays and the moment it disappears behind the clouds, the temperatue plummets. It felt like we were trekking in freezing temperature aided by rain and occasional hails now. 3 kms trail from Goda Lautania to Pathar Nauchania is a level one and one of the finest scenary of deep lush green valleys and snow clad mountains one will get see. We reached Pathar Nauchania amidst strong cold winds and rain. By now I was feeling feverish and weak and Raghu was also feeling no better. We decided to wear Ponchos to protect from rain here onwards. Now me, Raghu and Vasantha formed the tail of our group and I felt sleepy and dizzy as the climb to Kalu Vinayak began. Every 5 mins of climb needed a rest and at mid-way I thought I could go no longer. I'm not sure what was issue with me: Altitude sickness or high fever and cold or Hypothermia or combination of everything. Mohan Singh seeing my plight decided to releive me of my rucksack. Every minute counted like an hour and after 2-3 hrs of torturous climb, I reached Kalu Vinayak at ~3 pm more than 30 mins after the head of the group had reached. Under clear skies Roopkund cwm, Trishul, Nandagunti would be all visible from Kalu Vinayak but not today as they were covered with thick clouds. I was hardly in a position to appreciate the scenary around Kalu Vinayak and reached Bagubasa which was 1.5 kms from here. At Bagubasa our campsite was no-where to seen and it seems we had decided to camp little ahead due to proximity of water sources and availability of level ground. The good thing when I reached our camp at Hunai-thar at ~4 pm was our guide/porters had prepared lime juice. I just remember me almost collapsing inside the tent and going to sleep. I thought this was the end of my trek to Roopkund as I would be in no position to reach Roopkund tomorrow. Many others had headache and a look towards Roopkund painted a gloomy picture with thick clouds and an imminent whiteout. I felt only slightly better when I woke up at 7 pm in freezing temperature to have dinner which was to be Dal-kichdi. We had made a bad choice for our food menu during this trek. Much of our rations was rice and owing to large number of people (17 inculding ourselves, guide, porters and mule owners) in the group and high altitude, rice don't cook properly and I could hardly eat few spoons of half-cooked Dal-kichdi. I took doses of Crocin pain-relief and Diamox and went into deep sleep again with fever and headache. Freezing cold with temeperature plumetting below -5 deg, onset of altitude sickness like headache, lack of appetite is what most of them face at Bagubasa and I was no different.

Day 6(June 15): Trek Bagubasa-Roopkund-Junargali pass-Bagubasa-Bedni Bugyal (20 kms)

We were suppose to start by 5.30 am today since we needed to reach and return from Roopkund by 11 am as the sun softens the snow and the descent can get tricky once bad weather sets in by early mid-day. After a lot of effort when I woke up at 5 am, temperature was around -5 deg but it looked like a completely different day. Weather had completely cleared up and I was feeling good and energetic. Mt. Chowkamba near to Badrinath, Trishul and Nandaghunti are the prominent ~7000 mts peaks visible from Bagubasa. After a cup of much wanted tea, we started towards Roopkund at 6.30 am. It is a climb of 600+ mts in 3-4 kms but we were without our rucksacks. Our breakfast consisted of few dates and biscuits on the way. It doesn't take much time for the snow zone to begin. It'll start with few small glaciers to cross and the last 500 mts to Roopkund needed our guide to cut snow steps using his ice-axe to go forward. Across some slippery and long glaciers, one should be careful as you don't know which deep valley you will end up in if you slip. After this it is almost a 50 deg inclined climb on snow and shoes with a good grip on snow is a must. However Karthik doesn't seems to think so and like last year to Kedartal where he had to be aided by guide step-by-step during return, bought another pair of rubbish sports shoes this time and started slipping crazily. Everybody had a slip and here. Although not absolutely necessary our guide and porters were holding ropes towards the end and we reached Roopkund by 8.30 am. It was completely frozen and thick layers of snow around didn't reveal any of the bones it is famous for. Some 200 mts directly above Roopkund is the Junargali pass which further leads to Shila Samudra glacier, Homekund and Ronti saddle. After a brief puja by our guide/porter we thought we'll conquer Junargali pass to get closer views of Trishul. Only 6 of us were ready, I was one of them and was surprised myself as just yesterday I was down with fever and given up hope of reaching even Roopkund. We had to scale a steep slope of snow followed by a steep slippery vertical cliff to reach Junargali pass. The steep slope of snow inclined at 50 deg was aided by our guide and porters holding rope. Snow had just started softening and there were no safety clips to the ropes. So if we loose the grip on rope or the snow under our feet gives away we will disappear somewhere down and our bones will get added to the ones already present around Roopkund. The vertical wall after this was even more risky and there is no room for any mistakes. Any loss of grip on rope or feet where there is hardly any enough space for one foot, the result is falling down to Eternity at break-neck speed. That was what happened to Aswin's camera worth Rs. 20K. At almost the end of the climb over the cliff, the camera came off his shoulders and fell down, slid over the steep slope of snow and disappeared below. That was when we realized what would happen if one of were to make a small mistake. Luckily nothing happened and we were on Junargali pass by 9.15 am to get one of the best views on this trek. There is hardly enough space for 10 people to stand on Junargali pass and there is a sheer drop on the other side towards Shila Samudra glacier which takes another 3 hrs to reach. Mt. Trishul still towering 2 kms vertically above us looks to be within touching distance and just seperated by the vast snow fields but in reality was atleast 4-5 kms away. But this is not a place to sit and relax and our guide noticed the weather getting worse. He knows what bad weather can do to mere mortals caught at this place and we left to Roopkund after spending just 15 mins on the pass. The descent over the cliff was no easier than ascent. The descent on snow however was slightly easier as our guide taught us a technique of keeping backheel first to prevent slipping. We slided down the snowy slopes at the end and it took just 15 mins to descend to Roopkund while it had taken 45 mins for the climb. We immediately left to Bagubasa as thick clouds threatened to bring hails and snowstorm. Everybody had a slip and a fall over the snow which had started to soften by now. Porters and Aswin had a vague idea where the camera had disappeared and spent close to 30 mins searching it. Finally they found it, completely broken but with memory card intact. Reached Bagubasa by 11 am completely dehydrated and tired. Thre were no water sources on the way and the little we had carried were all consumed on the climb itself. By the time we reached Bagubasa, Roopkund was covered by thick clouds. Again I started feeling feverish and exhausted and was shocked to find that we were planning to trek another 11 kms to Bedni. I immediately took another dose Crocin pain-relief and had a hasty small lunch with buns, biscuits. We departed to Bedni by 12 pm and I along with few others who were also in pretty bad shape, put our rucksacks on mules. One the way back, we and our guide offered puja to Kalu Vinayak for successfully and safely reaching not just Roopkund but also Junargali pass and started the descent to Pathar Nauchania and Bedni. Weather was not as bad as during the climb this time and I could finally appreciate the beautiful landscape along this stretch. Sun was playing hide-and-seek behind the clouds and the rays coming between the clouds illuminated the deep valleys. Vamshi and Karthik were sprinting ahead probably thinking of limited omlettes available at Bedni and the availability on first-come first-serve basis. We reached Bedni by 4.30 pm and were glad to find that there was no shortage of food at the tea-shop. We decided to have Maggi from the tea shop instead of the half-cooked Dal kichdi from our rations for dinner.

Day 7(June 16): Trek Bedni Bugyal-Wan (13 kms), Jeep from Wan-Lohajung (14 kms)

Today was a bit relaxed day as all we had to do was trek 13 kms down to Wan and then take a jeep for 20 kms to Lohajung. We started late by 10 am. Today my rucksack was back on my back. After few kms we enter the forest and walk through it almost all the way till Wan. The descent is not kind on your ankles and knees and we reached the top of Wan village after few breaks along some fresh streams on the way. My overworked, overstressed knees were complaining bitterly by this time. We kept going through the village but the road-head that connects Wan to Lohajung was no where to be seen. It was like a mirage where I thought after every turn I would end up in the road but it took another 30 mins to reach it. Finally it was a welcome sight. We reached Wan by 3 pm and it was the end of our Roopkund expedition. There are only couple of shops in Wan and luckily one of them was serving Maggi and omlettes. It took more than an hour to find a jeep to Lohajung and finally when it arrived it had 18 people inside and on the top all the way till Lohajung. It was overloaded and we were scared that the driver will loose control and fall into one of the gorges beside the road anytime. We arrived at Patwal lodge by 5.30 pm and there was only one more mission to be accomplished. Get hot water and take bath as none of us had bathed for last 5 days. We settled our dues with Mohan Singh and also tipped him for his excellent services especially during the Junargali pass climb. We promised to send him a group photo which I believe we never did.

Day (June 17): Travel Lohajung-Rishikesh (300 kms)

Luckily there was a taxi that had come from Rishikesh and was going back. There was a small tamasha when we were about to leave. Any idea how much time it'll take for 11 of us to get ready? Well...the taxi driver got pissed-off with this and decided to park his vehicle 1 km from our lodge and invited us to walk all they way with our luggages to the vehicle. Finally he calmed down and arrived. We left to Rishikesh by 10 am for a day long journey after settling our dues with Patwal lodge. 11 of us sat in cramped positions till Karanprayag beyond which we had to find 2 scapegoats to come in a bus or other shared jeeps as the rule doesn't permit to load the jeep beyond 9 people. Nobody volunteered to leave the group and after much discussions it was decided to find it through a (un)luckydip. Sorry to say that Karthik and Raju were finally made the scapegoats. It was 7 pm when we reached Rishikesh and it took some effort to find a descent economical lodge. We booked 3 rooms for 11 of us and the lodge also had links with some water-rafting agency. All the calories lost was compensated by one of the heaviest dinner I have ever had, with folks ordering almost everything present on the menu.

Day 9(June 18): River rafting on Ganga, Overnight travel from Haridwar-Delhi

Today was a free day and we had planned to do the famous river-rafting on Ganga. A jeep took us 20 kms to a higher ground to a place called Shivpuri. After an hour we were on the raft. Ganga truly has some higher category (4.5 I think) rapids and we really feel our raft is about turn upside down. Each raft will have two guides and one of our guide lost balance and fell into the river at one of the rapids ! All of us wear life jacket which keeps us floating for sometime. By mid-day we reached Rishikesh and was followed by another heavy lunch. We vacated our rooms by evening and took tuk-tuk autos to Haridwar to watch aarthi to Ganga at Har-ki-Pauri. We caught the night train to Delhi.

Day 10(June 19): Fly Delhi-Bangalore

Once in Delhi we realized the problem. It was hot and we had to kill time till evening as our flight to Bangalore was at 6 pm. We usually don't follow Karthik's advice or suggestions. But today based on his advice we reluctantly decided to visit Akshardham temple. The temple was overcroweded, on top of that for security reasons we were not allowed to carry our rucksacks inside. Afternoon we took a taxi from there to airport and spent some time in the lounge. It was 10.30 pm by the time we reached our respective homes.

Pics are here

Cost per person : Rs ~11,500 (Travel Bangalore-Delhi-Haridwar: 3000, Guide/equipment rent charges from Lohajung: 3000, Travel/food/lodges: 2500, Travel Haridwar-Delhi-Bangalore: 3000)

Here are some notes and contact details that can be helpful

• Highly recommend Mohan Singh Bisht for Roopkund. He is friendly, educated and extremely helpful. You need to contact him 1-2 months in advance and fix the dates. He can be contacted at 01363280422/09456263602. Be patient as the line is unreachable for most of the time!


• Patwal lodge is a decent place to stay at Lohajung and keep your unwanted luggage during trek . He can arrange for decent tents and sleeping bags at reasonable rates. They can be contacted at 01363280211/09410480308


• It is better to go via Kathgodam-Almora as the views through that route is much better than that from Rishikesh. We went through Rishikesh as the Kathgodam train departs from Delhi a bit early and we couldn't have caught it by 7 pm flight from Bangalore.


• Needs decent fitness to do Roopkund. Although no technical sections like Kedartal's landslide zone exists, it is longer in distance than Kedartal and altitude gain from 2500 mts to 4800 mts in 3-4 days can bring in altitude sickness. So plan accordingly. But the beauty of the trek is unparalleled. It has everything a trekker orders in it - lush green alipne meadows, deep valleys, virgin forests, mightly snow-bound peaks within touching distance and the destination which has a bit of history and mystery as well.