Garhwal: Chamoli Adventure

Map borrowed

Route covered so far:
Delhi – Haridwar – Rishikesh –Devprayag – Srinagar – Rudraprayag – Karnaprayag – Nandprayag – Chamoli – Pipalkoti - Joshimath

Heading towards Karnaprayag

From Rudraprayag, my tentative plan for the day was to reach Joshimath about 120 kms away (which through the mountain roads can be a journey lasting 5-6 hours) and if possible, to take a cable car for a night halt at Auli.

Most of the people heading this route are pilgrims who travel in their private vehicles. For the remaining few, like me, who wish to travel the tough way seeking a sense of adventure, a word of caution is to begin the onward journey from Rudraprayag early in the morning, as I was told no vehicles would be available to go higher up the mountains after noon. In any case, driving in those narrow mountain roads after sunset is not allowed, so travellers ought to plan the day of travel well in advance and start as early as possible.

It was an early morning in Rudraprayag when I started the journey in a local 'sharing taxi' that was to take me first to Karnaprayag. Karnaprayag, the place of confluence of Rivers Pindar and Alaknanda, is the junction to change route from Garhwal to Kumaon and from here, one can reach the hill stations of Almora, Nainital etc.

Once at Karnaprayag, I had to change to another vehicle that would take me to Joshimath. It was here that I heard the locals murmuring something about a landslide on the road uphill. With the adage “I’ll cross the bridge when I come to it” in mind, I ventured to continue the journey unaware then that I'd actually be in need of a bridge later during the day.

Roadblock in Chamoli

Close to Nandprayag while nearing Chamoli, I came across a huge line of vehicles extending for kilometers. There was indeed a landslide and it had blocked the road completely! Neither movement of vehicles nor walking across the landslide rubble was possible. I could see from a distance 'Public Works Department' workers were busy using bulldozers to clear up the place to make way for the traffic to resume.

I am now talking of possibly being stranded at a height of about 8,000 feet above sea level. Roadblocks in the rainy days on these mountain roads last for a minimum of hours, sometimes even days together! A part of the thrill of going to such places is to travel with the right company. When there are like-minded fellow travellers in a group, it is easy to make quick decisions. So in this case a decision was made in a matter of couple of minutes to trek to the other side of the road. And then the adventure began.

Seated at the edge of the stream

It was just past twelve, and in spite of the cool mountain breeze, the sun was right overhead and beating down on me mercilessly. In short, to avoid making this post long, on that bright sunny day, it was a walk down the valley carrying my backpack on this unplanned and unprepared part of the journey in the Himalayas. At first it was a trek downhill, then it was crossing a stream - minus shoes - flowing with almost freezing waters with strong currents with the help of locals, and finally a steep climb up the rugged path to eventually surface on the other side of the road. Finally it was an easy walk on the Himalayan mountain roads until, at length, a local bus was getting ready that somehow managed with great difficulty in the narrow road to take a U-turn to carry some passengers up to Chamoli.

Taking leave of the locals who helped

From Chamoli it was an uneventful journey passing through beautiful mountain scenery crossing Pipalkoti to finally reach Joshimath.

View from Joshimath roadside

In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks
- John Muir

Recent Travel Posts:

• Garhwal: Rudraprayag
  
• Garhwal: Rishikesh
• Garhwal: Haridwar
• A Journey to Garhwal