Alaknanda, the Mountain River

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River Alaknanda near Badrinath

The Alaknanda is a river in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is one of the two headstreams of the Ganges. The Alaknanda begins its journey from the Himalayan mountains.

Mana Village

A 4 km walk from Badrinath along the Alaknanda river and past fields divided by dry stone walls leads to tiny Mana village as seen in the background of the above photograph. It is the last village on the borders of Indo-China region.

Mana is situated at a height of 3,200 meters (over 10,000 feet) above main sea level. This village shuts down in winter for 6 months or so as it gets snow-bound with sub-zero temperatures.

It is presumed that it was in this little Village that the sacred Indian texts of the Vedas and Puranas were compiled.

The inhabitants of Mana in the Himalayan mountains are mainly Indo-Mongolian tribals.

SWF: Himalayan Mana

This is the first time in quite a few years in summer that I am not able to make a journey to the Himalayan mountains. As I went through some old pictures in my albums, I had fond memories of some previous trips, and am posting these two pictures for this week's Skywatch.

Mountains of Mana based at a height of over 10,000 feet

These two pictures (re-publishing the first) were shot on an early morning walk from Badrinath to Mana village before the sunrise.

Set in a scenic valley, this rustic village of Mana shuts down in winter for 6 months or so as it gets snow-bound with sub-zero temperatures. Mana is situated at a height of 3,200 meters (over 10,000 feet) above main sea level.

It is presumed that it was in this little Village that the sacred Indian texts of the Vedas and Purans were supposedly compiled. The famous epic, the Mahabharata, is also believed to have been composed in one of Mana's caves, the Vyas Gufa.

The inhabitants of Mana in the Himalayan mountains are mainly Indo-Mongolian tribals. It is the last village on the borders of Indo-China region.

Mana Village women on their way to Badrinath for work
(photograph shot at 6:21 am)

Enjoy skies and views from across the globe at Skywatch Friday here.

SWF: Mana Village

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Mana Village
Uttarakhand, India

I shot these pictures while on a short trek from Badrinath to the Himalayan Mana Village in August 2008. It is the last village at the Indo-Tibet border. Some places famous in Hindu mythology like Vyas Gufa, Ganesh Gufa, Bhimpul, Vasudhara Falls lie close to the Mana Village. In winter, the villagers move down to Joshimath or Chamoli when thick snow blankets the Mana Village.

Mount Neelkanth

Garhwal, Uttarakhand
India
July-Aug 2008

While returning from a trek that I had started before dawn to the Indo-Tibet border village of Mana Village, I suddenly had the pleasure to view this fabulous sight of the 'Garhwal Queen' peeping out. Garhwal Queen is an appropriate sobriquet for the captivating beauty of Mt. Neelkanth.

The towering Mt. Neelkanth forms the backdrop of the pilgrimage town of Badrinath in the Himalayas. This pyramidal shaped snowy peak at a height of 6,597 metres (21,643 feet) above sea level borders the Nar-Narayan mountain ranges of Badrinath.

Later that morning as I walked around Badrinath I continued to look up at the fascinating sight till the time I sat down for breakfast in a modest restaurant in Badrinath. Every minute the scene kept changing as the clouds and mist played around the beautiful peak.


Recent Travel Posts:

• Garhwal: 4. Chamoli
  
• Garhwal: 3. Rudraprayag
  
• Garhwal: 2. Rishikesh
• Garhwal: 1. Haridwar
• A Journey to Garhwal

SWF: Wild Daisies

Enjoy skies and views from across the globe here.

Wild Daisies of Mana

Himalayan Mana Village
Indo-Tibet Border
Uttarakhand, India
August 2008

I shot this picture as I approached the Mana Village after a small trek - on a cold misty morning - approximately 4-5 kms away from Badrinath. Many places famous in Hindu mythology lie close to the Mana Village. The Village shuts down in winter for 6 months or so as it gets snow-bound with sub-zero temperatures. The inhabitants of Mana are mainly Indo-Mongolian tribals and it is the last village on the borders of Indo-China region. The backdrop of snow covered mountains and glaciers in Mana is a captivating sight.

Earlier on this blog, I've posted another picture on the way to Mana Village where I've set in a nutshell my Journey to Garhwal in July-August this year.

Previous SWF:

• Sky Watch Friday
• Sky Watch Friday: VoF
  

Ataraxis

At the Badrinath Temple


Seize the day, and put the least possible trust in tomorrow.
- Horace

Journey to Garhwal

Highlights of the Journey

July - August, 2008

• While on the way from the airport to the residential parts of Delhi early morning, an interesting sight of the water-carrying, orange-clad kanwarias carrying decorated paraphernalia on their shoulders.
  

Kanwarias of Haridwar

• Alighting from the Mussorie Express early morning, a walk on the streets of Haridwar towards the banks of the river Ganga amongst more Kanwarias, and many pilgrims, young and old, and when compared to those, a few tourists. Surprise at the sight of the huge number of pilgrims at the Hari-Ki-Pauri, most of whom seeking absolution early morning with a dip in the sacred river, The Ganges.

Pilgrims at Hari-Ki-Pauri at 7:20 am

• After a walk up to the great Shiva statue, onwards to Rishikesh, the Yoga capital of the world, for a leisure walk to Ram Jhula, the ghats and beyond to discover the charm of the place to end up with a hearty breakfast at Chotiwal.

Ram Jhula, the bridge over River Ganges

• A journey through the foothills of the Himalayas passing through scenic Devprayag, where lies one of the five sacred confluences when the Bhagirathi River joins the Alaknanda River to form The Ganges.

On the way to Devprayag shot from a moving bus

• The journey for the day to continue right up to Rudraprayag, another confluence where the Mandakini River originating from Kedarnath joins the Alaknanda that originates from Badrinath.

The confluence as seen from the balcony of the GMVN

• The mostly uphill journey to Karnaprayag, the place of confluence of the Alaknanda and Pindar Rivers, another important pilgrimage spot for many.

From moving cab, on the way to Karnaprayag

• Roadblock lasting hours due to landslide between Nandaprayag and Chamoli and an unexpected mini-trek with the backpack to the base of valley, and then to cross a mountain stream - with gushing waters with fairly strong currents - with the help of locals and other travellers who ventured to undertake the difficult route through the wilderness. This was followed by a steep climb in the noon sun to emerge panting at the other end of the road for onward journey to Chamoli and was undertaken to avoid a long wait for hours for the roadblock to be cleared.
  

Unusual traffic on the road to Chamoli

• Journey through beautiful scenery, where quite often the mountain road showed signs of recent landslides and cleared paths right up to Joshimath.

View of a road in Joshimath from cable car

• A cable car ride to enjoy majestic and serene Auli and the joy of watching the change in hue of the mountain peaks at dawn for hours together till it was time to move on after an open air breakfast at sunrise.

A peek at Nanda Devi peak from Auli at dawn

• The ropeway ride again to enjoy the morning vista up to Joshimath for onward journey to pass through more awesome mountain scenery till Govindghat.

A pause before the long trek from Govindghat

• The thrill of setting out on the first planned long trek from Govindghat, passing through Bhyundhar village to end up hours later at the small mountain village of Ghangaria (also referred as Govind Dham).

Ghangaria

• Rested and reinvigorated next morning, setting out on the much anticipated trek to the Valley of Flowers.

A small section of the almost 90 sq km of Valley of Flowers

• Setting out on another trek - unplanned but certainly worth it - to Hemkund, a holy place for Sikhs, the valley having the most exotic mountain flora including the Brahm Kamal and the Blue Himalayan Poppy.
  
  

A glacier on a misty day on the way to Hemkund

• Yet another trek returning from Ghangharia to Govindghat and then the beautiful scenery of the Himalayan landscape during the journey from Govindghat to Badrinath via Pandukeshwar and Hanuman Chatti.

Badrinath Temple

• A final trek begun at dawn from Badrinath to the beautiful village of Mana at the borders with Tibet, and return to Badrinath.

On the way to Mana village

Return journey over the next few days from Badrinath to Govindghat – Joshimath – Chamoli – Rudraprayag – Rishikesh – Haridwar – Delhi – Mumbai and to my final destination.

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