Garhwal: Rishikesh to Rudraprayag

The question is not what you look at, but what you see.
- Henry David Thoreau

The journey of approximately 140 kms from Rishikesh to Rudraprayag in the rickety bus that took more than 5 hours – most of the time climbing up the mountain roads – was not very comfortable, but the scenery I came across more than made up for the discomfort. Typical scenery was that of curving narrow mountain roads and no matter how limited in size the roads were, somehow two-way traffic was being skilfully maneuvred. The road was mostly through mountain gorges, plunging into deep valleys at the bottom of which flowed the Ganges. Being the monsoon season, the Ganga flowed in its full glory, accumulating rain water in addition to the waters of the melting glaciers originating from the Himalayas.

The Ganges flows on

To reach Rudraprayag, the journey took me through Devprayag (one of the five holy confluences or Panch Prayags) and Srinagar (not of the Jammu & Kashmir fame). Devprayag is another small mountain town situated at the confluence of the Bhagirathi River and the Alaknanda River. What I like about these mountain towns is their characterization by their natural beauty, religious significance, their lakes and glaciers, and the simple mountain folks who dwell there.

From a moving bus near Rudraprayag

The small pilgrim town of Rudraprayag is named so after the Hindu God, Rudra. It lies on the confluence of River Alaknanda that flows from the Alakpuri glacier beyond Badrinath and River Mandakini originating from Kedarnath.

River Alaknanda

The holy confluence is venerated by Hindu pilgrims and an ancient temple, Rudranath, is dedicated right at the confluence.

The Confluence of the Rivers

On my return journey at Rudraprayag, from the modest GMVN accommodation that I had stayed in, I also happened to watch an open-air cremation ceremony at the opposite bank of the River Mandakini. Earlier, I had only heard of disbursement of the ashes in the Holy Ganges, but this trip made me witness it. I watched the covered body consumed in flames, and then with the heat it vaporized into nothingness. At the end of the process, the ash was collected and then scattered into the water from the bank of the River Mandakini at the holy confluence. As soon as this was done, one by one the gathered folks left.

At the ghats of River Mandakini

It also made me introspect on the intricate issues of life. Life is short, and delicate. It would be nice to live it simple and in peace. Nothing is to be feared, it is only to be understood as Marie Curie said. I pondered on the decision of those mountain folks who opted for cremation. They dispose of their dead immediately in a simple ritualistic ceremony, and that must have certainly cost far less than the traditional burial ceremony. Then there is the environmental advantage as well.

View from balcony of GMVN at Rudraprayag

I got a feeling they appeared relaxed because they "think simple" without much drama. I am sure those mountain folk do not worry about the stock market crisis, or for that matter, anything that detracts them from the joy of living in simplicity. Now I see this post turning out long and I should immediately stop. My wisdom is limited to my awareness of my ignorance on these issues. Sounding philosophical on the death and meaning of life is not my cup of tea. After all, philosophy could get one killed, as it did Socrates!

As my destination was to travel higher up the mountains to Joshimath and Auli passing through Chamoli, the journey through and stopover at Rudraprayag was mainly for a night of rest and relaxation, and these are my observations of a peaceful evening spent there.

Sunflowers of Rudraprayag



How to reach Rudraprayag:

The nearest airport is Jolly Grant Airport at Dehradun, about 160 kms away and the nearest rail head is at Rishikesh 140 kms. Rudraprayag is connected by narrow roads with other tiny mountain towns of the region and has bus service to Haridwar, Rishikesh and Dehradun.

Recent Travel Posts:

• Garhwal: Rishikesh
• Garhwal: Haridwar
• A Journey to Garhwal
• A Tryst with the Himalayas

Garhwal: Rishikesh, the Yoga Capital of the World

Diagram borrowed and made over

After a captivating Morning Stroll in Haridwar of 3-4 kms, I was hungry but I wished to get away from the crowd to breakfast in quieter surroundings. So I hopped on a tuk-tuk (a jitney like contraption) to reach Rishikesh. The distance from Haridwar to Rishikesh is about 25 kms. As the sun began its ascent, it began to get warmer. As I jaunted in the tuk-tuk, the breeze blowing around was a welcome relief.

Outside Chotiwala

Once I reached Rishikesh, I was so fascinated with the place that I forgot about my hunger. It was only after another lovely stroll lasting for more than an hour that I finally settled down at Chotiwala, a popular restaurant for breakfast.

View through the famed suspension bridge of Rishikesh

The scenic beauty of the place, the freshness of the cool air, the sporadic chiming of the temple bells, the spectacle of the river Ganga flowing through the Himalayan foothills with temples dotting its banks created unforgettable memories. It is no wonder then that so many pilgrims, yoga students and tourists are drawn to Rishikesh and its ashrams from all over the world. I stopped over briefly at the Triveni Ghats, where devotees take holy dips and offer prayers. It was then that I made up my mind to spend more leisure time on my return journey.

Rishikesh, widely acclaimed as the Yoga capital of the world, reminded me of the Maharishi who was closely associated with the Beatles and was reported to have died in yoga posture earlier this year.

Lakshman Jhula

I passed through certain learning center for science, arts and culture and came across many so called holistic yoga retreats. Supposedly a scientific technique that is 5,000 years old, it is meant for spiritual and overall personality development, and I can vouch my experience with Yoga has had a vibrant and rejuvenating effect on me.

The Ganges, Rishikesh

Rishikesh is pretty popular for adventure sports and that includes river rafting, trekking, kayaking, rock climbing, rappelling etc. I was particularly interested in trekking to a place with a hidden waterfall that I had read about but my destination for the day was to head north to reach Rudraprayag before it got dark. In any case, Garhwal is a region I’d like to go time and again on endless treks I've dreamed about and hence, with Rishikesh being the gateway to the upper Himalayan regions, I’m confident of reaching the hidden waterfall during one such trip.

I enjoyed the misty morning in charming Rishikesh though I could not capture very good pictures. I decided to stop over for a longer time while coming back and spend an evening there.

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As my rendezvous with Rishikesh was on my return journey, including the Aarti at the Ganges, I intend to write about that part of my emotional experience in a separate post.

On my return journey during the Ganga Aarti

How to reach Rishikesh:

The nearest airport to Rishikesh is Jolly Grant situated at a distance of 25 kms from main Rishikesh town. One can travel by train till Haridwar and then take a road journey to Rishikesh. A road journey from Delhi, 250 kms away, takes about 6-7 hours.

Related posts:

• Garhwal: Haridwar
• A Journey called Life
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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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