Har-Ki-Dun
Few days with nature
by D. Baskar, June'1998
It all began in Nov'97, when it was decided to have a separate trekking club in our company M/S. ABB Ltd. A trekking coordinator was identified and given the task of coordinating a trekking expedition to the Himalayas during 1998. A number of treks which offer an abundance of the Himalayan beauty along with its flora and fauna were identified and finally the choice was narrowed down to Har-ki-Dun, a popular trekking route in the Garhwal Himalayas at an altitude of 11,700 feet. Har stands for Lord Shiva and Dun implies valley, and Har-ki-Dun is therefore also called "Valley of the Gods".
Har-ki-Dun is situated in the Western Garhwal, on the base of Fateh Parvat. This cradle shaped valley, South-east of Jaundiar glacier is surrounded by dense forests of pine, deodhar and other coniferous trees and is totally covered by a blanket of blue and purple flowers. The surrounding forest is rich in wild life and exotic birds and forms part of the Govind wildlife Sanctuary and National Park, Uttarkashi. The main snow clad peaks visible from here are Swargarohini, Banderpunch and Kalanag.
After selection of the trek, seven members confirmed their participation. Two weeks before the trek the team met and responsibilities for all the pre-trek activities like; Photography, medicines to be bought and carried along, dry rations to be bought and carried along, cooking and serving utensils, hiring ruck sacks and sleeping bags, travel arrangements and snacks for the trek, was given to the various team members. Later the members were briefed about the trek and its route and given a list of preferred personal items to be carried along with them for the trek.
Finally on 1st May'1998 at 10 PM the team assembled at Old Delhi station and boarded the Mussoorie Express for Dehradun with our ruck sacks and provisions to start our journey to Sankri, the starting point of the trek. Once the train left Delhi, all of us being tired after a hard week went to sleep immediately. At 7:45 AM next day we reached Dehradun and immediately proceeded to the bus stand. As the direct bus to Sankri had left early in the morning, we took a bus to Vikas Nagar taking 3 hrs of journey and from there to Purola. The trip to Purola took 6 hrs. At Purola we took another bus to take us to Mori, the gateway to Sankri. Due to paucity of space in the bus, we sat on the roof of the bus along with our belongings. The bus took us through a very picturesque route, lined with pine trees and Deodars, the rocks covered with firns, planktons and exotic flowers and the weather was cool and very comforting. All the days tiredness was gone as we sat there on top of the bus, assimilating the beauty of the mountains. Such was the magnificence of the surrounding that even when the bus was partly empty, all of us refused to come down and preferred to continue on the rooftop till the end of the journey.
From Mori we took a jeep and it took over an hour to reach Sankri and in between, we were stopped by the forest guard to pay entry free to the Govind Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park. We reached Sankri at 8 PM and immediately took shelter in Garhwal Mandal Nigam guest house perched on top of a hillock and offering a fantastic view of the Himalayas. We had dinner at a local dhaba. We decided to start the trek from taluka instead of Sankri, as the route to taluka from Sankri has become motorable and jeeps were plying to and fro.
Next morning, the 3rd of May, we got up at 5 AM and were ready to leave for the Jeep trip at 6 AM. After tea at the dhaba and booking the forest guest house at Osla and Har-ki-Dun at local forest house, we left for Taluka. The jeep trip took around an hour and half on a rocky path through a very dense forest and after crossing several streams.
We took a short break for tea and breakfast at a local dhaba at Taluka. Immediately afterwards we negotiated with a porter to carry our common luggage, help in cooking food and to be used as a guide for the trek. We gave some food to a hungry dog who was loitering nearby and the dog was so happy that it joined our group and was with us for the next 5 days.
It was 8:30 Am on 3rd May, when we started for the trek to Osla. The distance from Taluka to Osla was 16 KM and we had to climb from 7200 ft (Taluka) to 8500 ft (Osla). The trek all along was parallel to river Tons and its tributaries and for the first few kilometers we crossed several fields and small rivers. There were two villages on the route. First village we crossed was Datmer, comprising of about 30-40 hutment's. All the villagers, including their children were busy working in the fields. On the way we crossed a very large herd of sheep and mountain goats, who were being taken by their owners for grazing. In the hills, the wealth of individuals is generally judged by the number of sheep/goat he possesses and also the local inhabitants take great pride in displaying and talking about their animals. The next village on our trek was Gangar. The village was high up on the slopes and there was a small dhaba, which was part of the village on our path. We took a short break at the dhaba and took biscuits and boiled eggs over a cup of tea. There was a stream nearby and all of us drank the cool and refreshing water and filled our water bottles for the balance trek. The short break did wonders for all of us. We then took off for the balance trek to Osla. After 3 hours of trekking, our rucksacks were feeling heavier and heavier and our feet were aching. After a strenuous journey for almost 2 hours we reached Seema by 2 PM, a village near Osla where the forest guest house is located.
On reaching the forest guest house, we met the caretaker who gave us a very warm welcome on learning that we had taken permission from the Ranger at Sankri for the stay. He provided us 3 bedrooms, with 2 beds each for the night. All the bedrooms had coirfoam mattresses and a fireplace as well. After a rest, we went to a nearby stream to have bath and wash our clothes. The water was very chilly and it took a lot of courage to pour the first mug of water on ourselves. After that there was no looking back and the feeling was so refreshing that we went on pouring mug after mug. Having freshened up, we went to a local dhabha for lunch. After Some rest we then started to prepare for dinner and next day's brunch. We made around 25 stuffed paranthas for the next day. These paranthas were then packed in aluminum foil along with pickle and distributed to all members. Then we proceeded to make rice and Dal for dinner. Dinner was taken early at around 7:30 PM as we had a tough trek ahead and wanted to retire to bed early. Also as there was no electricity and as we wanted to conserve our candles and torches, it was thought better to retire early to bed.
On 4th May, we started at 6 AM to proceed to our destination, Har-ki-Dun. All of us had a good night sleep and were charged up for the trek. The distance from Seema to Har-ki-Dun was 14 kms and we had to climb from 8500 ft (Seema) to 11700 ft (Har-ki-Dun). The path started with a concrete bridge crossing the river tons and after that there was a steep incline upwards for almost a kilometer. The path had a lot of loose rocks and pebbles and we had a tough time in getting a grip on the loose pebbles. After the steep climb, our path crisscrossed green wheat fields, meadows and several small streams. We had frequent halts for resting, filling water and photography on the way. We came across a point where the path was destroyed by a landslide and there was hardly a foot of walking space available, with the mountain on one side and a steep drop of more than a thousand feet on the other side. Also the path was full of small rocks and loose soil and it was very difficult to get a safe grip on it. We managed to cross the path and after another stretch of trek took a break for lunch near a small spring. We had glucose, consumed our packed lunch and after an hour break again pulled our rucksack and started for the magnificent valley of the gods.
After covering a couple of tough climbs we could see a couple of cottages just across a river. The sight of our destination charged us up and we walked briskly towards it. We reached Har-ki-Dun at around 1:30 PM. It was bright and sunny and we spent the next hour relishing the exotic environment. The forest rest house where we were to stay was surrounded by snow clad mountains on four sides with fast moving milky clouds covering its tops and was on a hillock between two streams with water swirling around and cascading at a very fast pace. The view was so enchanting and picturesque that one of us remarked that "this is indeed the valley of the gods". After rest and freshening up we sat together and had tea and decided that having come all the way to the valley, it is imperative that we stay for another day and enjoy the serenity of the place.
The next day we prepared breakfast from the provisions we brought after which five of us decided to explore the glaciers nearby and our other two members decided to take rest alongside the river. The main glacier was about 9 kms from the guest house covering an area of 12 sq. Kms. It took about 3 hrs to reach the glacier by walking along the beautiful valley covered with fresh lush green meadow spotted with bright flowers and small glaciers dotting across. The last 4 kms was tougher with lots of rock climbing and crossing of several cascading streams to do. With fresh white soft snow everywhere and a clear blue sky filling up the background it was a real magical world out there treating us with an enchantic view of nature's beauty. The body aches and pains vanished while the sense of achievement made us to thought that every human has lot of other things to see or to do in his life other than to worry about the day-to-day happenings. We came back to our guest house for a late lunch.
There was a Czech medical student camping on the river bank on his own who gave us good company in the evening with his experiences during his trek from Czech to India by road through China and Nepal.
The next day 6th May we left at 7 AM for Osla/Seema. As the path was mostly downward, the trek was quite enjoyable and we had a brief halt after crossing the land slide point for our breakfast consisting of poories with pickle and jam. We reached Osla around 11:30 AM and as soon as we reached the forest guest house the rain started. The rain continued throughout the day and was to continue till next day. In between we managed to go to the nearby dhaba for lunch and dinner.
Morning we got up around 6 AM, and were depressed as it was still pouring outside. Around 9:30 AM the rain slowed down and all of us scrambled to pack our bags and as soon as the rain stopped we were ready to move. It took us over 4 hrs to reach Taluka. At Taluka, we paid off our porter and had a break for Lunch at the local dhaba. Lunch was quite good comprised of potatoes, dal, rice and roti along with omlette and was the first proper meal of the day. After a short rest, we proceeded to Sankri at 4 PM. After an hour and half of trek, we came to a point where a stream was overflowing on the road due to overnight rains, the current was strong and water was two feet deep. While searching for a safe way to cross the stream we saw a local Gujjar cross the stream and come to our side. This gave us the confidence and we crossed the stream one by one. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when the ordeal was over and then we proceeded to Sankri.
At Sankri, we again stayed at the same Garhwal Mandal guest house. After dinner at the dhaba and we went to bed early. On 8th May morning, we got up early and caught the direct bus from Sankri to Dehradun, which departed at 5 AM. After a 11 hour journey we reached Dehradun and started to Delhi by Shatapdi express which departed at 5 PM. In the train while some of us were catching up with the happenings of the country for the last 7 days while we were on move, others were savoring their sweet memories during their trail at the magnificent Himalayas.
Info for fellow trekkers
Route Delhi - Dehradun - Vikas Nagar - Purola - Mori - Netawar - Sankri - Taluka - Seema (Osla) - Har-ki-Dun
The best time for the trek is from May -to- June and Sep -to- Oct. A Nice and enjoyable trek, with plenty of fresh water all the way since the trek is along the Tons river course. Forest entry fee to be paid to UP forest department before reaching Sankri. Regarding accommodation, guest houses of both Garwal Mandal Vikas Nigam Ltd., and Forest guest houses are available at Sankri, Taluka, Seema and Har-ki-Dun, with the Garwal Mandal guest houses providing better toilet facilities, bed, pillows and rugs.
The native people living here are called "Garwali's" and their native tongue is garwali, but generally people speak Hindi also. The interesting thing here is that they worship "Pandavas". They have beautiful temples built for them and even they follow the Pandavas in their marriage, like in case of two or more brothers in a family, they will marry one girl only. This custom which was prevalent till last decade is diminishing now as the younger generation are bit literate. Most of the people here has cultivatable lands and goats. During summer they earn money with the influx of trekkers and tourists, while in winter, people normally stay indoors due to cold weather and spend time in drinking, dancing and singing.
