Chardham Part-3; Kedarnath

Kedarnath dham

It was a long cherished dream to visit Kedarnath as it is one of the most important Jyotirlinga temples in India. Me and my wife were highly excited to start the trip and after passing Rudraprayag, we realised the toughness of the journey. Narrow road where only one vehicle can go at a time, sharp bends, and the high chances of landslides. At one point I literally shouted at the bus driver that the last wheel is about to fall in to a gorge while he was giving side to another car. 

Gupt Kashi is the nearest main town and a number of helipads can be found while moving towards Gourikund. We stayed overnight at a point called Phatta which is almost 1 hour away from Sonprayag, the base camp of Kedarnath. 

Early morning we started to Sonprayag. All yatris  should get themselves registered  and give the biometric at Gourikund in order to proceed further. The next part is to wait for your turn to board a jeep to Gourikund. Jeeps take pilgrims to a distance of almost 4 km uphill point i.e. Gourikund. 

Pilgrims start their trek to Kedarnath from here. The trek is of 16 k.m. according to the milestones displayed. The ponywalas, pittu and Palki wala offer you their services as the trek to Kedarnath is really a tough task. 

Waiting for our turn at Sonprayag . Jeeps charge you Rs. 20 to Gourikund

We started our trek at around 8.30 am. The initial phase was of very interesting as our energy levels were quite high. River Mandakini is flowing side by side and at distance along the route to Kedarnath. We carried Hot water, cup noodles and biscuits to have refreshments enroute. The small eating outlets were charging Rs. 20 for a cup of tea, Rs. 100 for rice and dal. Our legs get tired slowly and after reaching 3 k.m. called jungle chatti (forest area), we rested for a while. The crowd seems to be highly motivated as lot of groups were moving along with us. Mainly people from Rajasthan, Gujarat, UP, Haryana, were there. After jungle chatti the steepness gets a smooth pace and the next main resting point is Bheembali. A small temple reminds the forest life of Pandavas are here. This place is dedicated to Bheem, who removed the huge stones on their way to Kedarnath.

A newly constructed across River Mandakini at Bheembali

It was around 12.30 noon when we reached Bheembali. There is a helipad and health centre. Some makeshift shops are also around which offers food and rest. after a break of around 45 minutes we continued our journey. Before the Kedanath tragedy in 2013, there was a huge camp called Rambara, which accommodated yatris. Lot of small camps were here. But the river washed away everything. 

We could clearly see the route leading to the hill top (a zig zag route) but the fear came on face as really can we pass the hill in front. My bag was small, but still I felt it is heavy as if it is 20 kg or more. My feet was just moving and body and mind couldnot synchornise well. 

Rain started poring in between and we all get wet. It was chilling, dirt on feet and the movement of ponys and horses really made our trek a tough one. After taking rest for a while in a small tea shop we crossed Lincholi a 

The mist, clouds and fog stopped us for a while. We somehow reached a point called Linchauli. I was very happy after seeing lot of tents, but it was short living as it was only a temporary station for yatris we have to complete another 5 km ahead.

It was around 4.30 pm and the entire area was covered with fog. Rain drops started changed into a heavy rain and our plan for the day ended. We stayed in a makeshift camp meant for yatris. We found that the tent is a shared space and our one and only support is sleeping bag. We kept our shoes and sox outside of the tent, kept our bag in a corner. Slowly more yatris started coming and we realised the weather has changed drastically.