panchkedar trek

The Panch Kedar trek - Mahayana

2009-10-31T11:20:00.000-07:00

The name Himalayas evokes different emotions. For some it is the land of high mountains and wonderful sceneries. Many others consider the territory as the divine sanctuary impregnated with mysteries surrounding enlightened wandering ascetics, mystic yogis and tibetan lamas possessing supernatural powers. The mountains are the universities of spiritual knowledge where, over the the centuries, the unbroken chain of Himalayan Yogis conducted meditative experiments to explore the secrets of mind and consciousness while metamorphising into highly evolved and self-realised beings. It is also a land of legends and myths.

There is not a region in India which holds such an anthropological diversity – we find people of Indo-Iranian, Mangoloid, Central Asian and Indo-Aryan ethnicities living in several pockets and having religious beliefs in Hinduism, Christianity, Budhism, Islam and some even practicing central asian Shamanism. It is the combination of adventure, unparalleled beauty of nature, solitude, temples and places having spiritual vibes and the opportunity to interact with godmen that entices and drags me there. The treks provide me an escapism from the so called “civilized world” into another zone which operates with a different set of rules. Here we succumb to the forces of nature and God. Our life is at the mercy of mother nature.

The mountains also hold several ancient Hindu temples of importance. I chose Panchkedar trek in 2009. Panchkedar consists of five Shiva temples (Kedarnath, Madhamaheshwar,Tunganath, Rudranath and Kalpeshwar) spread 140 km over the Uttaranchal Himalayas - accessible by trekking on the steep mountain footpaths , crossing scores of water falls , beautiful meadows and virgin villages perched on the mountain peaks and deep forests ruled by bears, leopards and deers.

I passed through villages very little influenced by the outside civilization and exhibiting an ancient charm. Life moves at a slow rhythm and with utmost tranquility and peace. The beauty of nature can not be described by words nor can be captured in any frame of photography. A village might consist of 10-15 houses - old houses having wooden walls , mud plastered floor and roof covered with sliced stones. Almost all the villages are provided with Solar photovoltaic panels at subsidised rates by the government. Agriculture ( different varieties of rice , wheat , lentils etc ) is their mainstay. The size of the land and the count of the cows/goats symbolizes wealth , but in our world outside the mountains cash stashed in Bank accounts defines wealth. Enviously, they almost lead a currency free life and engage in the ancient barter system which ensures that farm produce is exchanged which is very practical considering the remoteness of the villages and considering that many villages are cut off from the rest of the world for six months of the year during the winter. I was charmed by the simplicity and courtesy of the villagers. For people like me escaping from the mean and fast urban civilization and concrete jungles, meeting a villager with a smiling face and a welcoming "pranam" with folded hands is more than enough to transport to salvation.

For a person living in the plains at sea level, it was a punishing trek for the body through the high mountains. It is not rare to find wild animals( one strategy we discussed to save our life from Wild Bear - run down the mountain and the bear will not be able to attack since its eyes will be blocked by the falling hair !! good gracious , we did not encounter Mr.Bear to test this idea). I sighted only 2 leopards , wild boars & porcupines. The leopards were surprisingly shy of humans.

I clocked 10-15 km uphill on many days skipping lunch and eating dinner very late. In order to stick to the itinerary and schedule , I even covered distances in the night. But it was a dangerous decision to move in the night due to the threat of animals around. I still can not reach a conclusion which is tough - walking up or down. But I was let down by my weak lungs pulling a heavy 97 kg body.The continous climb and perpetual sweating was pretty much exhausting. After having completed the journey overcoming these hurdles, I realize that it is the triumph of the mind ( emboldened by the strong will) over the body. Fear of death is the foremost enemy that needs to be conquered and once the fear element is neutralised , the mind gets strong ( the sages say : dwaitad vai bhayam bhavati, advaitad vai amritah bhavanti => fear derives from duality, from the desire for self preservation. Fear of death can not be won over unless one realizes his unity with the non-dual absolute and as long as the person perceives himself/herself as an individual, the person remains afraid of losing the individuality )

Legend - Mahabharat era

The Pandavas after annihilating the Kauravas in the Kurukshetra war went to the Himalayas to meet Lord Shiva, but the Lord tried to avoid the meeting due to the Gotra Hatya commited by them , disguised as a bull tried to plunge beneath the ground. But Bhima was quick and caught the the bull by the hind legs. In the struggle that followed, the different parts of Lord Shiva's body appeared at various places in the Himalayas. The forelegs showing up at Pashupatinath in Nepal, the rump of the bull at Kedarnath, the torso including the navel at Madhmaheshwar, the arms at Tungnath, the face at Rudranath, and the matted hair at Kalpeshwar

on Rudra - Shiva

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Since the trek was around Shiva temples , let me present a detailed account of this feared God of India.

The ancient Indus Valley civilization ( 3000 BC) mentions “the Horned God” which is the prototype Shiva . He is the foremost god of the Hindu Trinity pantheon . He is the great annihilator and re-creator. The destruction is effected by the “inner” fire emanating from the third eye. He is Hara, representing the death & sleep and the Mahakala, the great time keeper.

Shiva-Rudra is the Lord of the beasts ( Pashupati) and the God of the yogis and a Himalayan God with the Kailas mountain and Manasarovar lake as his abode. He is also known as the dancing god or Nataraj famous for the Shiv Tandav - the vigorous form of cosmic dance. The ancient authoritative treatise on Indian dance - Natya Shastra authored by Bharat Muni describes that the tandav is accomplished with 108 karanas and 32 anghaharas. The dance is the manifestation of five elements : creation , destruction , preservation , salvation and illusion.

The worship of Shiva and his consort is marked with the symbolism of the Vedic fire sacrifice. All the Shaivaite yogis maintain individual Dhuni ( fire place ). It is worthwile to note that the fire rituals performed to appease the Gods were prevalent in all such ancient cultures practising solar religions - the Greeks, Romans, Kelts, Germans, Egyptians, Persians, Babylonians, Chinese , American Indians etc

Interestingly , Shiva represents extreme asceticism and extreme eroticism and his body shows feminine and masculine features transcending the opposites - symbol of the androgynous unity of polarities. His drum Damaru produces the primordial sound which is the source of music , Sanskrit language and all knowledge.

Panchkedar Itinerary , Map

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Panch kedar Trek 2009

Day 1 : Fri 18 Sept => Rishikesh – Gaurikund.
Day 2 : Sat 19 Sept => Gauri Kund – Kedar Nath trek ( 14 km)
Day 3 : Sun 20 Sept => Kedarnath – Gaurikund-Guptkashi-Kalimath Drive. Trek to Kalshila Temple( night trek , 6km) and camp
Day 4 : Mon 21 Sept => Kalshila – Ransi -Gaundhar (15 km ) trek .
Day 5 : Tue 22 Sept => Gaundhar –Madmaheshwar (10km ) Camp
Day 6 : Wed 23 Sept => Madmaheswar – Gaundhar – Ransi-Uniana trek (19 km] and drive to Chopta in the night.
Day 7 : Thu 24 Sep => Chopta – Tunganath trek ( 3km). Rest day,
Day 8 : Fri 25 Sep : Tunganath – Chopta trek ( 3km) , drive to Mandal and night trek to Mata Anasuya Temple ( 6 km)
Day 9 : Sat 26 Sep : Anasuya – Hans Bugyal ( 8 km) Camp
Day 10 : Sun 27 Sept=> Hans bugyal – Rudranath – Panar trek ( 17 km) camp
Day 11: Mon 28 Sept => Panar – Dumak ( 9 km ) trek. Camp
Day 12: Tue 29 Sept => Dumak – Urgam (14km) trek
Day 13 : Wednesday 30 sept =>Urgam - Kalpeshwar – Urgam – roadhead trek ( 6 km ) and drive to Joshimath and Badrinath.
Day 14 : Thu 01 Oct => Badri dham
Day 15 : Fri 02 oct => Badrinath - Rishikesh drive.

Tour Manager : Mr.Pushpendra Rawat of www.peacetrips.com who hails from Utteranchal and doing a wonderful job of ecological conservation and running an NGO for the conservation of the Uttaranchal Himalayas.

Day 14. Badrinath

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the Badrinath - abode of Vishnu at a height of 3133 msl. The temple, which has a colourful facade typical of Budhist temples , lies between the Nar and Narayan mountains and on the bank of river Alaknanda. One of the attractions near the temple is the Tapth Kund which is a natural thermal spring. Badri refers to a berry which grew abundantly in the area and Nath means Lord. Legend says Goddess Lakshmi took the form of berries to provide nourishment to Lord Vishnu who was observing a long penance at that place. It is believed that 2000 years back the great sage Shankaracharya from Kerala re-instated the idol which was thrown into Alaknanda by the Budhists and established an order of Priests called Namboodiris from Kerala which is still being continued. The mountains around Badrinath is mentioned in the Mahabharath. The Pandavs shed their body ascending to Heaven through the Swargarohini. I had trekked to Swargarohini and Satopant tal 3 years back ( link of photo album : http://community.webshots.com/user/sheineshk) which was tough trek through active glaciers. The Badrinath temple is closed during winter between November - May.

There is a village , Mana, 3 km up which is known as the "last village on Indian side" and inhabited by semi nomadic Indo-Mangolian tribe called Marchas. Indo-China border is a few kilometers away. Mana occupied a prominent place on the Indo-Tibet trade route which pass through Mana pass, but the border was closed by China in 1950s. Mana was a prosperous village in 17th century as per the accounts of the Jesuit priests.

Day 13. Fifth Kedar : Kalpeshwar

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from the top

pic 1 : Nanda Devi mountain illuminated by the last rays of the day. I was fortunate enough to shoot this picture since the light faded off in a few minutes

pic2 : group of goats being led by the shepherds and the Bhotia dogs to the next grazing spot .

pic3: picturesque Urgam village and the Urgam valley

pic4 : saint 'Mauni Maharaj' of Kalpeshwar. The learned saint who lectured me an an hour disclosed that he observed silence for 3 years. His face radiate with a spiritual glow blessed by the long years of meditation.

pic5 : Kalpeshwar temple - the fifth Kedar symbolising the matted hair of Shiva. The temple is open throughout the year. This place was much preferred by the ancient Himalayan sages for meditation. Durvasa meditated under a Kalpvriksh here.

Day 12.trek to Kalpeshwar : Damuck village to Kalpeshwar

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Damuck village where I stayed overnight.

from the top

pic1 : a typical house

pic2 : Damuck village - which is a group of 20-25 houses at the top of this mountain

pic 3 : the Nanda devi mountain glowing in the twilight. what a majestic mountain !

pic 4: another mountain range around Nanda devi

Day 11.trek to Kalpeshwar : Toli tal - Damuck village

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from top

pic1: Toli Tal - a very wide lake in the middle of a beautiful meadow of the size of several football fields. It seemed the buffalos and cows made the lake their private property. They could go for a swim after a tiring day of grazing.

pic 2 : refreshing bath in the cold wild stream - natural shower.

pic 3-4 : cooking lunch near a stream.

Day 11. Trek to Kalpeshwar : Panar - Damuck through Toli Tal

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From Panar , it was a steep downhill through the forest, my ankles and knees were aching like hell. wow , after a few kilometers , it was a delight to the eyes to find this heavenly lake in the middle of wilderness. It looked like an English / Scottish country side with the flock of sheeps.

Day 11.trek to Kalpeshwar : Camping at Panargupha

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pics 1-4 : Camping site at Panar. We reached Panar by 11pm from Rudranath. It was very cold ( 5 degree celcious) and tent was fixed in no time and cooked hot rotis and curry. We realised the beauty of the camping spot the next day morning. It is one of those dream locations to pitch a tent. the last picture was taken near our tent - shows a lamb just born in the morning.

Day 10. Rudranath- Panargupha

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I reached Rudranath around 5 pm. It was drizzling for a few minutes and then the clouds cleared and the sky opened up revealing the marvellous sights of the peaks glowing in the evening sunshine - a shutterbug's delight. It may sound rediculous , but in fact a trekker prays for rain so that the clouds clear off.

Day 10. Fourth Kedar : Rudranath Temple

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Rudranath temple - very much tranquil and divine place sans the crowd and concrete jungle - perfect for meditation. The temple is encircled by many Himalayan peaks including the Trishul. The nearby Vaitharani stream is revered by the believers ( myth is that the soul of the dead passes over the water and attain salvation).

Day 10.trek to Rudranath : crossing the steep pass over Hans bugyal

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the views that transport one to ecstacy.

started the day's trek from Hans Bugyal and it took 2 hours for me to climb to the summit of the mountain and cross over to continue to Rudranath. Pic 2 - look at the lilac flowers of some grasses found on the meadow . a thing of beauty is the joy for ever!

Day 10.Trek to Rudranath: Hans bugyal

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views of the Hans Bugyal - beautiful meadow where I found the ashram of a Vaishnav saint called Swami Ramand Das . What a perfect solitute and devine atmosphere to meditate.

The day's walk was started at Anasuya temple. I was not sure about reaching Rudranath by the end of day since my pace was slow - it was a steep climb and the very look at the peak from the base literally drained my energy. Hours and hours passed and I was not anywhere near the peak.By the time i reached this bugyal at 4 pm , it was getting dark and clouded and I was very weak by exhaustion and hunger but still I vividly recollect - seeing me dragging myself up the ridge, the Swami made Dalia ( recipe of broken wheat with vegetables) and fed me. The God presents himself in the form of food for the hungry.

day 9. trek to Rudranath: Anasuya temple to Hans Bugyal

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pic 1-3 : deep forest.

the last 2 pictures show the anasuya temple and the village from the opposite mountain : viewed through telephoto lens. It took 2 hours of walk to reach this place.

Day 9.trek to Rudranath : Mata Anasuya temple

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Mata Anasuya Temple and the village. I reached the place by 7pm just in time for the evening bhajan at the temple. slept like a baby at the village tea shop shown above. All the villagers gather around the fireplace for gossiping.

below : ad against bhrun hatya invoking religious symbols to convince the village folk. excellent strategy.

Day 8 views - Tunganath valley

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views : coming down from Tunganath temple.

Day 8. flowers at Tunganath valley

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god's garden. views of the valley decorated with wild flowers : walking downhill from Tunganath.

Day 7.flowers being offered at Tunganath temple

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flowers ( gathered from the mountain around the temple) being offered by devotees

Day 7.campsite at Tunganath and the magnificent sceneries

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campsite , a few meters from the edge of a cliff at Tunganath. it was bone biting cold at night (around 5 degree celcius). Tunganath offfers (Chandrasila ) 360 degree view of all the peaks including Chaukumba , Kedar ranges , Nanda Devi range etc. But it was heavily clouded and views were very limited. Those who trekked to Chandrasila at 4am, braving the cold and mist, were disappointed . better luck next time.

Day 7. third kedar : Tunganath Temple

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Day 6.sighting of leopards near Chopta

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two leopards enountered on the way near Chopta at night and the animal was kind enough to hide in a bush and patient enough to pose for the photographs without making us his biriyani !! the villagers were commenting that I was lucky since it was very rare to sight 2 leopards .

Day 6 : scenic views on the way from Madhmaheshwar to Ransi

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different views of the waterfall. what if Raj Kapoor was alive ?

Day 6. Second Kedar : Madhmaheshwar temple

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Madhmaheshwar temple and camping place. This ancient shrine is at a height of 3289 meters.

Day 5.trek to Madhmaheshwar temple from Gaundhar village : views

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views on the way to Madhmaheshwar temple.

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pic1,3 : It was a dream come true- I walked through many moving clouds. It was a surreal atmosphere. look at the sight of the green mountains surrounded by mist

pic2 : a tea shop called "Panchvati" with a well maintained garden. The food was excellent.

pic4 : a view of the valley from Panchvati hotel, the serpentine trek trail is seen at the right side of the river.

picture 5 : the Gaundhar village . The uphill climb to Madhmaheshwar starts from here.

Day 4. Kalshila - Ransi trek views

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fields and roads around a village as seen from the opposite mountain

bird's eye view of a valley

the mountain track

Day4. Kalshila temple

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Kalshila - Goddess Kali worshipped on the big rock - very steep climb through dense forest, notorious for wild bear attacks , 8 km from Kalimath temple. I had to crawl over the rock to the edge and get down near to the corner flag to reach the place of worship !!! - I was literally standing on the edge of a rock at the peak of a high mountain while the priest was chanting vedic mantras - truely unforgettable ! Vertical height is about 1.5 km from Kalimath!.

view of the Kali temple near the rock.
note on Kali :
Kali / Durga is an ancient Hindu goddess, the counter part of Shiva ( Shiva-Shakti) mentioned with symbolism in the Vedas. The Goddess who is the union of several earth and fertility goddesses is mentioned in the Upanishads as the name of the first tongue or flame of the sacred fire – Agni which is the personification of the feminine aspect of the fire sacrifice. The highest sacrifice is the self sacrifice which is symbolic of the Ego being offered to the divine.

Day 3. Kalimath temple

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a country river

Kalimath temple which is a famous sidha peeth - a unique temple architecture with 360 degree open view. There is a steady stream of tantriks here.

Day 3 : Kedarnath - Gaurikund trekking down

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path upto kedarnath is well maintained and widened . the best maintained insfrastructure among kedars.

view of the kedar range from below.

a waterfall by the path to Kedarnath.

Day 2. Ascetics at Kedarnath

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sadhus at Kedarnath

Sadhus represent the unbroken chain of truth-seekers from the vedic times. They explore the inner light and connect to the universal consciousness ( macrosm or the absolute ) through individual consciousness ( soul or atman ) by re-programming their bodies through intense sadhana ( renunciation , spiritual discipline , celibacy , austerities) . They are able to pierce the 4 layers of mind to establish the connection and reach self-realized state and Samadhi. Many of them possses supernatural powers or siddhis.

The Indian spiritual practices lays emphasize on the inner realization. Sadhana is akin to polishing a diamond – the rigorous practice of cleaning a rock to reveal the sparkling diamond within. Our body is the living shrine of the divine ( deho devalaya proktha) and the single minded and disciplined meditation and sadhana enables us to discover the divinity inside and tune into the cosmic consciousness. According to the sages, being born as a human is a great opportunity and we should not fail to obtain the highest realization before losing the body.

The great Shankaracharya who lived during AD 800, remarkable for the Hindu Renaissance by codifying and creating an Organizational structure for Hinduism, established Maths on the four corners of India and defeated the Budhist and Jainist influence , created Dashnami order for shaiv sanyasis. The Dashnami order signified by the surname of the monks : Giri / Puri / Bharathi / Vana / Aranya / Parvata / Sagara / Thirtha / Ashrama / Saraswati . Apart from Sanyasis there are special types : the dandis , the brahmacharis , the viraktas and the Nagas. The Nagas who are mostly nude wearing only ashes representing the Digambar ( Shiva) are very individualistic and the most famous Naga regiment comes from Juna Akhara. All such sects of sanyasis are seen during the Kumbh Melas. Haridwar will host the Maha Kumbh during Jan – March 2010.

Day 2 . First kedar - The Kedarnath Temple

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The Kedarnath temple, the most important among shiva temples, at the foot of snow clad peaks, 3584 meters high . The pilgrim has to trek uphill 14 km after taking bath at a hot spring in Gauri Kund. The trek progresses through dense forests . Those who are not medically fit to walk can hire horses.
front and rear views of the temple. the third picture shows a Tamil connection.

Behind the temple lies the final resting place of Shankaracharya. The temple is closed for 6 months from November to April due to heavy snow fall and the idol is taken to a village down the valley.

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