To watch the nature’s beauty at its best is an eternal bliss. Little did I know that one such present was waiting for me. All I had to do was to come out of the sleeping bag and open the tent’s zip!

Trishul and Kalidakh

It was 6AM in the morning, the grass in front of tent was misty green with numerous pearls of dew reflecting the Sun who had just managed to peep out of mountain ridge. The land abruptly ended and it was a bit cloudy but the beautiful snow covered peaks of Nandadevi sanctuary glowing gold sunbathing the first rays. With eyes still half opened, got hold of my camera and came out of the tent. There was Choukamba, Haati, Ghoda, Neelkant, Kedar range and Bandar poonch peaks on to East but were partially visible and Nandagunti, chanyakot, Trishul and Kalidakh on to south which were clearly visible.

Today’s trek was just a 3 hour one and we had to cover around 5kms. We could see half the route, ie. from Bedni to Ghoda loutani. We left the camp and leisurely started walking to the destiny. Every step was taking us closer to Trishul. This time I decided to be sweeper of the group with Rajesh and hence was kilometers behind the rest of the folks. The inclination was very less and the walk was comfortable. Nandagunti and Trishul began to disappear behind Kaluvinayak range.

On the way to Ghoda Loutani

Ghora Lotani

We took a break at Ghoda loutani. The name has an interesting story behind it. During British reign, their horses used to feed in this area and they would reach until this point grazing but return back and never go beyond. Hence named Ghoda Loutani. From this place, our campsite Pattar Nauchoni was steep down and was the only place where water spring was available. We reached campsite by 12:30.

Patar Nachauni Campsite

Mt.Mactoli - The source of Pindari glacier

It was a wise decision to reach the place before noon as it started raining just after we settled in our tents. The weather sent shivers down our spine as we had lunch inside the porters tent. The rains stopped after a while and the clouds partially cleared to reveal the majestic Mactoli and Mrigthuni peaks from which the famous Pindari glacier originate. Then there was majestic black Kalidakh posing with fresh snow on its rocky layers. As an add-on, there was a Rainbow at the base of Kaluvinayak forming a semicircled entrance ring to the mountain.Check this! I wondered, how many times in a lifetime do you get to see a rainbow below you?!!

It started to rain again and Smita, Poonam, Neelima, Deepak and myself sneaked into a tent. Zillions of topics – from photography till generation gap – came under the scanner until Rajesh summoned us for the dinner. The night after such a rainfall at 12500ft was our plight to deal with.

Choukamba and friends - View from Kaluvinayak

The next morning I was woken up early and forcefully dragged to start the climb without breakfast at 6:30AM by Poonam – well 90 minutes ahead of others. Nitin ji and Kunalji accompanied us. In a way it proved to be bonus as I got all the time in the world to click the photos and enjoy the beauty Himalayas can offer waiting for the lady to climb

Pattar Nachunia to Baghubasa is a 3 hour climb. The path is very steep and exhilarating and one needs to cross the mighty Kaluvinayak. Kaluvinayak is at 15000ft and claims a significant place in the history and mythology. This is the place where lord Ganesha stood guarding Kailash when maa Parvathi went to take bath in Roopkund. This was the place where Lord Shiva beheaded Ganesha and rejuvenated him with a tusker’s head.

Views from Kaluvinayak

Kaluvinayak temple

We reached Kaluvinayak by 9AM and began to explore the place before the rest of the team could reach the place. There is a Ganesh mandir at the peak which overlooks Mt.Trishul. We could see the Chanyakot – Kalidakh range completely and it houses our destination – Roopkund. The weather was at its best. Once everybody reached the place, we offered pooja to the Lord. The KMS team had bought sandalwood garland and sweets from Bengal to offer to the lord. Then Rajesh declared that we’ll be try to hit Roopkund the same day as the weather looks great!

Roopkund crater as seen from Bhagubasa

Climbers at Junargali Pass - as seen from Bhagubasa

On hearing this there was a sense of adrenaline rush and we raced towards Bagubhasa. The entire 2km path was rocky and we covered it in about 15-20 minutes. We blocked our tents and had to wait for the previous team to return from Roopkund and clear out the tents before we could occupy. By the time the other group came back, we noticed dark clouds appearing above Kalidakh. The views of the Roopkund crater looked very tempting. But we decided not to take a chance with weather and we’d try Roopkund the next day. We bid farewell to the team which had completed the summit successfully.

Frozen Plates - Dare wash it (Photo courtesy: Neelima)

As usual the 5 of us got inside a tent for some callous discussion when it started raining. I slid to sleep after a while. But when I got up, I could hear heavy sould of hailstorm and was surprised to see the entire campsite covered in fresh white snow.  Most of us shared a single plate for dinner to save ourselves from having to wash it in freezing water! The night was a sleepless one with rocky surface to sleep on and freezing temperature to deal with. There were Himalayan deers roaming our tent late at night.

Above all, how can one get sleep with the excitement of a rendezvous with Roopkund and Junargali the next day?!

Summary:

*Fastrack:  Bedini to Bhagubasa can be covered in 1 day (experienced trekkers). About 12kms in all.

*Slowtrack: It can be split into 2 days. Bedini – Patar Nachauni and Patar Nachauni – Kaluvinayak – Baghubasa.

*If there is no snowfall, Pattar Nachauni is the only water source on the route (there are a few small water springs). Hence carry a lot of water.

* Best time to visit : June-July , Sep-Oct.

*Average day temperature : Around 10 degrees. At night it might drop below zero.

*Pattar Nachauni to Kaluvinayak is a very steep climb(about 3 kms).

*Do respect Mountains. Do not throw/dispose plastic.