A Diary of Adi Kailash Om Parbat Trek

Tread softly, for this is holy ground;

                        It may be, could we look with seeing eyes,

                        This land we stand upon is paradise

                                                                                    Christina Rosetti

           

   Uttarkhand  with  Garhwal and Kumaon region is  Devbhumi – the land of gods.  Ever since my tryst with  Himalayas in 2005  the feeling of  the snow clad terrain ,  flowery valleys ,  frosty  peeks with peeping blades of grass ,ice  blanketed  lakes     all  with  mystic beauty use to fill my heart with  fragrance of   joy in my heart .   The great Himalayas beckon me year after year. This year, the call of the snow was to Adi Kailash and Om Parbat – the abode of Lord Shiva.

                       

                 The five sacred abodes of  Lord Shiva, are: Kailash Manasarovar (6639 metre)   in Tibet; Adi Kailash, or Chota Kailash ( 6190 metre) in Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand  abutting  Tibet;  Kinnaur Kailash (6050 metres) of Himachal Pradesh; Shrikant Mahadev Kailash, a rock face jutting out of a glacier stretch( 6510 mtr) and  the Manimahesh Kailash,(4080 metres) in the Pir Panjal Range  in Himachal Pradesh .

        Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam Ltd. (KMVN), has been conducting Adi Kailash/ Om Parbat trekking every year with the approval of Indian Mountaineering Foundation. My trekking friends agreed for Adi Kailash . We were   a batch of 11 trekkers – Ten of us (including the lone lady member, Mrs. Lucy Joseph and Sri C. Sivadasan from our Department) from Kerala and Shri Sree Ramn Guptha  from  Ghaziabad .  Our expedition started on July 23^rd night from Delhi  to reach Jageshwar on 24^th evening.

 Jageshwar

     Some 30 kms from Almora,    Jageshwar is the home of the  post gupta temple complex   of the same name spread in the midst dense  devadar trees.  Dedicated to  Lord Shiva worshipped  as foremost among shaktipeeths, it is spiritually connected to the 12 jyotirlingams.  We met  young radiant faced   Poojari of the  main temple  who  never minced words  expound  the place as the secret place of penance for the sages of  yore days and told  us   Jageswar as the only  one Mahamrityunjaya temple in the world.   Many of these temples were built between 8th century (early Katyuri Dynasty to 18th century (Chand Dynasty) and renovated during the reign of Katyuri King Shalivahandev.  Some idols are preserved in the museum of ASI   we were told that all those idols were stolen from the group of temples and retrieved later .  The shadows were becoming longer  and we  retired to   KMVN Guest house.

 Patal Bhuvaneshwar

              A bus journey of 91 kilometers from Pithoragarh (the district along the River Kali bordering  Nepal )  through mountainous Berinag, , splitting down to  left  to  Guptari  brought us  straight  to  the eponymous Patal Bhuvaneshwar, a mountain village   of a cluster of cute homes  in the  thick of  woods .  The cave-temple  complex Patal Bhuvaneshwar, is mostly unexplored and   believed to be with  several floors  closed forever during the Great Ages (Yugas).  Locals quoted  the narration of Sage Veda Vyas in Skandpurana,   on  Raja Ritupurna the first human to enter and witness the divine world  there down the lane of time  in Treta Yuga . The rediscovery and consecration of lingam  for worship here is attributed to Sage  Shankara   of 9 th Century the great exponent of Advaita. Since then the tradition  is carried  by a genealogical line of priests  to follow.  The slippery descend into the deepness of the  cave is eased by a long iron chain .  Strangely, the nature has shaped the rocks into  lords of   Hindu pantheon. The hood of Sheshnag…the torso of Lord Ganesha with Sastradal Kamal hanging over it…Goddess Bhuvaneshwari standing guard with her weaponry…the cursed Hans (the swan of Lord Brahma) with his head turned…the heavenly tree, Kalpavriksha…the udders of Kamadhenu…the Jatas (hair locks) of Lord Shiva…the Saptahrishimandal (the Seven Rishis)…the thousand legs of Airavat, the elephant of Lord Indra… all blooms out of from nowhere in the rock. Staggering and substantial. Tranquil and thoughtful… Deep and detached…All pointing to the sacred intelligence of mother Nature.

             Then  we proceeded to Dharchula,  the base camp for Adi Kailash and Kailash- Manasarovar yatris.  This  an ancient trading town surrounded by  high mountains on the banks of the river Kali.    We had  our orientation class  on  the routes, villages, the risk factors, etc.  We were to follow the route of the Kailash- Manasarovar yatris up to Nabidhang from where the Kailash- Manasarovar yatris cross the Lipulekh Pass and enter Tibet. The mountain sliding   along the dangourous  stretch along with the mighty river Kali  was fear evoking though not   deterrent.  But when the Yatra Adhikari  shown  the photograph of Shri Syam Jagathap, a previous batch yatri, who slipped down to the river Kali  leaving wihtout  a trail we looked each other, silently praying  for the mercy of the Great Mountain. We are here not to conquer; in our mind we folded our hands in fear and adulation   before the vast expanse of the great Mountain. Three more yatris joined us from Dharchula.

Dharchula – Gala

      A sound sleep made us eager for the next lap.  An hour jeep ride in the drizzling weather  brought us to  Greater Himalayan Ranges. Sparsely populated, this terrain in the  high altitude is a travellers dream with narrow valleys and  steep slopes, with villages appearing from nowhere. The  narrow ruggy motor road along  the valley  looked crude and savage. The serene scenic beauty, cascading waterfalls spouting  springs , singing streams, cool breeze, remnants of land slides, endless flow of roaring turbulent snow waters of River Kali; – all  evoked  mixed  feelings  beyond words.   A long and terrible walk of nearly 5 kms through the debris of previous nights mountain slides lead us to  Mangti . Now lay ahead the real trek of climbing a steep hill through a narrow pony path.  Awashed in the  monsoon the hills are bright and shining.  Soothing green grassy expanse expressed  the  ecstasy of nature.  Tired yet enjoying the pristine  beauty  of nature  we reached Gala around four  in the evening.  The gleaming faces   at  the camp made us forget  the tough trek. This is  the first lap  for  familiarization and acclimatization.    In the woods around we saw an  Egyptian Vulture feeding the young ones in the nest on  an Oak tree. Parenting is not confined to Homosapiens .  

 Gala - Budhi  

          Today is  27.7.10 the   fifth day of our trip .    With  a hot tea at 4 AM We  bid adieu to  Gala.  Our guide Joshi told us that breakfast would be at Lakhanpur, Lunch at Malpa and night stay at Budhi,
all weird names of distant villages. An easy walk of 1 km, on  level path  through terraced fields  brought us to Bindakoti.   We stood in adoration to survey the steep descent of the serpentine path of  over 4400 steps, each  falling one to two feet, carved out on the hard  rock. Across the valley of river Kali, the slopes of Nepal   with lush green vegetation was a refreshing sight.   Trekking  6 km  down in to 300mtrs (1000 ft)  elevation  we reached  Lakhanpur.  We  heard  the exhilarating roar  of   River Kali again. The next stretch was extremely dangerous and it was drizzling too.  Lean wild streams meandered down the steep slopes bringing   sand and pebbles. They rolled down to spew out in sprays  through  creaks of  rock projections  on the trekkers.   The oozing water from rock crevices ran crazy under our feet. This section of the road is carved out  of blocks of  vertical rock.  Missing the roof it is a half cut tunnel with   projections over-head.   We walked through the rising rock on the left and  open edge of  vertical fall of 20 feet  or more to  River Kali. The passage was low in height and narrow in width and therefore, we had to stoop in reverence. The  thorny stones , pebbles and boulders seem  crackle under our feet as we plod on . Corners enroute offered space to yield for the incoming mules or travellers.. Slowly and steadily we trudged  through tough climb  interspersed  with  rough descent  to  gain height steadily .  We were  following  up Kali  through the narrow valley.
 We reached Malpa by one O’ Clock. It is on the bank of Kali, surrounded by lofty mountains with sharp edges  piercing the sky. A naughty streame  Malpa-gad rushed  down  in its eagerness to join  Kali.  The remains of the landslide   by the  erstwhile camp site were  horrendous  reminders  of a the  tragic monsoon. In   1998 a cloudburst in the catchment area  of Kali caused an avalanche bringing down huge mass of debris on the sleeping yatris killing all of them including danseuse Protima Bedi. The avalanche in its fury wiped off  entire village of Malpa.   We came to senses .  The trekking  was indeed  strenuous , long and winding.  A roller coaster walk through  the eerie  narrow valley  gave an uneasy feeling of helplessness  being sandwiched between the steep rocky walls. But the majestic mountains continue silently watched us as we pass by. Finally, we reached Budhi camp about 6O’ clock in the evening.  The rising mist  from  Kali covered the raining  mountain slopes. Budhi is a sub-alpine village of 2740M (9070ft.) height on the  steep slopes on the bank of  Kali.

Budhi-Gunji

We left Budhi early in the morning to climb  Chhialekh Ki Chadai. It was indeed tough going up but our guide Joshiji assured us that after that climb of four kms, we would be reaching to a valley of flowers.  I plodded on steadily, deep in concentration and determination in heart  though weak in limbs.  At times my legs  failed yet I moved on.. Finally we reached  the valley of flowers   and was swept by the breathtaking beauty of the meadows, lush greenery with pretty yellow and mauve flowers…..The grandeur of the rugged hills, exciting scenic spots, lofty trees, silvery white snow peaks glowing gold in the morning sun, velvety-soft meadows, an unbelievable variety of ferns, herbs, bushes thriving randomly, constantly changing landscape, and above all, wild flowers in unimaginable hues, dancing in air and spreading ethereal aroma.  It was mentally alluring and  spiritually stimulating.  Then, followed a slow 4 kilometers trek to Garbyang (3225 meters). The descent from Garbyang up to the bank of River Kali became extremely slippery, muddy and dangerous to negotiate in rain. The trek was then along  Kali. Overnight at Gunji

Gunji-Kalapani-Nabidhang
   
Gunji is an open  flat  terrace at a height of 3220 metres above sea level. Our camp was about 50 meters  above  the confluence of Kali coming from Lipulekh and Kutti coming from Adi Kailash.  As we enter Kalapani there is a small, beautiful temple of goddess Kali. A   spring of dark water gushes from a huge boulder at the foot of the hill.  This place  is named Kalipani for the sacred dark spring  . After an early lunch from Kalapani Camp, we started our trek to Nabidhang.  It was a  clear weather and we could see the Naga and Nagini Parbats. The caretaker of KMVN Guest house told us to  rush  to  Om Parbat as there is a popular belief that if Naga and Nagini Parbats are visible, then Om Parbat would also be visible. He told us that nobody has seen the Om Parbat since 30 days as it was completely veiled in mist.  We trod as fast as we could. After an hours trek we were amidst the rocky face of the mountains. Above this altitude is a region where herbs, shrubs, ferns and grasses exclusively rule the otherwise barren landscape. The hot sun and extreme cold winds  were a contrast. Before reaching Nabidhang, far in the eastern horizon  we  saw the ‘OM Parbat”  in all its glory of   snowy   'OM'  unveiled .   Words  fail to  describe  the  marvel  of  mother nature  with    the inscription of  ‘OM’  on the milky white snow on  the rocky mountain.  These are  rare moments of life with gush of  pure delight  from  heart, mind and soul.  My heart was full  I felt like weightless snow .  All my travails are compensated. Overnight stay at Nabidhang camp.     On the 9 th day of our jouney   that is on 30.7.10 as per our original schedule, we were to stay at Kalapani Camp. We proceeded back to Gunji for a night halt.

 Gunji - Kutti 

       This is last day of July . An  early morning trek along the banks of  river Kutti   with far off   snow clad peaks and bhojpatra forests. Behind there was splendid view of the Api and Nampha peaks. En route we reached Nabi village. Across the river Kutti is the village of Rongkong.  River Kuti  lay under snow  playing hide and seek .  Kutti is the last village on this trek. Villagers believe that the Pandavas and their Mata Kunti were lived here during Vanvas. Copious encomiums of Mata Kunti, the mother of the Pandavas heard from the local Bhotia people ,  Pandava fort, salt mines,  village houses with beautiful   engravings on their doors and windows  are reminiscent of a  long heritage.  The Bhotias   take pride in claiming  that the great sage Vyasa  lived  here for a long  period  to write  the epics.  Bhotias are vigilant to keep their traditions in tact.  The dome shaped tent of KMVN was good enough to make us unwary of the subzero midnight chill  

Kutti-Jollingkong

This is the last stretch to reach the foot of Mount Adi Kailash (6,091 metres). The altitude and  lack of oxygen level slowed  our pace.   The thick  cloud of mists  hid  the snow capped mountain ranges on all sides, . The chilling wind and rain  was  a lifetime experience.  We were to cross several undulating hills. We reached Jollingkong camp in the evening and I fell inside  the  Rajai not to be disturbed till morning.

Jollingkong – Mt. Adi Kailash – Parvati Sarovar.   

  Today is 2 nd  August . The D  day for the  devout.We woke up at  4O’clock in the morning.  Visibility was extremely poor  with thick  mist. For the last one month, nobody could see Mt. Adi Kailash.  Several batches of trekkers have trodden all these extremely difficult paths in the hope to   see and to pray at this great abode of Lord Shiva.   But Adi Kailas is not that kind to give darshan  all the time. We also were antsy of our fate. Our guide Joshiji consoled us by saying to believe in the Iccha( interest) of the Maheswara. By 7’ O clock, there were distinct indications of unveiling the mountains. There was no rain. The sun has peeped out.  And we were thrilled on the sights of snow clad Pandav Parbats. We decided to trek to the foot of Mt. Adi Kailash.  As we reached there, slowly and slowly, the curtain of mist was removed. And we were on the foot of the marvelously crafted snowcapped Mount Adi Kailash.  The sacred mountain has given its Darshan to us. Guide Joshi was heard telling himself “Sachey man ki log “(People with true minds).   Just opposite was Parvati's mukut (throne). It was a dream come true.  No  words of prosaic prose is enough to  describe  the    mixed  feeling of bliss   and ecstasy  even for the atheist .   Then we went to the beautiful Parvati sarovar. On the bank of this lake, the local people have erected a temple of Lord Shiva and Parvati. We went inside the temple with a fulfilled mind and spent time by chanting prayers and bhajans.

            On the same day, we returned to Kutti. The next day to Gunji and so on.  All ascends became descends. Exactly on the same route, but with different mood swings and experience.  The routs where it was raining during the ascent has became sunny and sometimes opposite. Finally we reached Dharchula on 06/08/2010.

            If we stop, we stand rooted like great mountains

            If we walk, we sail through life

            We remember you at each step

            And in doing so make you immortal.