May 14, 2007

Panch Kedar (19 June, 07 - 1 July,07)

Following is the trek plan for the Panch Kedar undertaken mid-June to mid-july. Actual trip abandoned mid-ways before Kedarnath due to health conditions of the group and mosquito ("mora") bites.

Trip Photographs


Trip Itinerary
:

Day From To


1 Rishikesh Joshimath
10 hrs Bus
2 Joshimath Helong
13km:45min Bus

Helong Urgam
8-9km trek

Urgam Kalpeshwar 2134m 2km walk
3 Urgam Dumuk
14km:7hrs trek
4-5 Dumuk -> Panar-> Rudranath 2286m 18km:8hrs trek
6 Rudranath Anushaya devi
18km:7-8 hrs trek

Anushaya Mandal
5km:1 hr trek
7 Mandal Chopta 2900m 40km bus/jeep

Chopta Tunganath 3810m 3-4 km: 2hr trek
8 Tungnath Chandrashilla 3679m 4km:1hr trek

Chandrashilla Tunganath

trek

Tungnath Chopta

trek

Chopta Ukhimath
35km bus/jeep
9 Ukhimath Uniana
15 min bus/jeep

Uniana Gaundhar
9km trek

Gaundhar Bantoli
1km trek
10 Bantoli Madhya maheshwar 3289m 9km:5hrs trek
11 Madhya maheshwar Buda Mahadev
1 hr trek

Madhya maheshwar Bantoli
10km:5hr trek
12 Bantoli Guptakashi
17km:6hr trek+jeep

Abandoned sector :

13 Guptkashi Gauri Kund

Bus

Gauri Kund Kedarnath 3584m 14km:7hrs trek
14 Kedarnath Gaurikund
14km:7hrs trek

Gauri Kund Guptakashi
33km Bus
15 Guptkashi Haridwar
182km Bus

Trip Notes :

Day 1 : Rishikesh -> Joshimath : Bus at 7 am, reaching around dusk

Day 2 : Joshimath -> Helong ->Urgam<->Kalpeshwar: Joshimath to Helong is a short 13km or 45 minute bus drive. A motley group of shops and houses mark Helong, the road head to Kalpeshwar. Start early at 7am.

Day 3 : Urgam -> Dumuk : Dumuk : comes from the sound which was produced when bhagwan shankar smashed his locks on the ground. There is a rest house with food & lodging.

Day 4 : Dumuk -> Panar : One can also spend the night at shelter here which is open during Yatra Times (sometime in may till Diwali may be) and hot food is available

Day 5 : Panar -> Rudranath : The shrine is the location of the ‘mukh’ or face of Shiva. The temple provides splendid views of Hathi Parvat, Nanda Devi, Trishul and other peaks.

Day 6 : Rudranah -> Anushya devi -> Mandal: Start after Breakfast at the dhaba at Rudranath around 7am . Breakfast can also be had a little ahead on the route where a shepherd has made a temperory shelter.

Anushaya devi : Bhagwan Datt's (Brahma/vishnu/Mahesh) mother. Basic lodges accomodation / food. Atri Muni's cave, curtained behind a waterfall, comes before one reached Anishya devi.
Instead of staying at Anushya devi, it is better to climb down to Mandal and stay at “Bhagat Bist's hotel directly opposite the archway claiming Anushaya Maata mandir marg” which is much cleaner, cheaper & with friendly service.

Day 7 : Mandal -> Chopta : conveyance frequency kind of workable, a bus at around 11am or 12pm

Chopta -> Tungnath :Shiva's arms. Weather quite cold. Good accomodation. Can stay at Kalikamli wala Ashram which also serves hot food.

Day 8 : Tungnath ->Chandrashilla->Tungnath->Chopta->Okimath: Start early for viewing the sunrise, may be 4am. At Okimath, stay at GMVN or some guest houses near Bus Station.

Day 9: Ukimath->Mansuna->Jagashu->Raoli->Uniana->Ransi->Gaundhar->Bantoli: A bus at around 11am (reconfirm the timings!) goes to Uniana besides the normal shared taxies. Some delivery jeeps also ply on this route from Mansuna. But overall the frequencies are not so good. So need to check & plan ahead. Stay at Bantoli, about ½ km after confluence of rivers near Unyan, good rooms .

Day 10 : Bantoli (1800m) ->Khatara(2100m)-> Nanu(2350m)-> Makhouma->Kun chatti (2780m) ->Madhyamaheshwar(3120m) : Start morning, reach evening. Naval of Bhagwan Shankar : Slight height. Attend night puja, morning puja. The shrine is 30km from Guptkashi and is approached by a trek through the famous Sidha Peeth of Kalimath. Unparalleled scenic beauty and incredible landscapes distinguish the distance from Kalimath to Madhmaheshwar. Chaukhamba, Kedarnath and Neelkanth are visible enroute. (The route to Kalimath diverts at Uniana).

Day 11 : Madhyamaheshwar <-> Buda Madhyamaheshwar
Madhyamaheswar -> Bantoli : Can proceed to Uniana the same day if group is fit. The single bus leaves for Uniana at around mid-day. In the evening one may need to book a jeep.

Day 12 : Bantoli -> Ukhimath : The trip abandoned from here on due to health conditions of the group and mosquito ("mora") bites . Returned back to Okhimath and the rested at Rishikesh. better to carry some insect repellent cream/ointment while trekking.

Trip log: coming up....