Tripping in the mountains (part 2)

....After Uttakashi it was back in a new chartered jeep (this one had air-cond ie canvas covered) and after some serious mountain scenery we arrived at Ganganani. What a great little place! It's no more than a collection of ramshackle guesthouses, restaurants and cafes all selling the same food but has great hot springs that run into pools that you can jump into, well slowly anyway as water must be about 40+ deg...The evenings were magic as the pools were deserted and we were could stargaze while cooking err soaking The mornings were a technicolour vision of saris and Indians taking a bath and getting puja...see pic. Unfortunately not only was this vision of serenity shattered by the usual traffic horn blowing but also by the twice daily (usually 6am and 7:30pm) earth shaking, heart stopping sub-sonic dynamiting of rock cliffs as part of the building of a new road across the river. Only in India of course.

Ganaganani is the first place that i've seen topless Indian women, not that i'm some sort of perv, honest. Generally indian women bath in pretty much fully dressed but u can imagine my surprise when i walked past the mens (there are separate male and female thermal pools) pool only to see naked indian breasts! My gawd am i still in India i thought...ahh India the land of contradictions as for a western women to do that would cause a riot.

Around Ganaganani, there were some great photogenic villages to hike to surrounded by dope and poppy fields. Makes for great pics. Not too mention heaps of crazy monkey village kids running around asking for 'photo sir'.

After a couple of days of relaxing in the pools and opium fields, it was time for the gang to move up the mountain to Gangortri - which is revered hindu holy place at alt 3000m high on the banks of the mother ganga with a great temple and hords of indian pilgrims and associated tourist stuff. Actually when i say the gang it was now down to 4, Cesar opted for an extended stay in Gangannni and Jan had already gone solo to Gangortri ..



For the next part of the trip we opted for the local bus, always guarranteed to be interesting. Apart from a couple of minor breakdowns we also got to witness the extreme driving skills of the driver as he was able maneuver the bus inches from the edge of the road that dropped off a couple of hundred meteres to the roaring ganga below whenever we had to pass another oncoming vehicle which was every 2 mins! Adrenaline pumping stuff. I was happy not to have the window seat on this trip even though the scenery was nothing short of spectacular with towering cliffs, deep gorges and impressive waterfalls. We were now getting really high...

Gangortri is a magical place surrounded by mountain peaks and pine forests and as mentioned is a important pilgrimage site so was 'buzzing' with Indian tourists and a handful of foreigners. While visiting the temple during puja we were invited in to sit with the singing and drumming priests during the evening puja which was magic. We also adopted a new group member, Samuel a Swiss cyclist who had cycled from Switzerland to India via turkey, Iran, Pakistan etc..very impresive and insipiring. This guy cyled up to a 3000m and then the next day came walking with us!

From Gangortri our new crew began our trek up to Gamukh where the ganga flows out of the glacier. Unfortunately Avvivit picked up a dodgy stomach thing so she opted out. The trek was quite easy as follows a well used path along the ganga and is dotted with chai and parntha (kinda fried bread with veges and spices - yum) stalls. The views of the surrounding peaks and valleys were stunning and just kept getting better as we got higher. The path was quite busy with pilgrims mainly on ponies and the odd dandy, which is a wooden platform carried by 4 porters and used to carry affluent Indians. Personally i wouldn't be seen dead on one and it was a most bizarre thing to see these platforms coming along with some large Indian sitting on the top like royalty!

We spent a acclimatization stop in Bhjopasa (alt 3900m) 6 hours walking from the start, which is the only time we used the bulky (read heavy) tent we rented from Uttakashi. I realize now we should have spent a little more time acclimitising as i had trouble sleeping due to the altitude here and further up. From Bhjopasa it was only a hour to the impressive Gamukh Glacier where the ganga begins its journey. Unfortunately Doralla wasn't feeling up to the walk over the Glacier and hike up to Tapovan so she went back solo to Gangotri. The rest of us were up for it although i went off the first being a bit over the slow group pace and Samuel and Tasha hooked up with some Israelis also coming up.




The path over the glacier was relatively straight forward and i'd be given rough directions by a fellow hiker who had been up before. We meet a lot of guides on the way up telling us how dangerous it was to go without a guide but obviously they had a slightly vested interest! Not saying glaciers are not dangerous. Besides the path was all on stable (well relatively) rock and not ice.




After the glacier it was a 500m tough climb straight up beside a waterfall to the plateu and then.....paradise...a true shang-ra-la. I was a unforgettable sight up the top, moutain streams, cave man looking ashrams, rolling meadows, huge boulders, glaciers all surronded by huge peaks including the 6500m Shivlinga peak that looks like a ice-cream cone..it was a place like no where i'd ever been before..very prehistoric and surreal..hard to describe in words..just go!


The name Tapovan comes from 'Tappas' which basically means to spend months/years in meditation/contemplation. We all ended up staying in the Shimla Baba Ashram. Shimla Baba's guru and built the ashram after spending some 35 years living up there. It was totally unforgettable with 14 of us at one stage enjoying the Shimla Baba's hospitatily and great cooking! Nights were really cold so we didn't mind all sitting in the Baba's kitchen/dining room enjoying the fire and of course chillim (pot). I even meet a Damon Baba - was really his name..See pic. This guy was a classic and all that he mainly carried was 2kg of pot (chakras) for 5 days!...


We (there was 14 of us at one stage including a nice group of Israelis) ended up spending two nights up there and it was truly a magic experience. By day we explored the many lakes and streams and check out views of the Gamukh Glacier that goes for some 30ks. One lake we hiked up to was this blue glacier fed lake. Being a warmish sunny day we all decided to go for a swim! Not surprisingly it was freezing but worth it.. To top it off Uvan, who'd i'd meet in Sikkim, bought up his stove and made chai and arabic coffee...as a non-coffee drinker it tasted pretty damn good.

I was getting pretty exhausted after two days of not so great sleeping so was both relieved and sad to head back down..ohh forget to mention the travelers cheque. I had been trying to change a travelers cheque since Uttakashi without much luck when i happened to mention this to Shimala Baba who asked me the how much it was worth and too my amazement said 'sure i can change it!'..Unbelievable..Changing travelers cheques on a plateau at 4600m! Only in India! There is a saying in Hindi over here 'Sub Keuch Melga' - anything is possible, is such a great attitude to life..So back down i went and made it to Gangananni that day - and gawd those hot thermal pools were so good and sleep plentiful even with explosions and traffic.. Also meet up with Doralla, Cesar and Avvivit which was a great bonus...

I spent some more time in Uttakashi on the way back and found this laid back Ashram with sunflower gardens on the banks of the Ganga. It was hard to leave but think i will def go back to Uttakashi and Tapovan some day...

Yeap so now in humid and rainy rishikesh and getting my western fix - internet and great food..Tomorrow am off on yet another 5 day hiking trip, in the mountains north of here to the Kurati pass. We're camping out for the first 3 nights and then staying in villages along the way. Should be magic, well maybe not the 10 hour bus ride...Feels like i've packed several trips into one! I've extended my ticket yet again..Now flying to Greece on the 20th of June so will get a good taste of monsoon!

Challow (sort of means I/we go)
Nb would have liked to add more pics but am on a really slooooowwww connection