Posted by Saurav Chakraborty | Posted in Dhakuri , Loharkhet , Pindari Glacier , Uttaranchal | Posted on 4:57 PM
The foundations of the Pindari Glacier trek that I undertook with Mr Badru,started from a place called Song.Song is a small and beautiful village about 199 Km's from Kathgodam(The place till where Indian Railways takes you).Kathgodam is a low lying workmanlike town and the real beauty starts once the jeep starts winding up from Bhowali(30 Km's).
From then on,you are taken on a picturesque yet topsy-tipsy-curvy ride besides river after river,stream after stream,crossing Almora(109 Km's) and Bageshwar(164 Km's) until you hit what looks like a dead end(See Photo)
The bridge adjoining Song to Loharkhet frequently collapses due to rains and landslides,and thus there's a separate solitary jeep which takes travellers 3 Km's up to Loharkhet.The ride is scary as hell as there IS no road...just a pile of rocks with a sheer drop on one side.The pahadi's(Mountain men) call this driving feature as "Mausam banake chalna"(Driving in one weather mode!).Beats me how they find humour in such situations:-).
Loharkhet gives a great view of what's to come - wave upon wave of green hills that we have to cross!Loharkhet has a forest rest house,and we halted there at night.The stay was more than comfortable(In case you are the kind of person who looks for a clean bed to be satisfied at the end of the day).Since Loharkhet is a halting place before the start of the trek,one sleeps early and gets up early,because the hardest part of the trek lies ahead - THE UPHILL TREK TO DHAKURI.
Loharkhet to Dhakuri is a continous 11Km upward trek.It's tiring,hard,neverending,but the cool air hitting your sweat buds keeps you pleasant....and Mr Badru in this photo epitomizes my thoughts.
The vegetation starts getting greener and greener as one treks up,with the temperature dropping accordingly.There are tea/maggi stalls every 4/5 km's so one can take a well deserved break.
Dhakuri top is my Switzerland of India:-).I was mesmerized when I reached here after such a long and winding road.All perspirations,fatigue and frustations vanished when I saw the above picture in real.
On a clear,non cloudy day,the great himalayan peaks like "Baijuri","Nanda Khat" "Changus" and Pindari Glacier" are all clearly visible from Dhakuri.In fact our guide told us that many people return back from Dhakuri itself,as they feel that they have seen what they wanted i.e the mighty peaks!
Obviously I amd Mr Badru did not do that and kept on going.My next post will talk about the further lost villages of Khati,Dwali and Purkhiya.Till then...keep reading this space.
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