Day 7: Meeting Rajneesh: A little known celebrity @ Ghangaria

This is a series of my two weeks of tryst with the Garhwal Himalayas:
Day 1&2 : Secunderabad to Delhi
Day 3: Delhi to Haridwar bus ride
Day 3: Meerut Road
Day 3: Har Ki pauri- Haridwar
Day 4: Impressions from Haridwar
Day 4: Through Rajaji national Park
Day 4: Devaprayag-Srinagar-Rudraprayag-Karnaprayag
Day 5: Pipalkoti-Joshimath-Badrinath
Day 6: Mana: The last Indian village
Day 6: Adventure in Badrinath-Govindghat Road
Day 7: The Boys from Rishikesh
Day 7: Trek to Ghangaria
Day 7: Meeting Rajneesh

As promised earlier, I bring with this post a brief profile of Rajneesh. It was his neatly decorated shop with colorful paraphernalia that caught my eyes in the first instant.

I couldnt imagine how at this crazy height of 9000 ft, someone would set up a shop taking so much pain and deliberate care. And the neatly laid glasses and mirrors. Where did somone get all that with only mules to reach this height.

(Door to Rajneesh's shop)

The shop was closed. I peered into it to see curious looking stuff inside.

The door was closed and a note hanging that read:



" I am going for trekking. I will come back in the evening. Thanks Rajneesh"

( The German couple just back from the trek)

While I was still peering inside, a sturdy young man with a big pony, sporting trek shoes, walking posts and binoculars and a rucksack opened the door.

I followed him inside to be amazed to see his own world beautifully set. Many pairs of snow shoes, all mountaineering tools, few sets of tripods, lots of photographs posters that were duly signed Rajneesh.

(Rajneesh showing his rare pics when lights went out)

Rajneesh was the shop owner. And as I found out in due course of time, being all of 24, he was the guide to Valley of Flowers and most of Garhwal, a skillful wildlife photographer, a mountaineer, a self made botanist etc etc.

I was glued to him. Though many passerby and other devotees did not realise the worth of this man, I spent the whole evening chatting with him and getting amazed at his knowledge and expertise of the Garhwal mountains.

He spoke broken English but I was amazed with the way he could connect with those foreigners. I guess their mutual love for nature was the binding force.

He guides group treks to the valley of flowers, mostly foreigners. He has made lasting friendships with wildlife and trek enthusiasts from all over the globe. They keep writing to him and send him souvenirs.

(rajneesh showing a rare rock from the mountains)

He also has featured in many National Geographic programmes. During winters, when the whole village migrates 1000 mts down, Rajneesh prefers staying alone at his house, to shoot many wild creatures and birds in the wilderness.

He serenaded us (me and other german couple) with his stories of encountering wild animals.His rare pictures taken with expensive lenses and cameras bore testimony of his expertise of the wild. Though I did not have plans to hire a guide for trekking the valley of flowers, meeting him changed my mind. I asked him to take me on a tour the next day.

( One of his pics jumping off a cliff)

Rajneesh also mentioned his love for nature surpasses everything else. He did not believe in God as such. For him God is nature. And he wants to spend his life amidst them.

Rajneesh is also in the process of writing a book along with a foreign journalist.

He made a friend from Italy who keeps coming religiously every year since last 5 years. They both trek deep into the mountains for month long.

He also narrated a story of a woman who came from East Timor who came with her two tiny kids. The three of them trekked deep into the mountains and stayed in a cave for month long. When they came back, they were all soiled and dishevelled with dirt and soot.

Such is the magic of Himalayas that draws its lovers from all over the globe.

Ghangaria: Above 9000 ft

This is a series of my two weeks of tryst with the Garhwal Himalayas:

Day 1&2 : Secunderabad to Delhi
Day 3: Delhi to Haridwar bus ride
Day 3: Meerut Road
Day 3: Har Ki pauri- Haridwar
Day 4: Impressions from Haridwar
Day 4: Through Rajaji national Park
Day 4: Devaprayag-Srinagar-Rudraprayag-Karnaprayag
Day 5: Pipalkoti-Joshimath-Badrinath
Day 6: Mana: The last Indian village
Day 6: Adventure in Badrinath-Govindghat Road
Day 7: The Boys from Rishikesh
Day 7: Trek to Ghangaria

(Click on pictures to see better)

25th September, '08:
After a gut wrenching walk of 14 kms and reaching dizzying height of 9147 feet, (more so with a ruined knee), I felt at ease. Ghangaria turned out to be a hamlet more developed than I had imagined.

Multitude of ponies in Ghangaria to carry piligrims

But since it was the fag end of the season, the inhabitants were less. Within a week, the whole village would be moving to the base below to Joshimath.

Local theatre. I went in and saw a little hovel with a TV set and VCR set. Tickets were for Rs 5

And this beautiful place would be draped with snow for the next six months. My mind couldn't imagine the greenery and civilization dissapear into 8 feet snow from next month.

I hogged these gulab jamuns. They were tasty.

The first thing I did was get a cheap accommodation to park myself and get some rest. Though my heart was racing to explore Ghangaria, my body needed rest badly. I got a room for 150 Rs. Since this was end of season, rooms were dirt cheap.


The same rooms spike to 1500 Rs during summers. I couldn't get warm water here. So settled to freshen up without a bath. Soon it was dusk, and I walked (limped. I had aggravated my knee seriously) around this small village and clicked a lot of pictures.

The locals favourite pass time: carrom

Ghangaria is a busy base for all Pilgrims to Hemkund sahib and visitors to Valley of Flowers. And reasonably so, there were all sorts of basic facilities available for such tourists. The village should be having not more than 20 houses including little shops.

Locals playing cards

Gurudwara at Ghangaria. See the snow peaks.

This is how big Ghangaria is. View from top.

And then I spotted this unique shop glittering with colorfull paraphernalia. This shop caught my attention. Looked like a lot of attention and effort had gone to set this up at this godforsaken place. I ogled inside it. I was going to be pleasantly surprised meeting the shop owner.

This was the door to the shop. The door had a message pinned up which read.

"I am going for trekkking. I will come back in the evening. Thanks, Rajnish"

It was Rajnish who was to become my company for the next 24 hours at Ghangaria. I was glued to him. Next post is dedicated to the amazing man.

Soon it was dark and settled in my room snuggling into my damp blanket. The electricity is a problem at this god forsaken place. They dont have it after 7 pm. It was the first time since I set out of home alone, did pangs of home sickness struck me.
I felt lonely. I wasn't able to imagine that I was so far away from my family
in this dark, lonely and frigid place, 9000 ft above somewhere amidst mountains. I started writing my feelings to assuage my nerves.

Next Post: Rajnish, a little known celebrity at Ghangaria

Day 7: 14 kms Trek to Ghangaria

This is a series of my two weeks of tryst with the Garhwal Himalayas:

Day 1&2 : Secunderabad to Delhi
Day 3: Delhi to Haridwar bus ride
Day 3: Meerut Road
Day 3: Har Ki pauri- Haridwar
Day 4: Impressions from Haridwar
Day 4: Through Rajaji national Park
Day 4: Devaprayag-Srinagar-Rudraprayag-Karnaprayag
Day 5: Pipalkoti-Joshimath-Badrinath
Day 6: Mana: The last Indian village
Day 6: Adventure in Badrinath-Govindghat Road
Day 7: The Boys from Rishikesh
Day 7: Trek to Ghangaria

(Click Pictures for better view)

6 am: After relieving myself off from my heavy backback, I heaved a sigh of relief and ascended towards Ghangaria.

There was nip in the air and my leather jacket was pretty much saving me from the chill. I met a group of pony riders on the way. They offered their service. To and fro from Hemkund Saheb would cost me 1200 Rs. I declined. I had come to trek. No ponies for me. I had no idea, what was it to do a 14 km trek, from a height of 6000 ft to 9,147 feet. I was too excited and agitated to think about it.

I kept walking. Admiring the beauty around. Bliss was here. Greenery around. Amidst the mountains. Shimmering snow peak ahead of me beckoning and asking me to keep walking.

The buzz of the flowing river on your right giving you unmitigated support all through the way. Soon, the sun was up and I divested myself off my jacket. Sweat beads formed on my forehead. And heavy breathing ensued. Let me talk a bit about the terrain.

The trek though is steep, has been maintained well. Because hundreds of pilgrims follow the same route to Hemkund Sahib. But sadly only a few amongst these hundreds of pilgrims, are nature lovers.

Only a few among them, know about the beautiful Valley of Flowers. Only a few amongst them, know its relevance. I met many pilgrims along the way. They were pleasantly surprised to see a Hindu trekking towards Hemkund. I never mentioned to them that my pilgrimage was the Valley of Flowers.

How much I had read of it and dreamt of it. My mind was full of imaginary visualization of what Valley of Flowers looked like. I had read and read a lot about it. And my mind was in ecstacy that finally I was on my way to that heavenly abode. It was this excitement, that pulled me through this torturous trek. No torturous is a wrong word.

How can such lavish natural beauty, the lush verdant greenery, the fresh atmosphere be torturous. The pain, the rigour was only too little a price for the priceless experience that I was witnessing.

Each turn on the trek, presented a matchless view, each as beautiful as before. But the strain was too much for me to bear. I have a week right knee, due to an accident 5 years back. It showed signs of weariness.

I wasnt using a stump at all. And that aggravated my right knee. The last 5 kms of walk was unbearable. I was dragging myself slowly, asking every passerby, every few minutes how far it was.

At last these smiling girls marked my destination. And my pain for a moment was lost in their smiles. I had reached Ghangaria.

Next post: Awesome Ghangaria