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Walk in the clouds

Photo: Sandeep Saxena

Tumbling down River Bhagirathi

Standing at the edge of the narrow, wild grass-carpeted pathway, I looked down into the valley. I searched for the bottom; a vagabond cloud had thinly veiled it, and the valley appeared like a gateway to the inner world.

An evening ago, we arrived in Uttarkashi, nestled in the lower Himalayas and the stepping stone to awe-inspiring glaciers Gangotri and Yamunotri.

For years, Uttarkashi, enveloped in mysticism similar to that of the fabled Shangri-La, has stirred the traveller in me. When we decided to go on a trek, Uttarkashi was the most natural choice.

On reaching, we decided to rest for an evening and experience the earthiness of the town before heading to the woods. From our room, the sound of the river hardly trickled in. We stepped out, and discovered it was just a few metres from the guesthouse. For the next hour, we sat on the steps, watching the Bhagirathi, fraught with monsoon water, bump and gasp, slash and turn, and flow past.

The Bhagirathi blends with the Alakhnanda at DevPrayag to form the Ganges. Further down, it turns into a catchment to feed the Tehri Dam.

Early next morning, we left for Sangam Chatti, 10 km from the town, and the base for various treks. We were to trek to Dhotital, at an altitude of 3,000 mt, 21 km from Sangam Chatti.

The major halts on the route are Agoda, Bebra and Manjhi. The hike was steep but the route was well-defined and marked with views of the valley. Soon, we were walking among the clouds that came in from nowhere, leaving behind a mild, misty shower.

Numerous small waterfalls speckled the mountains on the other side and after some distance, streams too punctuated our walk. The water was cold and fresh, and commingled further down to form Asi Ganga, another tributary of the Ganges.

Soon, it was time to stop for the night. After dining on peanuts and chocolates, we set up our tent near the stream.

Next morning, we woke up to the sound of the stream. After washing in the clear cold water, we set out to cover the remaining trek.

We reached Manjhi in the afternoon and had lunch with a family living in a hut.

As luck would have it, the clouds burst open at that time, and we happily slipped into our sleeping bags inside the warm hut to catch some more sleep. After a lazy afternoon, we continued our trek, a pleasant walk from there on. The sun that had been a rumour so far came out as we neared Dodital.

Dodital is a natural lake, full of trout, and is set at an altitude of 3,045 mt. Named after Dodi (the local name for trout), locals hail it as the birthplace of Lord Ganesh.

The lake gets its clear water from the numerous small streams that run down from the mountains. Its beauty is an apt end to the trek. We camped by the side of the graceful lake and savoured the fleeting moments.

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