My 7 Days Solo Biking Trip into the Himalayas

After completing MBA in May 2015, I went on a three months solo biking trips to

explore North-Western part of India (mostly Himalayas). Some of the places I explored

are: Rishikesh, Mussoorie, Dehradun, Nainital, Dhanaulti, Chamba, New Tehri, Karn

Prayag, Rudra Prayag, Dev Prayag, Valley of Flowers (VoF), Hemkund Sahab etc.

On 29th July, I started my journey to VoF. To keep my friends and loved ones informed, I

shared my experience throughout the journey on my Facebook page. So let’s start the

journey!

July 30 2015

Starting of the Journey

Day 1: Started a bit late at 10 am than planned (6:00 am) from Delhi as the packing was

the trickiest part and took far more time than anticipated (especially if you are going

solo on biking trip for 7-8 days, that too in monsoon season in Himalayas). Some of the

items included in the survival kits are:

1. Binocular

2. Waterproof digital watch

3. Power bank

4. MP3 player

5. Swiss knife

6. Table tripod, approx. 20 cm

7. Multipurpose key ring

8. Survival knife

9. Trekking torch

10. Some common medicine

Still searching for a better cocktail than listening to Pink Floyd while biking in the nature's

paradise!

Reached Dev Prayag at around 8pm. The drive was far easier than anticipated as there

was no interruption due to rain. Some stats for stat lovers: distance travelled- 335 km,

time taken: 10 hrs, 4-5 small halts of an average time of around 10 minutes.

Due to last year's incident and al-nano defying monsoon, the place is almost free from

holy pilgrimage (such an irony, they don't trust their respective Gods!).

Got a very decent hotel at low cost near the river with nice view. Will start a bit late

tomorrow and try to reach Joshimath. No hurry though as unlike before, expecting to

invest considerable amount of time in the rest of the journey from now onwards on site

seeing and capturing.

July 31 2015

Exploring the Intimidating Mystifying Beauty

Day 2: Started the journey today from Dev Prayag at

12:00 noon. Reached Joshimath at around 8:00 pm.

(distance covered: 185 km, time taken: 8 hrs). Again got a

good deal to stay (just Rs. 250 for 5 bedrooms stay, are u

kidding sincerely!). Unlike earlier, the drive was

challenging and truly adventurous. At around 5 pm, it

started drizzling and the very welcoming Himalayas

suddenly regained its Intimidating Mystifying Beauty!

Learned few good things about biking in such difficult

circumstances which would be very useful for future

endeavors!

People here are very helpful and humble. They are still untouched by the toxicity of the

city! They don't know how to negotiate. Really need some serious BATNA-ZOPA tablet

course. So now the next 3-4 day is going to be full of trekking and very less biking. Will

first visit Hemkund Sahib tomorrow. Wanted to visit VoF first but dropped the idea at

the last minute. Itching to explore the mysterious source of energy (first) which draws so

many passionate devotees (esp from Sikh Community). By the way, I was typing this

post while admiring the Himalaya's beauty.

August 1 2015

Most Exciting Trek Starts

Day 3: Govindghat is the last place one can travel by motor vehicles. From there

onwards, one has to trek to Ghangharia. Mules and horses are also available. Earlier the

distance was 13 km, but due to flood disaster in Uttarakhand in 2013, many routes were

re-build at higher altitudes and the new distance has increased to 16-17 km. This has

not just increases the distance and time required to reach Ghangharia (nearest town to

(Vof and Hemkund Sahib) but also the efforts.

As per the advice of many travel experts, one is advised to start the trek from

Govindghat to Ghangharia as early as possible (by 7 am in the morning). But as I wanted

to create time pressure to push myself and test my level of fitness, I started at 2:00 pm

in the noon. The calculation seems pretty simple at the starting. With average walking

speed of around 3 km/hr, I was supposed to reach Ghangharia between 6 to 7 pm in the

evening easily.

I started my most adventurous trek very enthusiastically, but alone. My energy level vas

very high in the beginning. But with every unit distance covered, the energy level started

to decline. The trek which is generally flooded with many tourist and pilgrimage were

secluded.

At around 6 pm in the evening the visibility started to decline rapidly. After walking

alone for a long while, I spotted a rare open recreation stall. Though, recreation and tea

stalls are ubiquitous here, most of them were closed as there were very few travelers. I

learned from the stall owner that I still need to walk 6-7 km to reach Ghangharia. This

was really surprising and shocking to say the least..! I had already covered around 10 km

distance and as per the on-line advice of many travel experts, the remaining distance

supposed to be around 3 km.

So, there I was practically in a forest; alone and tired; with no weapon apart from

walking stick and trekking torch (if you consider it as a weapon!); it was almost dark; and

6 km distance still to be covered. I started to feel butterflies in my stomach!

It’s 6:30 pm and it is almost dark. I started walking briskly while watching carefully

around for any predators. This richly diverse area is home to rare and endangered

animals, including the Asiatic black bear, snow leopard, musk deer, brown bear, red fox,

and blue sheep. I was aware that predators fear us and as far as possible try to avoid us.

Also, they fear light. I keep walking while hitting the ground hard with my walking stick.

The trekking torch was the ultimate survival tool. I was using it to create a circle of

around 50 meters to warn the predators to keep away.

After walking for almost 2 hours and covering distance of around 5 km, at around 7:00

pm, I spotted a tea stall. This was a big relief! The stall owner was very happy to see me.

They are poor people but very honest. Their bread and butter entirely depend on the

tourist which was far below the expectation due to reasons mentioned earlier. He was

insisting me to stay with him and share the stories of the city life and world. But I was

really tired, both physically and mentally and was desperate to check-in in a lodge. As I

started at 7:10 pm rom the stall he warned me about the danger of possible bear attack.

For the first time in the journey, I was really-really frightened!

I was galloping very carefully, using all my senses; listening every small sound; hitting

the ground hard with walking stick and creating 50 m circle with the torch. With every

single step, I was getting close to the destination. My fear was melting like the

intimidating Himalayan glaciers melt in summer.

Finally, I was able to see the dark yellowish light in the sky generated by the town!

August 2 2015

Trek to Sri Hemkund Sahib

Day 4: As planned earlier, I started the trek to Sri Hemkund Sahib at 7 in the morning.

Got a very nice stay in Ghangharia and was feeling very refreshed after nigh sleep. The

weather was very damp and cold. In fact, it was drizzling. I bought a plastic raincoat

from a shop in the town.

The trek was tough, which got even tougher due to adverse weather. A 1,100-metre

(3,600 ft) climb on a 6-kilometre (3.7 mi) of stone paved path leads Hemkund. Overnight

stay is not allowed at Hemkund Sahib and so it is necessary to leave by 2 pm to make it

back to Govindghat by nightfall. While walking steadily, I spotted a foreign traveler.

As he was also trekking to Hemkund, we starting trekking together. His name was Harry.

He was from England (25 years) and his home town was Cape Town. We share many

common interests and in no time developed a deep bonding. He has very keen interest

in studying Nature and is currently pursuing many related hobbies. Also studying

Acupuncture. Next day we visited VoF together and he helped me to identify many rare

plants in VoF.

August 3 2015

Trek to Valley of Flowers

Day 5: The Valley of Flowers, a UNESCO World

Heritage site is renowned for its meadows of

endemic alpine flowers and outstanding

natural beauty. Valley of flowers is snow clad

for most of the year and it becomes accessible

only in the month of June. Officially valley of flowers opens First

June every year. Valley of flowers is always beautiful. It depends

upon your taste that what you would like to see. The Valley is a riot

of natural color and splendor in summer time. Well over a thousand

varieties of flowers, shrubs, orchids and plants in myriad hues,

differing textures and colors paint the valley in a gorgeous display.

This natural plantation surrounded by dazzling snowcapped

Himalayan peaks provide a spectacular panorama. In the morning

one can enter at 7.00 am and the last entry is allowed by 2.00 pm

One should come back by 5.00 pm It is advisable to start the trek

backward by 2.00 pm.

Harry and I started the trek to VoF together from Ghangharia at 6:30 in the morning. To

enter into VoF, one has to trek around 3-4 km from the town. The trek was very steep

and wet due to yesterday’s rain. Upon entering VoF, we met one more foreign traveler,

Ryan. He was from USA and was staying in Gurgaon. He was very friendly and tall, 6 feet

4 inches!

Come to the Valley of Flowers and see the Heaven on Earth!

So, there I was standing, in the midst of the heaven on

earth, completely enthralled by its virgin beauty and

mesmerized by nature. I had to slow down to take

pictures while Harry and Ryan continued their trek to the

end point near glacier. There was a dog, who was

following me from the beginning while maintaining a safe

distance. I will call him Zoro for the sake of the story. With

the passage of time, Zoro started to become more

friendly and less fearful. There were some points where it

was little bit difficult to identify the right path. Zoro was

completely aware of my perplexity. He keeps showing me

right direction by walking ahead of me at such points.

This was really amazing and quite new experience for me!

In the return journey, I tried many shortcuts used by the local people, which shortened

the journey time. We started our return journey from VoF at 1:00 pm and reached

Govindghat at 6:00 pm in the evening.

August 4 2015

And the Unexpected Happened!

Day 6: I spent the last night in the hotel room, which I had already booked two days

back in Govindghat. Today’s plan was to start the return journey to Delhi after visiting

Badrinath and Mana. Mana is a village in the district of Chamoli in the Indian state of

Uttarakhand, located at an altitude of 3,200 meters. Mana is the last village and is 24 km

from the border of India and Tibet/China. The village is at a distance of about 3 km from

the Hindu Pilgrimage Badrinath.

Is it River or Road, Confused?!

I started my journey to Badrinath-

Mana from Govindghat at around 7:00

in the morning. As the first and second

gear of my bike already got damaged

while travelling to Govindghat from

Delhi, I was initially using third and

later fourth and fifth gear on upward

slope. After travelling for around 19

km towards Badrinath, all gear-chain

set of my bike got completely

damaged. At one point, I was in a

really tricky situation!

Fortunately, 5-6 local women who were passing, spotted me in trouble. They helped

me to bring the bike at a safer place. I thanked them! I decided to abort my journey to

Badrinath and Mana.

I had to push the bike for almost 19 km to bring it back to Govindghat. There I got my

bike checked by a local mechanic, but he was not skilled enough to repair it. He advised

me to get it repaired at nearby town, Joshimath, around 20 km from Govindghat. I

waited there for around 2 hours for a carrier vehicle, but couldn’t find one.

Last night, I met with a guy Satish while having my dinner in a hotel nearby my stay in

Govindghat. He was working there and was from a village in Chamoli district, around 35

km from the town. He was not satisfied with the waiter job in the hotel and wanted to

return back to his village. He was very helpful and courageous. So, we started our

journey towards Joshimath slowly at around 9 in the morning.

The first 9 km of the journey was easy, as it was mostly downwards slope. There was a

small halt after 9 km. From there onwards, it was mostly upward slope. We waited there

for approximately one and half hour for help but couldn’t get one. So, we resumed our

journey at around 1:30 pm. Pushing 150 kg bike on upward slope is no child’s play. We

were taking rest after pushing the bike for every 5-10 m. With this speed, it seems

impossible to reach even Joshimath by night. But, despite of all this, we were very

energetic and excited to be the part of adventurous journey!

Fortune favors the brave is not just a phrase! Within half an

hour, we got the help from Uttarakhand Rescue Team. They

are the real hero!

We got the bike repaired within 2 hours. My plan was to

drop Satish at his village and continue my journey towards

Delhi as far as light permits. Satish insisted persistently to

stay for at least one night in his village. I accepted his offer as

I was feeling very tired and wanted a good night sleep. Also, I

didn’t want the risk to bike in the night. I was already

suffering from adventure overdose!

View from his village at evening View from his house in the morning

August 5 2015

It’s Time to Return, no more Surprises, Please!

Day 7: Started the journey early in the morning at 6. Today’s plan was to reach Delhi

which means covering a distance of around 500 km in a day, out of which around 250

km in the mountains. Tough but possible!

Only after Rishikesh, you can drive freely in plains. Surprisingly, it took around 11 hours

biking from Chamoli to reach Rishikesh. My estimation was 7-8 hours. Throughout the

day, it kept raining, unremittingly. Also, I took frequent halts to rest which was really a

good decision. I was tired and little bit week from my 7 days’ trip. Besides, my shoes

were wet and my feet were..!

I resumed my journey from Rishikesh at around five in the evening. New calculation,

distance to cover 250 km, average speed 70 km/h (only one to two halts), around 4

hours! Pretty simple, huh..!

But there waiting my biggest surprise! It was Shravan Mass, falls on the fifth month of

Hindu calendar, starting late July and ending by the third week of August. The star

‘Shravan’ rules the sky during Purnima (full moon day), or during the entire of the

month. Hence the month is known as Shravan Month or Mass. The legend of Shravan

Month is that the Samudra Munthan or churning of oceans took place in this month.

During the churning the Halahal (poison) that came out was consumed by Lord Shiva,

which turned his throat blue. Hence Shiva is also called Nilkantha (blue throat). To

reduce the impact of poison, Lord Shiva wore the crescent moon on his head. To lessen

the effect of poison, the Gods and people started offering the water from the Holy

Ganges to Lord Shiva.

The whole road from Rishikesh was inundated with Shiv devotee. There were many

diversions, extra bumpy speed breakers and blockades! Most part of the highways were

operating as one way, as the other side was reserved for the devotees to stay.

Reached Delhi at around 11 in the night. This was really a lifetime experience which I will

cherish till my last breath!

About the Author: I am Kumar Mukund. I am from New Delhi, India and my hometown is Darbhanga, Bihar. By

profession, I am a freelance Sustainable Development Consultant. I am a nature lover, an adventurer, a fitness

enthusiast, a photographer, and a biker. I love travelling; exploring new places; meeting new people; trekking;

cycling; gardening; reading and playing cricket, badminton, carom and chess.

Feel free to connect with me:

https://twitter.com/Mukund_Jha

https://in.linkedin.com/in/kumarmukund14

https://www.facebook.com/I-Love-Nature-Photography-416657351856888/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel