Shalini Mondal

The two impulses in travel are to get away from home, and to pursue something – a landscape, people, and an exotic place. Certainly finding a place that you like or discovering something unusual is a very sustaining thing in travel.” – Paul Theroux

​When mind is stuck in a rut in routine chores, and you yearn for something exciting and different, what could be better than to travel? Since I have always been fond of fun, adventure and facing new challenges, trek to Kedarkantha was something I could not miss. Moreover, this would have been my first snow trek. Kedarkantha trek is one of the most sought after destinations in India. As the distance is not much and trekking trail is not very difficult so, it makes even the first time trekkers to enjoy the climb and to witness the breathtaking beauty of the nature

.Trek Schedule

• 23rd December:  Pick up from Dehradun railway station. Drive to Sankri (10-11 hrs).

• 24th December:  4 km trek starts from Sankri 6,450 ft to Juda ka talab 9,100 ft.

• 25th December:  3 km Trek to Juda ka talab 9,100 ft to Kedarkantha base 11,250 ft.

• 26th December:4 km Kedarkantha base 11,250 ft to Kedarkantha peak 12,500 ft and down to Sankri

• 27th December: Sankri to Dehradun Railway Station and train to Haridwar

•  We were a team of 11 members, some of whom I knew before, some I met for the first time.

​Payel:  Trek Manager

Ayan:  The caring one

Debjani:  The Princess

Ruby:  The Guardian Angel

Soumya: The Hero

Sudhir: The Torchbearer

Tanumoy: The leader

Kuntal: The Power Capsule

Amiya Ranjan Chatterjee:  The legend

Indranil: The Experienced one

Shalini: The Storyteller

The responsibility we shared, built the togetherness among us, and the friendship that gradually grew will be cherished forever.

Day 1: Dehradun to Sankri

Distance: 185 kms

Hours- 10-11 hrs

Route: Dehradun- Mori-Purola

​Sankri is a small village in Uttarakhand in Uttarkashi district. This was the starting point of our trek. The village offers ecstatic views of the Himalayan skyline and a plethora of mountain peaks. We started from Dehradun for Sankri at about 8:30 in the morning and reached Sankri in the evening at about 7:30 pm. The 185 km long road journey was full of picturesque view all around. The beautiful travel songs playing in our Bluetooth speakers added to the essence of the scenic beauty outside the window and made the journey exciting and memorable. We halted at Purola for lunch and were mesmerized with the calmness of the place.

After a long and tiring journey, we finally reached Sankri, fully exhausted. However, the tiredness seemed to vanish soon as we looked at the sky and the magnificent moon started peeping out from the edges of the mountain peak. Moments later, the big full moon was clearly visible. The astounding view of the sky with millions of stars and the large full moon was enough for us to regain our lost energies. Never in my life, had I seen a moon so large. Another thing that drew everyone’s attention was the rapidly spreading forest fire. As learnt from the eldest member of our group, Mr. Amiya Ranjan Chatterjee or Amiya Sir (as everyone addressed him), naturally emerging forest fires starts by lightning and it is triggered by the combustion of dry Leaves and sawdust.  When this happens, the seed inside the hard shell of pine fruit gets exposed bringing the way for new pine trees to emerge which otherwise cannot happen.

​ Amiya Sir is a retired bank employee, who also is an experienced trekker, who has been trekking since the 80’s, kept inspiring us all through the journey. He possessed supernatural stamina at an age of 64, when we were losing our energies; he was walking up the unfriendly trails with absolute ease. It was a wonderful experience to have him in our group having 30 years of trekking experience, hundreds of stories to tell and having a wonderful quality of being able to gel with the young generation.

​Brijmohan, our guide, a young energetic person, studying Economics at a nearby college in Purola, accompanied us right from the time we reached Sankri. We had our dinner at a dhaba nearby as arranged by Brijmohan. It was a kind of candle light dinner for us as there was no electricity at that time. The weather was freezing cold with a temperature around two degrees Celsius.

Brijmohan had made all kinds of arrangements for our stay at Sankri. We stayed at a nearby home stay named Saur Gaon. Which was about 500 meters downhill. The hospitality and kindness we received there was overwhelming.

​Day 1: Sankri to Juda ka Talab

Next day our trek started from Sankri. Brijmohan arranged the permits. The journey from Sankri to Juda ka Talao was about 5 km .We started walking through the meandering forest trails, crossing lush green meadows, halted at tea stall in between. The teashop served maggi, bread omlette too.  On our way up, we came across mules carrying tents, sleeping bags, food items and other necessary utilities. The trail offered remarkable views of snow peaks and valleys. Our first camping site was at Juda ka Talab, about 9300 feet above sea level.  As we reached our campsite, we were served lunch. We ate khichdi and achaar for lunch; we were too hungry to judge the taste. After having lunch, we walked around the place to get the feel of the nature. The picturesque landscapes and the pristine air was blissful enough. Spending time in the lap of nature, far from network zone with no disturbances, is so rare; you can actually connect with the nature and feel the peace within.

​Day 2: Juda Ka Talab to Kedarkantha base camp

After having a tasty and healthy breakfast prepared by Randev, the cook cum assistant guide, we started for our day 2 trek to Kedarkantha base camp. On our way up, we crossed the frozen lake, which is known as Juda ka Talab. We had fun sliding on the frozen lake from one side to the other. We passed through tall pine trees and for the first time we got the glimpse of multiple snow-capped peaks standing tall circling the trail. It was delightful to see such amazing creations of nature.

For all the commercially organized treks by large tour operators, the place have drawn huge crowd, and that is the only thing that disappointed me in the whole trek. We reached the base camp at about 12 noon and had lunch. Then, we went out for a walk around. Many commercial agencies had pitched their tents all over the place. One could clearly view the magnificent Swargarohini peak from the place. In addition, the Kedarkantha peak that we would be climbing in the next morning could very well be spotted. We lit bonfire in the evening, sang songs, played cards but could hardly survive the chilled weather. After having delicious dinner, Randev and Brij gave us crampons and gaiters, which were very essential for snow trek. The crampons provides the grip and gaiters are required for walking through thick snow.

The Summit:

To view the sunrise from the peak, we had to start very early. Therefore, as per the instructions of our guide, we all set off for the summit at about 2:45 am. We were carrying breakfast packets and enough water to keep ourselves hydrated. Our feather jackets were ready to fend off the sub-zero and windy weather. As we started under midnight darkness, head torch was another essential item to be carried. Fortunately, there was enough moonlight, I could manage to see the trail easily just by following my co trekkers. After walking for an hour we halted at the only tea shop present midway. One of our team members decided to stay back as he got knee pain. Rest of us started again, after a short pause, regaining energies. The closer we got to the top, the trail became more strenuous, the elevation was almost 60 degrees and the open faces of the hill were so windy that we could hardly walk. The route was full of fresh snow, wet and slippery at times and the naked boulders were scary enough when we looked down. There was no stopping for a quick rest as it was extremely cold and other trekkers were following the same narrow trail before and behind us. The strong wind was stinging at the exposed part of our faces so hard that we could hardly keep our eyes open and see. The last 500 meters to summit was very demanding but by then we started smelling success, there was no question of looking back.

​Finally, after climbing a height of 1500 ft in about 3 hours, we finally made it to the top. It was approximately 15000 square feet semi flat area with absolutely stunning 360 degree views all around. It was an incredible sense of accomplishment. The starry sky opened wide above our head, and we could see moonlit snow tops miles and miles away across the panoramic horizon. The feeling was incredible and overwhelming. It was still dark, the wind speed and the high altitude brought down the temperature to -15 degrees Celsius. We took shelter behind a large boulder to avoid the strong wind and kept shivering and waiting for the break of dawn. Slowly the eastern sky started to glow red. The early lights brought vibrant dimensions to the already breathtaking scenery and the large flat hilltop opened 360-degree panoramic views of the horizon with new radiance of tranquility. The colors of the white capped mountains magically turned into liquid gold, sky was incredibly clear, we could easily see almost 30 miles radius in all directions. Slowly, new layers of the farthest mountain ranges started exposing themselves in the bright morning rays. The view was indeed breathtaking. By then, many other travelers started reaching the summit, and we realized that we were one of the very first groups to reach the peak. Again, the feeling was divine.

The descent from Kedarkantha top was another fun filled experience. We skied over the snow, coming down a distance in very short time. Midway we halted at the tea stall, had maggi and finished the breakfast packet we carried with us. It was about 8:30 am when we were back to the Kedarkantha base camp with dreamy eyes and soul full of memories. We had a long journey to cover still as instead of staying at Har Gaon, we had planned to reach Sankri that day. That would be about 12 km descent. The trail was very slippery and nearly all of us skidded and fell several times. By the time all our team members reached Sankri, sun had already set. After the long and tiring day, all were drained out. But the memories and enthralling experiences of the trek kept us awake till late that night. Each one of us had a story to tell.

​Sankri to Dehradun

​The worst part of every trip is when it ends. Ours too ended but the memories it created will last a lifetime. The next day we started our journey back to Dehradun following the same route, but this time we carried a bunch of wonderful memories and new experiences that we had gathered in the trip.

Trip has ended, but the journey is still on;
Time has passed, but the moment still lasts;
Home has arrived, but destination is still ways part;
Your memories are a loop, which will end only, when, our hearts apart…