Places to visit near Roopkund
On a hot summer day, my heart started aching for a thrilling yet refreshing high altitude trek. My mind drifted to the popular Roopkund Trek, which is not just an adrenaline rush but also, famous for the skeletons in its closet.
This trek has every possible thing that one can desire- a dense vast forest, a thundering storm, snow-capped mountain peaks, and a tantalizing Frozen Lake. And fortunately or unfortunately I got to witness all of these things.
But, saying that I was totally convinced to embark on this thrilling trek is not true. I tried to find myself a partner who would be willing to go above16,000 feet in about four days. Yet, upon failing to find anyone and unable to ignore my cravings anymore – I did decide to undertake this amazing journey
Lohajung
This is one of the first stops that come on the way to the Roopkund Trek. I packed my bags and hopped on to a bus, as I prepared myself to board onto a very dilapidated looking bus. The bus journey can be best described as tiring, and it is more advisable to take a train. The bus stopped at Rishikesh. I got down and enjoyed the refreshing pollution free air after a tumultuous journey.
The next stop from Rishikesh is a small town called Karanprayag. This lovely green town is the best place to just get down and eat some lunch. There are a few cafes scattered around and the beautiful landscape makes it lovely to spend some time at. From Karanprayag I had to go to Dewal. This ordeal of mine took the most out of me. The frequencies of the best bus to Dewal is less, and I had to wait over an hour to get one. The sun was starting its descend and hiding behind the mountains when we reached this quaint town of Dewal. From Dewal I had to take a taxi to finally reach Lohajung
Lohajung is a small town and is one of the trailheads for the Roopkund Trek. I was to start with the trek the next day. My excitement got the better of me, and I ended up not sleeping and only staring at the clear dark blue sky filled with shimmering stars in Lohajung.
Didina
The trek starts off from Lohajung and the first stop is the cute little village of Didina. En route, there are more beautiful towns where you can sit back and rest.
I decided to halt at Kuling. This village is so picture perfect. It has about 50 houses all perched up on the hill, and everywhere there are red and pink flowers giving a lovely vibrancy to the whole town. The village is popular for harvesting the ‘Amarnath Crop’. The next part of the trail involves going down through the village and across these beloved Amarnath Crop fields. The area is absolutely delightful, there are forests and shrubs and a water stream all around this place.
As I reached the stream, I realised it was more like an obstacle course. I had to cross the stream by keeping my feet on some randomly placed rocks which were peaking out from the stream.
The village of Didina inched closer as I crossed the stream. For the next hour, I had to traverse a thick forest filled with spruce, cypress and oak trees. As I walked ahead and looked back, I marvelled at the different colours that filled the landscape. God was showing off his natural palate through this visual.
Bugyal
One of the campsites, Ali Bugyal is a vast meadow that is spread out as far as the eyes can meet. I set up my camp here along with several other enthusiastic hikers.
My next campsite was called The Bedni Bugyal. I reach there as the sun was setting. The beauty of that scene was one in a million. The sun started its descent and acquired an orange colour. Its rays touched the vast Bedni Bugyal and spread all over the grass. The small camps were coloured orange as the sun glowed on them, and covered the whole sky with a yellow colour. The mountains provided the perfect accompaniment to make this scene even grander than it was.
I spent the night here, and the energy was so electrifying. I and my fellow campers put on a bonfire and danced to some silly tunes- all under the starry sky. It was magical
The next day we had to leave to our next campsite in Pathar Nachaun. This stop actually taught me a lot of life experiences. We faced terrible weather, as it started to rain like cats and dogs. One of our tents also collapsed and was covered in snow the next day. It was extremely foggy, but the landscape was still undeniably heavenly. The snow-capped peaks were covered in a thick view of fog and only revealed as much as they wanted to. It seemed, that the mountains were having fun with us.
Bagua Basu
As we commenced our journey the next day, we had to reach Bagua Basu. This was located at 14,700 ft. As I started my journey I realised that the path is extremely twisty and curvy. With the giant mountains behind me and the clouds coming down near my eyes, my whole body started shaking. The path starts to gain altitude rapidly because of the curved pathways, and it becomes really hard for the body to adjust. At one stage I was gasping for breath. Yet, with the help of the other hikers, I somehow did manage to bring myself up and climb my way to Bagua Basu.
Roopkund
This was supposed to be the final stretch. We all got up as soon as the sun was done with its siesta and was making an appearance. The sun rays reflected perfectly from the thick layer of snow that lay ahead of us. The walk was fairly easy at first, but as we got closer and closer to this elusive lake, we realised how hard it was. There some magnificent frozen streams along the way and add a lot of beauty to the surroundings.
The lake is hidden behind the mighty mountains and ridges and I could only see it when I was directly over it. At first, I was relieved that I could make this journey all on my own, and then as I regained my senses I saw the beauty of this beautiful frozen lake. The lake was encased in this natural amphitheatre of rough peaks and mighty mountains which gives it a royal yet eerie feel. There were skeletons of humans and horses set up in an enormous pile beside the lake.
The popular legend suggests, that the King of Kanauj and his wife along with a dance troupe wherein a pilgrimage trip. Upon reaching Roopkund, due to a hailstorm, everyone fell to their deaths.
Junargali is the highest peak in Roopkund from where the views are out of this world. Yet, the snow was so slippery that I gave up. It was too much of a risk to take.
I stood there for a few minutes and tried to soak everything in. It was so beautiful and serene. Finally, I decided to head back.
After I reached a plain landscape, I reflected on the journey. It was so splendid and delightful in every possible way. I was filled with a renewed energy and would any day come back and do this trek all over again.
Junargali is the highest peak in Roopkund from where the views are out of this world. Yet, the snow was so slippery that I gave up. It was too much of a risk to take.
I stood there for a few minutes and tried to soak everything in. It was so beautiful and serene. Finally, I decided to head back.
After I reached a plain landscape, I reflected on the journey. It was so splendid and delightful in every possible way. I was filled with a renewed energy and would any day come back and do this trek all over again.
