CHANDERSHILA

WE, HUSBAND AND WIFE BOTH

 ARE DOCTORS.WE HAVE TWO

 SONS.WE LIVE IN PATIALA CITY.

THE STORY OR RATHER THE

 EXPERIENCE I AM GOING TO

 TELL YOU IS ABOUT TWO YEARS

 BACK WHEN MY ELDER SON WAS

STUDYING IN CHANDIGARH AND

 WAS PREPARING FOR I I T. MY

YOUNGER SON WAS GOING ON

 A SCHOOL TRIP IN APRIL. SO WE

 BOTH DECIDED TO MAKE THE

 MOST OF THOSE SIX DAYS .

WE PLANNED A TRIP TO

 TUNGNATH CHANDERSHILA

 PEAK. IT WAS A TREK OF ABOUT

12 KMS AND FROM INTERNET WE

 FOUND OUT THAT THERE IS STILL

 SOME SNOW LEFT ON THE PEAKS.

WE ALREADY HAVE GONE TO SUCH

 PLACES BEFORE BUT WITH MY

 SISTER'S FAMILY AND WITH CHILDREN.

THIS TIME WE WERE ONLY TWO OF US

 AND WANTED TO MAKE IT AN ADVENTURE

 TRIP.

I BOOKED AN SUV FOR THE TRIP AND

 ALSO BOOKED A HOTEL IN DEVPRAYAG

 AND CHOPTA. WE STARTED OUR PACKING

 WITH WOOLENS AND TREKKING EQUIPMENT.

THE DAY CAME AND AFTER DROPPING MY

SON TO SCHOOL FOR HIS TRIP,WE STARTED

 OUR JOURNEY.

UP TO RISHIKESH THERE WAS HEAVY TRAFFIC

 BUT AFTER THAT THE ROADS WERE ALMOST

 EMPTY AND WE ALSO STARTED ENJOYING

THE SCENERY AROUND US .

RIVER GANGA WAS ACCOMPANYING US

 ALL ALONG. THE VIEW OF HILLS ON ONE SIDE

 AND RIVER ON THE OTHER WAS MESMERIZING

.WITH IN NO TIME WE REACHED DEVPRAYAG.

WE ENQUIRED ABOUT OUR HOTEL THERE AND

 FOUND OUT THAT IT WAS 2 KMS BEHIND. AS I

HAD NOT PAID ANYTHING ADVANCE TO MY

 HOTEL SO I DECIDED TO LOOK SOME HOTEL

THERE ONLY BUT ALL WERE VERY EXPENSIVE

 SO I DECIDED TO GO BACK. LUCKILY WHEN

 I DIALLED MANAGERS NUMBER, HE GAVE US

 GOOD DIRECTIONS AND WITH IN MINUTES

WE REACHED THE HOTEL. MANAGER ASKED

 THE COOK TO MAKE HOT PAKODAS FOR US

 AND HOT TEA. WE ENJOYED THE MEAL AS

 WE WERE VERY HUNGRY AFTER THE LONG

 JOURNY. WHEN I REACHED MY ROOM,THE

VIEW WAS VERY BEAUTIFUL. WE CAN SEE

 THE MEETING POINT OF ALAKNANDA AND

 BHAGIRATHI. I CLICKED SOME LOVELY PICTURES

 THERE. THE ROOM WAS VERY COZY AND WE

HAD A GOOD NIGHT SLEEP.

NEXT DAY WE WOKE UP EARLY AND DECIDED

 TO WALK TO THE SANGAM. IT WAS A VERY

 REFRESHING ONE HOUR WALK. AFTER HAVING

 A TASTY BREAKFAST WE HEADED FOR OUR

 NEXT DESTINATIN.

WE REACHED CHOPTA AT

ABOUT 5 IN THE EVENING. OUR HOTEL WAS

ABOUT 6 KMS FROM THE PLACE FROM WHERE

 WE HAVE TO START THE TREK. AS WE REACHED

 OUR HOTEL, IT WAS NOT LOOKING SO

 GOOD A PLACE TO STAY. AS WE HAD TIME WE

 DECIDED TO STAY ON THE WAY IN ANY GOOD

 HOTEL. TWO KMS TO THE PLACE WE SAW FEW

TENTS ON ROADSIDE. I STOPPED THE CAR AND

WENT TO THE PLACE TO ASK IF ANY TENTS ARE

 AVAILABLE. THE PERSON THERE WAS A YOUNG

GUY AND HE GAVE US A VERY GOOD TENT TO STAY.

WE WERE VERY EXHUSTED AND HUNGRY AND

 AFTER TAKING DINNER WE SLEPT IMMEDIATELY.

WHEN I WOKE UP IN MORNING I DECIDED TO

EXPLORE THE PLACE. THEY NAMED THE PLACE

NATURE'S HUTS AND THE PLACE WAS TRUE

 TO ITS NAME. I HEARD VOICES OF BIRDS AND

 SAW SOME BEAUTIFUL BIRDS I HAD NOT SEEN

 BEFORE. I WOKE UP MY WIFE AND WE BOTH

 ENJOYED OUR BREAKFAST IN THE OPEN IN

 COMPANY OF THESE SINGING BIRDS.

THEN I ASKED THE OWNER IF I CAN

 GET ANY GUIDE TO HELP US TREKKING TO

 CHANDERSHILA PEAK. HE SAID HIS ACCOMPLICE

 WILL GO WITH US AND HE IS WELL VERSED

 WITH THIS TREK.

WE STARTED THE TREK AT ABOUT 7 IN THE

 MORNING.THERE WAS NOT EVEN A TRACE

 OF SNOW BUT THE TREES OF BURANSH

 WERE IN FULL BLOOM AND THE FLOWERS

 FALLING FROM TREES WERE MAKING RED

 CARPET FOR US.

THE TREK WAS 6 KM UPWARDS AND 6 KMS

 DOWN.

AT ABOUT 2 KMS FROM START WE GOT FIRST

 GLIMPSE OF SNOW. THE ADVENTURE HAD

 ALREADY BEGUN. AS WE WENT HIGHER AND

HIGHER SNOW IS NOW BELOW OUR FEET

 AND WE HAVE TO WALK CAUTIOUSLY TO

AVOID SLIPPING. ON OUR WAY WE

 ENCOUNTERED MULTICOLORED BIRD

 MEENAL AND CLICKED MANY PICTURES

 OF HER.

IN ABOUT TWO HOURS WE REACHED

 TUNGNATH, THE HIGHEST TEMPLE OF

 LORD SHIVA IN THE WORLD. TUNGNATH

 IS ONE OF THE PANCH KEDAR TEMPLES.

TEMPLE WAS CLOSED AT THIS TIME OF

 THE YEAR AND WAS SURROUNDED BY

 3-4 FEET SNOW ON ALL SIDES.

WE TOOK OFF OUR SHOES AND PAID

 OUR OBEISANCE STANDING ON

 THE SNOW.IT WAS CHILLING AS WELL AS

 EXCITING.

PEAK OF CHANDESHILA IS ABOUT

 1 KM FROM TUNGNATH BUT THE ASCENT IS

 VERY STEEP . A FEW PERSONS THERE

 WERE SAYING THAT THE PATH IS VERY

 SLIPPERY DUE TO HEAVY SNOW AND IT

 IS VERY RISKY. WE DECIDED THAT WHEN

 WE FIND ANY DIFFICULTY WE WOULD STOP

 THERE AND COME BACK. AFTER ABOUT 100

 METERS WE ENCOUNTERED A VERY NARROW

 PATH COVERED WITH SNOW .WE THOUGHT

 THIS IS THE END OF THE ROAD FOR US BUT

 OUR GUIDE SAID DON'T WORRY I KNOW

ANOTHER SAFE PATH AND HE TOOK US

 TO THE PEAK. AS THE SNOW WAS ABOUT

 4 FEET DEEP, HE WALKED FIRST AND WE

 BOTH FOLLOWED HIS FOOTSTEPS. WE

 WERE AT CHANDERSHILA PEAK IN 1 HOUR.

FROM ABOVE THE VIEW WAS JUST

 UNDESCRIBABLE. ON ALL SIDES SNOW

CLAD PEAKS GAVE A SCENERY LIKE VIEW.

WE WERE FOR AN HOUR AT THE PEAK

 AND THEN STARTED DESCENDING.

WHILE GOING DOWNWARDS WE SAW

SOME YOUNG PEOPLE SLIDING DOWN

 THE SNOW AND HAVING FUN. WE WERE

 AFRAID INITIALLY BUT WHEN OUR GUIDE

MADE A PATH BY SLIDING HIMSELF WE

SLIDED BEHIND HIM FOR ABOUT 200

METERS. WE HAVE NOT EXPERIENCED

SUCH A THING BEFORE AND IT WAS A LIFETIME

 EXPERIENCE. WITH IN 1 HOUR WE WERE

AT THE STARTING POINT AND THEN

TO NATURES HUT.

NEXT DAY WE WENT TO DEORIA TAL

 AND ALSO HAD A VERY NICE TIME

 THERE. AFTER SPENDING TWO DAYS

 THERE WE STARTED OUR JOURNEY

 BACK HOME AND STAYED ONE DAY AT

 RUDRNATH. THIS TRIP IS ONE OF MY

MOST REMEMBERED TRIP AND WHENEVER

 I AND MY WIFE TALK OF OUR FAMILY

TRIPS THIS COMES TO MY MIND IMMEDIATELY

AND I CHERISH MOST THE MEMORIES OF

OUR SLIDING DOWN THE SNOW.