Solo Trip to the 1st temple built by Pandava Brothers – Kedarnath, Uttrakhand

Tripoto
15th May 2019

Kedarnath Temple

Photo of Solo Trip to the 1st temple built by Pandava Brothers – Kedarnath, Uttrakhand by Akshat Bansal

Just right after finishing my MBA, I pursued my enthusiasm for traveling and trekking. Peruse the news about the opening of ways of Kedarnath in May 2019 made me have an idea that Kedarnath trek would be the best and noteworthy approach to begin my new adventure in the journey of traveling and trekking. Fortunately, I was in the Northern part of the nation, the capital of India Delhi. Kedarnath is effectively accessible by road from the nation's capital Delhi.

Photo of Solo Trip to the 1st temple built by Pandava Brothers – Kedarnath, Uttrakhand 1/4 by Akshat Bansal

I realized the journey would be tiring and long. Thus I boarded the Volvo bus from Delhi in the night till Rishikesh. With no earlier research, I reached Rishikesh around 6 am toward the beginning of the day and made sense that most of the buses depart from Rishikesh to Sonprayag very early in the morning. It is best prescribed to reach Rishikesh around 4 am. Still, I figured out to grab a seat on the private bus till Rudraprayag. The bus wasn't comfortable yet in one way or another dealt with the pain in the back and legs. I spruced up in Rudraprayag and ate. I began chasing for shared cabs and it took me an additional 40 minutes to grab a seat in shared taxi till Sonprayag. By the night I reached to Sonprayag and when I ventured down from the taxi, I saw a common area where anybody can rest in an open lobby for INR150. Since I had my sleeping bag with me, I was without any worry regardless of whether I don't get a space to rest. There was an enormous chunk of pilgrims than I expected and it was hard to get a room. Better to book a decent room online before leaving hometown. Fortunately, I figured out to locate a not too bad room for INR800, OK enough to rest for the evening.

Photo of Solo Trip to the 1st temple built by Pandava Brothers – Kedarnath, Uttrakhand 2/4 by Akshat Bansal

The following day again I had to wait for 3 hours will get into a taxi till Gaurikund as I woke up late in the morning. I wish I should remain in the long line of the taxi at 4 in the morning that could help me in reaching Kedarnath before the dark. Mind you no private vehicles are permitted from Sonprayag to Gaurikund (Base town of Kedarnath trek). One needs to board the shared taxi or stroll for 6km till Gaurikund. There are various choices for travelers and pilgrims to reach Kedarnath. One can hire a mule, pithoo or trek for 14km. Being a solo explorer, clearly, I chose to trek. The trek appeared to be straightforward for a couple of kilometers and the last couple of kilometers were very troublesome as it was dark and raining for the entire day. The way was very dangerous and strolling in transit between the ices of glaciers was very troublesome. By one way or another, I figured out to finish the trek by 8 pm relying on flashlight of the mobile phone. I effectively reserved a bed in the dorm through the Uttrakhand Government site ahead of time. It was very cold in the night and sustenance wasn't great as well. Attempt abstain from eating Maggi during the trek as you should be hydrated and Maggi dehydrates the body. Drink water as much as you can and consume glucon-d to keep your body hydrated.

Photo of Solo Trip to the 1st temple built by Pandava Brothers – Kedarnath, Uttrakhand 3/4 by Akshat Bansal

My recommendation would be the equivalent for every single day spend in Kedarnath is to begin your day at around 4 am. Since I was drained the earlier day, I dozed early and woke up at 4 am and went directly to the temple for the blessings. I met some solo traveler’s right outside the temple clicking photos of the iconic views. So I joined a couple of other solo travelers to trek for the next couple of hours to Gandhi Sarovar and the views were shocking. Fortunately, I extended my booking in the dorm for one more night and decided to trek from Kedarnath to Gaurikund the next morning after the blessing in the temple.

Photo of Solo Trip to the 1st temple built by Pandava Brothers – Kedarnath, Uttrakhand 4/4 by Akshat Bansal

The return journey was smooth with an adequate number of tea, coffee shops. Because of the visit of our respectable Prime Minister to Kedarnath temple upon the arrival of my return, my schedule for a blessing on the return journey was delayed by 4 hours. I reached Gaurikund late during the evening around 11 pm and experienced the long queue of thousands of pilgrims and travelers sitting tight for their turn in a shared taxi. I decided and chose to remain at Gaurikund for the evening and one kind individual who was the resident of Gaurikund offered me to drop to Sonprayag on his motorbike (The residents of Gaurikund are permitted to drive their own vehicle ahead of Sonprayag). Reached to Sonprayag at around 1 am and decided to hang tight for the bus to Rishikesh. I boarded the Uttrakhand Government bus which was very comfortable because of more leg space in contrast to local private buses. The journey to Haridwar was manageable and I decided to board the Volvo bus from Haridwar in the wake of spending a couple of hours in Haridwar. At long last, I reached Delhi in the early morning and spent a couple of days investigating the capital city of the nation before my next destination.

For more travel stories and to connect with the places I travel, Follow me on Instagram at akshat_bnsl