2018 pilgrimages - Yamunotri
The year 2018 was many things for me. But the few things that stood out, were part of the Chhota Char Dham Yatra (pilgrimage) in Uttarakhand. We took GMVN's (Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam) 10 day guided tour package and visited all four dham . But I'll keep each post specific to one dham. And this will be about Yamunotri (3293 m asl) , the first of the four chhota char dham. Our journey started in a rickety but fully functional(?!) bus from Haridwar in the morning and culminated at Janaki Chatti late at night on the first day. We passed by Rishikesh, and caught few glimpses of Mussoorie on the way. Beyond Barkot, the journey became adventurous as the roads were narrow, non-existent, and highly prone to landslides. A stop for lunch little before Barkot We had the next day all to ourselves. But we started the hike early at 7:00 am as recommended by our tour guide. It is a 6 km (approx. 3 hours) trail one-way from Janaki Chatti. The path was well paved with plenty of shops and rest...