Dharchula...

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Dharchula is on the banks of River Mahakali, that separates India and Nepal and as the name suggests is really fierce, wild and untamed, will flow beside us for the next four days and when Mahakali leaves hills in Tanakpur, Uttarakhand its known as Sharda. Its free border here at Dharchula and you will see many Nepalese. It also acts as a last major town to make last minute purchases and here we bought Cans for bringing back the holy water from Lake Mansarovar.

The hotel is midsized and can easily accommodate a batch of 60. We were almost 12 short of it so had no problems. Here again our group of 4 stayed together in a big room. Dharchula, at just 800-900 meters above sea level, is an ancient trading town and is situated in a valley but surrounded by massive hills and acts as the base for many trekking expeditions.

We were briefed about the trekking route and various facilities in between and interested fellows had to give their ponies and porters requirements. The team of KMVN doctors and UK police joined us here and would go with us till the border. We left Dharchula at 7 a.m. the next day.

It’s almost 54 km by jeep to Narayan Swami Ashram via Tawaghat and Pangu and then a 6 km trek leads one to KMVN camp at Sirkha. Tawaghat is the place where Dhauliganga and Kaliganga meet. Situated on the Kailash Manasarovar route, Narayan Swami Ashram was established by Shri Narayan Swamiji in 1936. The Ashram, which took 10 years to construct, is known for its scenic and mesmerizing beauty.

Trekking normally starts from Narayan Swami Ashram where pony and porter arrangements would become effective up to the Lipulekh Pass. The road after Pangu at times may not be motorable due to bad weather, the trekking would then start from Pangu itself with pony and porter arrangements, and so was the case with us.

We left Delhi on August 15, the Independence Day and ours was the second last batch and we finally got to trek for the next six days on day seven. We reached Pangu in an hour by jeeps and waited for fellows to have their ponies and porters and it took another one hour. We could see the snow capped distant peaks from there and I had no idea what it was going to be, so I started slow.

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