Different places to travel » Snow

Lord Amarnath Yatra: The holy pilgrimage

Traveller — Sat, 30 May 2009 17:09:09 +0000

Climate: Average Max temp 16°C, Min Temperature -4°C.
Best time to visit: July to August.
Height: Amarnath is located at a height of 3888 metre above sea level.

The trek to the Amarnath caves during the months of June – August every year is one of the most holy pilgrimages for Hindus. However, it is an ardous trek, passing through mountains, through ice and involving physical hardship. However, a large number of tourists (in the hundreds of thousands) visit the caves during the auspicious period.
The Cave entrance is a very visible hole on the side of the mountain. Inside, it has the Shivalinga formed naturally of an ice stalagmite. Unbelievably, it waxes and wanes along with the phases of the moon. By its side are two more ice lingams, of Parvati and Ganesha. On the full moon day the linga is about 6 ft high.
As per mythology, Lord Shiva is one of the holy trinity, a living god. Lord Shiva was explaining the secret of creation to his consort, Parvati. Unknown to them, a pair of doves eavesdropped on this conversation and having learnt the secret, are reborn again and again, and have made the cave their eternal abode. Many pilgrims report seeing the pigeons-pair when they trek the arduous route to pay obeisance before the ice-lingam.
According to an ancient tale, there was once Muslim shepherd named Buta Malik who was given a sack of coal by a Sadhu. Upon reaching home he discovered that the sack, in fact, contained gold. Overjoyed and overcome. Buta Malik rushed back to look for the sadhu and thank him, but on the spot of their meeting discovered a cave, and eventually this became a place of pilgrimage for all believers. To date, a percentage of the donations made by pilgrims are given to the descendants of Malik, and the remaining to the trust which manages the shrine. The cave was re-discovered in 1850, although details of the pilgrimage has been documented in historical tales for many years, with the belief being that the knowledge of the cave has been known for 5,000 years now.

Amarnath on maps.google.com

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Amarnath on mapmyindia.com

There is no place to stay at the Amarnath caves, and hence return from the caves is a must.
Tips for a safe trip:
* Be in good physical condition as the yatra is very long and rigorous. You will need to be fit to endure the journey.
* You should carry needful warm clothings and wind shield with proper shoes. The weather can be very dangerous during the trip. The climatic conditions are very uncertain . Rain or snowfall may take place at any time or place during the Yatra . It is to be particularly noted that abrupt changes in temperature might occur.
* Carry water with you along with dry fruits and baked grams during journey.
* Do pack your common medicines such as Glucose, Disprin etc. for an instant relief in case of any emergency.
* Keep vaseline or cold cream with you to have protection against cold winds.
* The item one must carry in abundance is sunscreen cream. The merciless sun can burn the exposed parts in minutes.
* Drugs are prohibited during your journey.
* Do not take short cuts and stop at such places which have warning notices as it may be dangerous for your life even. The terrain can be fairly dangerous, so be careful.

How to reach:

Air: The capital of Jammu & Kashmir, Srinagar has the nearest airport. Srinagar is located 45 km from Amarnath. Srinagar is well connected by flight to other cities of India.

Rail: The summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, Jammu city is the nearest railway station. There is considerable distance between Jammu and Amarnath caves (300 km) and the road jounrney takes many hours.

Road: Amarnath is accessible from Pahalgam or Baltal, and both these locations are well connected by road from Srinagar.

Helicopter: The Amarnath caves are now well connected by helicopter from Baltal and Srinagar. (Refer this site for a package)

One of the routes:
From Pahalgaam, the taxi drops you at Chandanwari, and then the trek to Lord Amarnath Caves starts from Chandanwari. On a normal trek, the first day’s stoppage is at Sheshnag, second day stop is Panchtarni, and on the third day you go from Panchtarni to the holy cave and come back and stay in the night at Panchtarni. The return is just like the forward trek, first return to Sheshnag and then Chandanwari.

External sites / blogs:
1. Trekking to Amarnath Yatra (link)

Scenic beauty nearby was wonderful. Devdar trees, waterfalls, snow color river, flowers of different kinds, environment of Amarnath Yatra and zeal of Kashmir started taking on us. Here on we started admiring beauty of Kashmir and why all call it as heaven on the earth.

2. Spiritual travel post on Amarnath yatra (link)

No matter how fit you are, this is one demanding hike. The religious faith and zeal are what keep most of the people going. There are huge community kitchens set up at regular distances to feed the people. Some tents are also provided to offer shelter from the elements as you break for the night. The climb is difficult but it is not uncommon to see entire families making the journey together. You will have grand parents, parents and children all climbing up the slippery and treacherous slopes together. Falling, recovering, and supporting each another with physical help and encouraging words.

3. Some beautiful photos (link)

Shrikhand Mahadev in Himachal in India – an ardous trek

Traveller — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 13:06:17 +0000

Shrikhand Mahadev is a beautiful pilgrimage trek, located high up at around 5200 meters high in the Kullu region. It is an ardous trek, but is attracting an increasing number of pilgrims during the pilgrimage months, to see the natural Shiva Lingam. Round the year the snow falls here, but it does not stay at the Shiva-linga and melts down soon thereafter, seen as a miracle.

There are three ways to reach Shrikhand Mahadev
1. via Shimla-Narkanda-Rampur Busharhr-Arsu-Baghipul
2. from Kullu side—last village conneted by road is Bathad in Banjar Block of distt. Kullu…From Bathad a steep track leads to BASHLEU PASS and then it leads to a very beautiful village SARAHAN
3. Third track is via Rampur Bushahr-Jeory…. but this is very hard and usually local people from Shimla-SARAHAN area use this track…

Devotees set forth on foot from Nirmand town in Kullu district, around 140 kliometres from Shimla, to offer prayers at the shrine of Shivpindi on the Himalayan peak, which is 18,500 feet above sea-level. It is a 70-km two-way track passing through dense forests, water streams, sprawling meadows and lofty mountains. The climb is difficult but it offers a panoramic view.
This pilgrimage is described to be as significant as the famous Amarnath Yatra. It is usually undertaken to coincide with the Ashada Poornima or, full moon day of June to July) as per the Hindu Vikrami calendar. It continues till the Poornima of Ashwani month (full moon day of September to October).
A detailed description of the journey to Shrikhand Mahadev and the routes to it, along with difficulty level and the facilities available is on this site.

Trip to Switzerland: Part 3 – Jungfrau: Top of Europe

Traveller — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 16:23:05 +0000

After the fairly long journey getting to Jungfrau (3 separate trains is no joke), you reach the underground train station (in fact, a large portion of the infrastructure at Jungfrau, is underground – or more accurately, built into the side of the mountain under ice and rock). You get out of the train station, and into the multi-level structure. This multi-level structure has different establishments at different levels – you have the restrooms, sovenier shops, restaurants (Indian, European, Chinese cafe (with a variety of soups, noodles, sandwiches, and other quick eat stuff)), exit to the Ice Palace, exit to a balcony type structure that leads to a great view of the long 14 mile long Aletsch Glacier, an exit to the Sphinx Tunnel (that leads to an elevator that rises more than 100 m to the Observation Deck).
So, let us take it step by step. The first thing we did on reaching the place was to take our breath (and that too deeply); it is not unknown to feel some discomfort because of the height. Once having rested and having had some soup noodles from the Chinese open cafe, we were ready to explore. The first thing we did was to head to the glass revolving door that leads to a balcony / corridor sort of structure which provides a great view of the Aletsch Glacier. It was a great view from there, and se spent some time just admiring the view. There were also some black birds perched on the railing, and I was trying to get a good photo of the birds without scaring them away. They let humans come close without flying away. We had gone in July, and even though there was a glacier all around, the temperature was certainly not at freezing level.

The 14-mile Aletsch glacier as seen from Jungfrau

Blackbird balancing on one leg at Jungfrau

After spending some time over there, we decided to enjoy the other major attraction of the place, the ‘Ice Palace’. This is a cross-work of tunnels built inside the slower moving portion of the glacier, and has figurines inside made in the shape of animals and birds. The place has a slightly green color, and you have that feeling of being surrounded on all sides by ice; in fact, sometimes you need to hang on since the floor can be a bit slippery (after all, you are walking on ice with a tinge of water). It feels great, although there is that paranoid feeling about what would happen if the glacier suddenly moved ?

Tunnel leading inside the Ice Palace (with ice on all sides) in Jungfrau

Greenish tinge from the sculptures inside the Ice Palace in Jung frau

Next on the visiting area is an exit to another glacier. This is a place where you can actually walk on a glacier (cordoned off at the sides) where you can gather snow, watch water forming small channels, and get some great views of the surrounding vistas. We had lots of fun at this location, what with a mock snow fight, lots of posing, and the feeling of walking slowly at some of the points where the ice was either slippery or slush had formed due to water and snow. At the same time, there were kids running wildly on the same snow – the feeling of being young !

Tourists enjoying on the glacier next to Jungfrau

Tearing ourselves away from this location, we proceeded to the next destination, the Observation Tower. This is a platform built higher up on the mountain, and is reachable from the main Jungfrau complex through a tunnel called the Sphinx tunnel and then a lift that climbs 100 meters. It remains crowded, but the platform offers a great view. It is a metal platform, supported on the mountain slope, although you can see below that there is infact a sheer drop right below the metal grid that makes the platform. As can be expected, you get a great view.

Weather display at the observation tower in Jungfrau

The bottom of the observation terrace at Jungfrau actually hangs over thin air

Observatory and metal platform at the observation tower at Jungfrau

There are more things you can do at Jungfrau such as the glacier talk, and even a dogsled pulled by huskies, but it was over for us now. Time to head down after having spent many a hours at the location (was a great memory, and the photographs will refresh these memories). We headed back down, although it took time since the train back had a long queue and was a long wait.

More photos of Jungfrau (and the trip) at this location (you can view a slideshow through the option in the menu at the left).

Website of Jungfrau Railways where you can book tickets as well (link)