Badrinath

After a long long drive to marked with many waterfalls, and spotting Kasturi hiran, we reached Badrinath. It was connected by road so no trek. We could walk the last village on the Indian border with Tibet, “Mana” village. It’s a retro living with small houses and tourist spots about almost every corner correlating to the Mahabharat. It’s a super scenic place where you can see the play of celestials. Sunlight, moon, clouds, mountains dressed in snow drapes flowing and falling accessorized by the flora and funa, Rushing waters and the boulders … all seem to be in a ballet. Shifting eyes between them is a challenge as each has a captive charm.

As the sunlight melts away ….

The rushing waters change tints. The roars seem to be more dominating now over the shrouded shoulders of the boulders. The glitter on the boulders is fading away after a daylong like the makeup on an artist making them look a little gloomy, thick and dark. Now it is time for a different makeup! Coming soon …. The mighty mountains are not staging a subtle show. Accessories are camouflaged, their flowing white drapes now seem to be frozen skin hugs. The white beauty of the prime time is just getting brighter while the glitters are slowly coming up to the

stage. Soon the ball room seem to turn into a dreamy night with stars so bright. Now the mountains were dressed in blue nightwear. I see life curling up to jump up tomorrow…..

At Bhim pool, we see a boulder over Saraswathi river as it put in place to cross over. Vyas Gufa and Ganesh Gufa are simple peaceful places with a nice aura. As we walk through the Mana village, the boards calling out as the last Indian village and last tea stall of India bring in a giggle and a different sense. We had a few yummy pakodas as one of the stalls there. We knew there were some interesting treks there like the Vasudhara Trek but did not have the time to do it.

Early in the morning at around 03:00 AM, we ventured out to realize it being pitch dark. We just followed the instructions given with our mobile torch and were at the temple to get a glimpse of the preceding deity. There was a long queue by then that was only getting longer. Once the temple opened, we could complete our darshan by 07:00 AM and then went around the place to Visit Seshanetra a rock that looks as if a might serpant has just raised one side of its head revealing one eye. The eye is not round but is more like a human eye.

The extreme dark and then the sunlight charmed up the whole place for a bright day. A great way to mark the end of our char dham pilgrimage. But the fun is not yet over. We continued on our itinerary to Auli, Rishikesh and Haridwar.