Madhyamaheshwar

Soumya Chattopadhyay

See the photos
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredi...pAE&feat=email

spicetrekker

Absolutely agree that it is the easier route. But if you go up and come down both from Panar and Sagar , I suggest that if you have time do a short trek from Mandal to Anusuya mata temple. It is a great temple and you can also go to Atri Muni ashram

somnath biswas

Thanks for the information. I read it that Atri Muni Ashram is the beautiful place to see in this route. One has to cross one waterfall to reach there.
Now the question is: Is it possible to visit both (Anusuya Devi and Artri Muni Ashram in a day from Mandal and back? How long and tough it is from Mandal?

Also want to know staying option at Sagar and Mandal.

spicetrekker

Well the Anusuya temple is around 5-6 kms from Mandal and the Ashram a further 1.5-2 kms - this is what my guide informed me but somehow in the mountains the distances seem longers sepcially when you are trekking

So it is possible to go and come in one day say around 7 kms up and 7 kms down. So if you leave by 6 am and do it in a liesurely manner you could easily come down 4-5 pm and get around 4-5 hrs at Anusuya temple which is good enough but my suggestion is to stay there as the staying option in Mandal is not very great. I stayed in a lodge just across the road from the Main Gate of the path leading to Anusuya temple - I dont remember the name but it was an ok kind of lodge. So other option is to climb to Anusuya stay there and then next morning leave by 7 am to reach Mandal by 8.30 am or max 9.00 am which still leaves you with the whole day to spare.

In Sagar there is a lodge called Hariyali which is decent.

somnath biswas

Great information Spicetrekker. As per your suggestion if we stay at Anusuya Temple next morning we can climb down to Mandal in two hours.
Alternatively, is it possible to come down from Rudranath via Anusuya Devi.Then the route would be like this:
Sagar>Panar>Rudranath>Panar>At rimuni Ashram>Anusuya Devi>Mandal.
Is it possible?

spicetrekker

Two hours is certainly doable. You can come down via Anusuya from Rudranath but it is not an easy route. The problem in this route is that the track is not clearly laid out so you need a good guide plus from Nyala pass there is almost a continuous descent and more importantly it would mean doing around 17-18 kms a day so it can be a long day. The advantage of the Panar route is that the two legs are almost divided into almost equal halfs. On the Anusyua route the Anusuya to Mandal is very short and the Rudranth to Anusuya is fairly long.
I climbed from Mandal but instead of staying at Anusuya we just spent a few hrs there had lunch and then proceeded further towards Rudranth. We stopped at one the shepherds hut below the Nyala pass but the acco was very basic even by mountain standards, the bed was hay covered on the floor with blankets, luckily we had our sleeping bags ....
I suggest climb from Sagar- Mandal and see how you fare, if your guide feels you can do the Anusuya route then go for it else you come down the same route.

somnath biswas

Thank you so much Spicetrekker. With family it is better to come down to Sagar as per your suggestion. Then go to Mandal for Anusuya Devi.

Secondly, in a map of Uttarakhand, I did not find the name of Sagar. It is written as 'Gangol Gaon' from where the trek route to Panar/ Naila/ Rudranath is marked. Sagar is newly named or Gangol Gaon is different?

sagarneel

This is a great thread! Got lots of info on Madhmaheshwar! Thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread! BTW, any change in the phone numbers of the guides/porters? or they are still the same...Madhmaheshwar is a place where I dream to be , and this thread will guide me a lot!
Thanks again.
Sagarneel.

__________________
My photos: http://www.trekearth.com/members/sagar/photos/

spicetrekker

Sir my spelling mistake sorry. It is not Sagar but Saggar.

The foll is an extract from one of the websites

Saggar: Saggar is the commencement point of the trek to Rudranath which is 4th Kedar dedicated to Lord Shiva. The 22km trek to Rudranath is the toughest one amongst the Panch Kedar. Saggar is located 5kms from Gopeshwar on Gopeshwar Ukhimath road.

somnath biswas

Neither Sagar nor Saggar is written in that Map. I am attaching the map through private message for your perusal. It is written as 'Gangol Gaon'.

spicetrekker

The map you have sent is slow to open - so I have run out of patience and bandwidth.

I think you taxi driver will know Saggar so dont worry about it. From the blog (link attached) it seems Gangoalgoan is some place close to Saggar

http://bugshead.blogspot.com/2008_08_01_archive.html

somnath biswas

Thank you so much Spicetrekker for the attachment. It's really nice . I read it and enjoyed it's every line.
Thank you once again.

somnath biswas

27.09.2009 - It was Navami or Navratri and for the last 10 years we set out on annual family trip on this day. Considering the heavy demand for cabs during Durga Puja, we booked one Megacab (41414141) and requested it to report to our house at 1630. The experience was very good as they sent a new ac car with. Meanwhile, there was a famous Puja which we had missed seeing during our visit to Puja Pandals over the last four days, called ‘Palli-Saradia’. My wife and son were pressing me to go there. We requested the driver to go to the ‘Pandel’ en route Sealdah, from where we were to go to Delhi by Duronto Express. We reached Sealdah at 1800 hours as our train was scheduled to leave at 1840. It started a few minutes late. The train was neat and clean as it had been inaugurated just one week back. The feeling inside the train was very good. We were served tomato soup instead of tea as soon it started. Then they took order for dinner. The food was very good. At night the train was running at full speed. It’s a non stop train from Sealdah to New Delhi.

28.09.2009 – We reached New Delhi at 10.30, half an hour ahead of scheduled time of arrival. We took one Maruti van and went toOld Delhi Railway station. On arrival we contacted the concern person at railway station to whom the fax was sent for our accommodation and he organized a room on the first floor at the railway station. After freshening up, we started for Nizamuddin for lunch at ‘Karims’ by an auto. On our way back we requested the auto to drop us at Chandni Market as my son was looking for a Jeans Jacket. As it was Dussera, the market started closing by that time. The market was crowded. We came back to Railway station after some shopping as there was nothing new to see at Delhi.

At night we saw fire works from the first floor of the railway station. At 2100 hours we left for the station and packed our lunch from McDonald outlet, which had opened very recently at Old Delhi railway station. Then we took our train ‘Mansuri Express’. The food was delicious. The train was smooth and the co passengers were also from Kolkata. After chatting with them we went to sleep.

29.09.2009- We reached Raiwala and faced a problem getting down from the train. The platform of the station is too small. All the AC compartments were on the rear side hence the problem. The station is in bad shape. None of the water taps are functional. We wanted to freshen up inside the station which we couldn’t. We came out from the station and took an auto to reach Rishikesh. There we stayed at Jairam Ashram Which is a very nice place.

30.09.2009- We started from Rishikesh at 0800 hours and reached GMVN Ukhimath at1600 hours. To me, GMVN is not a good choice for the travelers who are visiting Madmaheswar. One has to come to the market for taking bus or hired jeep for Uniana. After arriving at Ukhimath, we went to the market (2 km from GMVN) to find out about the availability of communication for Uniana next day. On our return from the market we met Dinesh Tiwari of Anushri Lodge who had promised me two years back that he would set up a lodge just opposite to Bharat Seva Ashram. It’s nice place to stay for those who are heading towards Chopta. Anushri’s phone numbers are: 01364-264313, 097580 71182.

1.10.2009 - We reached Ukhimath bus stand next morning for Uniana and reached there at 1215 hours as we had started very late. Our trek started without any delay. Our Porter Darwan Singh who was accompanying us from Ukhimath, was requesting us to start early to reach Gondar on time. At Ransi we discovered that we had left one of our luggage at the taxi stand at Uniana in the hurry and when we expressed our concern to the owner of the Dhaba, Mr. Dilip Sing Rana at Ransi, he requested his son to help us. He started running for Uniana forthwith and assured us that he would bring the luggage if it was there. We told Darwan Singh to stay back and retrieve the luggage from Dilip Sing’s son and we headed towards Gondar. My wife who had developed Osteoarthritis in her right knee joint very recently is a very slow walker and hence we decided to proceed a bit early. While sitting in Dilip Sing’s Dhaba, he told us about his desire to build a small pucca building for his dhaba in the winter. He also told me that he could arrange everything for the Madmaheswar tourists in future from Ransi (09456560586). It was tremendously hot at Ransi. At a very slow pace, we reached Gondar at 1700 hours. It was drizzling when we reached there. On our way to Gondar Darwan Singh overtook us with a smile on his face and showed us the retrieved baggage. Reaching Gondar, Mr. Panwar had accommodation ready for us as we had informed him few days back. As soon as we entered our room, it started raining heavily.

2.10.2009- It was a bright morning at Gondar. We started for our destination, Madmaheswar at 0700 hours. On our arrival at MM, we were told by the Mandir Committee that there was no room available. We had to take a private lodge instead. It’s most unfortunate part that in spite of so many tourists visiting that place each year, no proper latrine and other facilities are available in any private lodge. Forest department is not allowing them to open it. At least one Sulav Complex can be developed for the tourists by the authority. Forest department’s bungalow was under lock and key. No one was there to hear our complaint. Only one pucca bathroom cum latrine was there in Mandir Committee’s guest house.. We saw long queue of tourists out side next day morning.

In the evening, we witnessed beautiful Aarti at the Mandir. The priest was a tall young man. It was drizzling outside. Clouds were coming very close to us. The scenic beauty surrounding the temple was awesome. We were feeling very cold at night. We were served ‘Kichri and Alu fry’ for dinner. After dinner we got into bed and discovered that there were open spaces in that room from where air was coming. We could not sleep properly at night due to the cold breeze.

3.10.2009- at 0530 hours My son and me started for Buda MM along with the porter. My wife was resting at the cottage. It was partly cloudy. Unfortunately we could not see Chowkhamba clearly in the morning. Some part of the sky was clear. We stayed there for 2 hours and came back after clicking few snaps. Then we started preparation for our return journey at a very slow pace - as you all know that in mountain, getting down is more treacherous than going up. We stopped almost at all Dhabas for rest. On our way back we met a nice man at Khatara. His health is not good and he expressed his desire to come to Kolkata for treatment. I had given my cell no. to him in case he needs my help. He offered me a cup of tea and was very reluctant to take money from me, though I forcefully paid him a little more. In fact I told few passengers who I met on my way to stay at Khatara. Finally we reached Gondar at 1630 hours. We went down to see the temple of Shiva at Gondar and saw a nice primary school adjacent to the temple. We met few school teachers who were preparing to go home on the occasion of Dewali. It was the nicest place of Gondar. One has to climb a little down from the main path to reach there. This is a must see place at Gondar. While seeping tea at Panwar’s Dhaba, rain started again. Somehow we managed to enter our room as it was very near. The rain was lasted for another few hours. Clouds were coming down from hill to the Madmaheswar Ganga. Slowly it was getting dark. With folded hand we requested Panwar to organize Dal and Alu fry for us with Rice and Roti and not Beans Sabji. At night we were feeling very cold inside the room due to rain.

4.10.2009- after saying goodbye to Panwar, we headed for Uniana at 0800 hours. Due to rain most of the roads were slippery and few roads were very risky due to land slide. Somehow we managed to get down at a very slow pace and reached Ransi at 1100 hours. My son and the porter reached there at least an hour before. The porter was playing cricket with the small kids. We took tea and biscuit at Dilip Singh’s Dhaba and rewarded his boy who brought our lost baggage from Uniana. Then we started for our destination ‘Uniana’ and reached there by 1230. The tourists with whom we stayed at Panwar’s guest house were also going to Uniana and hired one van for them and offered us to share. My son and the guide were waiting for us and it was almost one kilometer before the main bus stand. We started for Ukhimath after paying the charges of the porter @ 300/- per day. He was with us for 4 days.

The return to civilization was a kind of drop from the heights for us.
I reach the plains and my heart is preparing to make another trip to Himalayas with its holy atmosphere. Who discovered these spots? How did they reach there and who were the people who continued to keep up the tradition through the years and conduct the daily pujas of these lonely shrines is a mystery which has always fascinated me.

We have tested our ability and if everything goes right, we will complete Panchkedar next year, with a trip to Rudranath..

Open the link for photographs.

http://picasaweb.google.co.in/somnat...eat=directlink

mousourik

Excellent.

Is there any way of booking the mandir committee rooms ?

Nice pics, too.

Soumya Chattopadhyay

Today I noticed the old link is not working. Very Sorry friends.
Please visit the album @
http://picasaweb.google.com/soumya.c... q64ovkqpHCfg#