Sacred heights of Uttaranchal - Khatling glacier

jyotirmoy

If some one asks me which trek had thrilled me the most I would immediately say there are two of them equally thrilling & most enriching. The first one from Mala to Triyuginarayan through incredibly beautiful bugyals of Belak & Panwali and the second is the trek to Khatling glaciers.
The Khatling Glacier(3660m) is a lateral glacier, from the center of which rises the bubbly river Bhilangana. It is associated with the hanging glaciers of Ratangian, Jogin & Phating.
Nature has bestowed her bounty on the Vale of the Bhilangana in abundance. The pasture lands here criss crossed by brooks are very very enchanting. We delayed our trek by camping back at certain places, simply not willing to leave. The entire trek is studded with dense green forests & delightful meadows. From time to time majestic & towering water falls greet you in a dazzling spectacle. Rainbows form on the water vapours.

We had hired an excellent guide cum porter & his assitant from Ghuttu. A year before during our trek from Mala to Triyuginarayan me & my wife was in a bit of bad shape although our daughters pretty young those days were perfectly fit when we scrambled in to Ghuttu. A very kind trader made arrangements for us to stay two nights at the government bungalow there. During our Khatling trip he had arranged for this guide from the village of Gangi. Gangi was the last village in the valley on the way to Khatling. It was thru our guide that we got the chance to spend a few days in this picturesque village totally cut off from the world. We noticed that being so cut off the villagers are compelled to marry near relatives. As a consequence many couples are issueless.
The knowledgeable guide took us towards the moraines on the side of the glaciers where a semi frozen lake called Bhil Sarovar is. The flat lands on these moraines and the exquisite Kunali Bugyal are heavenly places. If you want to loose your head be there on a full moon night. The mountain Sphatik Prishtawn made of white quartz dazzles in a silver glow nearly blinding you. There are caves at Khatling & at Tamkund where one could sleep.
A good guide, enough provisions, good tents(must be graded for the wind velocity of 4500m Himlayan heights), ample stock of batteries, down filled sleeping bags are some of the essential stuffs you should carry if you really want to loose yourself in this garden of heaven. Carry some fire crackers too. At some places there are panthers. Firing a few crackers at night helps to scare them away.
The route:
Ghuttu – Reeh(10Km) – Gangi(10Km) – Biroda(7Km) – Pachari(8Km) – Tamakund(8Km) – Khatling Glacier(3Km).

Note: In this trek you will have to cross some brooks on log bridges, so carry a long narrow backpack & pack it in such a way that the heavier items are on the top. This helps to raise the center of gravity which is essential to keep good balance.

jyotirmoy

The info given here is quite old. I requested Avidtrekker to correct these. He informs that motorable routes & buses may take you further than it did for us. So please enquire about the present situation.
Regards.

SeentheLight

this trek sounds fantastic and an excellent alternative to the Nepal trek I might now have to cancel.

Thanks Jyoti

jyotirmoy

Dear Friend,
Nice to find you here. Yes this trek is something I cant really forget.\Today was a fantastic day with glorious sunshine & crisp air. Indianworker an expat from your country came over for the best Italian food in my friends place next to my office at Diva then went out for a drive. Went to a rarely known place to watch the birds at sunset & listened to Emerson Lake & Paalmer!

AvidTrekker

It seems you haven't spent time in our trekking forum here. Many other equally fascinating treks are also listed.

Please do!

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jyotirmoy

Yes avid I will surely go thru these, actually every trek in the Himalayas is an enriching experience by itself!

jyotipg

Hmm.. Luckily this area has not seen much of modern civilisation as of yet..
The trucks just go till a village called Devling 4 kms ahead of ghuttu.. Jeeps cant go there.. there is deep cut on the road just as we move ahead of ghuttu which is not crossable by a jeep.

Now the story of villagers of Gangi as told by my guide..

The people of Gangi are actally tribals (Bhils) who had a entirely different lifestyle than the people in lower hills.. thats why the area is called Bhilangana.. they used to fight with bow and arrow ..A renowned Rishi visited that area and did a long talk on Bhagwat and some other religious talks and then these people got some traits of the people in the plains..

We met an very old lady at Kalyani who showed a series of rock . she said they were actually the graves of thieves who visited that area.. the ladies of that area killed them with arrows..

In her youth she had visted Kedarnath several times crossing the mayali pass.. The would a pack of thick dry roties which would be thier food throughout the journey till kedarnath..

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