Road TRip

The PWD Bungalow at Dhakuri looks out at the Pindari Glacier.

an off-season trek to dhakuri in Kumaon, Uttarakhand can be both dramatic and soothing.

text & PHOtOGRAPHS Rishad saam mehTa

It starts with a trickle of dust that graduates to a stream of small pebbles and finally grows into a river of rocks that comes thundering down. this landslide happens right in front of my eyes on the Saung–Loharkhet road. Eagle-eyed Nandan, our guide who is in the car with us, has spotted the first signs of the impeding landslide and yells at me to slam the brakes.

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a RocKy beginningthat morning we had driven into Bageshwar from The Misty Mountains near Jhaltola where we had spent two days ogling at Himalayan peaks that seemed within touching distance. The two days at the retreat had been filled with invigorating hikes and had got the momentum going for our planned trek to Dhakuri on the Pindari trail.

Above: The treacherous iced-up roads to Kharkiya can be impassable but with some skilful manoeuvreing, they are capable of being conquered.

Below: The route to the Pindari Glacier tests the mettle of the most seasoned traveller.

Road Trip

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When the dust settled, we were standing in front of a considerable pile of rocks. We got to work, clearing the large rocks and finally managed to reduce the pile, but it still looked impassable for a vehicle. Even so, we managed to gingerly drive the Fortuner over it.

hiTTing The Road Loharkhet is the traditional trail head for the trek to the Pindari Glacier, but this early in the year, the trail from Loharkhet to Dhakuri is snowbound. Nandan gets a call from his mule men to this effect. They have tried to get over the Dhakuri

Nandan, our guide-cum-cook, met us in Bageshwar and drew up a list of provisions we would need before he took us shopping. Into the car went rice, dal, flour, semolina, vegetables, masalas, tea and milk and we set off on the 40 km drive from Bageshwar to Loharkhet. It was a stunning day with not a cloud in the deep blue sky. We drove past fields of green where mustard flowers had already started to bloom. It was after Saung, 35 km down the road, when the tarmac disappeared to give way to a narrow dirt track. We were just a kilometre short of the KMVN guest house at Loharkhet, when Nandan hollered his warning.

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Road Trip

Most of the trek to Dhakuri is through a beautiful oak and chestnut forest.

We halt often, not so much from tiredness, but rather to savour these magical moments in these magnificent mountains.

The gloRy of The moUnTainsTo say that the road played out stunning scenery is an understatement. We see the Himalayas in cinemascope as snow-capped peaks tower above us and forested valleys below are dusted with fresh snow.

Half-way down the road, we meet Roderick and Harihans, our mules, and their keeper. They have walked down from the trail head to where the road is blocked by a huge snowdrift, confident that we would have to leave the car there and carry on by foot. But we manage to cross over and now fret about the time we will have to waste waiting for the mules to catch up. We need not have worried—Ricky and Hari take shortcuts across the winding road and are at Kharkiya before us. When we get there they have their muzzles in their feed bags, merrily munching away, almost hee-hawing at us in disdain.

After a light lunch of dal, rice, pickled onions and deep-fried red chillies that clear our sinuses in one bite, we load our luggage onto Ricky and Hari’s broad backs, lock the car and set off on the trail.

pass to Loharkhet but there is just too much snow. In Loharkhet, over an oil lamp-lit dinner of dal, pahadi mutton curry (mutton curry as prepared in the mountains) and rice, we rework our plans. “There is a 33 km road,” ventures Nandan, seeming almost hesitant to bring it up, “But it is very narrow, snowbound and iced-up in many places. But it can take us to Kharkiya which is another trail head for Dhakuri.” We are naturally thrilled that there is a way to Dhakuri after all.

The next morning we get a rude shock. Nandan has actually given us the verbally airbrushed version of the road. Having driven hardly 5 km on it, I realise that it is downright absurd to call what we are driving on ‘a road’. The surface is full of sharp rocks that have tumbled down from the mountain. there are glaring gaps at the edges where the road has collapsed. It looks as if a giant has taken a big bite of the road, leaving hardly 5 ft of surface area.

At other places, with snow and ice around corners, it feels as if we are driving on oiled glass. It takes us a better part of three hours to get to Kharkiya, on a road that none except a few hardy jeep drivers have dared to traverse since the onset of winter.

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Above: The warning of rain and snow means moving grain and feed to a sheltered place and all hands chip in.

Below: The first kilometre to Dhakuri from Kharkiya is along a gradually ascending paved path— good to get the metabolism going for the steep climb ahead.

Road Trip

Nandan is a font of knowledge and makes the walk interesting by pointing out birds, trees and even bear pug marks. As we approach Dhakuri, the trail becomes even prettier with the soft rays of the afternoon sun filtering through the trees and the light refracting into many colours thanks to snow crystals hanging on branches and leaves.

We halt often, not so much from tiredness, but rather to savour these magical moments in these magnificent mountains. It becomes clear why the long hours at the wheel through twisted routes and over broken and bumpy roads are all worth it.

desTinaTion dhaKURiDhakuri is a bowl-shaped meadow that is filled with snow when we arrive. the old PWD bungalow is situated on a prime location and affords fabulous views of the Pindari Glacier. We make our base at the KMVN guesthouse. Right now, the two of us, Nandan, the muleman and Ricky and Hari are the only beings there, but during summer, the meadow is filled with tents and all the huts are occupied. After we settle down and my heart stops thumping loudly in my ears, I become aware of how quiet it is. A little concentration yields the sound of the wind through the trees. A faint call makes me turn skyward where I see an eagle circling above. Nandan has been busy preparing après-trek refreshments and soon arrives with hot tea, flavoured with cardamom and ginger, and steaming hot halwa garnished with almonds, cashews and raisins.

Our room is very basic with two rickety beds and an Indian toilet with no running water. By the time the sun sets, the temperature is already hovering at -1 degrees C. It will eventually go down to -6. But we are used to the cold by now and in fact, we have dinner out on the snow, warmed by a feeble fire lit in a gardener’s metal pan. Nandan’s culinary

wildeRness TReKKing The Pindari trek is a very popular one during the summer but right now when it is only doable till Dhakuri, we have the entire trail to ourselves. Within a few metres the first signs of snow appear as patches of white on the path and in the shadows of trees. As we approach the first village, we see that it is merely a collection of stone huts with thatched roofs and a little dhaba. We settle down for a cup of tea and the village children step up, tempted by our biscuits. They shyly accept the treats we offer them. Seeing this, the village dogs promptly arrive, roll over, wag their tails and pant in anticipation.

The cultivated steppes give way to a thick forest of oak, pine and horse chestnut. By now the trail is covered with a carpet of brilliantly white snow, the trees are wearing their spring colours of red and gold and the sky is once again a deep blue.

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Road Trip

Frigid temperatures, deafening silence and fresh leopard pug marks make a stay at the KMVN guesthouse in Dhakuri an unforgettable one.

QUICK FACTS

GeTTING There Jet Airways offers daily direct flights to Delhi from many Indian cities. From Delhi, Bageshwar is a 14-hour drive away.

You can also catch the Ranikhet Express that leaves from Delhi at 10:40 pm and arrives into Kathgodam at 6 am the next morning. From here it is a 6-hour drive to Bageshwar.

ACCoMMoDATIoN Near Jhaltola, stay at The Misty Mountains. For more information go to www.themistymountains.in. KMVN Guest Houses at Loharkhet and Dhakuri are recommended. For more information log on to www.kmvn.gov.in. If the weather permits, you can also carry your camping gear and set up your tent at Dhakuri.

Nandan Singh Danu is a fantastic guide and is highly recommended. He can be contacted on +91 9411661147. The phone maybe out of range sometimes when he is out on a trek.

For More INForMATIoN Log on to uttarakhandtourism.gov.in

skills excel once again as he makes hot cream of mushroom soup garnished with coriander and lime followed by paneer in a creamy spinach sauce, chicken in thick, pungent and sweet tomato gravy and dal laced with dollops of fresh cream that he has obtained from the village. For dessert, he has made rice kheer (pudding) generously flavoured with saffron and kewra (aromatic shrub). Since all this has been cooked on a little wood fire, it has that wonderfully mild and smoky fragrance of pine.

It is a cloudless night and we sit out in the open sipping hot chocolate and trying to spot constellations. Shooting stars zip across the canvas of the night sky like aeroplanes over a busy airport. Ricky and Hari have been parked in an enclosed shepherd’s hut where the mule man sits on guard, in case a prowling leopard decides to try his luck with one of them. Fortunately, the night goes by without incident and when we break camp at 5:30 am the next morning, the donkeys look well rested and eager to get going. We head back towards Kharkiya, greeting the sun at the village where we’d stopped for tea on the way up.

As we see the sun set somewhere in the plains during our long drive back to Delhi, I already start pining for that white forest and snowed out meadow, that is now many hours and miles behind us.