COVER STORY GANGOTRI
REDISCOVERING THE
GANGOTRI REGION,
AND INTRODUCING THE
NELONG VALLEY. TEXT &
PHOTOGRAPHS BY
AMIT DIXIT
INTO THE
SILENCE
The high-altitude
Nelong Valley opened
to tourists recently
GANGOTRI
Prakriti Retreat in Dharali sits
next to the gurgling Bhagirathi
I
arrived at my hotel in Dharali on a
dark and stormy afternoon. It had
been a beautiful (and sunny) drive
from Mussoorie, the Bhagirathi a
constant, playful companion by our side.
By the time we crossed Harsil though,
the sun had slunk away and a cold rain
was pelting us incessantly. Dharali came
shortly after and we pulled into Prakriti
Retreat, one of the most comfortable hotels to come up in the Gangotri region,
but sans the pointless flourishes we
townies are so accustomed to.
The unexpected downpour had
disrupted the electricity supply and no
one was sure when it would be back up.
It had never happened before, after all.
I felt a knot in my stomach. How was I
going to charge my cellphone, my umbilical connection to the big, bad world?
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OUTLOOK TRAVELLER • APRIL 2017
And, then, just like that, I decided to let go, to switch off from the grid.
The mountains can have that effect on you.
With the onset of dusk, any residual light began to recede swiftly
behind the towering crags. As I was ushered into my river-view room,
the temperature dropped rapidly. A cup of hot cocoa helped me thaw
as the Bhagirathi roared outside my balcony.
I hadn’t been to Gangotri before, but the carrot that had really
gotten me hopping like an eager bunny was a promised excursion to
Nelong, a high-altitude valley bordering Tibet that had been opened
to tourists for the first time in 2015 after the 1962 Indo-China War. In
fact, I decided to visit Nelong first, reserving Gangotri for day two.
The lighting up of pointy snowclad peaks announced the next
day, peaks whose existence I hadn’t even suspected the previous
evening. After the regulation breakfast of parathas and eggs (food at
Prakriti is superlative, but more on that later), we were on our way.
After offering our permits for inspection at the Bhaironghati checkpost (only a limited number of tourist vehicles are allowed into the
Nelong valley every day), we took the road that turned sharply to
the left (the one to the right leads to the hallowed Gangotri shrine).
This was a steep valley, carved by the Jadh Ganga, a tributary of the
Bhagirathi that originates in Tibet’s
Zanda county. They also call it the Neel
Ganga, and its clear turquoise waters
make it quite obvious why.
It was a beautiful, if bone-rattling,
ascent and we caught glimpses of
waterfalls and glacial fields. The road is
being improved incrementally but was
yet to be paved at the time of my visit.
After an hour or two, but which seemed
like forever, we rolled into an army
base at a bracing altitude of 11,500 feet.
The snowline was literally in our face.
Beyond lay Tibet. The men in uniform
were friendly and promptly ushered
us into their cosy igloos for a steaming
cuppa and some chit chat. As I learnt,
an additional permit from the Forest
Department would have allowed me to
venture a little further into the Gangotri
National Park. I’ll definitely be signing
up for that next time.
Nelong, which possibly means ‘the
place of blue stones’, is a storied valley.
It is through this valley that Hienrich Harrer is said to have escaped to
Tibet. John Bicknell Auden (poet W.H.
Auden’s elder brother), who was working with the Geological Survey of India,
explored this region extensively. In
the Himalayan Journal (Vol. 12: 1940),
Lieut J.F.S. Ottley recounts spending “a
satisfactory, if bibulous, evening” with
Auden at Harsil after a visit to Nelong.
In the same year, the mountaineer
Marco Pallis in his Peaks and Lamas
wrote: “The highest lying villages in
Garhwal, along the Tibetan border, are
inhabited in the summer months by a
semi-nomadic tribe called Jadhs or, farther to the east, Bhotias. These people
are typical frontier product, mixed
racially and in tradition, who make the
best of two worlds in any border dispute.
The Tibetan half predominates in the
Jadhs, however, six days out of seven
they are Buddhists and, when not wearing European cast-offs purchased while
they are wintering on the edge of the
Indian plain, they clothe themselves in
Tibetan style, in summer they pasture
The modest shrine at Gangotri;
and (below) a religious diorama
in the Gangotri complex
their flocks and ponies in the uplands, or cross into Tibet to barter
Indian produce for a consignment of salt or borax.” The Jadhs were
the only community allowed into Tibet and, as Harish Kapadia points
out in his High Himalaya Unknown Valleys, this cross-border trade
was valued at `62,000 in 1882 (a fair sum of money at that time). After
the 1962 India-China War, the Jadhs were settled near Harsil and the
valley came under army control. Since the valley of the Jadh Ganga
is claimed by China, it’s a sensitive area and possibly why it took the
government so long to open it up to tourists like you and me.
Back at Prakriti, I relaxed by the river. Some elaborate ceremony
OUTLOOK TRAVELLER • APRIL 2017
55
GANGOTRI
was on at the temple next door and
the ringing of the bells cleansed the
air. Across the river lay the village of
Mukhba, where the Gangotri deity
resides in winter, when the main shrine
becomes snowbound and inaccessible.
The power supply had been restored,
and the geyser was gurgling invitingly so
I braved a bath. Just a couple of seasons
old, Prakriti is well-appointed, but has
been conceived in the unfussy style of
hill hotels. While the rooms are quite
comfortable, I’m sure redecorating
them gradually will work wonders from
an aesthetic perspective. I’d certainly
like to see plusher bathrooms.
Meals at Prakriti consist of very good
vegetarian food but the highlight of the
menu has to be their traditional Garhwali fare. And that’s the other big enticement that had drawn me here. That
night I was served a soup made from the
local kulath dal and dishes with names
like chainsu and phaana, to be had
with maithiyali roti and the local rice.
I rounded off the meal with jhangora
kheer and the most divine sooji ka halwa I’ve had in a while. I don’t exaggerate when I say that that dinner was among the top 10 meals I’ve
ever had. Even if you don’t have a single religious bone in your body,
go to Gangotri just so you can stay at Prakriti and stuff your face.
The next afternoon was reserved for Gangotri, where my cellphone
suddenly sputtered to life (between Uttarkashi and Gangotri, you
only have BSNL). Once I’d dealt with the unavoidable distractions
of WhatsApp, I drank in the scene. The Gangotri shrine itself was
more understated than I had expected, and I was touched by the
lack of ostentation. Having avoided the morning rush hour, I had it
all to myself. The cafés had the merest trickle of patrons. The shops
leading up to the temple were selling a wide variety of religious
paraphernalia, most important of which were the water canisters
of every size and shape to carry some precious Gangajal back home.
The devout were bathing in the freezing stream. An evening arti was
about to commence. We were deep in the Himalayas, cut off from the
NELONG, WHICH POSSIBLY MEANS
‘THE PLACE OF BLUE STONES’, IS A
STORIED VALLEY, ASSOCIATED WITH
THE LIKES OF HEINRICH HARRER AND
JOHN BICKNELL AUDEN
There’s something about
mountains in monochrome;
and (right) temple bells
THE GANGOTRI
SHRINE
WAS MORE
UNDERSTATED
THAN I HAD
EXPECTED, AND
I WAS TOCUHED
BY THE LACK OF
OSTENTATION
GANGOTRI
EVEN IF YOU DON’T HAVE A SINGLE
RELIGIOUS BONE IN YOUR BODY, GO
TO GANGOTRI JUST SO YOU CAN STAY
AT PRAKRITI RETREAT AND STUFF
YOUR FACE WITH GARHWALI FOOD
Traditional Garhwali fare to die for at Prakriti
Retreat in Dharali
world, yet connected to it in some primal way.
The nearby village of Harsil too warrants a visit. It has a colourful
history, for it was the seat of Pahari Wilson, a British soldier who
deserted the army after the Mutiny of 1857 and ended up in Tehri
Garhwal. Wilson then made a fortune sending logs down the Bhagirathi to the plains where they were in huge demand to make railway
sleepers for a rapidly expanding rail network. Pahari Wilson was,
by all accounts, not particularly kind to his workers. He did marry a
local girl and settle down in Harsil. You can still see the ruins of his
old bungalow here, although he is buried in Mussoorie’s Camel’s
Back Road Cemetry along with his lady love. Wilson had such clout
he even minted his own coins.
I couldn’t help but feel wistful as I drove back from Dharali past
the orchards of Wilson apples (which the self-anointed Raja of Harsil had introduced to the region). There were small hamlets hanging precariously from the cliffs, where, miraculously, crops were
flourishing. I was going to miss all this terribly. But most of all I was
going to miss the sound of silence. # THE INFORMATION
GETTING THERE
Gangotri is a 500km drive
from Delhi. The route would be
Delhi-Meerut-MuzaffarnagarRoorkee-Haridwar-RishikeshChamba-Uttarkashi-HarsilDharali-Gangotri. You could also
take the train to Haridwar and
drive down from there. Or you
could take a flight to the Jolly
Grant Airport, midway between
Dehradun and Rishikesh. If you are
so inclined, chopper services are
also available from Haridwar and
Uttarkashi. The helipad is at Harsil.
WHERE TO STAY
I stayed at Prakriti—The Retreat,
a newish resort on the banks of
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OUTLOOK TRAVELLER • APRIL 2017
the Bhagirathi at Dharali, 18km
short of Gangotri. It makes for a
great base to explore the region,
whether you’re religiously inclined
or merely devoted to nature. The
food, as I will never ever tire of
saying, is to die for. Be a little
adventurous and try their local
Garhwali fare. (Gujarati and
Bengali thalis are also on offer to
groups on advance notice.) As
always in the hills, service is warm.
Note that Prakriti is closed in the
winters, when Gangotri pretty
much shuts down. TARIFF Rates
per night on double occupancy are
as follows: `5,100 (Continental
Plan), `5,900 (Modified American
Plan), `6,700 (American Plan),
taxes extra. Extra Bed: `2,100 plus
taxes CONTACT +91-135-2715127,
2715189, prakriti-retreat.com
WHAT TO SEE & DO
> Gangotri is one of the Char
Dhams, and therefore a major site
of Hindu pilgrimage. Apart from
the main shrine and attendant
activities, you may also want to
visit the Bhairav Nath Temple in
Bhaironghati. The 18km trek from
Gangotri to Gaumukh, the glacier’s
snout, is popular with devotees
and trekkers alike. Some intrepid
trekkers proceed to Tapovan.
> A visit to the newly-opened
Nelong Valley is an absolute
must. Do arrange your permits
in advance since only a limited
number of visitors are allowed into
the valley each day.
> Harsil, which was the scenic
location for Raj Kapoor’s iconic
Ram Teri Ganga Maili, has a Tibetan
settlement you can visit. It’s also
associated with the legend of
Pahari Wilson.
> The Gangotri National Park is
spread over an area of 2,390 sq km
and offers a fascinating glimpse
into a high-altitude ecosystem,
comprising coniferous forests,
meadows and glaciers. Besides
mammals like bharal, brown bear
and snow leopards, it’s also home
to 150 species of birds.
n amit dixit