A short trek to Brahmatal in December 2020

 After the airlines had announced resumption of domestic flights in India (COVID-19 restrictions lifted), I had the opportunity to go to Brahmatal.

The Indigo flight was en route Lucknow to Dehradun. 

Everyone is wearing masks because of COVID.


We reached on December 24 evening and rested for the night at Duggal Home Stay. On December 25, we took a Tempo Traveler bus early in the morning (supposed to be 7 but got delayed to 8) that got nine of us to Lohajung in the evening. The stay was actually at Wan, slightly ahead of Lohajung. 



We returned to Lohajung on December 26 morning by the bus and began our trek to BekalTal at around 11 am. Bekaltal is a small pond about 20 feet across, at an altitude of 2900 m, about 5 kms and an ascent of about 700 meters from Lohajung. We reached there at 3 pm and rested for the day in our tents and sleeping bags.









The next day, December 27, was Brahmatal Lake, that was about 3400 m high, and 6 kms away from Bekaltal, an ascent of  about 500m. We went there via Jhandi Top, where you get a clear view of several mountains including Trishul.








Somewhere by the middle of the second day, we had decided that we could not stay there two nights in a row because of the freezing cold weather. We advanced our schedule by a day, deciding that on the early morning of the third day, we would trek to Brahmatal Top and back to Brahmatal Lake, and on the fourth day, after breakfast, would walk down to Lohajung.

We slept there at about -10 degrees Celsius, with two layers of socks, thermal wear and our jackets in our sleeping bags. In the night, we could feel and hear ice crystals condensed in the fabric of the tent flopping down continuously inside our tent. At one point, I thought it was snowing and walked out in the freezing cold, to find a brilliantly clear night sky.

On the third day of our trek, December 28, we all woke up at 5 am to try and trek up for the sunrise at Brahmatal Top, about 1.5 km away, and a steep ascent of 300 meters. As is usual with 25 member groups, by the time we set out in the darkness with our head torches, it was 5:45 am. Sunrise happened somewhere along the way while we were ascending. 











At Brahmatal Top, we could see Trishul masiff towering over us (Trishul I - 7,120 m, Trishul II - 6,690 m, Trishul III - 6,007 m) as well as several other peaks like Nanda Ghunti, Neelkantha and Shivling).

We came back via Brahmatal to our camp, a total distance of 3 kms to the Top and back. We wasted the whole day, resting at Brahmatal campsite. and slept there for a second night in the subzero temperatures.

On December 29, the fourth day, we had an early breakfast, and then began walking down to Lohajung. Lohajung was about 9 km from Brahmatal if approached directly down from Jhandi Top, bypassing Bekaltal. The descent was easy, and we made good time, hitting Lohajung by 12 noon. 

We had lunch there, and started back to Rishikesh at 2:30 p.m. We reached Rishikesh early on December 30 morning at 2 a.m. dog tired from the day.

Later in the morning, we went visiting Rishikesh and walked around to have breakfast. We then went white-water rafting at about 11:30 a.m. We finished late in the afternoon, had a bath at our hotel, and set off to Dehradun at 4:30 pm.We reached Dehradun later the same night, had dinner and went to sleep. 




Mirabilia Restaurant in Dehradun at the Foxtrot. An open door, terrace top, poolside
 restaurant with excellent ambience, very reasonably priced!

The next day, December 31, we visited Robber's Cave at Dehradun. We also tried going to the Forest Research Institute, but that was closed due to COVID. We then caught a cab to the Jolly Grant Airport, and then our flight to Hyderabad from there to reach home by 11 pm.

Dehradun at 9 AM in the morning: A Ghost Town!

Chetan's Kachori Place was one of the few open at 9:45 AM


Chetan making his famous kachoris.

Robber's Cave is a trickle of water on the floor of an abyss between two rock faces.

Robber's Cave - Guchchu Pani - has a waterfall here.

This dog followed us up till the main road for company!

Dehradun at 12 noon was bustling. No resemblance to the Ghost Town of 9 am.

Love the way this vendor turned his scooter into a multicolor display shelf!

Black Pepper Restaurant - we had to visit it for lunch. About the top three restaurants in Dehradun.



Comments

  1. AbrahamJanuary 22, 2021 at 12:30 PM

    Very very very very proud of you, dear Classmate and friend Raju.
    Keep it going, let see the world through your lens.

    ReplyDelete

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