To read this series from the start please click here.

As I have explained each and every details of the destinations covered, I would just add the pictures here with small one liners and captions. In between there was one more intimidating incident which I have narrated and apart from that darshan of one of the most auspicious thing used by Lord Shiva and Maa Parvati. 

Return Trek towards Pahalgam

We started to return at around 10.00 – 10.15  am . Any how we had to reach Pahalgam today in the evening.While yesterday  we covered 26 kms ( Chandanwadi to Panchtarni) to of the trekking journey and today we had to cover 38 kms of the journey. In which 6 kms from Panchtarni to Amarnath Cave ( 6 kms was already covered). So now 32 kms were remaining and we had around 8 hours to return if we wanted to reach today. So we needed to rush , but the positive most of the trek was climbing downwards an descend.Only climb was between Panchtarni to Mahagunas Top and that it was not too steep. So We started the return journey all on the horses. Also I remembered the dangerous incident with Aarya, So I was not so keen to take Aarya on that old horse. But nobody except Aarya could have sat on the horse. So we proceeded on that horse only.But as soon as Aarya sat on the horse and we started  again problems of imbalancing started . This time I was angry and I didn’t want Aarya to go on that old horse. So I told that horseman that this is not going to work and so he carried Aarya on his shoulders as seen in the picture. Now this made me relax a bit as we were passing through the most dangerous part of the yatra and Aarya was not on that horse.

Aarya again tilting on the right due to imbalance on Return Trek (Amarnath Cave – Sangam)

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Final Destination, Amarnath Cave :- With all my might and vocabulary in my mind I have tried my level best to narrate and show you what I have seen and sensed. But what  I have described and shown here is not even a fraction of what I felt there. To have a real feel one has to be called by Lord Amarnath. Jay Bhole.

Sangam to Amarnath Cave

Soon after crossing Sangam 7.30 AM, I tried to let aside the thoughts of the dangerous incident and was just watching anxiously the path and the Valley. Huge uproar was coming from Baltal route , Har Har Mahadeo and Jay Bhole and similarly Pahalgam pilgrims were replying with the same intensity. It was appearing as if some competition is going on, who is louder ? But all was in good spirits of ultimate devotion and love for the Lord.

Yes after around 5 minutes crossing Sangam Top on the valley where cave was situated, we got the darshan of that Secret Holy Cave. Still around 2.5 kms were remaining and through bright sunlight and fog I could make out where the cave was .The sight of the cave was so mesmerizing and enthralling that I couldn’t take eyes of it. The divine and incorporeal rays and feeling coming from the cave had magnetized my mind and soul completely. I was in no mood of  seeing anything else apart from that cave. I shouted Sonali ” सोनाली! पापा ! वह देखो, वही है गुफा, वहा सीधे सीधे, उस पहाड़ के अंत में.वहा   टेन्ट्स के ऊपर , क्या दिख रही है? ” ( Sonali, Papa! See there , there is the cave , there look straight, at the end of that mountain,above the tents, can you see it ). They replied Yes.

Automatically from inside all the other thoughts vanished and heart started to pump fast. Only thing in the mind was Lord Shiva. After planning for so long this is it . We are coming , still 2 kms to go.

Amarnath Cave at a distance of 2 kms seen but hazy atmosphere.

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The most dreadful as well as the happiest day in my life was 31st July 2012. I cried due to fear and shock. And tears rolled due to ultimate happiness and eternal bliss felt. To believe it read my next two posts and feel with me. 

31st July 2012, Tuesday

Morning in Panchtarni

At 5.00 AM in the morning we woke up. We wanted to go fast , have darshan and reach Pahalgam as soon as possible. So today everybody realized that being late is not a good idea. We freshened up ourselves within no time and were ready for take off from Panchtarni. Here in Panchtarni in the morning if you want hot water to bath the charges are rs. 5o per bucket and hot water bottle for rs. 20  for brushing and washing face. Now I and Sonali again had fast as it was Tuesday but today I thought its really wise not to do fast today as I am in charge and responsible for my family’s safety and in this conditions I don’t want to risk because sometimes in fasting period I do get some tiredness and faintness. So I went to a Bhandara and  had some breakfast and tea. And then we proceeded for one of my most dreadful moments of my life.

Again some conversations with horsemen 

Now the Aarya’s horsemen was in grievance because all other people were getting Rs. 2000 / tour and he was getting Rs. 1000 / tour . And at night I didn’t gave them Rs.600 for dinner also. So all of them were unsatisfied. Even I felt that something was not balanced as he was also walking with us for past 26 kms. And this is no joke and so I told him ” चलो अब आपको मैं १५०० रू देता हूँ , लेकिन इसके बाद मैं एक भी रू नहीं दूंगा “. (come on I will give rs. 15oo , but hence forth i won’t give you a single penny). He was satisfied and our journey started. Now I did favour to this guy and  see what happens now. The temperature was chilling below 5 degree C. Our whole group of four was fully covered with winter clothing.

My Cutie Aarya on her Chhotu totally covered with warm clothes

Panchtarni to Sangam top 

The next destination is Sangam at height of 13500 feet where routes via  Pahalgam and Baltal unite to go towards the cave.

The route of Panctarni to Sangam  is the most dangerous, toughest highest and deadliest . Many people die here due to accidents. We started here on a good note that we are going to have a darshan of Baba Amarnath today by shouting “Jay Bhole”  all the way.   Now the real horrifying way starts and a huge incident of my life is going to happen. Between this mountains and in the valley shown below , Helicopters from Baltal arrive and go towards Panchtarni .

The river below splits into five at Panchtarni . Heading towards Sangam top now.

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A feel at Mahagunas Top 

As I told you in the previous post that, surrounding Mahgunas top there are more than 4 – 5 peaks that adds beauty to this place including the altitude where we stand at 14500 feet. Ultimately It also has one of the best views in the yatra. The temperature in Mahagunas top drops to 6 – 7 degree which my family had never felt . Our body hair stood on end , our ears were blocked and our teeth were chattering .The weather here at Mahagunas Top can change anytime ( suddenly rain or snow fall or heat)  due to its height and snow capped peaks surrounded by it. One thing I wanted to tell you about these peaks is that every peak was at least more than 5500 m and at the top of it, you can see the flag waving. My camera couldn’t capture the flags on the peaks as the distance was too large, but that flags could be easily visible by naked eye. The view of the flags here again creates feeling of patriotism here and reminds us of wars in Kargil and Kashmir.

The best part at Mahagunas Top when I was travelling was there was the snow. I found much snow at only two places when I was travelling at that time and that was in Mahagunas Top and near Amarnath Cave. Rest everywhere the snow was just in patches. Here my horses had to walk lot of stretches on the snow . Walking on snow again is a very tough task as it is very slippery and friction is less. Although falling from horse here may be not that much dangerous, it would certainly hurt to a very great extent.

Peaks surrounding Mahagunas top

Peak at Mahagunas top :- Can you see the flag on it ?

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One word to describe the feeling at Sheshnag, MESMERIZING.

Nagakoti to Sheshnag 

After Nagakoti comes Sheshnag lake and Mountains where the beautiful river East Lidder originates. From Nagkoti, Sheshnag yatra camp is at 2 kms and in between these 2 kms you can enjoy the breathtaking views of this charming lake.The first glimpse of the lake itself demonstrates how magical the view is going to be when we see the whole lake along with chain of  mountains. I just want to say that the color of the lake itself is so spectacular ,flashy and dazzling which one cannot describe. From the moment I saw the I was magnetized  and allured by its beauty. The first scene of the lake just a small bight light blue colored water appearing between two small hills and a small stream flowing through the gap between those two hills. Yes the river is East Lidder which we were following from Anantnag. At last I am able to find its source. This scene itself is one of the most beautiful scenes in whole valley surrounded with mountains all around , light blue colored waters of Sheshnag lake, origination of Lidder and well supported by beautiful clouds. A person, after seeing this view, will just ask for one house here so that he can continuously watch the miracle and relieve all  his stress conglomerated in his day to day life.

East Lidder river originating from Sheshnag

As we moved further we got the spectacular vision of whole lake. The picture of whole lake while travelling is very difficult to get as the lake is too wide. Only in the start when we reach Sheshnag territory we can get the whole picture  of the wide lake as it is narrow from that vision . As soon as  you come in between Nagakoti and Sheshnag base camp around a kilometer the lake’s view becomes wide and elongated which is very difficult to capture in a camera from that height and way. Only by panoramic view option in the camera you can take the complete picture of  the elongated lake.

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Dear Friends, First of all I thank you from bottom of my heart for showering your love on me in form of comments and views. Many  of them have commented that my description in this series is such that its never been before. And also today I will show some mind boggling and staggering scenes of this universe’s finest and unparalleled creation called Himalayas. But I would like to say that none of the classy and  remarkable write up or narration plus clear graceful pictures can’t illustrate even one percent of the  beauty of titanic Himalayas what we feel when we actually visualize them. One has to personally pay visit to them for the actual feel.

Some information on Pissutop which I heard and knew from research

Pissutop  is situated at a elevation of 1500 – 2000 feet from Chandanwadi and from here there is  steep, dangerous about 3 km, 80 degree ( almost perpendicular) zig zag climb on rocky,rough and pebbly surface. On seeing this itself one goes flat. It feels as if that if we climb this than we reach the destination but this is the start and that too terrific start. I had heard and read about Pissutop in many blogs and through fellow friends , but experiencing that should be totally a different feeling. As far as height is concerned it is highest climb from one destination to another in this yatra  ( 200o feet). The next highest climb is between Sheshnag and Babaltop ( 1700 feet) . But the ultimate thing here was the angle in which the climb was. Almost perpendicular. It was the biggest challenge to remove your fear. Now lets see.

Towards Pissutop

Now my horseman’s name was Yakoob and he was most experienced and very humble among the three other horsemen we hired. He became our horseman plus guide. Also this was their last round to Amarnath cave and back so after this he will be relieved from continuous  journey he is having for last few weeks. I was  again and again asking him  where was Pissutop as I could see 3 -4 hills when I  moved from Chandanwadi. He was saying ” abhi aayega” and I was restless and just thinking among these 4-5 mountains in my vision which one is Pissutop. Then he told me that if we cross the base of the mountain he showed then we will have the whole view of Pissutop climb.

As soon as we crossed the base of the mountain I could see the path of the travel towards Pissutop and to my surprise that was as very much upright. I had never imagined that scary when I saw it for the first time. Really looking at pictures and visualizing it is totally different. You might think the same way after looking at the picture below, that I am just bluffing. No but you really have to go there and watch. Secondly till I stretched my eyes towards the mountain top I could  not find the end of the road where we were going. Through naked eye I could see people walking downwards like ants till half way. Above that even I could not see the path and people. Once I tried with my camera with full zoom but ALAS! I could not see the path because of continuous movement of horses. It was really too frightening to climb. I had also read in many articles that even professional trekkers would take rest and breadth after reaching the top.

Pissutop from the base.The picture shown is not doing justice to show its actual dreadfulness.

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The coming three days of Amarnath Yatra and Pahalgam were the best part of my life. Although there were few terrific and daunting incidents, very huge pains and high level of discomfort due to sarcastic climatic conditions and horrible arrangements, the happiness and satisfaction I have got in these three days I feel those were the best days of my life.

30 th July 2012 , Monday.

Early Morning Pahalgam

Now time had come when we actually start , the most difficult as well most entertaining part of our journey that is the ultimate trek to Amarnath Cave via Chandanwadi. Yesterday we slept around 10.00 pm an were supposed to start our journey at 6.00 oclock. The sleep was very pleasant due to the  climate and temperature plus the soft and fluffy blankets provided by the Hotel manager and also due to tiredness we had  . Once got inside the bed , we didn’t want to get out in the morning. It was very cosy and warm inside the bed. But we had to leave this materialistic luxury to achieve the ultimate supreme spiritual luxury that is union of  Infinitesimal Soul with Supreme Soul. So no options but to get ready and start the mighty journey.  Our plan was to get up at 5.00 AM and move towards Chandanwadi at 6.00 AM. As per the plan I woke up at 5.00 AM , had a bath with hot water arranged by the Hotel Manager. Then after having bath I woke up Sonali and my father in law and told them to quickly pack the things and get ready to move. But packing itself took lot of time. We had to keep that luggage in the cloak room. So packing took around one and half hours and we left our Hotel at 7.00 AM towards Chandanwadi.

From Pahalgam you get lot of share taxis in form of Chevrolet Taveras  and Tata Sumos who charge 80 Rs. / person to Chandanwadi or Rs. 800 / full car. But since  those were the final days of the yatra , there were very few pilgrims and that they must have started from the base camp early in the morning. Now we were already late so no taxi driver was coming at the sharing option. He told that we have to go backwards towards market to catch some more passengers if we wanted to travel by sharing. So instead of  going back I decided to hire that full car. But negotiation is infused my blood by my loving mother in law. So instead of rs. 800 I got that Tavera in Rs. 500 , even it was off season for him. We left our three suitcases  in the cloakroom of the  Hotel at Rs. 20 / piece. And carried two shoulder ones with us which majorly contained warm clothes , medicines , some fruits umbrellas and raincoat for Aarya. We started from Pahalgam towards Chandanwadi. JAY BHOLE.

Pahalgam village main road towards Chandanwadi  - Early morning

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