Chardham Yatra - Part 3 (Haridwar to Kharadi)

Day 2 (20th May, 2019) of our Yatra began very early. We woke up around 4.30 am to finish our morning ablutions and prayers. We were served morning coffee in our rooms by Ranveer which also served as a morning wake-up call. We also repacked - larger bags were to be loaded on top of the vehicle and only smaller bags with essential items to be kept with us. The most essential items being medicines, plate & glass (for meals on the way), prayer books, snacks, water bottle etc.

While we were ready on time by 5.30 am, it took some time to load the luggage on top of the TT (Tempo Traveller) and by 6.30 am, we were on our way. The route took us past Dehradun city which was mostly asleep at that time in the morning. The only exception were a few morning walkers, some milkmen, and a rare shop or two open for business. We stopped just outside Dehradun and had a hearty breakfast at a little tea shop on the road. The breakfast & lunch were cooked very early by Ranveer and were also packed along with our luggage. This practice ensured that we never had to wait for a meal.

After our breakfast, we left towards our next destination. We drove past Mussoorie which is the hill station near Dehradun. Mussoorie was crowded with holiday crowd from Delhi and other parts of North India but we were lucky not to be caught in traffic jam which is common there due to narrow roads and heavy traffic. We drove past Kempty Falls which is one of the attractions of Mussoorie.

We soon were out in the mountain roads of Uttrakhand where the traffic was light and the views breathtaking. The weather kept improving as we moved uphill. If Dehradun was pleasant and Mussoorie was good, the weather was even better as we moved further. We had a nice music system carried by one of our group members and we listened to Hindi film songs while enjoying the sceenery outside.

At around 12.30 p.m., we arrived at a place called Lakhamandal. This is a sleepy village away from the hustle & bustle of the highway. This village is famous as the House of Lac in which the Pandavas were sought to be burnt alive by Duryodhana is situated here. The location is marked by a nice Shiva temple where there are scores of Shiva Lingas all around. The temple has Shiva Lingas frm the Dwapar yug as well as the Treta yug. Every location around the temple when excavated throws up more & more Lingas. Inside the temple are the footmarks of Devi Parvati and very exquisite idols of various dieties. Outside the temple, we saw another large Shiva Linga where we can see our own reflections when we pour water on the Lingam.

After darshan,we had lunch at a small eatery situated just outside the temple. Lunch was rice sambhar, vegetables & curd. It is a common practice in Uttrakhand for tourists and pilgrims to halt outside such eateries after taking permission. The shop will have a seating space for people where the pilgrims can be served and eat their own lunch. In addition, some of the pilgrims make small purchases from the shop. Some even buy their lunch / tea etc.from the shop itself. The shop owner is happy with the business he gets and usually does not charge anything extra for giving his premises.

Post lunch, we visited the cave outside the village which is the exit route used by the Pandavas to escape from the fire trap set for them. Then we moved towards our destination. The afternoon warmth coupled with the full stomach made most of us doze away for a while. By evening time, we had crossed the town of Barkot where many pilgrims halt. We went further and halted at a place called Kharadi which was about 20 kms before Yamunotri. The luggage was unloaded there and we had connectivity (not much connection available in the hills) here. So, we quickly caught up on our emails & WhatsApp messages.

The hotel where we were put up was very basic. The rooms were simple with just two beds and a decent bathroom. There was no electricity when we reached there and the generator was not switched on. We had to wait for nearly an hour to get the generator working and charge our phones. Hot water was available on request at Rs. 30 per bucket. As it was very cool there, many of us bought the hot water and had a refreshing bath. Ranveer quickly got down to work preparing our evening dinner. The hotel owner and staff were very helpful and nice.

Dinner was simple but excellent. Ranveer had made excellent spicy Sambhar and a nice potato cum bringal vegetable along with Fryums. We also had chappati & dal and curd rice (curd brought from Haridwar). After enjoying the dinner, we retired early as we were told we had to depart for Yamunotri at 5 am in the morning. 

Thus ended Day 2 of the Chardham yatra.