Road to Chandratal
18
Jul 2014. At the crack of dawn I am out trying to check if the weather has
turned for the better. It is still drizzling but there is a brightness about
the morning which is making me more optimistic. We are going to do Chandratal today
either on foot or hopefully, if the access is cleared, by road.
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| Picture Perfect, Losar... |
A
walk around the guesthouse produces a few very tame Hill Pigeons (with the
white band on their tails as opposed to our common Blue Rock Pigeons), some
Common Rosefinches and Eurasian Goldfinches. A surprising sighting is House
Sparrows! At an altitude of 4000 mtrs, I do not expect them but there they
are... and fairly abundant at that!
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| Hill Pigeon |
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| House Sparrow |
One
Scorpio has gone ahead at 0600 hrs on a recce trip of sorts and we are expected
to catch up at Kunzum top to go together from there. The roads are nothing to
write home about but the scenery changes soon as we start the ascent for
Kunzumla. The extremely dry and barren mountains give way to a slightly more
moist landscape. The Spiti basin narrows as we go closer to the river’s origin
at Kunzumla but the valley with shades of pink, beige, grey and dappled with
the white of the stones strewn randomly around the grassy green mountainside makes a
striking picture!
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| Ascending Kunzumla... the Spiti river valley |
We
reach Kunzum jot, slightly off the main road and where vehicles take a
customary loop to offer prayers. It is an overcast morning.... has continued to
be so since Losar. More clouds come rolling in and almost obscure the Stupas at
Kunzum Jot. Behind the Stupas and to their right, the track is clearly visible
going to Chandratal.
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| Prayers in stone |
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| Stupas at Kunzum Jot |
As our three vehicles halt there, we see no sign of the advance party. After mulling our options, we decide that one vehicle will go down the Kunzumla towards Batal and check out the motorable road to Chandratal since that is the only other place the other Scorpio could be. Sure enough, in a while we get a message from a tourist vehicle coming from Batal that our two Scorpios are at the motorable road and for us to join them there. By
then it is almost noon. The road down towards Batal is perilous with a steep
down slope and the clouds coming onto the roads reducing visibility
drastically.
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| Descending Kunzumla... towards Batal |
In due
course, we come to the turnoff for Chandratal. Turning in we wonder if the road
has been cleared!!?? Yesterday’s news from some travellers on this route was
that they had seen clearance work on but not completed and therefore the road
was not open. This route hugs the scree clad mountainside with the Chandra
River for company on its left. No trees, no bushes and the tallest plant is not
more than 6 inches high.
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| Life blooms... even in these barren surroundings! |
With
a lot of optimism we crawl along the drivable but rough and bumpy road. Within
6-7 kms we come to a halt behind the advance vehicles parked at a point where
the road is wide enough.
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| Road to Chandratal |
Up ahead in the distance we see a JCB
working to clear what seems like the last blocked patch and information is that
it would take a couple of hours at the most after which we could drive in. We
would be the first vehicles to drive in this season to Chandratal.
The
parking spot seems to be a vantage point to capture the splendour of the
Chandra valley. The clouds obscure the mountains on the far side revealing only
their lower elevations with the tail end of glaciers tumbling into small
streams joining the Chandra. The wide riverbed with numerous glistening silver
streams snaking through presents a stunning picture. By and by, the sun comes
back out, though the cloud cover does not completely let go its territory. The
brilliance of the sun adds an indescribable vividness to the landscape.
Instantly, all is well with the world!
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| Rally Vehicles waiting for the road to clear |
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| Chandra River Valley |
As
time wears on, some of us start a game of ‘pitthu’. I don’t think too many
people can claim to have played in such heavenly environs!
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| A game of 'Pitthu' |
The road is cleared and everyone
piles into the vehicles. The last bit of road before we hit our camp is a drive
on a furrowed glacier/stream bed, the glacier long since melted leaving deep grooves
which we negotiate across with much heaving of vehicles and churning of the
gravel under.
The
camp is a collection of multicoloured tents set in a square. Some of our party
who have walked into camp before the road was cleared has alerted the camp
hands of our imminent arrival and the requirement for lunch. A simple but
delicious lunch of dal, chawal and gobi aalu subji later, we are all ready to
hit Chandratal. It is still 3-4 Kms further away.
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| Our campsite |
The drive over the last 2-3 Kms is a
nightmare! There IS no road. It is just a deeply grooved path with boulders
liberally scattered on it. At many bends, the vehicle comes up against the
hillside before completing the turn, has to be reversed before the wheezing
engine forces it forward. Even though the Scorpio is well capable of traversing
such terrain, it is a nail biting ride.
We reach the parking area from where
one has to walk about 500 mtrs on undulating land to reach the Lake. A biting
wind hits us as soon as we step out of the Scorpio. It is cold and I wrap
myself up in another layer leaving me feeling more than unwieldy! But I have to
if I hope to keep even reasonably comfortable.
Trudging
up from the parking area, the lake is not yet visible. A few Brandt’s and
Common Mountainfinches with Horned Larks flit around.
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| Brandt's Mountainfinch |
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| Horned Lark |
Instead
of taking the well worn bridle path I make for the highest point to try and
catch a glimpse of the lake. It is still some distance away, not yet visible...
a few more undulations between us and the lake! Still further as I crest the
next hillock, I stand spellbound! It is a magical setting.
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| Spectacular vistas |
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| The massive glacier visible from Chandratal |
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| The panorama west of Chandratal complete with a small lake and the Chandra River beyond... |
Menacing,
craggy mountains make the eastern boundary running towards the north like an
impenetrable guard. In the west is the Chandra valley bounded by looming
mountains most of which are veiled by clouds and a gargantuan glacier visible
easily even from where I stand! Closer towards the west is a tiny lake and
further north are high altitude marshes. And nestled amidst this splendour, are
the clear blue waters of Chandratal. No wonder legends abound that this is the
‘Lake of the Gods’. The lake is longish running north – south. The smooth
pinkish brown mountainsides on the eastern margin of the lake are unique. The
clear waters show the stones and pebbles underneath clearly. The mountains
around are still under a thick veil and there is a steady drizzle going but
seeing the intensity of the wind, I have hopes it will clear to some extent.
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| The pink-brown smooth mountainsides on the eastern boundary of Chandratal |
There
are breeding pairs of Lesser Sand Plovers and Brahmany Shelducks and a distant
Tern which I am unable to Id. Some horses are gambolling around near the
marshes and the mini lake. The sun does come out yet again for just a bit and
the clouds recede somewhat to reveal a glorious picture. The light blue waters
have instantly taken on a much deeper hue and there are tantalising glimpses of
the snowy upper reaches of the mountains around while the ones bounding the
south are revealed in their radiant whites.
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| Chandratal |
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| Chandratal |
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| Chandratal |
I
feel smitten by this place almost as if I have been lured here by unseen forces
and trapped by an expert magician... After the initial frenzy of click, click,
click I just sit on a rock at a high vantage point and soak in the atmosphere
of the place. Yesterday’s
disappointment is history in these subliminal surroundings.No words that I know and no pictures I can ever hope to capture
can truly encapsulate the essence of this place. My partner is busy taking
pictures. I just sit there in solitude...
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| The Southern Guard |
The light fading and the wind now
penetrating all my layered clothing making my teeth chatter drives me back to
the parking. The rest of the group has long gone and is probably wondering
where the two of us are. There is a camp right next to the parking where we
discover the entire group huddled into the small kitchen tent yakking and
generally having a whale of a time. We too join them. It has been decided that
we will have dinner here and then go back to our camp. The camp owner also
promises a campfire which is enthusiastically received by us.
An enjoyable dinner and dancing round
the campfire later, we are ready to roll. Looking up at the sky, I am amazed to
see zillions of stars twinkling down at me. I make up my mind to try and
capture some star trails back at camp. Alas, it is not to be since the weather
being what it is in these regions, the clouds are back to reclaim their territory
leaving me crestfallen!
The night does not end without some
more drama. We are the second vehicle going down to camp and intermittently
keep sighting the headlights of the lead vehicle as it winds its way down the
hillside. It then overshoots the dark campsite and continues on the road to
Batal without realising it. We wonder where they are as we turn into camp
because they should have reached first. As the remaining two vehicles also
might overshoot, we switch on the blinkers to get their attention. Long story
short, one vehicle ends up going in search before the lead vehicle is found
returning (sheepishly)! How they turned around is miraculous because the road
is so very narrow....but all’s well that ends well!
After all this excitement, we hit the
sack!
The journey continues...
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