Roopkund Trek: Mysterious Lake
First Day
In morning, going from Kathgodam by bus/jeep, having the sight of Bhimtal Lake, from Bhowali by Kaichidham, from Almora by Kosi Kausani Garud Baijnath by Gwaldam Dewal, reached Lohajung.
On way, we saw famous hill stations like Kausani and Gwaldam that are famous for their beauty. Mahatma Gandhi had called Kausani the Switzerland of India. Here, Mahatma Gandhi had done his Hapta Pravas and it is the birthplace of the famous Hindi poet Sumitranandan Pant. Kausani’s tea and shawls are world famous and Baba Bholenath’s Dham is also famous. Baijnath tample is also situated on this way where the idol of Goddess Parvati and Bholenath is in the image of Arth Narishwar. It takes about 8-10 hours to reach Lohajung by jeep. It is at a height of 2250 m. It is a small town/hill station and you can have a glimpse of the natural beauty from all the sides of this place.
Second Day
After breakfast, we will go to a new destination called village Didina. On way to Didina comes a village called Kuling and crossing the bridge over Nil Ganga, passing the 3 km zigzag ascent, we reach the beautiful village Didina. It is at a height of 2700 m.
Third Day
After breakfast, we reach Tolpani from Didina. It is situated in dense forests. Here, huts are there for cows and buffaloes for the village people. It’s a beautiful place.Moving upwards, we reach Ali Bugyal which is a beautiful field of soft grass. We reach Bedni Bugyal via Ali Bugyal. We get to see a long range of Garhwal Himalaya from Ali Bugyal. Trishul, Nandaghugti peak seem to be very near from here. Bedni Kund is in Bedni Bugyal only. Long Staf has said about Bedni Bugyal that this Bugyal of Garhwal is the most beautiful one in Asia. Bedni Kund has a huge religious value because it’s an important destination of Uttarakhand’s Aradhya Goddess Nanda Rajjat Yatra. As per the religious belief, Vedas were created here and that is why it got the name Vedini. With the passage of time, people started calling it Bedni. In Bedni Kund, the shadow of Himalaya looks so beautiful that it releases all the tiredness of the body. Near the Kund is a temple of Shiv-Parvati and an old temple of Mahishasur Mandini is also there. It is considered sacred to take a bath in Bedni Kund. Yagopavit Sanskar are also being done in Bedni Kund. Bedni Bugyal is a very beautiful and mesmerizing Bugyal. It is at a height of 3354 m and at a distance of 12 km.
Fourth Day
After breakfast we leave for Patar Nachauni. It is a belief that Goddess Nandadevi had cursed the dancers who came with King Yashodhawal into stones. In ancient’s times, dancers were also called as Patar and that is why this place got the name Patar Nachauni. It is situated at a distance of 6 km from Bedni, at a height of 3650m. Mostly there are strong winds in this place and it gets very cold.
Fifth Day
After breakfast at Patar Nachauni, we leave for Bhagubasa. After the 3 km ascent from Patar Nachauni to Kailuwavinayak is situated a temple of Lord Vidyanharta Ganpati Bappa where Bappa relieves the pain n tiredness of all the visitors. The all side view from here is very beautiful. The distance for Bhagubasa from here is 3 km and it takes 4-5 hours to reach here from Patar Nachauni. There is an interesting story behind how Bhagubasa got its name. People say that once Lord Shankar was going to Kailash Mount with Goddess Parvati along with his devotees. Being tired, the devotees used to stop from place to place taking permission from both of them. The tiger stopped at Bhagubasa and the Naag stopped at Chhidhinaag. And this way, it got its name. It is at a height of 4100 m. Bramhakamal, Fankamal and Nilkamal are chiefly found in Bhagubasa.
Sixth Day
Having breakfast in Bhagubasa, we go for Roopkund Darshan. For Roopkund it is said that once Goddess Parvati and Bholenath were going through the sky way. Goddess Parvati felt thirsty. Then Bholenath seeing white snow everywhere fixed his Trident on the land and a pool was formed. When Goddess Parvati saw her beautiful, mesmerizing face in this pool, Bholenath gave it the name of Roopkund. River Roopganga originates from here and the skeletons found here are believed to be the skeletons of King Jasodhawal of Kannoj and his army. People say that in the times of Rajjat, because of a snow-storm, all these people were buried here alive. There is always a white sheet of snow around Roopkund. Roopkund is at a distance of 5 km from Bhugbasa and it takes 3 hours to reach Bhugbasa from there. The journey from Bhugbasa to Roopkund is a difficult one. After the sight of Roopkund from Bhugbasa, we come back to Bedni Bugyal which takes 4-5 hours.
Seventh Day
Having breakfast in Bedni Bugyal, we reach Gairoli Patal. It’s a destination of Goddess Nanda Rajjat Yatra. It’s a beautiful place in dense forests. And this route is full of beautiful Banj, Buransh, Ringal and Deodar forests. We find Nil Ganga on our way. It is said that Lord Shiv and Goddess Nanda had taken bath here. After Nil Ganga comes Rakki Dhar. As per the old beliefs, Goddess Nanda had killed Mahishasur over here. After Rakki Dhar comes Vaan village where there is a temple of famous Ladu Devta and huge Deodar trees are also there. People say that without the sight of Ladu Devta, the Nanda Rajjat Yatra remains incomplete. The temple of Ladu Devta in Vaan is situated in between in between huge Deodar trees. From Vaan we reach Lohajung by Jeep via Karja.
Eighth Day
After breakfast, we leave for Kathgodam.