A Journey to Chardham

In June 2018, an official from Central Railway approached us with a request—he wanted to embark on the sacred Chardham Yatra. My husband, Dr. Mahesh Patil, and I decided to join the group on this spiritual expedition. Though the pilgrimage typically takes longer, we had just eight days to complete it.

Starting the Sacred Journey

Our journey began in Delhi, from where we headed straight to Barkot. The next day, we embarked on the trek to Yamunotri. The trek was relatively simple, allowing us to complete it before evening. Feeling accomplished, we then traveled to Guptkashi for an overnight stay, preparing for the challenging Kedarnath trek ahead.

The next morning, our driver dropped us at the parking area at the base of the Kedarnath trek. While most of our fellow travelers chose to ride ponies, Dr. Patil and I decided to climb on foot. I was in good health at the time and could ascend with ease, but Dr. Patil needed frequent breaks. I kept urging him to move faster, unaware that his struggle was due to his diabetes. It was only later that I realized why he had to take longer halts.

Reaching Kedarnath: A Test of Endurance

Despite the challenges, we finally reached our hotel near the Kedarnath temple, exhausted but elated. After a night of rest, we had the divine darshan the next morning, capturing beautiful memories in photographs. While our fellow travelers once again opted for ponies to descend, we chose to walk down the entire stretch.

However, this decision led to an unexpected incident. Dr. Patil, eager to take shortcuts, ignored my repeated warnings about their dangers. I kept a close eye on him, but at one point, when I was momentarily distracted, he took a risky shortcut and fell badly, injuring himself.

The Difficult Descent

With his injury preventing him from walking, Dr. Patil had no choice but to take a pony, and he insisted that I do the same. Unwillingly, I agreed, and we rode down to Gaurikund. This was our first experience riding horses, and it left us with severely swollen thighs. Despite the discomfort, we had no other option but to walk another two kilometers to the parking lot, where our fellow travelers were waiting.

That evening, we stayed another night at Guptkashi before continuing our journey. 
Rest of the journey to Badrinath, Mana village- known as India’s last village was smooth enough. 

Throughout the entire journey, we enjoyed local hot cuisine-Rajma, chawal, dal, garmagaram rothi prepaired on chulha in the chill weather. At the same time we enjoyed the nature- river flowing with white water, sometime at some placess muddy water, snow cappped and stand still mountains. 

We feel pitty about the fact that people come visit these mountains, throw rubbish things like empty bottles, wrappers etc… and make these places dirty. And these mountains can’t utter a word now but in near future our coming generations will hacd to face lot of trouble if nature decides to take the revenge.

While returning our fellow pilgrims had booked a train from Haridwar, we had to catch an early morning flight next day to from Delhi. So we spent some time in Haridwar. 
Another vehicle picked us up for Delhi, dropping us at the airport around 12:30 AM.

Reflections on the Journey

The Chardham Yatra was both physically demanding and spiritually uplifting. It tested our endurance, patience, and faith. Though we faced unexpected challenges, the experience of standing before the divine Kedarnath temple made every struggle worthwhile. The journey reminded us of the importance of preparation, resilience, and, most importantly, looking out for each other.....