Exploring Himalayas || Trek to Madhmaheshwar Temple || Uttrakhand, India

Namaste everyone, I hope you are all doing great. 🙏

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This post is in continuation with my last travel post. Read about that post by clicking here.

Here is a quick refresher, I went on a trip with my friends to the Chamoli district in Uttrakhand. We Visited Vridh Badri and Kalpeshwar Temple But we had just one more place to visit...

It was the monsoon season and the mountains were more picturesque and mesmerising than usual. Our next destination was one of the oldest Shiva Temples, the Madhmaheshwar Temple. It is part of the Panch-Kedar Temple (Five-shiva temple pilgrimage route).

The other four are -

• Kedarnath Temple
• Rudranath Temple
• Tungnath Temple
• Madhmaheshwar Temple
• Kalpeshwar Temple

I have now been to every one of them except, the Kedarnath Temple.

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Back to the story, we reached Ransi Village in the afternoon. You see... we have to trek to reach the temple and we were too tired. So without wasting any time we booked a place to rest and within minutes, we were all asleep.

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^{Ransi Village}

The next morning, we were all fresh and rested. We had a big challenge in front of us. We need to trek for close to 20 kilometres in challenging terrain at high altitudes, starting from 2500 meters above sea level and reaching close to 3500 meters.

The only thing that was in our favour was the overcast conditions and the fact that we were all rested.

^{Trekking through the woods}

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We started our trek. We picked the routeway and started walking, it was much easy at first, the slope was easy and it all looked easy. The weather was nice and we were enjoying the picturesque views of the Himalayas, walking along a river, constantly listening to the rush of flowing water, passing through the forest of Huge Himalayan Deodar trees, and crossing over small bridges and streams of water.

^{Crossed few bridges}

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Being the rainy season, it was cloudy and it rained heavily the last night. So everything was wet and green. We saw many water streams, and water was coming from all sides and going in the river along the valley bed.

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^{River flowing along the pathway}

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^{Water running down the rocky slope}

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When passing through one of these small streams of water you could feel the bombardment of tiny droplets on your skin. It was just a magical experience. Can't capture something like that with any camera.

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After walking for around 2 hours we reached a big metal bridge and finally, we left behind the river that was flowing all along us for miles. Now the challenging part of the trek was in front of us. We have to gain some elevation and the slope got steeper.

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Our pace was much slower at this part of the trek. But we are still going strong. We split into smaller groups eventually, depending on physical fitness and stamina. I was with the last group. 😁

There were only a few stops where you can take a rest or grab something to eat.

It was around 4 pm when we finally reached the end of our journey. The weather changed in an instant. Clouds tried to hide the beauty of the place by wrapping it over them, but they foolishly made it more beautiful. Have a look.

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^{Can you see the temple?}

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Suddenly, the clouds moved and we saw our first glimpse of the temple. It was beautiful and situated in a prime location in a small grassy place tucked perfectly between the hills. Among all the Panch-Kedar temples, this temple has the best location.

^{Madhmaheshwara Temple}

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The temple itself is very old and one of the holiest places in Hinduism. Its reference can be found in many ancient texts. So, it is one of the most important temples in India.

We took some rest after reaching there and attended the evening Aarti which was in itself an amazing experience and worth the effort to reach here.

We slept at the top that night and came down the following day. It was an unforgettable experience, to say the least. You have to be there to feel the energy that place had.

^{Perfect morning in the Mountains}

I would love to travel back there if I get another chance. But there are so many amazing places to visit and so less time and resources. Maybe that's why we believed in reincarnation. hahaha

Thanks for coming with me on this journey... through this post. Let me know what are your thoughts about the place and if/when you are going to visit this place?

Namaste 🙏

Note:

• All the content is mine unless otherwise stated.
• Photos were taken from my phone (hence the low-quality photos) and were edited using the "Snapseed" app.
• Text dividers are from @cryptosharan.

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