The 1200+ Km Bike Trip --- Day7- Govindghat To Dev Prayag

Govindghat to Dev Prayag:

Joshimath:

On Day 7 we woke up early, freshened up and had some Tea & Snacks at the Gurudwara. Deposited back the beddings, blankets, and room keys etc, gave some donation and were all set to start our return journey.

As we started our return journey towards Joshimath we had the beautiful memories of our trip and the happiness that we had visited all the places (perhaps more than that) that we initially we thought to visit. We take back some good experiences and some life skills that we learned during the course of our trip.

The Day we started our journey back to Dev Prayag, was not a rainy day it was sunny neither, it was a cloudy day perfect for riding the bikes. We quickly rode back to reach the Vishnu Prayag Bridge. The way after that was uphill until you reach Joshimath. You can get your fuel tanks filled at Joshimath or get some fuel at various Petrol Pumps on the way, although Petrol Pumps are scarce but you would still find a few on the way downhill.

We quickly crossed Joshimath, the way after Joshimath was a downhill drive. Be very conscious on the downhill journey as you normally go fast due to the incline; control your speed so that your bikes don't go out of control. The downhill Journey was much faster. Soon we crossed Vridh Badri area and then the Vishugad Hydro Power Plant. As we moved further we crossed the Gurudwara ("Gurudwara Sahib") at Pakhi where we had halted previously. The roads were good and it was really effortless and fun to drive. The Scenery all around was fabulous. Soon we crossed Pepalkoti check Post.

After driving for some more time we crossed Chamoli, Nanda Prayag, Karna Prayag and Gauchar. The road condition deteriorated after Gauchar. The road condition was really bad with potholes, mud and filth all around. There were streams flowing over the roads. As we maneuvered through the silt and pot holes which were sometimes about knee deep at lot mud and silt was getting on to the bikes. This is where the Chain again started giving a cranking sound, we had to time and again tighten and adjust it.
We thought we will get is fixed as soon as we reach a town where we could find a bike mechanic easily.

Lush Green Mountains on the Way

Rudra Prayag:

We were approaching Rudra Prayag. We thought that we will get the bike chain fixed at Rudra Prayag as by now the cranking sound had aggravated and it was in bad shape. As we reached Rudra Prayag before we could cross the bridge on the river we saw a Bajaj Bikes showroom/service center. We approached it and showed the issue to the mechanic. He told us he will fix it in sometime as he already working on another bike. it was already midday so we thought in the interim we could have a meal.
We enquired in a nearby roadside restaurant, he was selling snacks. So we sat down to have some snacks. I remember we were served some Samosas and some Chutney. The Chutney was so delicious that we were tempted to ask the vendor how he makes it. He said it was all from local herbs, I swear I haven't tasted such delicious Chutney in my life. Probably it is to with the locally available fresh herbs which we city dwellers rarely find. Anyways by the time we had the snacks the bike chain was fixed. We took the bikes and started our downhill journey towards Srinagar.

The road condition improved from Rudra Prayag. In fact as we started reaching towards Srinagar the road became quite wide. From Srinagar there is a way that takes you to Tehri. We thought initially that maybe we can visit Tehri Dam, but we had to abandon the thought as it was already getting late and probably we could not have gone and come back by evening. Hence we continued our journey towards Dev Prayag. Initially we had thought that we could drive down till Rishikesh until evening as the road condition is pretty good after Srinagar. 

Dev Prayag:

As we started moving towards Dev Prayag it started drizzling. We continued driving until it was drizzling taking occasional breaks when the rains would pour in heavily. But after a period of time we had to stop as the downpour was pretty heavy and driving in these conditions were becoming increasingly difficult. We took refuse in an abandoned concrete structure/shed adjacent to the road. Initially we were the only people there but soon some cows and goats also got in to save themselves from the rains. Eventually we were not alone in the shed; it was such a different feeling that nature had bounded all of us together to share the same space. Soon the shed also started filling with water due to heavy downpour we just kept hopping places to avoid the rain water but after a period of time almost the complete shed was filled with about ankle deep water, we had to gather we stones and then stand on top of it. After nearly 30-40 minutes the rain slowed down and we started our journey again.

As we started moving we had to move slowly as the rains had made the way a bit slippery. The rains had kind of washed the flora all around and the mountains all around were all lush green. As we were approaching Dev Prayag it started to be dark. So we thought we should quickly get a accommodation in Dev Prayag and abandon the thought of moving to Rishikesh as we wanted to avoid driving in the hills at night. By now we had got good network in our mobile phones, we could see few OYO Rooms in the vicinity. We booked one which had the view of the holy rivers and halted there. We had a decent accommodation; the place had arrangements for meals as well. We freshened up and had a good dinner and went to bed admiring the beauty of the place. We planned that on the next day we would quickly complete our breakfast and drive down to Rishikesh and then to Gurgaon. Another day of our trip had come to an end.

Nature in Panorama

Our Journey:

Day 1: Gurgaon to Shivpuri-Rishikesh (Stay at Shivpuri)

Day 2: Rishikesh to Pakhi-Joshimath (Stay at Pakhi)

Day 3: Pakhi to Badrinath/Govindghat (Stay at Govindghat)

Day 4: Govindghat to Ghangharia & Valley of Flowers (Stay at Ghangharia)

Day 5: Rest at Ghangharia (Stay at Ghangharia)

Day 6: Ghangharia to Hemkund Sahib (Stay at Govindghat)

Day 7: Govindghat/Joshimath to Dev Prayag (Stay at Dev Prayag)

Day 8: Dev Prayag to Gurgaon

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The 1200+ Km Bike Trip --- Day8