Lord Rootes Memorial Fund

The presence and influence of the high mountain in Himalayan religious culture David Armstrong, Nessa Fereshteh Saniee

University of Warwick

Prepared for the Lord Rootes Memorial in fulfillment of the conditions of receipt of an LRMF Award

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Abstract

This report is a documented journey to the Himalayan foothills of Nepal and India to discover the presence and influence of the high mountains in the religious culture of the area. These mountains dominate the imagination, providing a backdrop of scenery and the close presence of a remote wilderness that forms a part of life when living in the region. The presence of mountains in religious thought, perhaps as a remnant of the pagan roots of many religions, can be seen worldwide – from Mount Olympus to Mount Kailash – and the remote places associated with them are often seen as sacred or spiritual. The Himalayas have created a dense grouping of sacred spaces, from lakes (Hom Kund, Rup Kund, Dodi Tal) to peaks (Mount Kailash, Nanda Devi) and temples located in the high valleys.

Abstract 2

Acknowledgment 4

Authors 4

Introduction 5

Geography 5

Local Religions 6

Objectives 7

Methodology 7

Preparation 8

Evaluation of Risks 9

Main Body 10

Kathmandu Valley: Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur 10

Kopan monastery 14

Kathmandu Valley: Mountain biking 16

Pokhara 19

Lumbini 19

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Crossing the Border of India: A road Journey from Lumbini to Ghat 21

Trekking (Mysterious sacred Rup Kund) 22

Rishikesh 28

Delhi 29

Conclusions and reflections 30

Appendices 31

References 33

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Acknowledgment

David and Nessa would like to thank the Lord Rootes Memorial Fund Board of Trustees for their generous approval of the sponsorship of this project and having faith in the success of our project. Prof Don Pollacco is thanked for his endorsement and academic reference. We would like to thank the American Herbal medic couple Tessa and Eric and the Hindi family who accommodated us in Ramni, India. We are grateful to the company ‘Trek-The-Himalayas’ for providing food and sleeping bags at both Bedini and Bhugu Basa Camps. We would also like to thank all of the wonderful people we met in Kopan for their contribution to our experience in the Monastery and for sharing their thoughts and enthusiasm with us on Buddhism and spirituality.

Authors

‚ DAVID

David is a final year PhD student in the Department of Physics. He works on exoplanets – planets orbiting other stars than our own. He is involved with the Warwick Mountains, for whom he leads groups of students on walks in the mountainous regions of the UK. To be able to do this he has trained for the Mountain Leader Award in 2013. Outside of England, he has experience during the winter in Scotland, as well as several weeks spent in the Alps, Pyrenees and near Mt Hood in the US. Rup Kund represents the highest point he has ever climbed to.

‚ NESSA

Nessa is a PhD graduate 2014 and former chair of Physics PG-SSLC. Her research area is on tuning physical properties of artificial structures and multilayers. Nessa has broad indoor and outdoor climbing experience. She is a Climbing Wall Award holder and training for the Single Pitch Award. Her outdoor experience starts from Iran and stretches to Europe (El Chorro and Costa Blanca-Spain, Fryer-Belgium, Peak district, Snowdonia, and Cheddar Gorge-UK). The highest peak which Nessa has climbed is Damavand, the highest point in the Middle East, and the highest volcano in all of Asia (5671m). She has got excellent experience in days of mountaineering in different regions of Iran and also Scottish winter. Rup Kund was the second highest point she has ever climbed.

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Introduction

Geography

‚ NEPAL

The Himalayan mountain range passes through much of Southeast Asia, crossing through several countries such as Bhutan, India and Tibet. In some of these, and particularly Nepal, the mountains form in some ways the defining feature of the local geography. Across large portions of the country they are visible for much of the year, and present as an imposing cloud bank when not. Nepal can be split into three main regions – the mountains themselves, the hill region formed by the Himalayan foothills, and the Terai, a flat tropical plain forming an unexpected juxtaposition to the other areas.

The mountainous region lies in the north of the country, where high passes can be found leading into the neighbouring region of Tibet. Nepal is home to around 90 peaks over 7000m, including the highest in the world, Mt. Everest. These are spread across the country, with the Himalayan range itself continuing to the east and west. Within Nepal there are several separate ranges within which these high peaks are concentrated; these include the Annapurna, Kanchenjunga and Langtang regions, some of which are known for their trekking opportunities. At the foot of these mountains is the hill region – typically much more temperate and so populated, though still relatively close to the high mountains. It is in this region where the capital city Kathmandu can be found. The presence of the mountains and hills is in some ways exaggerated by the landscape of the remainder of the country – the Terai, a region of low lying tropical plains towards the south, where close to 50% of the Nepali population reside. Here rice paddies, open fields and mosquitoes are more common.

‚ INDIA

In India we spent most of our time in the region of Himachal Pradesh, and more specifically Uttaranchal. This is one of the hill regions of India, with much of the area consisting of winding valleys and rivers connecting fairly small towns. Many (though a steadily decreasing number) of the villages in this region are unreachable by road, having only partially constructed dirt tracks or mule trails for access. In the north of the area the main range of the Himalaya continues, with peaks such as Nanda Devi (7816m) and Trisul (7120m), the latter of which we approached. In the monsoon (July-August) each year this region is exposed to landslides and floods, which can cause serious damage and loss of life. Significant such floods were recorded shortly before our arrival, killing several hundred people and isolating large areas while road repairs were undertaken. South of the hills in the region surrounding Delhi is the plains area, a remarkably flat cultivated region in contrast to the hills and peaks further north.

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Local Religions

‚ NEPAL

Nepalese religion is predominantly Hindu (around 80%), at least in official census recordings. However, this makes the true situation unclear – in many ways in Nepal, Buddhism is incorporated into religious practice, and many of the people we met practiced a combination of the two. Often, Buddha is seen as another Hindu deity and worshipped in a similar way, and in many places shrines are placed next to each other, one Buddhist in origin and the other Hindu. Other major religions include Islam and Christianity.

Also of interest are the diverse religious festivals occurring in Nepal, most of which are celebrated by both Buddhists and Hindus. The main festival is Dashain, occurring for a 15 day period in September and October. In any given month it is possible to find a festival, from the new year festival Bisket Jatra (usually in April), where the gods are pulled around Kathmandu in chariots made each year, to the Buddhist Mani RImdu festival in November.

‚ INDIA

Much like Nepal, the majority religion in India is Hindu with around 80% of the population. Unlike Nepal however there is a significant Islamic presence, forming the second largest religion of the country. Other notable religions include Christianity, Sikhism, Buddhism and Jainism. Although we saw representations of each of these, the primary religion in the mountain villages we spent most of our time in is a form of Hinduism, tempered by local animism and the influence of local cults and village gods. This religion forms a strong part of the life of the local people. It can involve daily ritual (e.g. puja), vegetarianism or other dietary restrictions, and of course defines the ceremonies marking various stages of life, such as marriage, birth or death.

The religious aspect of the villages in the Indian mountains is influenced by the regular pilgrimages which are made there. Many sacred locations can be found in the mountains, among them the various sources of the Ganges as well as certain lakes, including the one we trekked to ourselves. These pilgrimages are undertaken each year by tens of thousands of people – for example, at Roop Kund where we visited many thousands of pilgrims climb the trail in a two month period each year, a significant impact on the local area both culturally and economically.

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Objectives • Learn Hindi • Realize the relation between religion and landscape in the region • Develop personal experience of Tibetan Buddhist worship and practice, in the Himalayan setting • High altitude mountain experience

Methodology

Pre-Travel

• Use of the italki website to engage a Hindi tutor • Discussions with altitude-experienced members of the local mountaineering club regarding trekking • Investigate the past and present cultural backdrop of Nepal and India through the Library.

During Expedition

• We took visual photographic records, concentrating on religious sites, shrines, festivals • We made notes of daily experiences and thoughts: maintain journal during course of expedition. • We used the opportunity afforded by the meditation course to discuss their experiences with the local monks • We engaged local guides for several parts of the expedition, and used Hindi to communicate with villagers

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Preparation

‚ HINDI

Trip preparation consisted of several months training in Hindi. This was done through the italki website, which allows teachers and students from multiple countries to find each other and pay for individual lessons. In this way a couple, Mr and Mrs Pandi, became our Hindi teachers for a period of three months. They are resident in Jaipur, India, which meant that individual lessons were more reasonably priced than is commonly available for even group lessons in the UK, while still representing an excellent rate for India. Using Skype makes these lessons easily as effective. During this period David completed a beginner’s and early intermediate course, which proved very useful for talking to villagers in the more remote regions of India, and well as in wayfinding during trekking.

‚ MOUNTAINEERING

Preparation for the more active parts of the expedition involved some fitness training, notably on several weekend trips to Snowdonia in the UK. In retrospect, the weather and temperature in the Himalayas at 4000m is remarkably similar to that in Wales at 1000m, meaning that experience here is very useful. During these expeditions we concentrated on steep ascent/descent and emergency procedures, as well as the more large-scale mapwork that is necessary given the available maps of the region we visited. Obtaining these maps was also important, as they are very hard to come by in the country itself. While Nepal has a significant trekking tourist industry, and hence maps to serve it, the Uttaranchal part of India has very few facilities. For the trip we acquired Sheet 8 (Garhwal-Kumaon) of the Leomann 1:200000 map series.

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Evaluation of Risks

Risk Level Mitigation Outcome

Visa/border problems Low Early application, avoidance of No problems encountered politically sensitive areas

Blocked roads due to monsoon Medium Alternative routes, alternative No problems encountered trekking options if necessary, domestic flights in Nepal

Unavailability of guides Low Additional days allowed for No problems encountered arranging guide

Trekking – adverse weather, poor Low Optimum season chosen for Severe storm on one trekking route finding weather, well defined routes night. No problems due to chosen, and group contains finding shelter early, and experienced mountaineers. planning to stay in metal huts.

No remaining places on meditation Low Reservation 7 months in advance No problems encountered course

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Main Body Kathmandu Valley: Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur

Entering Kathmandu for the first time can bring up mixture of feelings: shocking traffic jams, riots of colorful Nepali dresses, the smell of cars and in a few hours you feel overloaded with a bizarre mixture of culture and haphazardness. Yet to really see the soul of the city, one should step away from the main motorway and walk in the narrow alleys between some of the historical eye-catching hidden temples, only a few blocks away from the modern polluted roads. The history of Kathmandu is well entwined with the history of Kathmandu Valley with its main habitants the Newars dating as far back as the 7th century BC. The most flourishing time of the city was during the Malla era. In 15th century it was divided into the 3 kingdoms of Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur. We visited the temples and ancient parts of all three of these cities.

‚ HANUMAN DHOKA Hanuman Dhoka is located in Durbar Square within Kathmandu. The main palace of Hanuman Dhoka was originally built in the 4th century AD. However, it owns its present appearance to King Pratap of Malla era in the 17th century. The main god’s face on the Hanuman Dhoka has vanished under the paint applied by pilgrims over the years.

Figure 1 Hanuman Dhoka (left). Singing group of Nepali women (right).

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‚ PATAN

Patan is separated from Kathmandu by the Bagmati River and used to be an independent city in its own right. It has the finest collection of temples in Nepal and it was known as the City of Beauty (Latipur). The roof-top restaurants and bars are very popular due to the spectacular view. The influence of Buddhism is very strong in Patan affecting even the town’s Hindu temples. The Durbar Square of Patan is one of the greatest examples of the stunning Newari architecture.

Figure 2 Patan, Durbar Square. Right is the view from a top-roof café showing the Bhismen Temple and Krishna Mandir.

One of the most famous Buddhist temples in Patan is the Golden Temple. This Buddhist monastery is located to the north of Durbar Square and preserved its appearance since 1409. The monastery owns its name to the glided metal plates in the main courtyard. Tortoises are located in each corner as the guardians of the temple. To our surprise the main priest was a 12 year old boy who only serves for 30 days before being replaced by another young priest. The standing Buddhist elements are the statues of the offering monkeys, standing elephants, Green Tara and Bodhisattva Vajrasattva. A Tibetan wheel of life is on the second floor.

Figure 3 Golden Temple

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‚ BHAKTAPUR

The third and most well preserved medieval city in Kathmandu Valley is the City of Bhaktapur. Its original name, City of Devotees, is well-suited since it has 3 main squares full of temples and towers. The city originally flourished through trade between India and Tibet, until in the 12th century it came under the power of King Ananda Malla. In the 16th century it became the most powerful city of the 3 kingdoms in the valley.

Figure 4 Top: Main entrance of Bhaktapur city. Bottom: (Left) A Nepali man making a clay handcraft for us. (Right) Naga Pokhari (Snake Pool), a special pool to wash the dead in the Royal Palace.

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The city’s centre of clay handcraft is hidden by the alleyways, however we found it and as expected was a wide square full of pottery. The young man in the bottom right panel of Figure 4 specially made us a small clay jar although due to the festive day no one was allowed to work on that day.

‚ BODHNATH Bodhnath is the largest stupa in Asia, gathering thousands of pilgrims daily to give a unique spiritual venue under the eyes of Buddha. Pilgrims including the maroon robed Buddhist monks walk clockwise around the main tower while spinning the prayer wheels. This venue is one of the few places that offer unfettered Tibetan Buddhist culture, including shops selling ceremonial Tibetan drums to monasteries and workshops producing Tibetan Buddhist essentials.

Figure 5 Left: Boudhanath main Stupa. Right: Mixture of pilgrims, tourist and Dharma students. (Bottom) Pilgrims are walking clockwise and spinning the prayers wheel around the main stupa.

It has seen millions of devotees in its history who were praying for the safety of their journey in the high passes of Himalaya while trading goods between Lhasa and Kathmandu. Today, the village Boudha (where Bodhnath is located) is a living place for Tibetan refugees from China. It not only attracts Nepalese with Tibetan roots but also foreign students who

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are interested in Buddhism. Monasteries nearby Bodhnath offer Western Dharma schools, one of which was Kopan Monastery.

Kopan monastery

We attended a 10 day course in Tibetan Buddhism and meditation skills, providing a rare opportunity to interact and learn from practicing lamas in a functioning and historic temple. We used this chance to both develop ourselves and to ask the lamas their own views on the conjunction between their religious practice and the Himalayan peaks.

Here is an example of the day activities involved during our stay: Starting the day by attending the morning puja of the monks at 6 am in the main prayer hall. The prayer was followed by a meditation session for one hour before breakfast at 7:30 am. After breakfast it was a 2 hour break for relaxation and meditation in the gardens, spin the prayer wheels in various parts of the monastery and circumambulate the various stupas. The view was spectacular with the Kathmandu valley beneath us including the Boudha and other monasteries nearby. The first dharma was at 9:30 for 2 hours when discussing the introductory principles of Buddhism based on the Lam Rim (The Graduated Path to Enlightenment).

After the main dharma was lunch and the second break that was a good time to visit the library to browse through the books mostly related to the Buddhism and have a break at the Café with a nice view of the city, or email in the cyber Café where was full of (strangely enough) young monks checking facebook.

Figure 6 Kopan Monastery main prayer hall.

The afternoon class (or group discussion) was the most interactive part when debating the thought materials in the morning dharma session with the other fellows and let ourselves be inspired by their ideas and how being physicists made us different in accepting the supernatural part of this religion.

The day activity was over after dinner by a meditation session at 8 pm. The course was meant to provide an overview over the Tibetan Buddhism, and introduce us to the fundamental principles of Buddhism. The discussion sessions were aiming

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to answer the students’ questions and their doubts and also learning how to apply these principles to our life. Different types of meditation were also introduced during this course including using breath as an object of concentration. One of the special features of this course was the silence from dinner to lunch providing an opportunity to experience practically a form of meditation retreat.

Figure 7 Monks in the Kopan Monastery. Bottom right: Young monks in the cyber café.

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Kathmandu Valley: Mountain biking

Kathmandu and the region around it is a particularly dense collection of World Heritage Sites, with most of these religious in origin. We rented mountain bikes in the city in order to see a larger part of this region.

The bike ride started from Kathmandu city passing Bodhnath and Changu Narayan. We reached Nagarkot by 4 pm and stayed at a hotel named ‘Hotel at the End of the Universe’. The day after was followed by some harder mountain biking along a ridge to reach Dhulikhel at night having one of our mountain bikes broken in addition to discovering (repeatedly!) the inaccuracy of the maps of mountain-bike terrain in Nepal. We stayed at a very friendly hostel called the Shiva Guest House and headed towards Panauti early morning. Panauti is an ancient city, located at the junction of two rivers, famous for trading and has its own royal palace. After Panauti the region became remote – quoting from the guidebook, “this is not the place to have a breakdown”. Needless to say, the bike we repaired the day before did just that, necessitating some walking and freewheeling to make it to Lubhu and the next plausible repair shop. From there we headed back towards the south of Kathmandu.

Figure 8 The map of Kathmandu valley (Adapted from [1]). Our 3-day bike route is highlighted with the purple line.

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Figure 9 Day 1: On the way to Nagarkot. Countryside of green Kathmandu valley after the monsoon season.

Figure 10 Day 2: View of the Himalayas after sunrise from the temple at the top of our hostel in Nagarkot.

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Figure 11 Day 2 on the way to Dhulikhel

Figure 12 Day 3: From Dhulikhel to Kathmandu. The view from the Shiva guest house hostel and shrine there.

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Pokhara

The peace in Pokhara is like a treat after the busy and polluted Kathmandu. After a long bus journey in the high busy roads to Pokhara, the green town with the calm lake in the background was rewarding. The town is seated at the base of Annapurna range, although it was lost in the clouds at the time we visited there. The Lakeside section of Pokhara offered a perfect place to rest and recharge to continue our trip. Pokhara owns its beauty and relaxing environment to the Phewa

Figure 13 Left: Phewa Lake in the sunset. Right top: On the island of Varahi Temple. Right bottom: Rooftop restaurant at Sarangkot

Lake, the largest lake in the area. Our experience of boating on Phewa Lake in the sunset was an aesthetic delight. Stand in the middle of the lake is Varahi Temple, dedicated to the third reincarnation of the Lord Vishnu, Boar Varaha (Figure 13). Another area in Pokhara with historical significance is Sarangkot. Sarang in Magar language means sword and, Kot is the location from which the defence projected force against a target. The view of the lake from top was astonishing even when the snow clad mountains were covered with clouds. We also visited the Gorkha museum in Pokhara. Ghurkhas were (and still are) soldiers from Nepal in the Indian and British armies, an unusual arrangement which has persisted for over a century. From Pokhara we headed towards the birth place of Buddha, Lumbini which involved another 10 hours of bus- minibus journey on one of the most notorious roads of Nepal.

Lumbini

Lumbini is the birthplace of the Lord Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama, 623 B.C.) and another traditional pilgrimage destination. We visited Lumbini and a few monasteries and temples of the area, which exist against the high peaks. The Pillar in bottom left panel of Figure 14 was erected by one of the pilgrims, the Indian emperor Ashoka, The Lumbini Gardens are now being developed as a Buddhist pilgrimage and peace centre, with the building associated with the

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birthplace of the Lord Buddha in the centre. The rest of the photos in Figure 14 are: Top panels Chanting and meditating under the Bodhi Tree; Middle right panel shows an eternal flame symbolysing peace which was lit by the chairman of the Lumbini Development trust in 1986. Bottom right is the Statue of Baby Buddha in Maya Devi Temple in the Lumbini Gardens.

Figure 14 Top: Circle of monks around a holly tree in front of the birth place of Buddha. Bottom the birth place of the Lord Buddha. Right middle panel is an eternal flame symbolizing peace which was lit by the chairman of the Lumbini Development trust in 1986.Bottom right is the Statue of baby Buddha in Maya Devi Temple in the Lumbini Gardens.

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Crossing the Border of India: A road Journey from Lumbini to Ghat

From Lumbini, to reach our trekking destination Ghat in India we passed the following cities with no significant spiritual places: Nepalganj, Sitarganj, Haldwani, Almora, Karnaprayag, and Nandaprayag. Our means of transport were as following: Bus, minibus, bike, Rickshaw bike, Rickshaw motorbike, motor bike and 4x4 cars, often in rapid succession.

Figure 15 Various means of transport in Nepal and India.

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Trekking (Mysterious sacred Rup Kund)

Rup Kund is a sacred lake, attracting pilgrimages each year. It is also known as the Mystery Lake, due to the multiple human skeletons found at its base. There are many theories for the origin of these, but the most popular claims a large royal pilgrimage party, lost due to severe storms in the high pass. The trek passes through several traditional Hindu villages and temples, and lies within sight of Nanda Devi, the highest summit in India and surrounded by a closed sanctuary. The trek extends past Rup Kund to the spectacular pass of Jyuri Gali (4620 m) with the view of a sacred lake within the Sikh religion [2]. Figure 16 shows the start and end of the Rup Kund trek. The trek line is marked with the dashed green line and the arrows show the direction of the trekking.

Figure 16 Map of Rup Kund Trek. The start and end of the Rup Kund trek are marked. The trek line is highlighted with the dashed green line and the arrows show the direction of trekking.

Day 1: Ghat to Ramni (1330-2550 m) 15 km

After staying in a government guest house in Nandaprayag, we took a shared 4x4 car to Ghat in the morning. The steep ascent from Ghat was worth it for the view of the Nandakini River and Valley. It was a long day with short breaks of eating cucumber offered to us by the hospitable locals. Since the map is not sufficiently detailed we had to ask for help from a village in the middle. They draw a map for us and finally two guides accompanied us to find our way to Ramni, while walking on the dirt road, a jeep stopped and offered us a lift. That is how we met our American hosts, a couple working on the growth of Indian herbal medicine in the region. The 4x4 car had no spare space; therefore, we sat on the roof (Figure

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17). We helped them to wash the roots of the medicines grown by them in the area. The Nepali family who immigrated a few years previously (and whom the Americans were staying with) was very hospitable and cooked plenty of gorgeous food for us. In the morning after a full Nepali/ Indian breakfast we started to walk towards Sutol.

Figure 17 On the way to Ramni. Top from the left: The local meeting for our rescue and hand map drawing. Our local guides with their mothers who helped us to find our way as well as giving us food in their houses. Middle panels one the way to Ramni we were picked up by a 4x4 car, sitting on the roof with an American couple. Bottom from the left: The mother of the Nepali family living in Ramni and our host making fresh Roti. Nessa helped to wash the roots of a herbal medicine. The Nepali family after breakfast before we left.

Day 2: Ramni to Sutol (2550-2200 m) 18 km

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This day of our trek was relatively long and passed through several villages and pine forests. The view of the Nandakini Valley was unique especially with wild big birds flying above us. There was no one who could speak English and no sign of Pehri the campsite mentioned in the guidebook, therefore by asking how to get to Sotul, the locals guided us to a dirt road several km longer than our original plan. We took a lift from a 4x4 car who guided us to a local guesthouse where we spent the night.

Figure 18 On the way to Sotul. Top from left: A temple at a high pass. View of the Nandakini Valley. Bottom from left: A Grand mother and her grandson accompanying us from Gorli to Ala. Photo of the children of our host Indian family in Sotul.

Day 3: Sotul to Wan (2200-2540 m) 17 km

The day started with a continuous ascent through the oak forests until it reached the open meadows of Kunol (2600 m). The stone trail passed though a high ridge at 2950 m revealing the Wan Valley. The descent to Wan was steep and yet promising since there was a relaxing GMVN rest house awaiting us with unexpectedly perfectly manicured gardens, the project of the local keeper.

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Figure 19 From left: High ridge between Nandakini and Wan Valley. Open meadows of Wan Valley. GMVN rest house and its garden of roses.

Day 4: Wan to Bedini Bugyal- Camp (2540-3350 m) 11 km

The steep ascent was soon paid by the first glance of Trisul covered in snow in the background of a small temple at 2650 m ridge. A well-established trail led us to the Bedni Bugyal alpine camp with extended views of the main Himalaya Range

Figure 20 From top left: small temple at 2650 m ridge. Bedni Bugyal alpine camp before the storm. Bottom: The kitchen tent was destroyed by the storm.

with awesome backdrop of Trisul (7120 m) and Nanda Ghunti (6309 m). We reached Bedni from Wan within 3 hours and spent a relaxing day in the campsite for acclimatisation; however the sunny day turned into one of the most extreme

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storms we have seen in the mountains within few hours. We were forced by the rain and wind to move into one of the alpine huts, saving any major problems.

Day 5: Bedini Bugyal- Camp to Bhugu Basa- Camp (3350-4100 m) 10 km

By ascending from Bedni towards the higher part of the trail, more breath-taking views of the Garhwal peaks were revealed. Small temples on the way to Bhugu Basa reflect the many years and generations of committed pilgrims pushing their courage to reach the sacred Rup Kund. After about an hour, the trail reached a cairn at 3800 m where we met our guide who accompanied us through the rest of journey. The final ridge before the Bhugu Basa campsite has a small temple with Trisul and Nanda Ghunti in the background (the cover photo of this report). After a short ascent, the first view of the boulder-strewn Bhugu Basa campsite could be seen. Thanks to the company Trek-the-Himalaya we had warm food and sleeping bags, thus we rested in one of the huts until 4 am to head towards Rup Kund before sunrise.

Figure 21 Top from left: small temple just after the Bedni campsite. A lake by the temple where in high season pilgrims camp. Middle from the left: Our Local guide Mr. Ranjiu. Small temple on the way. Nessa and David with Trisul in the back.

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Figure 22 Bottom from left: The temple at the ridge that divides between the Bedni Ganga and the Nandakidi River. Some offering by the pilgrims can be seen at the entrance. Bhugu Basa campsite.

Day 6: Bhugu Basa- Camp, Summit Rup Kund, Jyur Gali Pass, Descend to Loharjang (4100-4550-4620-2130 m)

This was a big day that included a 520 m ascent above 4000 m to Rup Kund and Jyuri Gali Pass and then about 2000 m descent on the same day to Wan and Loharjang. It took about 2 hours to reach Rup Kund at 4550 m and about 30 minutes more to reach the Jyuri Gali Pass. The last 30 min required some hands on the rock and snow with the help of the hammers placed at exposed places on the trail. The colorful prayer flags next to a small temple added to the sacred atmosphere of the place. We ascended to the pass just when the sun was rising on Nanda Ghunti and Trisul. We returned back to the Bhugu Basa Campsite for a victorious breakfast after a successful climb. The 2000 m descent came with pain and blisters at the end but a lift from Wan to Loharjang and staying at another GMVN rest house, took away our tiredness.

Figure 23 Left: Rup Kund under a layer of ice. Right: Jyuri Gali Pass.

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Figure 24 Top Bottom left: Shrine next the Rup Kund. Bottom right: Back to Bhugu Basa campsite.

Rishikesh

From Loharjang, a long bus journey took us to Karnaprayag where we took a 4x4 shared car to Rishikesh. Rishikesh is a spiritual city and has attracted many spiritual seekers since the late 60s when the rock-up of the Beatles at the ashram of the Yogi, Maharishi Mahesh, occurred, It is known today as a Yoga centre of the world with clusters of ashrams and plenty of Yoga and meditation related courses. We visited the new part of the city that is connected by two suspension bridges (Jhula). In the evening the ringing bells of the temples by spiritual Sadhus, when the tourists, Yogis and tourists get ready for the Anga Aarti at night that is a type of Hindu religious worship in front of a sacred element such as the Ganga River.

Figure 25 From left: The view of the Ganga River. One of the suspension bridges in Rishikesh. A Hindu monk.

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Delhi

Our final destination was Delhi. We visited several historical places including the Qutab Minar, Lotus Temple and Jamee Masjid with a day tour of Taj Mahal. A selection of the photos is depicted in Figure 26.

Figure 26 Selected photos of Delhi sight-seeing. Top left: Qutab Minar. Top right: Lotus Bahie temple. Bottom left: Taj-Mahal, Bottom right: Jamee Masjid.

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Conclusions and reflections

‚ CONCLUSIONS

Objective: Learn Hindi – Three months of one-one-one lessons were taken with a tutor via the italki website. This led to at least basic conversational Hindi, which proved very useful through the Indian stage of the trip when talking to guides and other locals.

Objective: Realize the relation between religion and landscape in the region – We explored both religion and the mountainous landscape for the 5 weeks of our expedition. In each place we visited, they interleave, with shrines appearing in high mountain passes, temples in villages shaped much like the mountains that surround them, and many mountains even being the home of the gods. As we trekked, many of the peaks in sight were off limits due to sacred connections – particularly Trisul, which is the home of Shiva and for which climbing permits are barred by the Indian government. Even the Kopan Monastery, near Kathmandu, is located on the peak of a hill above the town.

Objective: Develop personal experience of Tibetan Buddhist worship and practice, in the Himalayan setting – A full week of classes and meditation was completed at Kopan, the contents from which and discussions surrounding them proving very eye-opening.

Objective: High altitude mountain experience – 6 days trekking to Roop Kund lake, reaching an altitude of over 4500m, the highest and second highest points that the author’s had ever reached.

‚ REFLECTIONS:

As simple as it sounds, 6 days trekking at high altitude can be challenging. Everyday waking up and knowing that there is no easy way back and we had to reach our next destination is a morale challenge rather than a technical. One should keep at it to be successful in a multiple day trekking-expedition regardless of blisters or the poor health which from unhygienic conditions. Beyond the expedition, exploring Asia for 5 weeks can be at some points beyond our comfort zone. Especially the lack of a detailed map put us at several points in the middle of nowhere, where even if you find a human being the chances that you are going to have a meaningful conversation in English are near zero. But the victorious moments, even as small as, fixing a mountain bike, reaching the destination village before dark, or finding hot food and army sleeping bags at 4000 m overwhelm the pains and uncertainties. What we aimed to cover during these 5 weeks, both spiritually and physically, was definitely ambitious. But our commitment and reasoned decision making made our journey a safe and successful one. The nature of the harsh environment revealed our deepest unexplored emotions and exposed us to each other. We are proud of our team work that made us not to think about if but about when we were going to reach our goal. This was a great chance to know that one day, hopefully soon we will be able to climb high peaks and experience their sacredness personally.

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Appendices FOLLOWED ITINERARY

Date Place Activities Height (m) 30/08/2014 Flight to India transfer to Kathmandu 31/08/2014 Kathmandu city Arrived at Kathmandu 01/09/2014 Visiting Patan, Golden Temples, Hanuman Dhoka Durbar Square 02/09/2014 Backtapur Ancient City 03/09/2014 From Kathmandu to Nagarkot Mountain biking/ Visiting a temple () by Mountain bike 04/09/2014 From Nagarkot to Dhulikhel Mountain biking 05/09/2014 From Dhulikhel back to Mountain biking Kathmandu 06- Kopan monastery Meditation & exploring Buddhism/ Bodnath Temple 13/09/2014 14/09/2014 Kopan to Pokhara 15/09/2014 Pokhara Visiting Ghurkha Museum 16/09/2014 Pokhara to Lumbini Visiting Birth place of Buddha 17/09/2014 Lumbini To Nepalganj 18/09/2014 Crossing Indian Border and going to Sitarganj 19/09/2014 Sitarganj to Haldwani by bus+ taxi to Almora 20/09/2014 Bus to Karnaprayag 21/09/2014 Bus to Nandaprayag Staying at Government tourist houses 22/09/2014 Ghat to Ramni After trekking a long day stayed with an American couple hosted by an Indian family 23/09/2014 Ramni to Sutol Stayed with a local Indian family 24/09/2014 Sutol to Wan Hiking beautiful forest hills 25/09/2014 Wan to Bedini Bugyal- camp Hiking on the route to Rup Kund 26/09/2014 Bedini to Bhugu Basa camp Higher camp 27/09/2014 Bhugu Basa- summit Rup Jeep to Loharjang staying at GMVN Kund back to Wan 28/09/2014 Bus+Jeep to Rishikesh Staying at Rishikesh after changing 2 buses and a Jeep 29/09/2014 Rishikesh Hindu Temples 30/09/2014 Night bus to Delhi 01/10/2014 Delhi Qutab Minar, Lotus Baha’i temple 02/10/2014 Taj Mahal Day trip Taj Mahal and Red Fort 03/10/2014 Delhi Jamee Masjid 04/10/2014 Flight back To London

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FINANCIAL EXPENDITURE

Converted to Description Value Currency GBP Flights Return Delhi-London x2 1139.6 GBP 1140 Single Delhi-Kathmandu x2 14586 IRP 148 Visas Related Expenses Visa fee + Non-UK-resident extra + Photo (Nessa) 78.8 GBP 79 Visa fee paid online + Photo (David) 117 GBP 117 Nepal visa x2 80 USD 50 Malaria Tablet David 30 GBP 30 Nessa 25 GBP 25 Food and Snacks UK (airport) 37.73 GBP 38 Nepal 21300 NPR 135 India 11170 IRP 113 Transport: (Bus, Taxi, Rickshaw, Bike, and Motorbike) Return Bus Heathrow-Coventry 87 GBP 87 Taxi Coventry 5 GBP 5 Nepal 10104 NPR 64 Mountain Bike Hire Nepal 6000 NPR 38 India 5010 IRP 51 Taj Mahal Taxi (full day) 4750 IRP 48 Accommodations Kopan Monastery Nepal x2 (food inc.) 240 USD 150 Nepal 8004 NPR 51 Nepal hotel Nepalganj 20 USD 13 India 8112 IRP 82 Entrance Fees to Temples and Historical Sight- seeing Nepal 7750 NPR 49 India 3100 IRP 31 Trekking Permit India 1600 IRP 16 Guides (inc. Maps) Nepal 5500 NPR 35 India 6370 IRP 65 Preparation Hindi Lessons 120 GBP 120 Total cost GBP 2780

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References

[1] N. H. T. http://www.nepalhikingtrip.com/packages/98/nagarkot-hiking. (2014). Nagarkot hiking.

[2] G. Weare, Trekking in the Indian Himalaya, 5th ed.: Lonely Planet, 2009.