It took us
sometime time to come out of trance we were experiencing. We went to temple
office once we were out of temple complex. They accept all type of donations
here. Friends and relatives give money to donate and ask to pay homage at the
temple, if someone is going for darshan. It is very common practice here in
India. We carried a few such donations. We also offered our own. Both of us
felt, shrine board utilizes donations in the best manner for providing
excellent facilities. With satisfaction we went to locker room and took our
belongings. Many devotees visit Bhaironath temple after visiting Vaishnodevi
temple. It is about 6-7 kilometers further on the hilltop. In such a short
distance one needs to climb 2500 feet. This trek is difficult, so we unanimously
decided to drop a climb. Instead we took a right turn for our climb down to
Katra.
We were to
take new road via Himkoti for this purpose. There a large open space on the
right. There were offices, restaurants, apartments, dormitories, shops and
benches for pilgrims. It was noon by now. We lunched at a hotel there. I was
very pleased with this shrine board eating houses, which provide simple,
nutritious food. It is generally advised not to undertake long walks
immediately post meals. It means a time to take some rest. We identified a
bench under a tree and settled there. We were discussing about exploring more
of Himalaya in future tours. Himalaya has a special place in Hinduism. A cup of
tea and relaxing for half an hour was good enough to start now. There are eCars
available from here till Himkoti for devotees. Reading a board in front,
I misunderstood that eCars are available only for old and handicapped. I
stressed on it to Neha and we started walking. This road is very well laid and
maintained. At many places it is covered. It is very helpful during rains
and saves walkers from falling stones. Climbing up is test of lung capacity.
Though legs give trouble while climbing, their real test is while descending.
Knees, ankles and calf muscles get strained a lot. A view of Bhawan from this
road is memorable. It must be giving encouragement while climbing, I felt. Taking
a break after every fifteen minutes, we covered a significant distance in one
hour and fifteen minutes.
We were
stopped by shrine board employees at one turn. When enquired, they told about
landslide happening some distance away. We could see the falling stones and mud
from a height. Some others devotees now joined us there as road was blocked
from both sides. Shrine board administration stated working on removing loose
land above hill top. Our legs were cramping and there was accompanying pain. We
were messaging it ourselves. Suddenly from nowhere a group of masseur came
there. They started convincing us about their skills. We relented and at
rupees 100 each got a foot massage. It was very relaxing and relieved us of
aches. By now cleaning of boulders on the road was underway. Like elsewhere, on
the road we found a tea stall nearby. A hot cup of tea was called for. As
cleaning of the road was complete, we were allowed to cross affected area. They
actually advised us to run fast to get clear of the area. Such landslides are
very common in this part. Fortunately no one was injured today in the landslide.
With all this eventful afternoon we reached Himkoti by 4.00 pm.
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