A Himalayan folklore trek

Some journeys exist on maps, and then there are those that live in lore. The Panpatia Col trek is firmly the latter, born from a legend that a priest could offer prayers at both Kedarnath and Badrinath in a single day, traversing a mythical high-altitude path. But then, Lord Shiva, irked by the priest’s frequent absences, blocked the path by placing the towering Nilkantha peak in the way, bringing an end to this intrepid adventure.

The fable spurred legendary Himalayan explorers Shipton and Tilman to seek out this route in 1934. What they found instead was a landscape so treacherous that it would take another 66 years before anyone could complete their intended journey. And it was only in 2007 that a version of the route safe enough for recreational hikers like us was finally unearthed, by using Google Earth.

Our journey, a sliver of that grand ambition, began on a drizzly morning from the village of Hanuman Chatti, around 15 km before Badrinath in Uttarakhand, leaving the road to hike up the Khiron Ganga valley. The initial couple of days took us from the treeline through narrow, brooding gorges and past shepherd encampments. Soon, the meadows gave way to the formidable moraines and boulder fields that guard the upper valley.

Here, we came alongside the Parvati glacier, a terrain where the inanimate begins to feel alive. From its snout emerges the roaring Parvati river, which eventually becomes the Khiron Ganga. From dawn to dusk, the glacier croaked and groaned as the sun warmed its surface, sending rocks skittering down the icy slopes, while below the feet, subterranean streams gurgle under the rock, mud, and ice, congregating at the snout to finally emerge as a frothing river.

The daily rhythm of the high mountains, with their ‘four seasons in a day’, quickly asserted itself: clear mornings giving way to a persistent buildup of clouds through the day, bringing rain or snow almost everyday. A dramatic moment came at our camp below Parvati Peak at the head of the glacier. We were woken up at 10:30 in the night by a porter’s shouts to “clear the tent”. It had been snowing so quietly that we hadn’t noticed half of our tent buried under it. What followed was a rather annoying night of waking up every half an hour to brush off the snow.

Climbing up the Parvati gully, a steep and treacherous stretch of rock and snow brings one to Panpatia Col, a series of two passes perched at an altitude of 5,230m, which constitute the entry and exit to the Panpatia snowfield, a large glacier tucked in between some of the most magnificent peaks in the Indian Himalayan region. Crossing a 7-km stretch of this crevasse-riddled glacier is the highlight of this trek, where the landscape is reduced to myriad shades of white.

We camped on the icefield itself, where biting winds and a chilling whiteout were our evening companions. The reward for the frigid night though was a dawn that unveiled the trek’s crown jewel: a full, breathtaking view of the Chaukhamba group of peaks. While clouds came soon after, we were able to get a glimpse of a few other prominent peaks, including Nanda Devi and Hathi Parvat.

From this high perch, we began our long descent, but not before traversing the crevasse-ridden icefield to reach the second part of the Col. Finally, leaving Chaukhamba’s domain, we went past Sujal Sarovar, an emerald-green glacial lake, down into the Madmaheshwar valley through Kachni Khal Pass. At Madmaheshwar temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva and one of the Panch Kedars, civilisation returned. Bluetooth speakers and selfie sticks felt surreal after days of silence.

This is one of the few commercial trekking routes where one can go days without seeing another human being, where the trail’s limited footfall means many high peaks remain unnamed and unclimbed to date. Meant for seasoned trekkers with high physical and mental endurance, it demands prior high-altitude experience and familiarity with technical terrain.

For those ready to embrace the challenge, the trek offers a rare chance to walk in the landscapes of myth and the footsteps of legends. To travel across this raw, untamed world is to be humbled by the sheer scale of nature, feeling the ineffable hush of its grandeur seep in and fill one with awe and gratitude.

— The writer is an outdoor enthusiast and climate expert

Trip essentials

Route: Start from the village of Hanuman Chatti near Badrinath and descend to the village of Ransi near Ukhimath.

Duration: 10-12 days depending upon fitness and weather.

Season: May-June (pre-monsoon) or September-October. Expect rain and snow in either season.

Guides and porters: Mandatory.

Permits: Mandatory. Can be obtained from the Forest Department at Joshimath.

History: Links the holy shrines of Badrinath and Kedarnath.