The Shifting Sands

It seems friday is excursion day for us on our month long, 300 hour, yoga teacher Training.  Today was no different, except that we left a little later.  7 am into the jeeps and an hour long nail biting journey from one side of the valley to the other.  Sounds easy right? Just the other side of the valley right?  Its just that our vehicles have to navigate one destroyed road after another.  Waterfalls using the road as a pathway and the usual passing of large vehicles on one way roads next to several hundred metre ravines!  Of course we were protected and arrived at the stunning village of Ukhimath, the Site of the most ancient temple in the whole of India.  Carbon dated to 5000 years ago and home to the supremely sacred Kedernath statues during the worst of the seasonal Himalayan weather.  A seriously important pilgrimage place for devotees. The temple facade under renovation, following the devastating rains of 2013. Temple detail. ...

The trip to Gupta Kashi ( meaning hidden Varanasi, or ancient Varanasi) was typical for this part of the world but exciting and invigorating for us westerners, no matter how long I live in India....Taking a hair pin bend on the outside where the road has fallen away into the deep ravine that meets with Ganga does not constitute an easy drive up the mountains.   On leaving Riushikesh at 5.30am, I took my seat behind the driver so I could telepathically connect with him at every crucial turn and ensure he kept us safe.  He didn't really need me but it was best to be sure.  The six hour drive became eight thanks to landslides, flat tyres, rebuilding of temples ruined by the terrible floods of last year and travelling the 180km with many other pilgrims and locals wanting to arrive in a timely manner!   We arrived to our new paradise overlooking parts of the himlayas in time for a late lunch. En route, a refreshing lemonade. A confluence of the Yamuna and Ga...