Mt Shivling Parikrama

It is our constant endeavor to bring to our guests a new experience in the Himalayas. With this in mind, the team of Experience The Himalayas, ETH,  came up with an idea to carve out a trail/route around Mt Shivling. The expedition begins from Gangotri and the actual Mt Shivling Parikrama from Tapovan.

Mt Shivling is a beautiful peak in the Gangotri Valley of Garhwal Himalayas in Uttarakhand, India. That the peak rises above Gaumukh, the source of the holiest river in India, the Ganga, makes this region spiritually charged and is most revered among its patrons. Tapovan is an alpine meadow and the base camp of Mt Shivling. It is also home to many sages who have been meditating here since long braving the harsh winters of the region. We, thus, felt that this trek is not just a trek but a parikrama and hence we decided to name it The Shivling Parikrama.

The recce was done in September, 2019 under the leadership of Deepak Rana and was flagged off by the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Shri Trivendra Singh Rawat. The 7 member team comprised of the staff of Experience The Himalayas, SDRF, Forest Dept and 1 guest volunteer.

During the recce, an encounter with an ice wall that must be negotiated in order to complete the circuit led us to tag this expedition as difficult. Novices wishing to perform the parikrama can do so by touching the ice wall and then going back the other way to reach the other side.

After the successful recce, we decided that it can be opened to our guests. So here’s an opportunity to be part of the first ever batch for Shivling Parikrama!

Are you an Indian National(required)

Overview

The expedition will be covered in 12 days. The itinerary provided here is from Gangotri to Gangotri. However, it can be customized from Rishikesh, Dehradun and Delhi as well at appropriate additional costs. Please ask us for customizations.

<p>Arrive at Gangotri Dham today and check in to the hotel. In the evening, visit the Gangotri temple and witness the arati of the Ganga.</p>

<p>Today we will take you on a short hike to Pandava Gufa for acclimatization. We encourage you to walk around a bit on your own too to allow your body to acclimatize.</p>

<p>A 14km trek via the Gangotri National Park office and Chirbasa will take you to Bhojbasa. Bhojbasa offers stunning views of the Bhagirathi group of peaks and the river Ganga can be heard flowing in strong currents. We will camp here today.</p>

<p>A 9km trek from Bhojbasa will take us to Tapovan. On the way, we will use a manual operated trolley car to cross the Ganga at Bhojbasa. Our trek will then continue from the other side mostly over flat ground to reach Gaumukh, the source of the Ganga 4km. From here on, the trail becomes steep with the last km being quite a steep climb. At the end of this, we reach Tapovan, the beautiful alpine meadow that is not just the base camp of Mt Shivling but is also home to many sages living here in deep meditation. We will camp here for today.</p>

<p>Today is the most important day of our expedition as the Parikrama begins today. We begin our parikrama by trekking towards Kirti Glacier. The first 2.5 km is on level ground over the meadows. The next 3 km is over moraines and must be carefully negotiated. The last 1.5 km is again over level ground over meadows. We set up our camp here next to the Kirti glacier. Our campsite offers grand views of Mt Kedar Dome, Kedarnath peak (the Kedarnath temple is just behind this), Kharajkund and Mt Chanukhamba 4.</p>

<p>Today we will be ferrying load to Camp 1 for the next day. It is approx. 5km from our camp site and we will be gaining a height of about 500m today. After this, we will be back to our campsite at Kirti glacier.</p>

<p>A 5km trek will bring us to camp 1. We will also open the route for the next day’s climb today.</p>

<p>Today is the most challenging day of the whole expedition. We must negotiate ice wall today, approx. 600-700m in height. We will start very early at 4am and start our climb. The first 200m of the wall is a steep rocky face and will be negotiated with the help of fixed ropes. The next 400-500m will be negotiated with the aid of crampons and ice axes. This 500m climb will be laden with crevasses. Once we’ve negotiated the ice wall, there is a 2km steep trek over a snow field. Then, almost all of a sudden, we arrive at a mountain pass (yet unnamed as it was discovered first during our recce!) connecting Mt Meru on our left and Mt Shivling on our right. This is the highest point of our expedition at 5659m. From here, a steep descent of about 2km will bring us to the Meru glacier. Considering the team’s fitness levels, we will either move back to Tapovan (6km trek) or camp here itself.</p>

<p>A 6km trek will take us to Tapovan. The first 3km are over moraines and then one has to walk over a narrow ridge to reach Tapovan. This completes the parikrama!</p>

<p>Today we will trace our steps back to Chirbasa</p>

<p>Trek 9km back to Gangotri.</p>

Is climbing experience necessary for this expedition?

Yes. Especially for negotiating the ice wall. However, if you do not have prior climbing expertise, you can touch the ice wall and then trace your steps back to Meru glacier.

Cost @ INR 55000 per person + 5% GST

Shivling Parikrama Cost Inclusions:

  • 1) Accommodation in Gangotri
  • 2) Gangotri National park fees
  • 3) All meals from Gangotri to Gangotri
  • 4) A AMC certified expedition leader
  • 5) Services of a cook, kitchen staff and porters carrying common trek equipment
  • 6) Medical kit with oxygen cylinder
  • 7) Climbing equipment
  • 8) Sleeping tents, sleeping bags, mattresses, kitchen tent, toilet tent

Shivling Parikrama Cost Exclusions:

  • Transfers to/from Gangptri. It can be arranged from Dehradun at an additional cost. Please reach out to us if you need the same.
  • Gratuities/Tips
  • Your travel and medical insurance
  • Personal Expenses such as shopping, bar bills, telephone, laundry, etc
  • Any other expenses of a personal nature
  • Porters for carrying personal luggage. It can be arranged at an additional cost of INR 3500 per 12kg load.
  • GST of 5%
  • None (Can be arranged at an additional cost)
  • 6-10
  • 5659
  • Difficult
  • Basic Mountaineering Course Certified.