Tears of joy rolled down the cheeks of 25-year-old Abhisekh Panwar, a trekker and guide, after he and five other teammates discovered a crystal clear lake at an altitude of around 16,000 feet in the picturesque Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand. The team members shared the news with friends recently after returning from the difficult trek in the Garhwal Himalayas.
“I cannot exactly explain in words how I felt (after reaching the lakeside). It was a mix of excitement, happiness, emotion, and a sense of creating a sort of history," Abhisekh Panwar told News18 over the phone.
The mutual interest in high-altitude trekking brought together six youngsters in their mid-20s — Abhisekh, Aakash, Vinay, Lalit Mohan, Arvind, and Deepak — hailing from Rudraprayag, Tehri, and Pauri Garhwal districts.
The discovery of the new lake in Rudraprayag is a jewel in the crown of trekkers. The other lakes in the district are Vasuki Tal, Basuri Tal, Deoria Tal, Badhani Tal, Sajal Sarowar, Nandi Kund, among others. Some of them were explored by other trekkers.
Abhisekh says it all started last year in July when the country was battling the Covid outbreak. The teammates were confined to their homes, ‘exploring’ interesting pieces of information. It was then that when one of the teammates spotted a lake on Google Earth. The information was shared with the other members and they looked out for old maps in search of additional information.
“We did some research and finally decided to explore the lake,” said Abhisekh, who had been to other expeditions with the rest of the members. Being a guide, he collected basic information on the route.
“We scaled 11 kilometres of a steep climb from my village Goundar till Madmaheswar Dham on August 27. Considering Madmaheshwar as a base camp, it took precisely six days to reach the lakeside,” he said.
Madmaheswar Dham is one of the revered Shiva shrines in Uttarakhand. It is also one of the “Panch Kedars" besides Kedarnath, Rudranath, Tungnath, and Kalpeshwar.
Abhisekh underscored that reaching the lakeside was not a cakewalk. Beating bone-chilling breeze and inhospitable climate conditions, the members discovered the lake on the morning of September 1. Before returning, they spent about 25 minutes at the lakeside — measuring the lake, shooting videos, and capturing pictures.
“The trek to the lake is a lifetime experience. Beautiful green meadows and white glaciers are a treat to the eyes. We hope more trekking groups will explore (lake and trek) in the coming months," said Abhisekh.
Meanwhile, officials in the district tourism department said they were collecting information about the lake discovery.