Madyamaheshwar , is a beautiful temple in the Grarhwal Himalayas , in a valley between Badri Nath and Kedar Nath. A river called Madyamaheshwar Ganga originates in a deep ravine below the temple. The river is a tributary of Mandakini which in turns joins Alaknanda and Bhagirathi to form the Ganga at Devprayag.
This is a low altitude trek and therefore offers a view of the unique rich forests of the Garhwal, The land near the temple belongs to a trust so there are no villages around the last 10 Kms. The place still retains it's ristine beauty. There are defintely deer, monkeys and reportedly carnivora like leopards and tigers.
How to get there
From New Delhi, a six hour bus journey gets you to Rishikesh. Leave Rishikesh early in the morning to travel reah Rudraprayag ( Remember Jim Corbet's : The Man eating leopards of Rudrapray ?) by noon. Another 3 hour journey to a place called Jugasu, beyond Okhimath and you reach the end of motorable road.
Start the next morning to reach Ransi after a six Km uphill climb. It's best to travel a shorter distance on the first day to avoid cramps or pain in the legs.
Since there's nothing much to see at Ransi a six Km trek downhill takes you, to a village called Bantoli. The village has only two families. Comming down to the altitude of the river once more is quite irritating especially once u brace yourself for a formisable 5Km climb to Nanu. There is a lovely waterfall with a small pond of crystal clear, ice cold water on the way. A dip in nature's bath-house is a must.
Nanu has one large extented family living there. I'm sure the goats and cattle outnumber Humans at least 10 to one ! There won't be any food available before the temple opens though the friendly and helpful locals will let you join them for meals if you ask politely.
You need official permision to go beyond this point when the temple is not open open and the entire area is deserted. Since we didn't know about it and therefore didn't get it in Rudraprayag, we took the guard's son along with us to act like a guide for the day, to go to Madyamaheshwar and back the same evening . The 'kid' would expect a Rs 200 (US $6) for the effort.
This place really comes alive when the temple opens, (this year on the 19 th of May ) so those who prefer peace and quite are advised to go there before this date. That's what my friend and I did. This created a few problems for though we had a tent, we didn't have our own food. The locals , however are very helpful and we managed by eating what the sheperds ate, which was surprisingly good.
There is a lake called Kashni Tal (Tal means a lake in Hindi) beyond Madhyamaheshwar. The lake remains frozen for the most of summer and the road wouldn't be accessible until the temple opens. You'll probably need official permision and a guide because the guardes son may not go with you for several days.