Moving diaries

Tyger Tyger burning bright

2011-05-29T03:56:00.000-07:00

"Tyger Tyger, burning bright,
In the forests of the night:
What immortal hand or eye,
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?"

You will never truly appreciate William Blake's poetry until you see directly into the eyes of a wild tiger. But for that you have to be in Corbett National Park.
Just as Pooja's annual break came up we landed in Corbett, hugely due to her vagabond spirit. In her twisted logic, as soon as there is a holiday she can't stay at home. I huddled up with two of my friends and planned the trip using google, travel guide books, chatty tour operators and even chattier "we have been there" friends.
From what we could gather, we piled up the following list of do's
1. Stay only in Dhikala FRH (Forest Rest House).
2. Only use Maruti gypsies hired at Ramnagar.
and most important 3. Carry your own drinks, sic!.
Getting a reservation to stay at Dhikala FRH is the toughest part. This old village turned into a FRH, actually a series of FRH's in one huge campus surrounded by electric fences. The fences are meant to keep out the wild animals, unlike Auschwitz. Getting 3 rooms here is very difficult and you have to book months in advance.
Being a unscheduled trip we begged a friend of ours who pulled the right strings and we could land the rooms for two nights. Two nights are the maximum they allow tourists to stay inside the Park.
Corbett Tiger Reserve is divided in ranges/zones each with its distinctive wildlife, vegetation and FRHs. The Rest Houses at Dhikala and Bijrani are adequately manned, has electricity and well stocked - foodwise while in the others the tourist has to be self sufficient.
Ramnagar is the gateway to all the zones of the Park and is also a railhead with daily trains connecting the national capital, New Delhi. The twin towns of Haldwani and Kathgodham are nearby railway stations. Ramnagar also hosts the Corbett National Park Reception Office which is responsible for issuing all the mandatory passes to go inside and allotting the rooms in the FRHs inside.
We took a overnight train from Dehradun to Haldwani and a 3 hour taxi ride took us to Ramnagar. We checked into the KMVN Tourist Rest House (TRH) and after a hearty breakfast left for the Park Reception Office. As we left the premises, from the corner of my eyes I saw the ladies/kids ransacking the small gift cum souvenir shop inside the TRH.
At the Park Office we paid the dues for the rooms and the park passes. There were a number of Gypsy drivers loitering around and we bargained two vehicles for Rs 5000 ($100) for a two night three days package including the jungle safaris. No extra cost for drivers and petrol although you could offer the driver a tad of the nightly fuel. Drinking inside the Park was STRICTLY FORBIDDEN and one has to operate like SEAL TEAM 6 in this regard, unless you belong to the blessed few.
As we started off from Ramnagar in open jeeps towards Dhangarhi gate which is the entrance to Dhikala range, Pooja who was standing up in the last row with wind in her hair kicked off the trip by announcing "Papa, this is my greatest holiday ever."
As we entered Dhangarhi gate after showing the requisite credentials and drove through the jungle path with overhanging trees we encountered the first wildlife, a wild boar and then immediately a herd of spotted deers. The kids went crazy as well as the camera flashlights.
As we were detoured through "Crocodile point", we saw the ample Pamela of Corbett sunbathing with few of her off-springs.After another hour of bumpy roads we entered Dhikala FRH premises. We were put up in DD hut, located at the very end of the campus, but we had the whole place to ourselves. After splitting up the rooms and a big buffet lunch we went out on our first safari. It is mandatory to hire a forest guide for each vehicle for an astronomical price of 300 bucks.
First day first show - TIGER. We had barely gone a mile when we saw a line of vehicles on the roadside, the riders hanging out, perched on to the highest possible place and craning their necks peering to the left in absolute silence. "Tiger" whispered a guide in one of the vehicles. "Where?" queried our guide. "There" pointing to his left the other guide said, "below the fallen tree across the pool. It's Bhola cooling off". We sat there for half an hour, without seeing even a tiger ear, when the elephant safari arrived. Suddenly a murmur rose from the crowd. "The elephants are going to disturb the tiger and he will come out", our guide warned "be ready."
True to his words the elephant went straight to the pool and the tiger jumped out with a growl and trotted into the undergrowth opposite to us. We could only grab a picture of its rear end. The elephants followed it into the undergrowth and the crowd stated dissipating, but our guide decided to stand his ground. His reasoning was that the tiger's "kill" was towards our right and the tiger would cross the road. True to his words, the tiger came back and crossed the road just behind us. It was a such a majestic sight as the tiger casually strolled across that nobody in our vehicle remembered to click their cameras.
Tiger watching over we drove into a dry river bed with the streams full of a variety of birds, a herd of elephant. After a tiresome day in the sun we retired for the night, hic!
Early next day we went into the famous Corbett grasslands and the new guide gave us a bit of Corbett history, and how the grassland could have been bigger had the dam across the river Ramganga not been built. Ramganga is the lifeline of Corbett and it was dammed at Kalagarh in 1973 for hydroelectricity which inundated the huge grasslands. Corbett national park area was notified in 1974. According to the guide, had the park been announced a year earlier the grasslands could have been saved.
Post lunch we took a tour of the deep jungles. Wildlife visibility in this part was low, but the foliage of the trees was beautiful.
Next day morning we went for the elephant ride. The anticipation of seeing tigers was huge as the elephant rides went deep inside the forest. Our luck expired on the very first day and we came back with empty jpegs.
We left Dhikala at 11 am as we had to catch the night train back home from Kathgodham. A quick lunch and a vehicle breakdown was all the adventure we had on the road before we boarded the train.

Jai Badri Vishal

2011-05-29T03:51:00.001-07:00

For 6 months from May to Oct, this is a very familiar slogan in my adopted hometown of Dehradun. Chardham yatra is equivalent to a Mt Everest summit for my religious brethren, my wife notwithstanding. On her insistence, we decided to do the yatra, albeit on a spread out time-line, as we were staying in the neighborhood. We already went to Yamunotri, as documented in one of my previous blogs, and this time around we planned for Barinath.

As I enjoyed driving, we decided to give our new set of 4-wheels a test run, a full 600 kms of it, both ways.This year our region saw recording breaking rainfall and the consequent floods took a heavy toll on the roads. Religious fervor always overtakes bad roads and we started off at 6am in the morning so as to cover the maximum distance possible. I had a 3 day break, which was sufficient in my reckoning. Post Diwali, the traffic on the rods was thin as we skimmed thorugh Rishikish, Devprayag, Rudrapraya, Srinagar and Chamoli. As Chamoli was the last stoppage before Joshimath, gateway to Badrinath we filled up our stomachs and petrol tank. We reached Joshimath at about 4.30 pm. Before we started the journey our information was that the gate from Joshimath to Badrinath is closed at 4.00 pm as the road conditions are not good. As I was reconciling to that idea that we might have to turn in for the night at Joshimath, Anee had a bright idea. She asked me to drive up to the gate and with the biggest smile I ever saw in her face asked the policeman on duty whether we can proceed to Badrinath. I was amazed when the policeman agreed readily, but en-cashed the opportunity immediately.

The drive took us a good two hours as the road conditions were abysmal. When we reached the omnipresent GMVN Tourist Rest house it was evening.
After settling down, we dediced to take a tour of the famed temple. Since we went in October, at the fag end of the tourist season, the place was empty. Normally one has to stand in day long queues to get a glimpse of the deity inside, but we got instant access and also sat inside for over an hour. "This is the best time to do the yatra", reminded the purohit. The same sentiment was also echoed by a bengali family who has been doing this pilgrimage for the last 14 consecutive years. After offering pujas we retreated to our hotel room devoid of heaters. It was bitter cold at night , but we managed to sleep well as three of us tucked inside several layers of blankets.

Early next morning after another short trip to the temple we drove down Dehradun. We had to take a take a mountain detour between Rudraprayag and Srinagar due to a landslide. That part was scary as we followed a police official in her official vehicle and was also coming to Dehradun. Despite the delay we reached home to a warm bath, home food and a nice warm bed.

Yamunotri and Lakhamandal ... Mahabharata's backyard

2009-10-04T07:08:00.000-07:00

We had a rare 3-day weekend and such opportunities called for a trip. I talked to a friend who suggested a place called Hanol with a famous temple of Lord Mahasu Devta. Some google research and a website cheekily called pandeyji.com got us the required information and a much needed map.
In reality we could not reach Hanol as the road was damaged and we detoured to Yamunotri, as if by divine invitation. We left Dehradun at about 9 am and after crossing over Mussorie, Kempty Falls and Damta reached Bernigad. The entire drive was beside the river Yamuna and the views of the valley were spectacular. At Bernigaad we took a branch road to Lakhamandal.
Lakhamandal is where the Pandavas were tricked into a Laksha Griha (House of Lac) that was put on fire by the Kauravas. The Pandavas escaped through a tunnel and emerged at the place where a temple is built. This temple is under the ASI (Archeological Survey of India) and even today excavations are going on. There are many relics to be seen in the place. There is a mystical Shivling which reflects your image as you pour water on it. The remnants of the Laksha Griha can be seen in a nearby hillock.
It was the resident priest who broke to us the news of the broken road to Hanol. I wanted to come back to Dehradun, but on my wife Anee’s insistence went towards Yamunotri. Anee always had more confidence in me than myself and “Boy! I am grateful for it.” We had lunch in Barkot, at a GMVN Ltd TRH (Tourist Rest House). While travelling in Garhwal and Kumaon, GMVN and KMVN are your best friends as their TRHs are dotted over the entire region and I found the staff very caring. The manager at Barkot TRH even called up his counterpart at Janak Chatti, the launch pad for the Yamunotri trek, and booked a room for us. With family tagging on, I always try to get accommodation ensured beforehand. There are numerous hotels and guest houses in Janak Chatti and one need not bother at this non-peak period.
After a wonderful drive snaking along the beautiful valley we reached Janak Chatti in the late afternoon. En route we crossed Hanuman Chatti, the best place to buy Tomri Aloo (Pahari Potato) and Phool CHatti. As we reached a village called Aujri, we found that the sides of the hills were covered in a red hue of some kind of flower. On enquiry we discovered it to be Ram Dana. This grain is used by the Hindus use during the Navratra fasting period. The reddened mountain flanks with a beautiful Durga Temple atop a hillock completed the surreal montage.
The parking place in Janak Chaati was a bit far from the TRH, but we had a porter waiting for us who carried our luggage or us. The rooms were neat and clean given the extreme conditions in which the staff operate. The dinner was a filling all potato affair. We were advised to start the trek as early as possible so as to avoid the main pilgrim traffic. A pony was booked for our daughter.
After a great night’s sleep we were up at 5 am for the trek. After an early morning tea we left at about 6 am, with our daughter Pooja astride her “stallion.” The entire path was well built, with streetlights and tea stalls. Even though the climb was steep we maintained a relaxed pace and managed to reach Yamunotri Temple in 3 hours. After the prayers and mandatory “dakshinas” we had some oily samosas for breakfast.
The trek downhill was easy although the horse riding princess found it scary at times as her ride leaned forward. We reached the TRH at noon and after a quick lunch drove back to Dehradun which took us about 7 hours notwithstanding the weekend crowd in Kempty Falls (what do they find there?).

Whirlwind in Amritsar

2009-09-30T07:24:00.001-07:00

After I was posted to Dehradun, the Golden Temple, Jallianwala Bagh and Wagah Border was always in the to-do list of trips. Finally taking advantage of the Dusshera holidays we took a night train to Amritsar. We were two families and since the trip was planned suddenly we could not get AC tickets. We made Bad Mistake No. 1: Booked First Class, which was a poor cousin of AC First Class, very poor infact; smelly, humid and hot.
Nevertheless we reached Amritsar in the morning and after getting cleaned up at the train itself took a large “8 seater” autorickshaw to the Golden Temple. We had breakfast at a place called Inderpuri Dhaba which served us 6 plates of enormous pooris for only 140 odd bucks. Can you believe that!
We walked down to Jallianwala Bagh and straight into the history of British brutality during the Freedom Struggle. Brigadier Reginald Dyer ordered 90 soldiers to fire at thousands of peaceful protesters gathered within the small place surrounded by high walls and houses on all sides. After 1400 rounds were fired, 379 people were massacred. This figure is the official British one, which has to be bogus since as many as 120 dead bodies were extracted from a well located within the campus. This well is now aptly called the Martyr’s Well.
Golden temple is walking distance from Jallianwala Bagh. Being the chief shrine for the Sikhs it’s always crowded even though the facilities were fantistic. Cool sitting areas, clean toilets and cool clean drinking water. Even with the long queues for the prasad and in the entrance to Harmindar Sahib one does not feel any discomfort. We had to wait for about an hour to enter Harminder Sahib, but there were ceiling fans and water was being served all along. There is a serene sense of inner peace in all Gurudwaras and Golden Temple was no exception. As a religion Sikhism is uncomplicated like its followers and its spiritualism is simple yet devout. When we left the temple after offering prasad we felt one step closer to God.
Shopping! That too cheap, the wives had already made contact with a person through old school acquaintances. We had no option but to suffer, though the person turned out to be a good samaritan. He assisted us in booking a cab to take us to Wagah border.
Wagah border was a disaster. Bad mistake No.2: Going on a Sunday. There were around 50,000 people whereas the capacity was for only 15,000 people. Our wives could watch the famous retreat ceremony but we held back for fear of the kids. Post ceremony we met the sky-scraper BSF guards in ceremonial attire and went very close to the gates that separate us from Pakistan. Surprisingly, on the other side I saw people just like us; my mind was looking for demons.
We took the night train back after having dinner at a sleazy train station dhaba. The ride back was the same irksome First Class. I sincerely hope the Indian Railways abolish this offensive class.

Family camping in Byasi

2009-09-30T07:18:00.001-07:00

Our daughter Pooja is being brought up on a regular diet of American kiddies’ TV serials where blondes and brunettes converse in fluent Hindi. A recurrent topic in these serials are sleep over parties and outdoor camping. Pooja is hooked to these so one day we decided to go camping. When a bunch of us went rafting in Rishikesh some time back I was really impressed with the facilities and feel of the camps.
Though my wife Anee is a post industrial cyber era mall fanatic, she readily agreed to the adventure, which was pleasantly surprising. I called up one of my best buddies K Rajesh, who doesn’t know how to say no to such propositions. It also helped that his wife Ruchi was a nature lover bordering in activism. We contacted Adven tours, whom we picked up from the list in my Outlook Traveller Uttarakhand guide.
Adven tours had a riverside camp at Byasi 30 kms from Rishikesh and they also conduct rafting trips to Rishikesh from Kaudiliya for real enthusiasts, Shivpuri for adults and day trippers and Brahmpuri for families.
Our original plan was to do the rafting and then go to the camp. Riya, Rajesh’s daughter did not fit into the age limit and we had to change the plan. Rajesh left directly to the camp while we stayed back for the rafting. We parked our vehicle in the main parking lot near Ram Jhula and were driven to Brahmpuri by an Adven tour jeep. The idea is to raft down the Ganges from Brahmpuri to Rishikesh upto the parking lot, change to dry clothes and drive to Byasi.
We reached the rafting launchpad of Brahmpuri at about 10 am. The first half an hour was spent on paddling and safety instruction. Ours was a small raft with Pooja in the front, me and Anee paddling and the guide in the back steering. Pooja's only job was to hang on to the raft while we encountered rapids.
We hit the first rapid within 5 minutes. It’s a mind blowing adrenalin rush as the water converges upon the raft from all sides throwing it up and down. Pooja was thrilled out of her wits, her face was radiant from an ear to ear grin, her eyes were flashing like the high power prison search lights and she was screaming with all her lung power. The 400 buck per head charge was immediately redeemed in that very moment.
After the second rapid, we jumped into the cold water, shouting and splashing, as the fast river just carried us downstream. After getting chilled to the bones the guide pulled us back into the raft.
Then came the “jump”; a rock outcrop about two telephone poles high above the water. In a previous trip I did not even try this jump, but this time my motivation was high. I remember the guide telling “Don’t look down and don’t think. Just climb up the rock and jump” and that’s what I did. Wow! Cocaine high, transcendental meditation, pranayam yoga, kundalini all rolled into one. From the time you jump till you hit the water you will experience “The Nothingness”, trust me. The mind shuts down and you cannot hear or see anything. Time will freeze, absolute silence, then the splash. Anyone who comes rafting here must do the jump but remember the “Don’t look down and don’t think” philosophy.
As we approached Rishikesh the river slowed down and drifting became easy. We shored just below the parking lot in Rishikesh and after the mandatory photoshoot with the guide, dried ourselves and drove off to Byasi.
The camp in Byasi was a trek of 3 kms down to the banks of the fast and furious Ganga. We left the cars beside the road, no worries and no thieves here. The camp is right beside the notorious rapid called “the wall”. All conversation was in scream mode as the roaring “wall” deafens out the normal decibels. The camp site was a neatly tented row of rooms with two folding beds in each. There was a “lounge” cum dining area and beach volleyball setup. The service was excellent and tea materialized as soon as we reached there.
The kids started building sand castles which were trampled on by the resident “so cute doggie.” The cycle of castle building, trampling and canine chasing continued till an “American waiter searching for the true God away from the foul materialism” turned up in the camp with his day long Aussie travel mate cum friend. Our Indian curiosity lapped up their stories and the questions kept on growing. I am grateful that they were quite friendly (helped by the easy availability of cannabis in Rishikesh) because the kids really enjoyed their company.
In the evening owner of the camp arranged a bonfire with papads, peanuts and salads. Great place for an warm drink and you cannot fall into the water. It’s very difficult to reach the water climbing over the sharp rocks even in a sober state that too at daytime. We tucked ourselves in after a nice dinner with chicken in the sketchy illumination of kerosene lamps. I haven’t seen lamps these for at least a decade.
The tents were comfortable and secure. Even a midnight storm couldn’t do any damage. As always Pooja was sharing the bed with me. Mother and daughter always gang up with some uncanny justification to do this whenever we run short of bedspace, much to my discomfort.
The toilet that we used the next morning was sand flushed. It’s complicated but works and I won’t bother to explain.
After a sumptuous breakfast we climbed up to the parked vehicles and drove off to Dehradun and home. A monkey had of course ripped off the extendable antenna of my car radio.

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Adven tours:

Sudhir Khanduri: 9412058891
Tapovan (Sarai), Rishikesh-249192

Rafting Rapids in the Ganges

2007-03-21T03:53:00.000-07:00

Youth and adventure is a fruity cocktail. A bunch of new guys joined office recently and a rafting trip at Rishikesh materialized out of nowhere. Rishikesh is India’s white water rafting capital and only 30 km away from Dehradun, our base.
The bunch of guys included the rookies - Manish and Somen, the senior – Balu and the oldies, Ekka“ji”, Davinder, Ajith, Rajesh and me. Most us were swimmers except for Rajesh, even though he is a member of the company swimming pool for the last 3 years. Balu even had the dubious record of regularly jumping into wells - we all are still unsure why the hell he did that!
It was a cold morning as we bundled into two vehicles and reached Rishikesh at about 9 am. We settled for a rafting agengy called Garhwal Himalayan Expeditions as they charged a reasonable price of Rs. 500 per person for rafting from Shivpuri to Rishikesh with a lunch break at Brahmpuri.
From Riskhikesh to Rudraprayag one can find many rafting bases and camps. As one moves higher up the rapids become increasingly difficult. An easy one, where even kids above 5 years are allowed starts from Brahmapuri. The next level starts from Shivpuri where one encounters the famous rapid called the Golf Course. The tougher and professional ones start from Kaudaliya and Rudraprayag. The expedition operators provide transportation for the rafters from the parking lot in Rishikesh to these bases.
We started off from Shivpuri, where our guide cum navigator Surya taught us the basic paddling skills and the requisite commands so that all of us could row as a team without cracking skulls. Commands like “all forward”, “right forward-left backward” were rather confusing, given the fact that the guys were unable to concentrate owing to the presence of a group of PYTs in another raft.
As we took on the first rapid, aptly named “Initiation”, it became clear that this was going to be no joy ride. Surya shouted at us to paddle hard but we were unable to find the water surface as the raft was simply tossed up and down by the gushing water. The waves banged into us and we were soaked to the skin. Its pretty cold in February and only the adrenalin rush kept us from shivering our teeth out.
The “Golf course” was in fact a combo of 3 rapids lashing out one after another in rapid succession making it the longest and most challenging. After crossing this rapid we broke for lunch at Brahmapuri, where the rafting operator had put up a nice camp. Impromptu beach volleyball and sand races started off as lunch was getting readied. Lunch was a basic roti-sabji and dal-chawal fare, simple but generous and well cooked.
As we crossed the first rapid after lunch, Surya asked us if we wanted to body surf - floating in the fast flowing river with the feet in front and belly up, exactly opposite to swimming. Most of the guys were out of the raft and into the water before he could finish the question. The water was very cold, and we were unable to feel our skin after a few minutes – some sort of out of the body experience. We floated like that for a couple of kilometers screaming, shouting and shivering before being pulled up into the raft. I suggest that all aspiring rafters should give it a try, even though the guide warned us of vegetarian crocodiles! All this while Ekka was oddly curious about the depth of the river but his queries could retrieve only confusing answers ranging from 5m to 500m. Every once in a while he would turn around and ask “Surya, yahan pani kitna gehra hain?” and all of us would burst into peals of laughter.
The next stoppage was at a 20 feet high outcrop over the river. Some people were jumping from there into the water. Balu, with his well jumping experience, was the first one to dive in our group. Somen did the whole thing twice; the second time, I suppose, was dedicated to the PYTs. I would rather keep silent about the rest of the group. Most of them would have us believe that they have done it many times before; Rajesh even produced a photograph of his previous jump!
We then casually rowed through the calm waters, underneath the Ram Jhula and Laxman Jhula, into Rishikesh. The rafting ended just below the parking lot where dry clothes and warm coffee awaited us.

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Garhwal Himalayan Expeditions:
Phone: - 0135-2433478, 2438728, 2431167.

Snow, Ski and Garam Chai at Auli

2007-03-20T05:03:00.000-07:00

Winter arrived late this year, in Uttaranchal, but it was fierce, all the upper ranges registered record snow fall and bitter cold. Even though we were only 30 km away from Mussorie we missed the snowfall there due to some petty engagements. This severely pissed me off and I had my retribution by logging into gmvnl.com. I booked rooms at the GMVNL Tourist Rest House at Joshimath, the jump-off point to the snow Mecca of this state, Auli.
A colleague of mine Mudit Mathur and his family readily agreed to accompany us. We decided to hire a Mahindra Scorpio, as the financial implications of driving down would have been same.
The drive from Dehradun to Joshimath, via Rishikesh, Srinagar, Rudraprayag and Chamoli, was 300 km of meandering hill road. The road was good but the turns were severe and my wife’s traveling sickness was in full blast throughout the 10-hour ordeal.
We stayed at the Joshimath guest house overnight and proceeded to Auli early next morning. We took the Asia’s longest zig-back bi-cable system ropeway (whatever the hell that means) from Joshimath to the 10th pillar at Auli. It was 25 mins of a thrilling joy ride as the snow slowly crept past us below in the forest floor and gradually got thicker and thicker as we gained altitude.
The lift climbs all of 1000 meters in altitude and covers a distance of 4 km. The uppermost altitude is 3000 meters and completely quilted in a thick layer of soft snow. It was such a beautiful sight; we’re simply awestruck at nature’s splendor. As we alighted from the ropeway trolley the kids were screaming with joy.
Some ski guides approached us and we stuck a bargain for the day’s skiing. They charged us Rs. 300 for the kids and Rs. 500 for adults for a full day’s equipment hiring, instruction and assistance.
The kids turned out to be natural skiers. It seems the snow prefers uncomplicated mindspaces. Skiing turned out to be a tiring yet challenging sport. Sliding down the slopes without wetting the clothes was a Houdinian task. The kids were all dry! For us though, the most refreshing thing was the hot tea. Pooja, my daughter arm-twisted me to a deal that she will get ski classes, conducted by GMVN, as soon as she becomes eligible. She is all of 5 years now. Kids are quite investment savvy these days, I guess.
GMVNL maintains a fantastic resort here, costly, but worth the 1800 bucks they charge for basic double rooms. We plan to stay there for about a week sometime in the future – ski lessons and all. We took the downhill trolley in the afternoon and Joshimath suddenly felt hot, crowded and dirty. The return to Dehradun was uneventful barring two tyre punctures in the SUV (aha!).
One should ensure the status of snow in Auli by calling up the GMVNL TRH at Joshimath. The guys are really helpful and Joshimath is next door to Auli. For a day trip, one can stay in Joshimath and take the trolley service, but for longer stays and proper ski lessons Auli would be ideal.

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GMVNL TRH, Joshimath,
Phone: - 01389-222226.

The Milky Way to Bhadraj Temple

2007-03-20T03:42:00.000-07:00

A bunch of aged guys with a liking for the mountains and nature gave rise to something called ONGC Himalayan Association - ONGC being our common employer. I joined this group recently and Bhadraj Temple trek in Mussorie was the ideal choice for us to test the smoke tainted lungs and trans-fattened arteries. Bill Aitken's write-up in Outlook Traveler’s 100 Trekking Holidays provided the much needed details and ample motivation.
We took a bus ride from Dehradun to Hathi Paon village. There are two routes to this village. One is to take a bypass off the main Mussorie Road to Hathi Paon. The second takes the Library end road towards Kempty. We started off the trek from Hathi Paon, a small hamlet with a grocery and a tea stall. The ONGCHA organisers carried buns, butter and biscuits that became a rather sumptuous breakfast. The route plan was from Hathi Paon to Cloud's End Resort, then to Dudhli Village and finally upto Bhadraj Temple.
The first leg upto Cloud's End was nearly a kilometer of easy walk on a concrete road. Cloud's End is a famous resort, which has successfully preserved the pristine natural settings along with a laid back ambience.
The second leg till Dudhli village, a major source of milk for Mussorie, was a steep downhill for about 2-3 kms. Someone rightly quipped that this easy downhill at the start will become an insurmountable uphill for the tired legs at the end of the trek. Dudhli village is a petite hill village with naïve folk and simple lifestyles. We decided to take lunch here during the return journey, but there was no eatery at sight. Luckily an enterprising chap offered to cook up a basic dal chawal meal for 500 bucks. We were a total of 24 guys and the price seemed very reasonable. Food taken care of we proceeded towards Bhadraj Temple, our final destination.
This was an 8 km long steep climb. A strong cool breeze amongst the rhododendrons and deodars provided pleasant company. The rhododendrons were in full bloom with the stunning bright red flowers showered on the forest floor like magical carpets. The interplay of the streaking sunlight through the lofty deodars striking the red carpets of fallen rhododendron flowers created a heavenly mystical environment. All the trekkers were driven to utter silence by this awesome sight. Another unique feature was the clear demarcation on the ridge between the wooded part and the bare part. Bill Aitken mentioned in his article that this is the line where the Gangetic Plains collide with the Himalayas. This collision is still going on as the plains push inwards towards the mountains resulting in the rising of Mussorie by a few centimeters every year.
As we come out of the forest we first land up at a small clearing with a concrete shed and a water tank. This place hosts the annual mela (fair) when the locals come to serve offering of milk to the deities at Bhadraj Temple. About half kilometer uphill was the Bhadraj temple, a beautiful place with imposing views of the Doon Valley. The trekkers offered prayers to the deities, idols of whom reflected a strong Buddhist influence. The place has been laid with a new concrete floor and all of us simply laid down here after the strenuous walk. Gratefully, someone fished out a pack of paranthas, sabji and achar, which was immediately devoured by us.
The walk down was leisurely and we reached Dudhli in no time. The basic lunch we ordered was ready and was relished by the hungry stomachs. Some happy hill kids gave company during lunch and we shared all our remaining toffees and chocolates with them. Very down to earth these folks are - a simple toffee can result in such a big thank you smile that it will melt your heart.
We returned back to Hathi Paon and welcome motor transport early in the evening. The ride to Dehradun was eerily silent – nostalgia or aching muscles – I don’t want to guess although I overheard some murmurs about the “next” trip. Mountain seduction, I suppose.

Gods of Tungnath and Chandrasila

2006-10-26T04:59:00.000-07:00

This trek was straight out of the Outlook Traveler Guide, a promising trip that turned out to be heavenly. Planning started at least a week early with people joining in and dropping out. SS Negi a close friend and colleague, who has traveled extensively in these parts, provided terrific guidance. A map and guest house locations were invaluable tangible stuff we grasped out of him. Our plan was to drive from Dehradun, our home for the last two next years, to Chopta and then trek up to Tungnath temple and Chandrasila peak.
Chopta (3600m) is in the Rudraprayag district of the Garhwal Himalayas and is worthily christened the Switzerland of Garhwal. Avid trekkers and Hindu pilgrims come here to go to the Tungnath Temple (3900m) and the Chandrasila Peak (4200m). The Tungnath Temple is the abode of Lord Shiva and is considered one of the five Kedars, a significant religious destination. Myths and stories abound this holy place.
Our group finally filtered down to Deepak Sareen, his kid Akul, Amal Shyam, Ajith C, myself, Anee and our daughter Pooja. Places to stay proved difficult to book in advance and with families tagging along that was a major concern. We tracked down the phone number of a PWD Guest House in Dugalbitta, made famous by the stay of Indira Gandhi, former Prime Minister of India. On calling up the person in charge, we were given a fax number to send our request, which would result in an unconfirmed booking. He also passed on to us the phone number of a private guesthouse named Mayadeep nearby, owned by the local political bigwig. Urgent phone calls to the booking office at Rudraprayag ensured us two large rooms with confirmed bookings, no electricity, no television, no telephones and mysterious leopard sightings.
We started early from Dehradun early at 5:30 in the morning of 29th Sept'06 , two cars and 8 people. The route to be taken was Dehradun-Rishikesh-Devprayag-Srinagar-Rudraprayag-Okhimath-Duggalbitta-Chopta.

The 11-hour journey took us through some of the most enchanting places in Garhwal. Rishikesh, abode of the sages and white water enthusiasts was bustling with tourists. Devprayag, confluence of the Alaknanda and Bhagirathi rivers is the place where the mighty Ganga takes its name. Srinagar houses the HNB Garhwal University. Rudraprayag, confluence of Alaknanda and Mandakini is a major spiritual destination for the Hindus. Rudraprayag was a stoppage point to confirm the guesthouse booking at Duggalbitta. The drive from here to Dugalbitta gave us our first glimpse of the Kedar massif. The guesthouse at Duggalbitta welcomed us with warm nice tea and pokoras. The dinner was simple, but tasted fabulous – it’s been ages since we had food cooked over firewood. The aroma itself was enticing.
Early in the morning, next day, after downloading a stack of aloo parathas, we drove down to Chopta, 7 km away. The place was more crowded than most of the internet research had revealed. A bunch of dhabas, taxis and loud blaring "balle balle" music gave us a rather jolting reception. Before we hit the trial we caught hold of a porter cum guide for 200 rupees to carry our daughter. The trek starts right on the highway, through a small portal that’s familiar in most Hindu shrines.
Uphill through the well-laid path, recently constructed by the PWD, carried us through a rich vegetation of pines and deodars. Concrete benches and tea-stalls provided much needed rest and refreshment. The distance from Chopta to the first milestone, Tungnath temple, was about 3.5 kms and bugyals (highland meadows) abound this place. Shepherds and their flocks make for nice company, as did the uphill and downhill horseback pilgrim traffic. The snow clad Kedar range presented magnificent snapshots.

Tungnath is one of the five Kedars, and is considered to be very sacred. We offered hassle free prayers here with the help of a pundit. It was my wife’s birthday and she was extremely pleased that she landed up here on this day, although half of it was on horseback. We halted at a place called Ganesh Hotel and Resort, consisting of a wooden shack with tin roofs, smelly bunks and a basic kitchen, owned by a 68- year-old former soldier named Bhandari.
After ordering lunch and with my family settled in, we proceeded to Chandrasila peak, 1 km away. It was a rigorous uphill climb with 45-60 degrees elevations, for more than an hour, but worthwhile every bead of cold sweat perspired. A small temple marked the top where locals were performing a puja.
The view from the top was breathtaking. The mighty Himalayan peaks all around with the clouds streaming up along their flanks, the sun beams slicing through the clouds before splattering on the mountains, the grass a eclectic mix of faded brown and deep green and a peculiar uplifting feeling of close proximity to the almighty. One has to be there to experience the exhilaration; which no picture or prose can suffice. We sat down on the ground for a long time to witness what nature was unfolding before us.
The climb down was jovial. I just ran down or rather rolled down the meadows. Bhandari had cooked up a basic meal of rotis, rice, dal, sajbi and magi, which was gulped down spontaneously. We were very hungry and even boiled stones would have tasted like smoked salmon. Bhandari was talkative, and he suggested that the sunrise on the Chandrasila peak was a wonder. For that one has to stay at Tungnath and move early in the morning to the peak, which was a genuine suggestion.
After bidding Bhandari goodbye and visiting a meditating sadhu nearby we climbed down to Chopta, where we had a refreshing cup of tea. I feel that in the Indian Himalayas tea and aloo parathas along with temples are an omnipresent and welcome combination.
After a night’s rest at Duggalbitta, we drove down to Dehradun via the same route. Plans are already afoot amidst the group for Nag Tibba or Panwali Kantha.

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Some useful phone numbers provided they are still working.

Dugalbitta PWD Guesthouse (Fax): 01364-233380
Prayag Guesthouse, Rudra Prayag: 09358641633
(Booking Office of Mayadeep Guesthouse, Duggalbitta)
Mr. Rawat, Owner of Mayadeep & Prayag guesthouses: 09412029486

Mussorie Trek

2006-09-25T03:24:00.000-07:00

Last saturday, after two years of fruitless planning we decided to conquer Mussorie on foot. Even though I land up there almost every month, trekking up there was a dream come true. Ajith C, BG Chaurasia, Deepak Sareen, K Rajesh and myself constituted the Famous Five.
The trek is around 10 kms from Rajpur in Dehradun to Gun hill, Mussorie, mostly uphill, gaining about 1500m in altitude. GMVN LTD and Outlook Traveller consider it a soft trek, even though my 82 kilos body mass refuses to agree.
We sat for a pre-trek meeting in our office and decided to carry as few articles as possible. A good pair of shoes and an umbrella was mandatory. Food consisted of bananas, atta bread, biscuits and roti-sabji. A bandage, some antiseptic cream, medicinal cotton and a crepe bandage formed our first aid kit.
We started off early, 5:00AM, my wife readily agreed to drop us at Rajpur. The launch point for the trek was near an ashram called Shahensai Ashram, near Tapovan. It was an hour’s drive to that point.
We started the trek after some helpful directions from a tea cum grocery shop owner. He said, “Take the road straight and whenever you see any fork you go up. Never go down.” Great tip that was.
We bubbly trudged along about 500m when we came upon a small hill temple with a red flag on top. The road forked into two, one a barely visible footpath going steeply up and the other, which we were following going down to what seemed to be a village. Undecided, we waited for a young chap we saw walking up the road from the village. “Bhaiyya, Mussorie kahan se jate hain ?”, Someone piped. “Go up”, he reasserted the basic principle of the trek.
We moved up a well-laid nullah like trek with flowery bushes on both sides before coming up a steep rise. The climb was very steep and tricky as a part of the hill along-with the track gave away to a landslide. Catching up the main route via the diversion gave my internal organs a major shakedown. My heart pumped like a truck and my lungs stretched more than double its nicotine filled capacity. I quit smoking (once again) within the next 10 seconds.
Clambering on to the main track we found that it was pretty well made, about six feet wide with intervening stone steps. We followed up this nicely laid path after having some bananas. The incline became soft and the walk pleasant as whole of Dehradun became visible amidst the light morning mist.
En-route was the village of Jharipani, from where on the concrete path started. Some school kids brightened up the already bright day with their usual chatter. Some nice resorts have come up here. Tucked away in the relative wilderness they seemed peaceful and tranquil. Two major schools Oak Grove and St. George’s College are also nearby. We decided to have our break fast here. Bread, cheese spread, orange marmalade, biscuits and roasted gram. Delicious, at these heights of hunger. A 2 km walk after breakfast brought us to Barlowganj and nice warm tea. Cool place bang at the gates of St. George’s College. The chai-wallah and his regular customers gave us further directions towards Mussorie.
The concrete footpath upwards was tedious at best. We came up the rear end of the Jaypee Manor Residency Hotel; a neat five star nestled in the hills. An aging postman man kept us company for sometime before vanishing in the mist. The mist was awesome, floating along with the strong gusts of chilly mountain updrafts and presenting Ajith with memorable snapshots. We slowly trudged up till we came upon the Mussorie-Dhanolti road. The main road went right to Dhanolti, left to Mussorie and a concrete path led upwards. “Go up”, we reminded ourselves. Half an hour later we emerged at the Dehradun-Mussorie highway, just below the huge statue of Lord Shivji. From here the Picture Palace end of the mall road was just a km away and we decided to walk up to the Gun Hill. Mall Road was crowded as usual with birds and bird-watchers in droves. We took a much-needed halt and coffee break at the Jhola Ghar before climbing up Gun Hill. This was our last ascent as injured tendons and aching calf muscles started taking their toll, though they were fought off mightily. Some pretty flowers burst out from the hillside to inspire our cramped carriers. Reaching the top was the real elixir. The satisfaction of finishing something of this sort always leaves you panting for more. The small plateau on top of Gun hill is actually a water tank upon which a small recreational area has been setup. Small shops dealing in the usual tourist goodies, tea shanties and eating joints crowd the place. Here I saw a “yet-to-be-inaugurated” public toilet. Quite a novelty!
We shifted to a small tea shanty for our lunch, home made chapattis, bhajis, fish pickle and green chilies spread out on a newspaper with a cuppa of hot ginger tea. Sumptuous! Thanks to BGC and Ajith.
Post lunch conversation veered towards our next destinations – Chopta-Tungnath-Chandrasila Peak and Nagtibba. Nagtibba was visible from our lunch spot and was quite an invite.
The taxi ride back to Dehradun was 60 bucks per head, incident free, except for me stepping on dog poo.
It was a nice do-able trek for a 5.4 footer at 82 kilos. Looking forward to Chopta, which is coming up next week during Durga Pujas.