Ultimate Uttarakhand and Its Jewels
Yes, these lines perfectly sum up the experience
when we take a long walk among the evening spirits in the kingdom of the queen
of hills.
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| Dehradun to Mussoorie |
After reaching Mussoorie I took a local cab for the
final destination Dhanaulti, a tiny village located on the foothills of the
Himalayan ranges. The way to Dhanaulti was just a feast for the eyes. Hills
rising on one side of the serpentine road and gorges on the other filled me
with awe and ecstasy.
Listening Garhwali song along with was just making
the trip groovier. But I could not resist the question that made me ponder if
the sky is bigger or the mountains and hills. The sky actually appeared like a
beautiful purple patch visible from the canopy and the hills. Frequently I felt
that I was in an open theatre watching a romantic movie and jiggling on the
soft beat of the cool breeze. Finally after enjoying the romantic natural feast
I reached Dhanaulti and my one day home was Queen Viewtoria Resort.
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| My one day home in the Hilla "Viewtoria Resort" |
As the name “Viewtoria” suggests, the resort is a
perfect place to have a wonderful view of the entire Himalayan range, a 621.35
carat diamond. The resort is built in a
very limited space but provides multiple activities for their guests like
cricket court, badminton court, bonfire and many more. As the property has
twelve cottages where the staffs are highly courteous, humble, helpful and
loving as well. In fact one of the staff helped me while returning to Mussoorie
from Dhanaulti. The owner of the hotel was again very helpful and highly
concerned towards his guests. Also, one can see apple and apricot trees in the
property. The food was nicely cooked
with little spices as I felt that it is a place where one can enjoy Pahadi
chicken (different in taste, texture and structure from normal chicken) while
having a wonderful view of the Himalayas. The hotel also prepares customized
food your taste if you ask for. I think
the resort is a mandatory halt for the travellers who want to escape from the
hustle and bustle of the city. The
specialty of the resort is that one can have the entire view of the Himalayas
from the every corner of the resort and from each room of the property. To me,
staying in the resort was walking in the hills and waving a high-five to the
shiny giants.
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| A walk among the Evening Spirit |
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| Front View from the Resort Viewtoria Let us know about the mendatory stopover amidst hills |
A surprising view from the back side of Viewtoria
Eco Park in Dhanaulti, a two minutes walk from Viewtoria:-
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| Way to Eco Park |
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| In the mid of Deodar trees |
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| Eco Park, Dhanaulti |
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| Trying to hug the entire hills |
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| Musaafir hu yaaro |
Finally I reached Mussoorie and found myself among the Japanese, Chinese, Tamilians, Bengalis, and people from almost all parts of the globe in the narrow busy lanes, a replica of Chandani Chowk - the mall road. I checked in to my two days home - Hotel Mall Palace. A budget hotel with a small balcony sparkling on the occasion of Dhanteras and giving a wonderful view of the hills and a beautiful view of sunrise from the balcony witnessing the monkeys whistling around and a cup of Tetley were adding comfort to my stay.
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| View from the Hotel Mall Palace |
The very first place that I visited was the nearest popular view point of Mussoorie, Gun Hill, located at 400 ft above the mall road and can only reached by cable car. Gun Hill is a historical and the second highest peak of Mussoorie, favourite place for viewing picturesque Himalayan range and Doon Valley. Such tourist places provide the best occupation to the locals. More than exploring the place, locals go there to have their evening brunch and also it will not be wrong to consider the place as a Lovers Point. One never travels solo in a solo trip. I too made friends at Gun Hill and to me the most exciting was I made a Bengali friend who appeared to be humble and very polite to me.
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| Having a panoramic view of the distant places from Gun Hill through telescope |
Evening view from Hotel Mall Palace
The next visit was Landour which is a little far from the Mall road and I chose to take a walk as I was accompanied by the Bengali friend. My motto was to feel myself with the outside world and yes I discovered that I am weird. I also explored the Garhwal excitement on Dhanteras as the entire hills were sparkling.
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| Diwali in Hills |
Chick Choclate at Mall Road
At about 2 km from Gandhi Chwok is the Happy Valley also known as “Mini Tibet”. Happy Valley is popular for Company Garden, Tibetan temples, and IAS academy. The famous Tibetan Buddhist temple is named as Shedup Buddhist temple. Evoking a sense of spiritual aura in the surrounding, the temple is an exciting place to see Tibetan architecture. I got to see the prayer wheels, where I entered my hidden child’s face and started playing round and round with the prayer wheels, idols of Buddha, a symbol of peace. Prayer meditation halls with beautiful and captivating carvings on the walls, ceilings and panels added to the holy atmosphere. The temple is located in the mid of the giant cubs giving a panoramic view of the Benog hill circuit where one can simply relax, meditate and wander in the beauty of nature.
Trying to know how Tibetans pray
The last station was the Pavitra Nagri, the land of
devotees, Rishikesh. A first time visitor to the holy place conjures up many
images before visiting the place. But when one lands there, the experience is
much more and a reality check. I walked down to my home away from home Zostel.
It was Diwali and the managers of Zostel were equally prepared, not only to
facilitate the inmates to experience the Aarti at the Ganga ghats but also
storing some fire crackers for the occasion.
Rishikesh captivates you so much that you don’t feel
like turning the back on the city so quickly and I thought Zostel was
tailor-made for such long stays as the accommodation is not only cheaper but
has all you require.
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| Liberary Chawk |
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| Tibetean Temple |
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| A little friend in Hills |
The next stopover was the major picnic location in Mussoorie, Company Garden, a colourful garden located at 3 km away from the Mussoorie Library. The place is visited by a large number of tourists as the garden has a wide variety of beautiful flowers. An amusement park, a small but a pleasant man-made fountain and small café enriched its existence. The garden overlooks beautiful mountains and there is a lovely lake providing boating facility .With a reasonable price, rides such as Columbus, baby train and swing chair, the kids are sure to have a good time.
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| A glimps of Company Garden |
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| My never-ending love for flowers |
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| Artifical waterfall at Company Garden |
Do you want to know more about Company Garden?
Now, time was up for me to visit the famous picnic
spot which offers a remarkable view of water dropping from a height of about 50
feet flowing through five cascading falls in the downstream - Kempty Fall. The
place is best for relaxing and having a gala time in water amid greenery and
rocks. Apart from the waterfall, the place offers several activities like rock
climbing, boating, swimming pool and many more. Though the place is a little
crowded with small shops and Maggie stalls but Modi Maggie shop is something
which gives a proper taste of a Pahadi Maggie. Guys!!!! The Modi Maggie Shop is
a must visit. Basically, it is a stall but offers scrumptious Maggie where I
was forced to ask for spices from the shopkeeper. The stall is located at the
left side of Kempty fall, the way leading to boat ride and other adventurous
activities. Taking bath in the water and later having garma garam
mouth-watering Pahadi Maggie, making a cloud of smoke was again something which
can only be experienced here. On the way to Kempty fall I realised that why
Mussoorie is called the Queen of Hills. Sometimes, I felt that I was flying
high up in the clouds but sooner I realised that I was actually not flying,
rather rolling and making love with the giant cubs and the 621.35 Carat
diamond. I was just a Lilliput in the land of Giants.
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| Kempty Fall |
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| And a mendaory stopover!!!! Modi Maggi Stall |
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| Somewhere on the planet |
A visit to a new place and living amid different
cultures is incomplete without shopping.
A visit to the tribal shop made me felt festive. The shop provides
varieties of woolen wears from different regions of the Himalayas at a very
reasonable rates with 100% pure fabrics. I was gifted a beautiful, unique and a
meaningful pendent by the newly made friend Mezo, the shop manager. The
eloquent brass locket took me to the Koniyak tribes of Nagaland. It is one of
the best and spiritual gifts that I was handed off.
Shopping time!!!!!!!
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| A Beautiful gift from a wonderful friend |
A hundred years old Lovely Omelette Shop is famous
of its scrumptious Cheese Omelets at a reasonable rate and is perfect for
breakfast. It’s a tiny little shop but crowded with visitors at all times! That
speaks for itself! One can find happy faces munching their omelets.
Lovely Omelette Shop
Friends, there are many more places to explore in
Mussoorie but I didn’t as the weather was very cloudy therefore it was no
meaning to go up in the hills like Nag Tibba and Lal Tibba. The best time to visit Mussoorie is the
summer season --April to June -- as the sky would be clear so one can have a
clear view of the Himalayas.
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| Zostel Rishikesh |
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| Zostel, Rishiskesh |
Diwali at Zostel Rishikesh
If you are in Rishikesh, after participating in the
Aarti at Triveni Ghat, the next best thing to do here is to go on river rafting.
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| Lakshamn Jhula in Diwali |
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| Sometime you just have to steal a moment from your own life |
It was a very
short stay for me in Rishikesh but I made up my mind to come again. But only
thing I expect to see that the sorry state of the bus stand improves. The
lonely bustand some 10km away from Rishikesh always instills fears of unknown.
Anyway, I will come back to the holy city to recharge my soul and reenergize my
senses.
Fun time at Triveni Ghat
Tips:-
~ Best time to visit Mussoorie is from April to June as the weather would be pleasent and if you want to witness snowfall then December to January is the ultimate time.
~ There are many activities to do in Rishikesh like Bunjee Jumping, witnessing Sunrise and many more apart from rafting.
~ If you really want to feel the Pavitra Nagari, Rishikesh then have atleast four to five days in hand so that you can spend time in Ashrams, Tapovans and other places as well. I must go once to feel the essence of the Pavitra Nagari.
~ Travel lightly
~ Do not miss Pahadi Maggie
Must to Visit place:-
~ Gun Hill
~Tibetan Temple
~Company Garden
~Cloud's End
~Company Garden
~ Kempty Fall
~Lal Tibba
~Char Dukan, Tip-Top Tea Shop at Landour
~Chick Choclate at Mall Road
~Lovely Omelette Shop
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