I choose to
start from Haldwani because I lived
close to Haldwani ( Rudrapur) .For someone , who wants to travel from Delhi , direct
trains ( 2-Daily , 1 – Alternate day) and buses from Anand Vihar Bus Terminal are
available upto Kathgodam .Journey usually takes 7 hrs , but road conditions are
not good , I have often faced huge traffic jams around Moradabad, so not
recommended. Now a days direct flights are also available from New Delhi to Pantnagar (
Ticket cost – 2200 approx, takes 45 mins -1 hr).
So I packed my bags , charged my camera cells
, took my newest Raincoat and started off for the mountains. I took the first
basic mode of Transport i.e Auto upto Haldwani . Just my bad luck , the moment
I started the rain also started , couldn’t blame the rain it was raining heavily the last few days.
When I reached Haldwani it was already 7 oclock in the morning. There are many
Shared Taxi ( Alto / Sumo )available Outside the haldwani bus stand. After some
haggling , I found one Maruti Alto that would take me to Almora .
This
was the first time I travelled by this route and my eyes were affixed outside
on the green mountains. We passed by the famous Bhimtaal lake and after a while
the Kossi river gave us company.
It usually takes
3 to 3.5 hrs to reach Almora and the road was in good condition except for few
bad patches. When I reached Almora, it was still raining , I wanted to reach
Jageshwar the same day and planned to explore Almora on my return journey.
I immediately
found a local taxi , Mahindra Maxx , that would take me to Jageshwar . But the Taxiwalla
would not budge until the taxi is filled to full capacity , I had to wait some impatient minutes, finally the
taxi was filled and we were good to go.
It takes
about 2 hrs ( 35 kms) to reach Jageshwar
I reached Jageshwar
at 3:00 PM with still some day light left. I wanted to make sure that I get a
decent place to stay , before going further ahead. I booked a guest house which
is atop a slope, with steep stairs leading upto the room. I cleaned up and
visited the Jageshwar temple complex, which was at the end of a road.
Jageshwar
is considered as one of the 12 Jyotirlingas , and where faithful visit all the year around. The
temples are made at different period of time ranging from 9 th to 13 th century
AD.
There are
many temples inside the complex, Temple
of Mahamritunjaya being the oldest. The architecture of the
temple seemed similar to the Baijnath temples , built during the same time.
After
offering my prayers at Jageshwar , I wanted to visit Vridh Jageshwar, which is 5-6
km ahead and offers excellent views of Himalayan peaks . I asked the locals for
directions, as I planned to walk my way to the top. But it was about 4 o’clock
and I was not sure whether I can reach before dark . I had no choice but to
hire a taxi . When I reached Vridh Jageshwar , the sky was overcast and could
not have any views , I was hugely disappointed and only took some clicks of the
old temple and oak trees.
We stopped
at a local Tea shop , the shopkeeper poked fun at me for visiting at such a
time of year. But that day I realized that sometimes prayers are answered,
miracle happened at Vridh Jageshwar . The sky opened up after days of
continuous rainfall , the sun glowed ahead of the cloud , treated me with a wide panaroma of milky white clouds and
shy peaks of Kumaon .
Then I
started getting greedy , on my drivers insistence , I decided to visit Chamua ,
which is located some 12 km from Vridh Jageshwar , on the other side of the templetowm.
The Journey was truly worth it , soon , we were in a open space where the view
was clear and 300 km of Himalyan peak was visible. I don’t think this place is
mentioned in any guide book , but this place deserves a visit.
At my request,
the driver dropped me some 2-3 km before the Town reached , as I wanted to have
an evening walk.
It was dusk
when I started walking; pine and deodar trees were around me, as was chirping
of birds. The sunlight was receding, the
last hue of sunlight was spread among far off peaks of Kumaon Region.
When I
reached close to the temple complex, I heard the bells of evening Arti. The
narrow stream of Jaatganga was flowing with constant murmuring sound.
I stayed
there for a while and soaked in the spirituality that was around. It was
getting darker, the market already started to close down .This was the end of
August and tourist were few because of constant rain in the region. One local
shopkeeper told me there was a huge fair just a week ago (Sravaan Month, holy
month for Shiva worship).
I walked upto
my guest house, which is built on a slope, the walk was steep but tireless. The
room I booked was basic and was managed by a person who also owns one
photography shop. But it was within my
budget or I should say was dirt cheap.
When food
was served, it was hardly 8 o clock at night
but it seemed midnight at Jageshwar.
I sat at
the balcony and watched the crescent moon playing hide and seek against the
tree tops . There was gentle breeze that blew across and the forest ahead
seemed tempting. I sat there appreciating the mysterious beauty of the night , I
was at peace which I never felt before . There were many verses that came to my
mind, I wrote the few lines of a poem “ Soul of the Mountain “
“ I
looked at Her , standing aloof
Like
a Nymph on a full Moon night
Pine
and Deodar forms roof
A
path allures and disappears out of sight”
I met few interesting people in the lodge, one was an
American guy who is staying in the region for last one month , the locals
supply him Marijuana and they get bear , good trade, I would say.
He asked me to join him for a little smoke, which I had to respectfully
decline as I had journey planned in the morning .
That is the pain of travelling with very little buffer time
, so many places to see , with so less time . It was 11 o’clock at night and
was getting chilly , I had to resign to my
bed , hoping for another great day of travelling.
Day 2 :
The second day , luckily was a bright sunny day , with no
traces of the clouds that were constantly pouring water for last 10 days .
It was 7 30 AM morning , I waited for another 15 min , for a
seat in the Mahindra maxx , for a ride upto Almora . The journey followed the
same path via Artola , with many swiveling motions and curvature bends.
It usually takes 1.5-2 hr to reach Almora , which is the
main centre of commerce and connecting point of the region.
When I reached Almora , the city was just waking up , I had
to move up and down the market to look for my friend , who was supposed to join
me for the next phase. So , after 30 minutes of manhunt and 50 something calls
, we met . We were so exhausted , we went to the nearest restaurant we could
find and had Parathans. I also bought half a kilo of local flavoured sweet called Bal
mithai , popular in kumaon .
The journey to Binsar sanctuary takes about 1 hour. Binsar is a wild life reserve for rare flora
mainly species of oak trees and notable fauna of bird species. From the Entry
Gate there is a 11 km road that takes to the top called Zero point. KMVN has a
guest house at the Zero point.
After some thinking, we decided to take the ride upto the
Main Gate and then walk to the top. When we reached it was close to 11 O
‘Clock, we wanted to reach the zero point before dark.
With no prior experience of walking up a slope, we had a
little apprehension but we made it up with excessive zeal.
The walk can’t be explained in words. The road was desolate
with no soul in sight , no one was ahead of us nor anyone following us.
The wood was dressed
up in lush green which can be seen only after monsoon shower.
Unknown flowers were
scattered everywhere, every time we saw one, we stopped to click and which
slowed us down.
Hardly half an hour into the journey, it started to drizzle,
which we enjoyed .Something new came up at every turn, the clouds started to
play hide and seek, a mysterious mist would blow and hide everything . I heard whispers of the wind, as it touched
the ancient world of Binsar , like a paradise left undiscovered.
During the walk, we saw many small water bodies called Bugyials
, which are made by Bhotias or nomads for their animal herds.
We walked for 4 hrs , with constant huffing and puffing ,
before we realized that we had not made much progress , there is still half the
distance to cover. We had emptied our Balmithai packet , our water was gone ,
there was risk of us stranded in the middle of nowhere. This was not a happy
feeling , with all our clothes wet and no arrangements for sleep.
I prayed to GOLU Devta , deity
worshipped by Kumonis , and paced up our tempo. We walked for next 1 hour
with nothing on our mind , and covered some good distance .
Meanwhile , the
drizzle turned into heavy shower , with nowhere to hide , we were sitting ducks
. We started running foolishly, but a surprise awaited us , as was always.
We found a Temple
, just across a field, it was magical ,
to say the least. Out of nowhere , it was a plain area of grass field , temple at the edge and horses
grazing in the field.
We took shelter inside the temple , I loved one white horse
with floppy tail , looked like an animal out of a fairly tale.
The rain stopped after a while and we resumed our journey .
It was getting dark , we had some distance yet left to cover , when a car
stopped by our side. The driver was a local
person who brings vegetables and staff for the Kumaon Mandalam guest
house. He asked us if we want a ride up to the hotel. As we were so close, we
insisted on walking . But he frightened us by saying of recent sightings of a
male Tendua ( leopard) , so no more arguments.
The KMVN at the top of Binsar reserve. is a true eco lodge ,
electricity is available only for 6 hours in a day from solar plates. At night
, only candles are lit , in the hallway and rooms. Truly a unique experience
for us.
The rooms of the hotel had wooden floor , seems like living inside
a wood log house. Surprisingly , we were the only guests of the hotel.
After changing into dry clothes , we went for a short walk
upto the Zero point, the highest point of Binsar. It was getting dark , but it
was magical , to be so close to nature ,
a blanket of mist surrounded the trees, birds were returning to their
nests , soothing to all our senses. The experience was also great because there
were no other people around.
At night , after dinner,
we sat at the KMVN Balcony , on
clear days , 300 km of open vista can be seen . Gorgeous peak of Nanda devi
, Trishul , Panchchulli would spread their white blanket across the horizon.
We sat their for hours , watching the clouds play and
discussing our great insight about life and its purpose.
Sometime later , the drizzle started , we had to retrieve to
our rooms to save our last pair of dry clothes.
Day 3 :
At Day break , we hired a local guide to a different track for
downwards journey. The route would take us to Dhulchina on the other side, it
was a shorter track ( 7 km).
Our guide took us through some slopes and some narrow
pathways. It was interesting and he kept us entertained with various anecdotes
and prehistoric tales from Mahabharata , Purans which he claimed happened here
in Binsar.
We reached Dhulchina in less than 4 hrs . From Dhulchina ,
we again took a local taxi to Almora. On the way , I started to feel dizzy ,
the sharp turns and side wise motion , started working on my stomach. I decided
to take a nap , trying to bring some happy thoughts of Jageshwars , Binsars’.
When we reached Almora , it was past noon . I wanted to
visit Kaser Devi , which was so highly recommended by Lonely Planet guys. Kaser
Devi is about 6-7 km from Almora , on the route to Binsar.
Kaser devi is an ideal place for someone who wants to stay
away from city life of Almora. There was a place called Mohan’s Café, which was
favorite among the Israelites . But I was a little disappointed by the place,
the crowd was Israeli , the music was Hebrew and food was little costlier than
it should be.
Anyways , dark clouds surrounded the sky and soon it started
to have heavy downpour.It was 3 :00 PM , the last taxi for Haldwani would leave
at around 4 :00 PM . We waited for 15 minutes for a taxi , but it never came.
Giving up all hope , we started walking in the rain , trying
to hitch hike . After a couple of misses, one good soul stopped for us and
dropped us at the Almora bus stand. As luck could have it, I found the last
taxi to Haldwani. Due to heavy rain , most of the road to the city has been
closed down and buses either stopped plying or were grossly infrequent .
I booked a seat in the Taxi , where I bade farewell to my
friend who wanted to stay couple of days more.
The rain was consistent , outside , the mountains of Uttarakhand
seemed like misty memories. To treasure those memories , I gently closed my
eyes and immersed in thoughts. Just a simple wish , remember me when I come
back again , scared mountains of Uttrakhand.
PS: Due to heavy rainfall in 2010 , Uttarakhand suffered
heavy losses of roads and homes. The road from Haldwani to Almora was
completely washed away by KoshiRiver. The Govt is
building a new road in 2011
