My Uttarakhand Experience

There is something special; something magical, something mystical in the bracing, fresh air of the mountains that attracts me again and again. Be it the Himalayan foothills of Himachal Pradesh, or the towering peaks of Switzerland, mountains have always been fascinating for me. The breathtaking view of snow-capped mountain peaks glistening in the distance, topped with mysterious silver clouds; a green valley gently rolling down to meet the earth, the landcape dotted with pine trees and terrace farming slopes; mountainous views are indeed soothing to tired eyes. There is a certain charm, a certain nostalgia with mountains which make one feel as if they are trying to make oneself their own.

These were the reasons why we decided to travel to Uttarakhand, the land of shimmering lakes and glistening mountains.

We planned to go in the month of March, when the holidays would have started.We were to go via Delhi, the capital of our country. From Delhi, we would then hire a car and travel to Nainital, our first destination.

24th March - Delhi, here we come!

We boarded the Rajdhani Express from Howrah Station in the early evening, and settled down for a comfortable overnight journey. Our co-passengers were two elderly women, and we talked about Kolkata, the world's changing ways and various other topics.

25th March - on the way!

Before we knew it, we had arrived at Delhi. Arming ourselves with our luggage, we got ready for the hustle and bustle of the station. We exited by Ajmeri Gate and immediately found our driver-cum-guide standing there, waiting for us.
After a long and tiring journey, and stopping at a Mc Donalds for lunch (at which my younger sister was delighted), we finally saw the lights of Nainital ahead of us around 7pm.

We booked into our hotel, just in front of the lake, and put our luggage inside the room. Then, picking up our cameras, we went out for a stroll along the Naini Lake, and took a few pictures.

Nainital at night is maybe one of the best times to experience the town. All is peaceful, all is quiet. The black waters of the Naini Lake shimmered and danced in the silvery moonlight. The whole town was asleep; but it felt as if we were the only souls awake in the entire world.

26th March - walk, walk, walk!

The next day, I awoke, and immediately took my camera to the balcony to take more pictures of the beautiful Naini Lake - I simply couldn't get enough of it!

A blue-green lake, surrounded by mountains and green trees. Good enough for peace of mind, isn't it?

After having breakfast, we set out to explore Nainital. We walked along the Mall Road, looking for the famous Naina Devi Temple. Finally finding it, we all went inside. As soon as we entered, I was surprised to see the level of cleanliness inside. The marble floor was spotless! It was really what a temple should be - peaceful. In the background, religious songs were playing. The atmosphere was perfect - maybe the best I had felt in a temple in my entire life!
After that, we did a spot of boating, too. Then, having roamed around long enough to set our stomachs rumbling, we went to a small restaurant and ate our lunch.
 The whole afternoon was spent in admiring the lake, shining in the hot, golden sunrays.

27th March - the majestic lakes

After having breakfast, we went for a lake tour - which comprised of Bhimtal, Sattal, and Naukuchiyatal.
As we arrived at each of the places, our driver-cum-guide gave us a bit of information regarding the history of these lakes. Most interesting places, I must say!

While coming back to Nainital, we saw Raj Bhavan and Hanumangarhi Temple. Out of these two, I have to talk about Hanumangarhi Temple.
I am not a hugely religious person, but once again, I was blown away by the atmosphere inside it!!! Completely tranquil and still, with Hanuman bhajans going on in the background. After visiting that place, my mind became refreshed and ready to face any challenge.
I guess, that's what you call spirituality!

Nainital is famous for its candles, and so, in the afternoon, we went to buy some. My mother was very happy to see the different types, having a small collection herself, and started planning gifts for people.

28th March - last day in Nainital!

Well, we didn't actually do anything on this day, apart from walking around again. Savoured Nainital for the last time....

29th - Ready for Kausani!

We woke up, slightly sad, for we were leaving Nainital. Instead of going to Ranikhet, a more popular destination, we decided to go to Kausani, a 5 hour drive from Nainital, including sightseeing on the way.

While going to Kausani, our driver stopped the car at a place called 'Garam paani' (i'm not joking, that was actually the name!), where there was a huge black stone shaped like a frog in the middle of the Kosi River! It was really strange to look at, because it honestly looked like a gigantic frog!
We also went to Kainchi Dham, a temple dedicated to Neeb Karori Baba. Once again, it was a supremely clean and peaceful place.

We reached Kausani at 3 pm, having departed at 10 am.
Kausani is a fairly small town, having nothing much to do there, except gaze at the majestic Himalayan peaks right in front of us! It is said that many famous peaks can be seen from Kausani. That was why we had come here, in search of the elusive peaks.

We mostly stayed in the balcony, watching the Himalayas and also the many thousands of monkeys playing around!!
Our room-service person asked us to keep the balcony door closed when eating, for the monkeys could come in, wanting food!

30th March - Monkey business!

My sister was sitting in the balcony in the morning, when she suddenly saw a group of monkeys playing around in the hotel park. Getting excited, she asked for the video camera, and started to film their antics! One was even hitching a ride on the merry-go-round! Tired of the park, the monkeys started to play in the grounds, tumbling over each other. When finally a couple of monkeys got too close to the balcony for comfort, my sister ran back inside in fear, abandoning her attempts to film them.

In the late morning, at 10:30 am, we went to a tea garden nearby and even sampled some lemon tea made there! It was very refreshing, mark my words! After that, we visited the ancient Baijnath Temples and Kot Bramhi, a little-known, but wonderful temple.
Baijnath was a nice experience, as we could see such an old temple, up close. We also fed the fishes swimming in a pond to a side of the temples!
Kot Bramhi was a totally different experience altogether. It was located extremely high up, and we had to climb many steps to reach it. The temple was usually only visited by locals, our guide said. It was a beautifully serene place, cut off from the rest of the world. After offering prayers to the deity, we walked around for a while. We looked down at the valley below, and the view was simply outstanding. In the distance, we could barely see the peaks, and below us, was a sea of green. The valley was cut into steps for cultivation, with trees and bushes all around. So picturesque,it was exhilarating, to say the least, and made me feel  as if I was on top of the world. While we were there, it started to rain, and that seemed to make everything alive - the trees turned an even lusher shade of green, and the many bells in the temple started to ring because of the wind.

In the afternoon, I went out to do a spot of photography - I wanted to capture all the sights and smells, the mountains and the bright flowers that blossomed here.

31st March - The Himalayas, finally!!


We awoke in the morning early, eager to see the Himalayas, and rushed into the balcony.

Cottony white, slightly pinkish clouds drifted about lazily in the azure blue sky, obscuring a few of the peaks to the east. The towering, snow-covered Himalayan were bathed in the soft, golden, silk-like sunlight. A few peaks, like the Trishul and Nanda Devi, were crystal clear and could be made out easily, for it had rained the day before. They glistened and shone, making us feel like our wishes had been fulfilled. We were satisfied, and gazed at them, and took pictures to our heart's content.

But alas! All good things come to an end, and the time had come for us to be on our way. After breakfast, we set off to Corbett National Park, our next destination.

About 1 and a half hours later, we passed Ranikhet. Then, soon after winding our way through pine forests, we came to a place called 'America'! I'm not sure of that was the spelling, but our driver said that was the name of the place, but had no idea why!

At 3pm, we reached our hotel in Corbett, rather it was situated at the periphery, in Dhikuli. We went to the mueseum at one of the gates, and read about Corbett's history.

Unfortunately, we could not arrange for a safari, as time was short - we had to reach Delhi by 3pm tomorrow. So, we explored as far as we could ourselves, but couldn't go farther than the main road.

1st April - Back to the Rajdhani!

We left Corbett around 7am, and started our long journey back to Delhi. We reached Delhi at 3:30pm, having dined at the same Mc Donald's on the highway as earlier!

We boarded our train an hour and a half later, and got ready to get back to city life, with heavy hearts, as all the excitement was now behind us.

2nd April - Heat, heat, heat!

The Rajdhani pulled in at Howrah Station right on time (9:55am). We wearily got out with luggage in tow. It was swelteringly hot in Kolkata then - must be about 40 degrees!


Our trip ended, and so had all the excitement. Already, planning for our next vacation had started, and we were thinking about mountains again! Such was our fascination....

This trip was a good one, but I personally liked visiting Himachal Pradesh more. Uttarakhand was very nice too, but Himachal Pradesh is the one for me.

Until next time, mountains!!