Weekend trip to Mukteshwar

Fully loaded fruit trees, thatched roof mud houses and welcoming locals... Leaving behind the rush of the city life, we had entered a different world all together. Crisp air filled with pine fragrance welcomed us to this heaven. Just 8 hrs drive from Delhi, situated high in the Kumaon Hills at an altitude of 2286 meters (7500 feet), 51 km from Nainital and 343 km from Delhi, is this beautiful little town MUKTESHWAR.

We started early in the morning and driving through beautiful deodar and pine forest on lovely roads, we reached around 3pm. Our adobe was midst fruit trees some 10 kms away from Mukteshwar in a village called Dadim.

After having delicious lunch and relaxing with a cup of hot tea in the lap of nature we walked to the stream nearby. It took us no time to get into water to wash away the city pollution and stress. Fully refreshed we came back. Night was full of music laughter and gossip. Sitting by the side of fire we made new friends and chatted our hearts out with the old ones.

We woke up to a cool bright morning. It was mid June and the fruit trees were full with fruits ready to eat. Breakfast started and ended with fresh peaches, plums and apricots. I can still feel the taste of those fresh fruits in my mouth.

Mukteshwar is blessed with deodar forest inhabited by various beasts and rare mountain birds and offers a a panoramic view of 22 pristine snow-peaks that include Nanda Devi (25646 ft), Nanda Ghunti (20702 ft), Trishul (23360 ft) and the Panchachuli massif (22650ft). And it was a lovely cool sunny day to explore it all.

First we went to this 350-year-old temple of Shiva, known as Mukteshwar Dham, situated atop the highest point in the region. I sat quietly at back side of the temple from where the whole valley was visible. Those few minutes of silence, while the crisp cool air caressed my face and strong scent of pines and morpankhi went somewhere deep inside, bought back so many childhood memories.
No wonder Noble laureate Rabindra Nath Tagore started writing Gitanjali here at Mukteshwar.

Close to the temple lie these overhanging cliffs, locally known as Chauli-ki-Jali. A narrow lane to the left of the temple stairs took us to those cliffs. There is an excellent view of the valleys from Chaulli ki Jaali, where rocks jut out from the hill face at a bizarre angle. This is a great place to observe eagles and other feathered scavengers as they swoop down at their prey. 

Such a lovely place it was with an excellent view of the valleys below. I just wished there was a little less crowd.
Some of us did rock climbing, rappelling and zip-lining. For me the charm of visiting small town like this lies in enjoying nature, listening to air gushing through deodar forests, watching birds and feeling the silence, so I went deep into the forest and relaxed there.

Rather than going back in car we decided to trek back to our camps. It was a lovely trek of around 4km passing through pine forests. The way was covered with dry pine needles which made it quite slippery and difficult to come downhill. But at the same time it was fun. Short breaks to get the mesmerizing view of the valley, feel the crisp air on our face and enjoy wild berries. 

After a satisfying walk for around 2hrs we could see the village. And the first thing we noticed were fruit trees. We could not resist those rosy red plums hanging from branches and without any thoughts just barged in the garden and enjoyed those fresh fruits. The best part of the area is the locals (owners of these fruit trees). They don't mind you picking a few fruits and eating. God bless these simple souls.
Eating, chatting, clicking and enjoying the pitter-patter of rain that had started, we came back fully satisfied.

SOME USEFUL INFORMATION:

Places of interest:

Mukteshwar Dham, The IVRI laboratories, Orchards of Central Institutes of Temperate Horticulture-Regional Station and Snow-peak views from Chauthi jali 

Road route from Delhi:

Delhi - Mohan nagar - Ghaziabad - Gajraula - Moradabad - Haldwani - Kathgodam - Bhimtal - Padampuri - Mukteshwar

Places to stay:

IVRI hostels and the PWD rest house are the oldest ones.

Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN) operates a tourist rest house (can be booked from Delhi as well as on phone/wireless from other KMVN guest houses). 

There are several hotels, resorts, guest houses and seasonal tent/hut-based camps in the area.

Tempted to go? Check ChaloLetsGo for a weekend trip with a group of travellers.

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Chopta - Tungnath Trek

“Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop away from you like the leaves of Autumn.” ~ John Muir

We started our journey with this thought in mind with a lively bunch of people from Delhi. Our first halt was at Rishikesh where we reached late in the evening. The walk absorbing the silence and beauty of the starry night brought us out of the humdrum of city life. A perfect start to a holiday in the lap of nature.

We woke up to a beautiful wet morning. Earth was fresh as dew and atmosphere was filled with the fragrance of flowers and foliage. Morning tea never felt so refreshing like it did that day.

Refreshing morning at Rishikesh

Singing, chatting, laughing and enjoying the drive through dense forests and Himalayan villages we reached CHOPTA. Clean roads, sweet breeze carrying the fragrance of nature and chirping birds welcomed us.
We had driven deep into the pines to reach this remote place where there were no mobile signals and no electricity. Such a respite it was to be cut off from the world in this paradise. We were awestruck to see the lush green meadows and dense forest. Everyone just refused to settle in rooms and were out in the woods. Some were walking silently just enjoying the serenity while others were chasing birds and clicking while some others were just sitting with their feet dipped in chilled water. It took some time to get them all together to enjoy the tea.

Evening tea in the lap of nature, literally

It was a breathtakingly beautiful, dark yet glowing mysterious full moon night. The clouds were playing hide and seek with the moon. The trees were standing tall trying to reach out to the moon while the meadows silently lying down enjoying the glow of moon light.  The only sounds in this dark night were of the stream nearby and of howling wolfs that were adding to the mystic feel to the night. The sky was studded with numerous big and small starts shining bright giving competition to the moon. Never before have I witnessed a night so beautifully mysterious.

A short break during the trek

We started our trek on this gorgeous hilly terrain early in the morning. While take careful steps on the wet, a bit slippery paved path through thick forest of rhododendrons and oak, it was difficult to imagine our life back in the
city.
The deep valleys, the lush green open meadows and the magnificent Himalayan ranges make you feel so tiny. We were transported to a different world altogether.
Different plantations - algae, mushrooms and what not attracted our fancy. We were going pretty slow enjoying and absorbing each step and turn of the trek. 4 hrs trek would take the whole day it seemed. But whats the hurry, we took our own sweet time to climb up and reached Tungnath in the later half of the day.

Different plantations attracted our fancy

We were all hungry when we reached. After having maggi as an appetizer we had nice local dal and rice. Once our tummies were full we looked around and realized where have we reached. A small place with couple of shops, very few people... rather just a few shop owners around, and a temple, TUNGNATH.
High above the clouds lay this quaint place called Tungnath, the highest Shiva temple in the world. We went a little farther and reached the end of a cliff. Surrounded by the curtain of clouds we found ourself standing on the edge. On one side were the snow covered peaks and on the other side was this deep valley.

At The Edge of The Cliff

In no time fog engulfed the whole valley and everything got out of site. We were not even visible to each other. One wrong step and we would have gone deep down the cliff. We decided to settle in the temple guest house for some time to regain our energy.

It was all so quiet when we came out after a few hours . The area was still under the cover of fog, when we heard the temple bells ringing. It was evening aarti. The thick fog started to disperse and visibility kept increasing with increasing volume of ringing bells. We could see the blue sky appearing magically from behind the clouds. Sun was about to set and there was amazing play of evening light in the sky. The golden reflection of setting sun on snow covered peaks made them glow like gold. and the sky turned orange with the spread of evening colors.

The Magical Evening

Can't say if God exist or it's just the faith of people, but the magic moment I witnessed up there makes me believe in the Ultimate power that created universe - the magnificent nature and its miraculous beauty. We were all mesmerized by the nature's show that we just witnessed. The ringing of bells stopped and gradually darkness engulfed the whole valley. The whole universe seemed to be in synchronization.

Night was no less engaging. It was more than 12 of us in a small kitchen cum sitting area of Raju hearing his stories over dinner celebrating life and rejoicing our togetherness. He is one of the survivors of the Kedarnath tragedy that happened a year before. Talking to him we realized how connected these people are to nature and how well they have understood the zist of life while we city people are still stuck in the frantic race of life.


Plan it with Chaloletsgo!

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5 reasons you should trek to Chandrashila Summit in monsoons

#1. Nature at its best.

During the monsoon months, the region is absolutely covered with fresh greens and the meadows are at their best. The greenery of Chopta will welcome you and you can enjoy sipping your cup of tea with simple locals while gazing at the snow capped peaks. 

#2 . One of the easiest and shortest well-paved trek to reach the altitude of 4000 mts.

 The trekking distances are short and first timers with reasonable level of fitness can also complete this trek quite easily. The way is well paved so no monsoon worries.

 Chandrashila peak at an altitude of 4,000 meters. The trek to the peak is 5 km. The trek route that starts from Chopta takes one to Tungnath (highest Shiva temple in the World), from here it is a kilometer long trek.  It can be done on pony if you can't trek for some reason.

#3. It is an impressive vantage point that offers 360 degrees panoramic views of the mighty Himalayas.

From the summit you can see big Himalayan peaks (Nanda Devi, Trishul, Chaukhamba and many more) and surrounding valleys in all directions. one gets wonderful views of the Himalayan giants including Bandarpoonch, Kedar, Chaukhamba peak and many more. 
The hide and seek of sun and clouds during monsoons make it even more interesting. And if you are lucky... you'll get to see multiple rainbows.

#4. Chances of Spotting Monal and Mountain rats increase:

There are high chances you get to spot Monal when they come out in the meadows after rains. Mountain rats also make frequent guest appearances on the way.

#5. The Drive

Driving through thick fog and lush green washed forests will leave you spellbound.

Can't wait to do this trek? Check the trip details here-  http://chaloletsgo.com/hidden-beauty-in-himalayas-chopta/and call me @9999731115 to register

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