Kasol – A Sleepy Paradise

Driving along river Parvati and passing through lush green pine forest and lovely villages we reached Kasol.

DAY ONE – Exploring relaxed village and lazy market

We could feel the relaxed fresh air as soon as we stepped out of the car after crossing a small wooden bridge in the middle of a market. The market was quiet with only a very few shops open preparing for the day when we reached. After settling down in a family run guest house "Rainbow", we decided to be the first customer of a dhaba just outside the guest house. Butter toast with omelette was enough to charge me for my first few hours at Kasol.

We spent some time absorbing the calm of the place sitting on huge boulders at the banks of the river and then exploring the village. Kasol at the height of 1640 meters is a quiet peaceful village situated 6 kms short of Manikaran in the Parvati valley and is surrounded by mountain ranges.

The market area has a few guest houses and not more than 100 shops within 2 kms area. The village has traditional wooden houses having slanted roofs of black slates.

There's a great variety of food to munch on in this little town. Right from Israeli cuisine to Italian, Indian and Chinese, you can find it all. There are cafes with nice ambience to spend hours at serving best coffee, sandwiches and some awesome bakery.

As soon as we finished our lunch it started drizzling. Light rain and fog enhanced the beauty of the place.  We started walking along the riverside after crossing the bridge connecting Kasol to Chhalal. Nothing but pine trees dotted the entire landscape as the rhythmic sound of gurgling Parvati accompanied us. We stopped regularly to admire and capture the beauty of colorful flowers, lovely birds or just the entire scenery. While returning, a few village ladies washing clothes in the stream caught our attention. A narrow slippery path took us down to them. I was surprised to see a small pond with two entry points - from one natural boiling hot water was coming in and the other was bringing in cold water and an exit. The arrangement was such that the temperature of water in the small pool was just perfect. And this is where the village ladies were washing.  They did not take time to mingle. Looking at my curiosity about their attire one of them offered me to teach how to drape the shawl in peculiar Himachali way. I, like an excited little child, readily agreed.

The evening was spent chilling out in cool cafes, roaming around in the market, shopping hand-knitted woolens and eating to our heart’s content.

DAY TWO – Tete-a-tete with nature

Morning bought with it chilly winds from North. As I stepped out to the balcony of my room I could see the peaks covered with fresh snow that urged me to leave the room and go out for a walk in the woods. Walking on wet ground through narrow lanes and crossing slippery boulders, I reached a vast green open space bordering the river overlooking snow clad peaks, an ideal place for a person like me, a metro-city dweller to unwind. Tall trees wanting to kiss the cotton clouds, cold stream of flowing water eager to reach its beloved, big round boulders enjoying the gentle touch of water, cool breeze trying to whisper a message it has bought from far-away lands and deep blue sky smiling at this romantic setting of nature...  I was lost in the wonderland for quite some time.

When I regained my senses it was a bright sunny day already, so I immediately went back to wake my friends up and start our journey to Tosh. We drove till Tosh via Barshaini. Kasol is also a base for Himalayan trekking to SarPass, Yanker Pass, Pin Parbati Pass and Khiriganga. Tosh was a quaint little village on top of a hill surrounded by stunning snow covered peaks. Simple village people enjoying the small nothings of life made me wonder why we in cities have made our life so complicated.

We lost the track of time while sitting on a huge rock on top of the hill looking at gigantic mountains unmoved by the forces of nature, gushing Parvati River as if trying to tell stories and a small habitat of simple human beings enjoying their existence. 

We bade adieu to the tiny hamlet around evening and started our journey back.

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FAMILIAR STRANGERS

In this genaration of solo-traveling, I feel proud to have travelled with Familiar strangers. I like to travel with strangers who connect to me for their love for travel and exploration. And in course of our journey, we not only explore the place but also make friends with some lovely people. FAMILIAR STRANGERS is what I call them. 

I get awestruck to look back and realize how many different familiar strangers I have made friends with in these couple of years. 

An ever-excited old retired scientist who never want to be called old, has lost his life partner when he needed her the most and now travels to steal some lively moments with co-travelers; a young loving couple who’s full of love and appreciation for each other and is traveling to understand life from each other’s perspective; a middle aged strong single lady who is self-dependent and living her life on her own terms for whom traveling is a part of life; an ambitious young man who draws inspiration from “himself-some-years-from-now” and is traveling as he finds a sense of accomplishment by ticking it off his must-visit list; a young chirpy independent girl who has perfectly learnt to hide her sorrow behind her smile and for whom travel is a good way of understanding herself a little more; an old adorable married couple who wants to explore together the maximum while they can. And stranger is the fact that I can relate to each one of them. Some remind me of my loneliness, some of my urge to be independent, some of my romantic self and some of my hunger to live life to the fullest. I wonder how similar we all are… going through similar emotions, sentiments and passion to live life in a best possible way in given conditions. We just need to connect and travel gives me that opportunity.

Thank you all familiar strangers… I’ve learnt many lessons of life through you.

KEEP TRAVELLING AND LIVING!

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A dreamy (?!) night at Katarnia Ghat Wildlife Sanctuary

I got one more reason to love Dudhwa…

Dudhwa has always been my favorite when it comes to wildlife and after this visit ( Feb' 2014), I got one more reason to love it - Katarnia Ghat Wildlife Sanctuary, some 100 kilometers from Dudhwa National Park. 

After exploring Dudhwa National park and  Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary, we were all set for Katarnia Ghat Wildlife Sanctuary.  A beautiful drive through villages of UP and then alongside a river for a few kilometers took us to a small village called Bichia. Our GPS also failed us after reaching a point. Guide Sanu accompanied us from here to the forest rest house. We drove through 10kms of dense forest of Sal, teak and lots of other varieties of plantations. The sun rays were struggling to reach the ground… it seemed as if all the trees and the shrubs have conspired against the ground and joined hands to seize all the light that sun has to offer. Driving through this magical way with rich flora on both sides and fauna that our eyes could not locate, we felt like drifting through some magical land - the fragrance of the jungle, the silence that is being disturbed by occasional chirping of birds and chatter of monkeys, the cool fresh air that we could feel on our faces.  

The dreamland…

My already excited heart leaped with happiness when we reached there. The sun was about to bid adieu. Golden rays of sun reaching the ground after filtering through the leaves created an atmosphere that seemed no less than a dreamland to me. As a child I have always dreamt of a house in the lap of nature, and this rest house in the middle of the jungle being caressed by the branches of an old bamboo tree and kissed by the golden sunlight was like a dream come true. 

A hot cup of tea in the cold dreamy evening

After having a hot cup of tea in the cold dreamy evening we accompanied Sanu for a jungle walk.  Walking through this beautiful jungle Sanu told us some facts and figures about it.

The sanctuary was founded in 1975 and is an integral part of the Terai Eco-System along with Dudhwa National Park and Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary. Spread over an area of around 440 square kilometers with sal and teak forests, lush grasslands and wetlands alongside the Girwa River, Katerniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary is located near the Indo-Nepal Border of India in the Bahraich district of Uttar Pardesh bordering Nepal on one side and Dudwa national park on the other.The sanctuary can be experienced driving along a 40 kilometer road that passes through the Motipur , Kakraha , Murthia and Nishangarah Ranges and ends at the Katerniaghat Range.

Home to a large number of mammals that include the Tiger, Elephant, Leopard, Chital, Wildboars, Civets, Mongoose, Wild Cat and Otters, Katerniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary is unique as one can experience and sight the most endangered species at one place. These include the Royal Bengal Tiger, Ghariyal, Gangatic Dolphin and the critically endangered vultures. This combination is hard to see in any other forest. A pair of albino Chital and a black leopard has also been sighted in the Nishangarah Range.

The forest at places is dominated by the Sal Tree and Asna. Other flora includes Haldu, Kusum. and Rohini trees.Teak with others tree like Chamraudhi and Jamun are also in abundance. The grassland consists of species like Saccharum munja, Shaccharum spontaneum, and Antidon and it has irregular plantations of trees like Khair, Semal and Shisha. Peepal and Bargad trees can also be seen in some areas.

Evening walk through the jungle

The Sanctuary is a bird watchers paradise too. Migratory birds include the Red Creasted Pochards, Tuftted Duck, Greater Creasted Grebe, Gadwall, Eurasian Wigeon, Northern Pintail , Northern Shoveler, Bar Headed Goose and Common Pochards. The forest is filled by the songs of the oriole and bulbuls along with the shama and birds like the Greenbilled Malkoha , Sirkeer Malkoha, Yellow footed Green pigeons, Orange Breasted Green Pigeon, Bee Eaters, Red Jungle Fowl and the beautiful Oriental Pied Hornbill along with the Indian Grey Hornbill are also common. Raptors like the Created Serpent Eagle, Fishing Eagle, Vulture, Sikkra Honey Buzzard and Osprey can also be seen. The night sky is dominated by the Indian Nightjar and owls like the Asian Barred Owlet and Spotted Owlet.

Dream turning into a nightmare…

With an anticipation of having a peaceful dreamy night, sleeping in midst of all this wild life hearing the sounds of the jungle, we came back to the rest house and were surprised to see the environment. The dream has been turned into a nightmare. There was a generator breaking the silence, kids running around like in an amusement park, some kids crying at top of their voices and staff running here and there to serve the master… that happens to be some VIP. Not only the silence but the whole atmosphere has been destroyed by the presence of this noisy so-called VIP family.  

I wonder if we humans, who are so used to all this noise, were so disturbed, what effect will this artificially created noise, light and pollution will have on animals and plants of the area to whom the forest belong. We have already captured much of their space…. can’t we leave atleast these sanctuaries and reserve forests for them who deserve to live there peacefully. We spent the night full of anger for those who just don’t know how to behave in a forest and come here to throw their weight around on the staff.

Boat safari in Girwa River…
Morning bought with it some peace. After having light bite we proceeded for boat safari in Girwa River. 

Walking towards the Girwa river

The boatman told us that the river is dominated by the Gharial (alligator) and Muggar (Crocodile) which can be seen basking on the sand bars. Turtle of various kinds can also be seen basking in the sun. One can see the Lesser Whistling Teel in large number and small pranticoles on the sand bar. But it being a foggy day we could not spot any. The unique thing about the river is the presence of the Gangatic Dolphin which playfully jump in the waters of Girwa. The boatman could feel the presence of a baby dolphin and stopped the rudder of the boat for some time. We were floating in the area of the dolphins… and there a sudden splash in the water accredited the presence of a dolphin there.

Floating in the area of the dolphins

On this visit of ours to the Terai Eco-System that includes Dudhwa National Park, Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary and Katerniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary we experienced forest in all possible modes. Elephant safari followed by jeep safari then a jungle walk and then boat safari... What else can a forest lover ask for!

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2013 - An year of Achievments

2013 seemed to get over so quickly. May be because it was so eventful.

Memories from 2013

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• Started the year with some jungle adventure - driving at night through thick forest full of wild animals at zero visibility and sub zero temperature near Nepal boarder and feeling the fear while leopard was hunting very near to us at Sathiana in Dudhwa... followed by some crazy chasing of pug marks of the "Royal Bengal Tiger"at Bandhavgarh; 
• Road trip to Spiti with a heterogeneous set of people in June was a good learning experience.
• Monsoons were great as ever.... celebrated rains with Elite friends at Siliserh and trekked up to Triund and experienced the most stunning landscapes from up above. 

• Staying with tribals had always been my dream so a visit to Odisha villages was like dream come true. 

• Closed the year with an awesome bunch of young ladies at Kangra. Flying in the air is something I always enjoy. It was fun jumping from a cliff at Billing (2290 mt). 

Some disappointments in first half of the year led to lots of brain-storming which in-turn led to some great achievements.
-Founded a new division of Chaloletsgo!  In July CLG Elite - an initiative to bring together people who have crossed the middle age and now want to live life their way who believe that the best is yet to come. Getting together, watching movies, traveling, singing along, indulging in hobbies like photography, painting, etc... that’s what we do. "Celebrating Life" is our motto.  https://www.facebook.com/groups/522900567757371/
- Released our first publication "PUSHKAR – the desert town" in Oct. here's the e-version http://indianterrains.com/publication/
- The second edition of our annual photography event in Pushkar "Rendezvous with Life" in November reached a new level. More than 1500 people from over 30 countries visited in this 4 day event.  http://indianterrains.com/galleries/rendezvous-with-life-ii/ 

Met a whole lot of interesting people and added lots of memories!

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A relaxing weekend trip to Lotwara

Comfortable stay, good company, simple fresh food and great hospitality are the ingredients of a relaxing weekend trip for me.

Last weekend I went on a short break with some of our "CLG Elite" friends to a small village in Rajasthan called Lotwara.  The hot masala tea that was served as soon as we drove into the fort was such a relief after a long drive of more than 6hrs in a cold morning of January.

Enjoyed the company of my "Elite" friends

The owner of Lotwara fort, Giriraj Singh ji showed us around the fort that has a history. The place where baithak use to happen, some old family pictures of Rajputanas, lineage of the royal family, his livestock, the plantations, Banganga river bed... it was a different world altogether. While we were taking a round looking at the goshala, the small pond with blue lotus, the hound... our lunch was being arranged. We all digged into the home cooked delicious food... this is exactly what our hungry souls wanted at that moment. Simple food - alu gobhi, dal, raita and hot chapatis served with lots of love satisfied us to the core. We no longer felt the need to take rest... we were all set to explore the area. The warm hospitality is what I like the most about Rajasthan tourism.

Some 7 kms from the fort is Chand Baori. This is one of the oldest and most attractive step wells in Rajasthan. Built by King Chanda of the Nikumbha Dynasty between 800 and 900 AD and was dedicated to Harshat Mata, Goddess of Joy and Happiness upon completion.The step well is around 65ft deep. The intent of Chand Baori was to conserve as much water as possible. At the bottom of the well, the air remains 5-6 degrees cooler than at the surface, and Chand Baori was used as a community gathering place for locals during periods of intense heat. How I wish I could go down the stairs and experience it for myself but the authorities have closed the entry as there had been many accidents recently.

Chand Baori, Abaneri

Just next to it is Harshat Mata Temple. There are many broken structures lying around the temple which locals say are the ruins of some other structures destroyed during the Aurenzeb rule. 

While we were on the way back to the fort we got a call from the kitchen inquiring when will we be back. So nice it was to see hot tea waiting for us when we reached back. After refreshing ourselves we went out to see the village. Well maintained roads, 4 primary and secondary schools, an ITI college, a hospital, a marriage hall - this small village of around 10,000 people is self sufficient. We walked past the market, vendors selling peanuts, shopkeepers winding for the day, families gathered around the fire lit in the courtyards, kids playing around. A happy village it was! So heartening it is to see that our villages progressing fast.

I was amazed to see peacocks roaming around the village so freely... they were all around like we see pigeons here in a city.  Never before have I seen 5 peacocks sharing the same tree along with numerous parrots. Their sound was almost deafening. So thrilled I was to be there around sunset... the ball of fire dipping down and vanishing behind the florescent yellow mustard fields looked marvelous. 

Bon-fire was ready when we reached back. It was fun to be a part of a warm session of gossip and songs along with mungfali and popcorns.

Evening-chat session

I woke up to the loud chirping of birds. Just above my pillow was a small jharokha from where the light was trickling in. It was a very cold morning and everyone else was sleeping but I could not sleep any more. The loud chirping of birds, the cool breeze, the shreak of peacocks all seemed to be calling me.  While on the rooftop of the fort, I realized it was worth giving up the laziness. Perfect start to the day it was!

After a sumptuous breakfast that was served with lots of love and care was enough for us to keep going for another 6 hrs of our travel. The warm hospitality that they offer is the best thing I like about the people of Rajasthan. As suggested by Giriraj ji we visited Jhajurampura on the way. Driving through the green fields of mustard and the remote villages we reached there. It was amazing to see the faith of the crowd there who'd come to take a holy dip in the hot water spring. 

After having a hot cup of ginger tea we started our journey back to the city. I wonder why we have moved away from this simple rural life!

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Conquering Dhauladhars

Tucked in quilts at the height of 2975mts with a cup of hot black tea and a spoon of rum to beat the cold while the whole valley is covered in mist, it was hard to believe that it would be 40 degrees plus back home in Delhi. 

A few adventurous souls decided to trek to Triund in monsoons when ways will be dangerously slippery and views hidden due to fog. We were told that the trek is 9kms and will take around 4hrs. Climbing up the rocky path, watching snails and moss on the way for around half an hour we reached Dharamkot. Got an interesting piece of information – the locals here drink these snails with milk for speedy recovery of fractured bones. Glad we were to have finished one eighth of the trek, when someone told us that trek actually STARTS here and that vehicles can come till here. Gathering our courage we started the “real” trek. It had been raining since yesterday and fortunately it was a clear day to start with.

Trekking up the Dhauladhars

The valley looked like a beautiful lady wearing green saree fresh out from bath... hair still wet, drops still resting on her sweet face with red bindi on her forehead. Glad we were to have done this in monsoons. On our right was the diminishing village making us feel we have climbed quite high... but soon we would find ourselves at the foot of another hill that is still to be conquered.

After almost 2 hrs of continuous trek on slippery rocks, passing through lush green Rhododendron and oak trees we all had different pace... some of us much ahead still managing a smile without effort... some struggling with their baggage and thinking why they bought that night dress, could have easily done without it but managing to smile with an effort and some tired to the core talking to every person trekking down and checking how much more they have to climb, their smiles vanished completely. I would not reveal which category I belonged to.

A quick break

Weather was good till now. To our relief we found a tea stall. The moment we stopped there for a quick lunch, it started raining heavily... as if weather God was watching over us. After half an hour of torrential shower it stopped raining. By the time we were reenergized with parathas, juice and chocolate. With even more enthusiasm we started the second leg of our trek. It took us around 6 hrs with breaks from Mcleodganj to reach Triund. 

The moment we reached up there, we forgot our aching toes, hurting back and paining legs.  We were mesmerized by the beauty of nature… standing on a natural green carpet in Dhauladhars with a wonderful view we felt out of this world. We were smiling down at the deep valley while mighty dhauladhars were looking down at us with a smile.

Nature at its best

The sky was clear blue now with white fluffy patches of clouds here and there. It was a perfect day for photography so we started capturing the beauty of the moment on our cameras. By the time we came back to our senses it was almost dark. Preparations started for setting up the camp. Triund is a beautiful camping site in Dhauladhars at an altitude of 2975mts.

Camping at Triund

It was amazing to see the beautiful day turning into gorgeous night. Sun sank deep into the horizon hiding the last gold of the miser sun... Slowly darkness took over the whole valley. We could see nothing but some glittering lights far below… music of silence playing all over.

We felt real proud and precious to be there in oneness with nature!

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Monsoon celebration with "Elites"

Monsoon celebration is in full swing. Recently visited Siliserh Lake with a lively group of senior citizens. It was the inaugural trip of CLG Elite, a new division of chaloletsgo! Its an initiative to bring together people who have just started their second innings and believe in making it even better than the first one.

The Team

With a group of seven cheerful people, we began our celebration. Singing, laughing, teasing... driving through villages, mingling with locals.. and partying was all we did.

Siliserh Lake, Rajasthan

Black clouds embracing the sky... rain drops falling on the lake... lush green surroundings... moist fragrance in the air. It could not have been better than this!

A Date with Nature!

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A Magic Moment at Dhankar

We had already visited many monasteries in the region while on our Spiti sojourn and I expected something similar at Dhankar as well. But I was totally taken aback by the beauty of this place. The monastery is dramatically located on a cliff overlooking the confluence of Spiti and Pin Rivers. 

Dhankar Monastery dramatically located on a cliff

On the other side of the mountain lies Dhankar lake. A well defined steep trail of 5kms will take you there. It is something not to be missed. There are some spots on this trek from where you will get spectacular views of Dhankar. It took us around an hour and a half to reach the lake. Sun was about to set when we reached the place. It was a dark and cloudy day.

Dhankar Lake

I was taken aback by the magic that happened as soon as we were about to leave. I still have a clear picture of that magic moment in my mind - Dark sky with black clouds... cool breeze coming from north... that time of the day when slowly darkness takes over the day and suddenly when we were about to leave the place magic happened... Golden light trickling from behind the clouds lit up the lake turning it from dark grey to deep blue with golden spread all over the place... as if some fairy has waived her magic wand! 

A dash of gold!

Wish Nature's magic could be captured  as is!

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The Road Ends Here!

We were looking for the Kingyupa Temple in the village Chitkul when we met this middle aged well built pahari guy. He was intrigued to see two strangers roaming around in the lanes of this small village of population not more than 500. It was he who approached us.

Chitkul - The last inhabited village of India

Just a 5minutes talk with the man and we were climbing the wooden stairs of his house. "Watch your head" he said while directing us to low lit room of his house all made of wood. There were just three rooms in the house - one that he directed us to, it had a loom in it with lots of wool spread on the floor, second where his wife was sitting with his daughter and mother and the third where we were standing now... kind of corridor connecting the other two rooms.

On talking more to the guy we learnt that he is the person who runs well known "Hindustan ka akhiri dhaba". I knew Chitkul only by this shop before I came here... Had seen a few pics of some bikers group. The road abruptly ends at his dhaba. Thats the end of India. Chitkul is on the foot hills and across these hills is Tibet. Looking at the crowd that is attracted to this small village now, he wants to convert his small dhaba into a hotel and a nice restaurant for travelers. 

With Om Prakash and family

A little more time talking to him and his whole family joined us. On asking his wife described how the loom works. She was making a shawl for an upcoming marriage in the village. Now I was curious to know how they dress in marriages. They took no time in taking the whole costume out and dressing me in it. More than me, they were excited

The Kinnauri women dress in Dohru which comprises of Chhalni, Gachi (waist belt), Pattu (shawl), Topi (cap) and men wear Suthan, Choba, Gachi and Topi.

Me in traditional Kinnauri dress on loom

The warm family bade us goodbye with a promise of having a meal with them on our next visit.

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Wish I were a bird too...!

I visited Palampur, my home town a few weeks before. We have a beautiful garden with variety of fruits and flowers... starting from Peaches, plum, litchi, apricot, mangoes, guava, pomegranate, papaya, strawberries... Roses, poppy, lily, Pansy, camellia and many more.... you name it and we have it all in our garden. And the garden is frequented by a great variety of birds and butterflies. This time I could actually see the birds in action as it is their breeding season. Various birds like robin and Barbet were busy making the nests for their young ones in our garden... Bulbuls singing and jumping around at times on litchi tree and at times on green grass... fruit trees either having fruits or bloom... sweet fragrance of flowers all around... chirping birds playing around... I could feel the romance in the air. It was no less than living in a paradise for a week.

Papa busy maintaining the garden

My day would start with a sweet call of a small blue bird. I would take a deep breath and head towards the garden to exercise on soft green grass breathing fresh mountain breeze... a look around and mind, body and soul would refresh. By this time even papa would get free from his day to day gardening tasks. We would together read newspaper, discuss subjects worth a discussion and then have healthy breakfast. 

Observing these birds through the day playing and singing and building their homes with such an effort strengthens my wish to be a bird. Male would diligently collect hay to build the nest and the female would observe lovingly. Then the pair would spend time flying around in the garden... on the trees... branches... playfully. How I wish I were a bird too...!

Watering the plants is fun

Evenings would be full of action. That's when maximum birds would be out. After watering the plants we would together start the bird chase. Papa on one side of the garden, Payal, my sis, on the other and me at the backyard. All busy chasing birds and discovering new additions. The ones for whom our garden was home were Bulbul, Robin and Black browed Barbet. The other guests who visited our garden while I was there were Oriental white eye, Purple Sun bird, a pair of Spotted Doves, Maina, Woodpecker and many more whose names I still don't know.  That black and white little bird who would usually come around sunset and sit on the top of arocaria almost everyday,  the blue bird who would wake me up with its sweet voice, that smallest yellowish brown bird who would never sit at one place as if teasing me and not wanting me to click it... They all became a part of my days there.

Robin pair busy preparing their nest in our garage, between a pole and tin roof. What papa's worried about was the young ones of birds will not be able to stand the heat when sun will warm up the tin. So the solution he thought is that he will put a damp piece of cloth over tin so as to avoid direct sun.

Robin

Black browed Barbet these days was busy digging up her nest in a trunk of an old tree. The process of digging it is very similar to how a woodpecker construct his nest. A hole with unbelievable perfectness. 

Black browed Barbet

Himalayan Bulbul I found them the most romantic of all. They would keep playing and singing around almost the whole day around their home and surroundings. 

Himalayan Bulbul

Chasing and clicking these sweet little birds is what I did the whole week and thoroughly enjoyed.

Now I am waiting for the Barbet to lay eggs. I really wanna see how cute li'l ones look and the sight of them being fed by mother bird is worth a visit to Palampur again. 

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Shivpuri - A perfect weekend getaway from Delhi

A place away from city not very far; relaxing as well as challenging; in the lap of nature with modern amenities; equally attractive for both young and old, kids and parents...!

Around 250kms from Delhi on the bank of River Ganga lies this place called Shivpuri. Stay in luxury tents, sit leisurely on the banks of river Ganga enjoying the cool breeze, open your stiff tired limbs and play volley ball or badminton, swim around, take a forest walk, involve yourself in adventure sports like kayaking, rafting, rock climbing etc in the day and relax with a can of beer, guitar and amazing nature around bonfire at night.

Families relaxing on a weekend at Shivpuri

I recently visited Shivpuri, it's my third visit. I wonder how the place has changed itself as per the demand.

My first visit was with my office colleagues and it was a corporate trip. Shivpuri then was a secluded place, the main attraction then to visit the place was Rafting. And you would mostly find adventure sport lovers visiting the place and staying in tents that provided the basic facilities.

River Rafting 

My second visit was with family and friends after around 5 years. I realized the scenario there has changed much. Number of tents in the area have considerably increased and so have the facilities in the tents. The first time I visited this place, the loos were a small pit in the sand in contrast to what I see today. Now they have English style comod with proper flushing system. People come to take a break from their hectic life in city and relax on the bank of Ganga while staying comfortably. Rafting is an option for those looking for some adventure too.

My third visit left me totally surprised... I was amazed to see how this secluded peaceful place has changed into a picnic spot. Families from all around north India have flooded the place. And why not, the place has everything that a good weekend getaway should have.

I would not call a trip to Shivpuri an adventure travel as most of travel agencies sell it... I would rather say its luxury travel that provides you the opportunity/ option to engage in some adventure sport as well. Tented accommodations have all facilities... Comfortable bed to sleep on, wonderful river view in front, jungle and nature so near, loos with all facilities including hot water for bathing and perfect wholesome meals. If you looking for a place to relax and you also like adventure sports, you'll love the place. There's a lot to do - Kayaking, River rafting, Rock climbing, Jungle walks, Trekking.

Kayaking on Ganga waters

Feel like taking a break and visiting Shivpuri? Contact me @9999731115.

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Bhangarh

 In Anticipation

Accidentally heard name of the place somewhere on net and apart from this the only information that we had was that this place is somewhere near Sariska reserve forest. So, after a rocky and enriching drive through the desert forest of Sariska on a lovely winter morning, as we set for the unknown and mysterious Bhangarh , we literally had no idea where we were heading to. Although, we had number of explorations in the past where we were not equipped with enough knowledge of the place, accommodations etc. but I bet this one was complete blank. Surprisingly none of the locals we asked around Sariska could give us any proper information about the place or distance……a desperate attempt to bind together the various broken information finally helped us heading for a supposedly right direction.

So real yet so strange

Four of us on the old and trusted friend my Alto LX started with the maximum speed possible. But very soon the ‘highway’ nature of the road turned into a slow bumpy ride. A sunny winter day, the more we went more we found population decreasing, only some occasional view of village women with their colorful attire carrying stones, sand and digging while some fat men sitting on chair smoking.  With the sun right on the top of our head we were felling hungry already. Still no sign of the Bhangarh at any of the direction board or milestone (hardly there were any) we stopped by a dhaba like structure after around two hours drive. As feared, here also the people have never heard about Bhangarh and we left just after a rather forgettable lunch with mixed anticipation.

As the Sun slowly leaning towards the horizon we found ourselves on a narrow country road, occasional camel cart and small village huts…….like a invisible magical wall we found ourselves driving through a completely different world…….right through the hearts of the day to day life a remote Rajasthan village …far away from the modern life and cities…..women busy in their day to day work….men and aged people chatting on the veranda …..under a monster tree a villagesarpanch with huge white mustaches talking circled by the excited villagers……and you can easily make out you are not in a Bollywood film-set and everything around is much so real and yet so strange and different from what we see in our regular life.One look at the meter and we knew out initial estimation of Bhangarh being around 30/40 km from Sariska went for a toss and we have already crossed over 30 km……..and I was sincerely doubtful how far the remaining petrol can carry us…..as finding a petrol pump amongst these tiny village paths was as good as finding kangaroo at Saiska forest….. (And moreover, we have not found even a tractor for the last 45 minutes.) A strange passion and anticipation kept us going and how I back my decision today, as we will always cherish that experience and feelings in life. One good thing came out by that time, we were ensured finally by a 10/12 years kid out to ride his goats’ that we were indeed going towards the right direction and all we needed to do was to find Ajabgarh first. Slowly , even the tiny villages and occasional villagers disappeared and all we had picturesque landscapes all around rocky uneven grounds , small grasses and age-old tress. 

Doomed Village on the way

As we drove towards Ajabgarg and beyond it, we spotted some house like structure from a distance, anticipating another small village on the way after a long time we were eager to find some people. And hardly had we known a unique experience awaiting us. Indeed, it was a village but with the entire village was doomed and devoid of any living thing. The houses made of clay and stones were all looking mystic and haunted and where ever there is a door left undestroyed was locked from outside.

Tired and excited a chilling wind passed through our spine as we drove passed a complete village without a single heart beating. Around 3 km from the village Alto 2807 was made a sudden stopped. There lied a ghostly tree, around 100 years old as it seemed, on a side of the road and this was not what made us stopped; but a very small kid was sitting below the tree out of nowhere. Finding someone and more so a kid so small at the given situation was so unexpected that we were thrilled. We were amazed to see the kid did not utter a word in spite of our repeated asking and probing. He stayed unmoved. Confused, after some clicks of him and the place we continued our amazing journey.

 The next stop was due to a over flowing local river, water flowing right across the road took us some time to decide weather our can take it…and as always it did not disappoint us a bit and crossed the location comfortably. 

And thus we reached Spooky Bhangarh

A good 72 km though that unforgettable journey finally enabled us to reach Bhangarh…..we were more than pleased to find a couple of more travelers and a few locals there. A place worth all those stress and hard work had every reason to be called the most hunted place in this south Asian country. Monkeys and Indian langoors had been living with a perfect symphony with the spirit (and spirits?) of Bhangarh for ages. 

An entire township planned somewhere in the pages of History, hidden at the most interiors of Rajasthan were truly magical. As the sun touches the horizon, a mystic light all around, you would definitely love to believe all those story and magic standing at the foothills of Great Bhagrh fort.

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