Trip to Devbhoomi Uttarakhand

For almost last one month we were having few discussions over the meals about what to do during the Gandhi Jayanti and Dussehera holidays.

Initially we decided to go to our native place Dehradun, but the destiny had something else in store for us.

The Surreal Destination

It was almost final when another proposal came in to visit our ancestral village in Garhwal. We planned to visit some famous temples in and around our village and to cover Pauri and Khirsu also as part of the visit.

We finalized this trip and the preparations started for the trip. As always happens you tend to get more work and get busier as your travel date comes near. The case was same with me as well.

Luckily, I got free on time and was in home by 7.

Started the packing, thanks to 1.5 years old kid, there are couple of small to medium size bags catering to the junior's needs specifically. Moreover, we had to pack some light woolens anticipating the cold climate there.

I wanted to go to bed early considering the long drive next day. But as it always happens, the excitement before the anticipation of a long drive (that too on Hills) doesn't lets the sleep come on time.

I got up early in the morning at 3:30. It seems my little kid was also very much excited as he was also up running here and there in the house by 4 am.

After persuading my wife and sister to get ready quickly we finally hit the road at 4:45 am. I was very happy and was having a feeling of victory that all of us, including 2 females : ) were able to get ready in about 1 hour.

Reached Noida in about half an hour, thanks to lesser traffic during early morning. My in laws also joined from there. Our cavalcade of 3 cars (Maruti Swift Diesel, Honda Amaze Diesel and Hyundai i20 Petrol) started off to Kotdwara at close to 6 am.

The beautiful road

Slowly crossing the milestones on our journey

It was a perfect drive with windows rolled down and the early morning breeze gently coming on the faces.

We soon were crossing the likes of Modinagar, Muradnagar, Merrut. We entered the Merrut city and thankfully didn't encounter any major traffic hurdles thanks to the national holiday of Gandhi Jayanti. We stopped at Miranpur for breakfast. With our tummies full we resumed our journey and crossed Bijnor, Najibabad and finally hit Kotdwara at about 11. With our stomach already full, we tanked up our cars for the journey ahead.

Wow.. what a pose :)

He is not alone.. I am also there.

After Kotdwara the road started taking twists and turns. As we started climbing on the gentle slopes of the hilly road, we could clearly feel the clean air and the natural beauty. We miss the feeling of this clean air a lot in the metros.

We crossed Satpuli at about 3 pm. Unfortunately one of the cars in our convoy, the Swift's brakes developed some problems. So we had to take this hard stop at Satpuli to get this problem rectified. Driving on hills with problems in brakes is like the Hindi saying 'aa bail mujhe maar'. :) We didn't want to take a chance.

Satpuli has few auto mechanic shops and one of the guys there rectified the problems.

One little tip here for hill driving - When driving down hill, always drive in the same gear which you would have used to climb up. So if for a particular slope while climbing I have used 2nd gear, it is highly advisable that I use the 2nd gear while coming down as well.

After Satpuli, the road to Pauri is really wide. However, due to the rainy season the road was almost without any bitumen and full of gravels at places.

One of the many breaks on the way to Pauri

We had a stop at Jwalpa Devi temple to offer our prayers to Goddess Jwalpa.

Stopping at many places to enjoy the natural beauty, finally we reached Pauri after sunset at about 6:30 pm.

As the Sun is setting down we are inching closer to Pauri

We came to know that a leopard is roaming in and around Pauri these days and is active in the night. This sounds frightening, isn’t it?

After dinner we planned for the next day - to cover Khirsu, Ransi ground, Kandoliya devta temple, Kyunkaleshwar temple, Danda Nagraja Temple and Kheraling Mahadev.

Day 2 -

After the good sleep at the hotel, we woke up to encounter a slightly hazy morning. After few discussion the last night's plan was modified to remove Khirsu.

Uttarakhand is devbhoomi of India. Many of the historical temples in Uttarakhand have been built by Pandavas. The temples are present in serene locations and to sit in these temples makes one experience the divine connection.

We started our day by visiting the Kandoliya devta temple. It’s a small temple; the complex around the temple is very nice with many swings for kids. In short, a perfect picnic spot.

Then we went to Ransi ground which is one of the highest grounds in Asia. A great place to play a game of cricket / football / hockey.

We proceeded towards the Kyunkaleshwar temple.  This temple was built in 8th century and is dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is believed that the temple was put in place by Adi Shankaracharya.

We started towards Danda Nagaraja temple. 'Danda' is garhwali word for forest. This temple is visited by garhwali devotees from every part of country. This is among the most revered temples in garhwal. There are legends that Lord Krishna came to this place as a snake. Devotees offer 'Gur ki bheli' as prasad in the temple. 

There it is!! Danda Nagaraja temple

The original temple is quite small and now a large temple is built around the original small temple. There is a story that the devotees from nearby villages thought of building a new temple by dismantling the original temple. The moment they started the process, few snakes appeared at the site and the task had to be aborted. Then it was decided that the original structure won't be touched and a structure will be built around the original temple.

Way to the main temple

People also offer bells in the temple

Some bells are really Big

Two more can fit in easily!!!

There are few shops which offer refreshments and prasad outside the temple. We had our lunch in one of the shops and started further.

We moved ahead towards the Mundaneshwar Kheraling Mahadev temple. This is also one of the very famous temples of this region. Every year, during month of June a large fair is organized here. Till some time back Animal slaughter used to happen during this fair. This practice has been stopped now.

Panormic view of the temple complex

These 3 also got some rest after huffing and puffing on hills

The forest around the temple is very dense and we had heard that there are multiple animals from wild cocks to leopards and bears in the forest.

Luckily when we were moving from the temple to our village we saw a dear crossing the narrow road in front of our car. But the main attraction was the leopard sighting near Nagar. The folks in other two cars saw it and unluckily we missed it.

We reached the village in the dark.

A Beautiful night

Day 3 & 4 -

We enjoyed our function to the fullest at the village. It refreshed the memories of good old school days when we used to visit the village every year. Having said that, it is sad that people are migrating from villages to plains in search of better avenues and opportunities. This is a serious topic and I'll cover it some other day - will put in my perspective.

At last the little chap and calf became friends

The village temple from our home

Slowly and steadily going towards the temple

We crossed the temple and continued with our small Trek

View of the village from the top

We visited all the temples in the village, met all the people and our relatives. I am short of words in explaining the tranquility and peace of mind that we experienced during our short stay.

Preparing rice powder for Arse

Started preparing the good old garhwali stuff

It takes a lot of strength to move the dough

And finally the mouth watering "Arse" are ready

Day 5

We started back to the urban concrete jungles of NCR after bidding Goodbye to everyone.
Stopped at few temples on the way back.

The priest at the temple told us that during the devastating floods in 2013, all these rocks were submerged under water.

Parting shot as we proceed down towards plains

Visited the Sidhbali temple dedicated to Lord Hanuman in Kotdwara.

It was a good drive back to Gurgaon. We had a good heavy lunch at Miranpur and were in the city by about 6 pm.