About today around 3 years ago on 7th July 2018; a short trek to top of Madhoorpara mountain/temple nearby Trivandrum, Kerala. Had to take a bridge made of bamboo to reach the top. The weather was comfortable with good winds blowing and the creaks of the bamboo bridge could also be heard.
A small Roman Catholic church nestled among the hills and tea gardens, which is in a secluded place just 10 mins walking from the Attukad Waterfall in the small village named Pallivasal in Idukki district of Kerela.
During my visit I could just find one person who is from the same village; his name was Jo. Wasn't that great in his English but however I could make out he was saying been visiting this church for 11 years now daily twice, once early morning and his second visit is around late evening when actually we both were there at the church at the same time 5.30 pm.
End of Time-lapse: View Point Lodge, Taktsang, Paro Gewog
Date of Journey - 15.August.2018
Duration of video - 00:45
We start for our final touch down to the final destination which was the View Point Lodge located opposite to the Taktsang Resort on the road Taktsang road.
The sun was shining down into its twilight as the time was around 4:00 - 4.15 pm as we start leaving the Paro township and drove through the outskirts of Paro town.
In our 8 kms trip we stopped twice in-between to take running school kids who wanted the lift to the next village. Both groups were school going students returning back home after eventful day at school as per the quick chats we had in the short trip.
Finally reached the View Point Lodge booked via Airbnb however the room allotted '304' had no view at all. Though the room and the furniture provided wasn’t bad but this room didn’t do at all the justice to the name of the homestay; it had a small parking space view.
After a discussion with owner of the property and on request he spoke to his family and friends. He finally fixed me up at a decent hotel in the middle of the Paro city, Hotel Phunsum with a fantastic view of the Paro valley.
While getting dropped to that particular hotel; I saw a sublime ‘Rainbow’ which I actually was telling to myself last day or that day morning before entering Bhutan that it’s been quite sometime I saw a ‘Rainbow’. And finally I did!!
(This video doesn’t have the Rainbow view)
Background Score Credits: Lonesome avenue - the 126ers
Anjanisain is a small village tucked away in the Tehri Garwal hills of Uttarkhand. It is around 350 kms from Delhi and can be reached by via New Tehri or Devprayag. It the perfect place for retreat or soul searching.
Six things to do have been listed while one can do while at Anjanisain:
1. Visit Devprayag 2. Stay at SBM Ashram 3. Trekking from Ashram to Chandrabadani Temple 4. Visits to adjacent villages 5. Enjoy the scenic views from Ashram 6. Indulge with the beauty of Tehri Dam
All of you have to be awakened with an alarm clock including me. So in order to do away with mechanic alarm clock you have to learn how to make use of your ‘inner alarm clock.’
The ‘inner alarm clock’ ticked by and took me through a worthwhile experience atop mountains.
Each sunrise was a deeply moving experience, seeing the village lights gradually getting dimmer as the sunrise grew over distant mountains. Going past by through maze of roads below, the cars, trucks were tiny dots creeping along the green highways. The clouds have a race with us, sometimes overtaking us and engulfing us into its chillness. We continued moving ahead leaving behind all the clouds and going uphill. It's easy to hear a distinct "accent" when you "ascend" to the mountains.
Then comes the style of living there, which could not get much more basic than this. People getting up early, eat, go downhill to their respective fields, get tired by afternoon, after returning back have ‘Roxy’ complete the dinner and go off to sleep. Most of them follow this simple life with no telephone connectivity, irregular electricity and still they don’t have any complains.
And then again during the evening you can see the evening clouds getting heavy with moisture and talking a more threatening shade of grayish sky. Driving the car through these conditions filled me with a sudden thrill. Then again I could almost see the thunder lightening right before me and a sinking feeling comes in. I suppose this would make your mind to rush and take you in the same situation and go through the experience.
Mountains, clouds & water are the three majestic powers of the earth and sky. It seems they confront each other in dramatic fashion like armies lined up to the battle and what spectacle when they do.
Power of Mountains, Clouds & Water
Do visit this place and see it yourself: Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh
Dunda is around 130 - 140 kms from Dehradun. Generally its takes 4-5 hours to reach from Dehradun in a car. Uttarkashi is further 30 kms ahead of Dunda. Private shared taxis and buses also ply on this route. The drive to Dunda gets very interesting from Chinyalisour with the Bhagirati River flowing beside the road. It was raining lightly during the time we visited and the view was breathtaking, which I am sharing with you all below.
Chinyalisour with Bhagirati River
Dunda is a good place for soul searching, solo travelers and Tenzing Guest house can be the best place to put for the night. I stayed in Dunda for couple of days and the visit will be my most memorable one.
Dunda:
The inter road connectivity in Uttarkashi district is poor however Dunda actually come before Uttarkashi and is the sub-district headquarter, so is an important junction. Road condition apart from the main highway NH-108 are not be trusted on. Landslides during the monsoon months are normal. GREF personals and other villagers themselves keep a tight vigilance so that no roads are blocked.
NH-108
Jineth:
Jineth is a beautiful village south of Dunda around 20kms towards Brahmakhal on NH - 94. One has to walk uphill for 3 and half kms cross many streams and bridges from the point show in the picture. Normally takes 1 and half hour for a person with normal fitness. The village is very cosy with all the house together in a cluster.
Jineth
Kalyani:
Kalyani is around 16 kms from sub-district headquarter, Dunda. Situated besides NH - 94, villagers are very thankful to the government for opening a PHC in the village. Also has a senior secondary school nearby which makes the children very happy as they get extra time to play and time is not lost due to the travel to school.
Kalyani
Nagal:
Nagal is a famous village as it boasts of Prikateshwar Siva Temple. Nagal is situated on NH - 94 around 30 kms away from Dunda. Its is believed by the local villagers that Lord Shiva had given a visit to this village during early times and since then temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and other Hindu god and goddess.
Prikateshwar Siva Temple
Nagal Rice-fields
Nagal is also famous for good quality of rice produced. On interacting with the pradhan it was known that earlier around 60% of the rice produced in the fields were exported outside and sent to other parts of India. However, over the years there has been a downward trend and now only 10% of the rice produced are sent outside of Nagal village.
Khanna is a small village of total 40-50 Households in Mori block of Uttarkashi district with around 30 families living at present. This village is tucked away in north west part of Govind Pashu VIhar National Park and Sanctuary. To reach to this destination, its takes 2-3 hours drive to reach from Mori. The village in on the Daula - Jakha road and people have to get down at Doni to reach to this village. From Doni its another 1 hour walking where one has to cross a river and then start a uphill climb for 30-40 minutes to reach to this village.
Village of Khanna has total 30 - 40 households
As you reach the village you one can have the first glimpses of the village temple and a tremendous view of the Rupin River flowing below followed by it which will certainly freshen you up and the tiredness of climbing up will go away.
Village Temple will greet you at the entrance of village
View of River Rupin flowing
The village has no electricity and people are using solar powered setups for their electricity needs. This village was effected during the 2013 Uttarkashi Disaster with landslides coming from top of the mountains destroyed their semi-pacca houses. As informed by Sarpanch of the village Smt. Gyan Mala Devi, many families of the village has received the compensation under the Uttrakhand Disaster Recovery Project. There is only one school near Khanna where all the children go for studies. PS Khanna school located in Doni was established in 1989 however till now this school has classes till 5th Standard only. Most of the locals living here depend on local vegetation including fruits and vegetables. All the families have their farms on top of the cliff which is another 2 hours walking from the village. We rather choose not to go ahead and stop at the village itself.
Sunil Singh is student of PS Khanna School
The temperature through the year is pleasant with winters a bit chilly and occasional snowfall in the months of December-January are common. As the evening was setting in the chillness in the air could be felt. The Sarpanch of the village and her family were a little bit concerned that we would be returning the same day to Mori as the sun was already started going down.
So without much of delay we started our dissent which is much easier than climbing up. We could reach to our vehicle parked at Doni by 6.00 pm and were back to Mori by 9.00 pm.
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