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Hi everyone 😀 I’m back with the second part of my Uttarakhand travel series 😀 For my first-time readers, here’s the link to the first part:

My Winter Holiday in Uttarakhand (Part I): Corbett

This second part in the series is on Kausani 😀 Before starting with my travelogue, here’s a bit about Kausani…

 

 

Kausani

 

Kausani is a dream destination; the vantage point for a breath-taking view of the Nanda Devi mountain range, amidst dense pine forests. It is famous for its scenic splendour and its spectacular 300 km-wide panoramic view of snowy Himalayan peaks like Trishul, Nanda Devi, Panchchuli, Nanda Ghunti and Chaukhamba. Nanda Devi (7817 m) is the second highest mountain peak in India after Kanchenjunga which lies on the border of India and Nepal. Nanda Devi is the highest mountain peak entirely in India.

Nestled in the lap of nature, overlooking the historical Katur valley and an unbroken expanse of Himalayan panorama, Kausani (1890m) is a calm and idyllic resort, far from the madding crowd. Besides taking a village trek, you can just walk down the hills amidst dense forests. Trek around to reach the highest points of hills, Pinnath (95km), Burapinnath (5.5km) and Bhatkot (12km). Or enjoy the relaxing day and get wonderstruck by the starry nights.

Mahatma Gandhi stayed in Kausani for a while in 1929 and fell in love with its pristine beauty. He called it “The Switzerland of India”.

The nearest airport is Pantnagar (177km). You can hire taxi from Pantnagar to reach Kausani. The nearest railhead is Kathgodam (142km). Kausani is well connected with major destinations like Delhi (420 km) and popular hill stations like Almora (52 km), Ranikhet (70 km) and Nainital (123 km). Bageshwar is at a distance of 42 km.

 

 

 

Thursday, January 23, 2020

 

At around 3:00 pm, we reach Kausani. It’s too cold, but the beautiful sight of the Kumaon Himalayas overwhelms us all.

There are about fifty hotels in Kausani. We are staying at one of the best, Pratiksha Himalayan Retreat  The view from this hotel is simply mind-blowing. Immediately on arrival, we immerse ourselves into the scenic grandeur of the snowy Himalayan peaks Trishul, Panchchuli, Nanda Ghunti and Chaukhamba. 

(From left to right) Shilpa, yours truly, Reshma and Swapna…

Pratiksha Himalayan Retreat is one of the best hotels in Kausani having all modern amenities. It has 16 luxuriously furnished rooms with attached bath and balcony. You can enjoy the panoramic view of the great Himalayas from its balcony or its roof-top coffee shop. The hotel has a multi-cuisine restaurant and an indoor play zone.

At Pratiksha Himalayan Retreat…

We climb down the stairs to arrive at the reception desk. It’s the top floor. There are two more floors below, and the rooms there offer a mountain view too.

Excited, we can’t wait to see our top floor rooms and the view of the snow-capped mountains from the balcony. It’s an amazing view…

But it’s too cold to stay out longer and we get a lovely view from the room window too…

Room view…

Watch my video of Pratiksha Himalayan Retreat and the wonderful mountain-views :

By the time we look around and have tea, it is 4:30 pm.

With Shilpa and Swapna…

The small room heater is highly efficient in the bitter cold. It will be dusk in an hours’ time, so we set out to do a bit of sightseeing. My shoes are ruined and beyond repair so I need to buy a new pair at the market, which is within walking distance.


On our walk to the market, we catch this picturesque sight of the golden snow peaks…

View of Trishul (shaped like a trident, hence the name)…

Watch my video:

A local suggests us to take the short cut passing briefly through forested area alongside the road. It’s better than walking along the narrow, winding road with speeding vehicles passing by. Soon, we find our way into the market area.

The small town market has a variety of shops. The shoe shop recommended by a hotel staffer is easy to find. I get a nice and comfortable pair of shoes for 700 rupees. Next to the shop, there’s a small food stall where we settle to have steaming hot Maggi noodles and pakoras. Both taste delicious, especially in this cold weather.

It gets dark very soon. We take the same shortcut back to the hotel. But it’s pitch-dark and halfway through, we hear shrill calls of some creature. Shilpa, Swapna and Reshma are terrified. I do my best to reassure them that no creature is going to attack us… I mean why worry when I’m around??? Walking quickly, we reach the road in five minutes. It’s pitch-dark on the road too. A little ahead, a passing truck stops. We ignore and walk past it. Perhaps the driver stopped to offer help but seeing that we don’t ask for it, he drives away after we have covered about 100 metres or so. The truck lights brighten the road for a while.

(Two days later, on the drive from Nainital to Kathgodam, the tourist car driver was narrating stories of tiger and leopard sightings in Kumaon. He surprised us by saying that a leopard was known to frequent that very place, precisely at the time when we were there. That’s when we told him about our short walk 😀)

Back at the hotel, we spend some time in the roof-top coffee shop. The starry night is beautiful… 

For dinner, I have chicken soup and a bit of chilli chicken. It’s bone-chilling cold. But after two days of ill-health, I feel better. Still my lower back hurts a lot. So I quickly return to the warm comfort of my room. Shilpa joins me soon.
We retire to bed early at around 9:00 pm.

 

 

Friday, January 24, 2020



5:15 am. There’s complete darkness around when I step into the room balcony. An eerie pin drop silence surrounds me. Faraway in the distance, a speeding truck disturbs the scene for a while.

It’s too cold to stay out for long and I return to draw the window curtains and hop into bed. There’s still time for the first rays of light to fall on the snowy mountains. And from my bed, I can keep a watch on them.

An hour later, I see the first light and step into the balcony. In the adjacent room, Swapna and Reshma are up too.

At 6:20 am…

At 6:30 am…

At 6:35 am…

 

At 6:40 am…

At 6:45 am…

At 6:55 am…

It’s such an incredibly beautiful sight! And the binocular view is absolutely awesome! The close-up of Trishul peak, shaped like a trident, is simply overwhelming. I can see each nook and corner of it. And it feels as though I can extend my hand and touch it!
While I love Kanchenjunga too much, Trishul is really something to cherish.

At 7:05 am…

At 7:10 am…

Photographs and videos don’t do justice to the actual sight of the golden peaks which looks dreamy!

We have breakfast at around eight. Toast and butter, eggs, tea and…

Pohe…

Aloo paratha…

Poori bhaji…

After breakfast, we meet Gajendra Mehra, the GM – Sales & Marketing of Pratiksha Hotels…

His friend, Ramprasad Srinivasan is in the travel business and they both have been visiting places around Kausani for the last few days. They have been to Bageshwar yesterday and highly recommend the place to us. There’s an annual fair going on in this temple town devoted to Lord Shiva.

Ramprasad tells us that Almora, 52 kms away, is a must-see place for its cultural richness and is considered the cultural heart of Kumaon.

Almora is a major hill station and historical capital of the Kumaon Kingdom. Unlike the neighboring hill stations like Nainital and Shimla, which were developed by the British, Almora was developed much before by the Chand kings, who ruled over the Kumaon region. It was founded by King Kalyan Chand in 1568. There’s no time for visiting Almora, but we will be bypassing it on our way to Nainital tomorrow.

Our travel plan for today is going to cover Bageshwar, Baijnath Temple, Kausani Tea Garden, Kausani Shawl Factory and Anasakti Ashram. The tourist car charges are 2000 rupees.

At 10:00 am…

We start at around 10:30 am. A short distance away, we make a brief stop at Stay Inn, a new property of Pratiksha Hotels.

Room…

Restaurant…

It’s a small and nice place offering a lovely view of the snow-capped mountains…

And then, we resume our journey to Bageshwar, 42 km away.

Situated on the confluence of Sarayu and Gomati rivers, Bageshwar is surrounded by the mountains of Bhileshwar and Nileshwar to its east and west and by the Suraj Kund in the north and Agni Kund in the south. Bageshwar was a major trade mart between Tibet and Kumaon and was frequented by the Bhutia traders, who bartered Tibetan wares, wool, salt and borax in exchange for carpets and other local products in Bageshwar. The trade routes were, however, closed after the Indo-China War of 1962.

Bageshwar is mentioned in various ancient Hindu scriptures, where, it is associated with Lord Shiva. The city gets its name from the Bagnath Temple at the confluence of Sarayu and Gomati rivers, an ancient shrine of Bageshwar or Vyagreswar, the “Tiger Lord”, an epithet of Lord Shiva.

Bagnath Temple was built by the Kumaon king, Laxmi Chand, around 1450 AD, but there is a Sanskrit inscription dating to 7th century AD. It is decorated with bells of all sizes and features impressive carvings. There are a cluster of temples around.

We cross the sangam (confluence) of the two rivers to reach the fairgrounds.

View of Bagnath Temple and its surroundings from the fairgrounds…

The Uttarayani Mela (or Fair) is generally held in the second week of January every year on the holy occasion of Makar Sankranti. It is held at a number of places in Kumaon region of Uttarakhand, but the biggest fair has historically been that of Bageshwar. The ground of the sacred Bagnath Temple in Bageshwar, on the banks of River Saryu, becomes the venue for the fair which goes on for a week. During the Mela, when it is said the sun moves from Southern Hemisphere to Northern Hemisphere, it is reckoned auspicious to take a dip in the water of the river.

Large gatherings of people clad in bright and colourful clothes and in a joyous mood as they sing and dance is a visual treat. There are impressive performances by folk artists. People also take a dip in the holy river because the fair begins on a very auspicious day and it is believed that the dip purifies the soul as well as the body.

A variety of local produce such as iron and copper vessels, baskets, casks, bamboo articles, mats, mattresses, carpets, blankets, herbs, and spices can be purchased at the fair.

The fair used to attract around 15,000 people in the early twentieth century and was the largest fair in the Kumaon. Even today, when the fair is almost coming to an end, there are many visitors either at the numerous stalls selling everything from winter wear and garments to household articles or in the play zone area.

The main attraction for me is the Maut Ka Kuah (Well of Death). I have never seen these daredevil shows which are held at fairs across the country. So I’m excited to check it out here at the Bageshwar fair.

As expected, it’s a thrilling motorcycle performance and worth the wait of more than 35 minutes under the hot sun. We gaze down into the well in awe as the motorcycle rider zooms round and round the well, and then, with both his hands off the motorcycle handlebar, extending them out in the Titanic-pose.  

Maut Ka Kuah…  

There’s another performance with an automobile, but after another half an hour or so. Much as I wanted to watch it, I couldn’t because it would get late to return to Kausani for a sunset view.

On the way back, we buy a dozen of nice-looking Kinnow, a high yield mandarin hybrid cultivated extensively in the north Indian state of Punjab. The fruits and vegetables that we see everywhere around look so fresh and tempting.

Fresh greens…

Our next destination is Baijnath, 12 km from Kausani. Reaching, we stop for a while to have a quick meal.

Maggi noodles…

Mustard greens…

Baijnath Temple, a small town on the banks of the Gomati river, is noted for its ancient temples. It was the capital of the Katyuri kings who ruled over Garhwal and Kumaon from 7th to 13th century AD. Baijnath was then known as Kartikeyapura.

Baijnath Temple Complex…

Descriptive Board at the temple site…

An artificial lake built in 2016…

Yours truly…

The next stop is Kausani Tea Estate, the largest tea estate in Uttarakhand in terms of production. There are no guides here, so visitors can just climb and walk around the estate. The tea manufactured in this sprawling estate is exported internationally to the US, Australia, Korea and Germany. There’s nobody around when Swapna and I climb up to check the place. No plantation workers, and the factory seems to be closed. So we turn back.

Next stop is the Kausani Shawl Factory…

In addition to winter wear, shawls, garments, etc., the shopping area offers a variety of local organic products and souvenirs.

By the time we leave the place, it’s already 5:00 pm. The last stop before returning to our hotel is Anasakti Ashram. The sunset view from here is supposed to be awesome.

Anasakti Ashram…

Mahatma Gandhi stayed here for a while in 1929, writing the book ‘Anashakti Yoga’, a commentary on Bhagwat Gita. The ashram was founded by his disciple Sarla Ben (Katherine Hellemen). Gandhi’s charkha (spinning wheel) and other items are kept here. There’s a small library with a study room, where you can find books on Gandhian philosophy. A rest house offers spartan accommodation. There is a small prayer room where prayers are held every morning and evening. Another small room houses a collection of Gandhi’s photographs.

Sunset time…


We have tea and hot Kumaoni pakoras…

And then, it’s back to the hotel.

 

 

Saturday, January 25, 2020

 

It’s our last day at Pratiksha Himalayan Resort. After breakfast, we check a couple of souvenirs in the reception area. They have some books for sale too. A few travel souvenir magnets catch our fancy.

The small lounge space in the restaurant has a quaint chair…

The hotel’s Certificate of Excellence…

At 9:00 am, we start for Nainital (123 km), a major hill station and headquarters of Kumaon. About an hour later, we near Almora, situated on a ridge at the southern edge of the Kumaon Hills in the shape of a horse saddle shaped hillock.

 

View of Almora…



It’s a bright and sunny morning. The road is excellent, and the drive offers picturesque views of the mountains. And we have some lovely music playing on. Some time later, we stop for tea and maska-pav at a roadside restaurant. It’s very cold, so the hot tea is comforting.


Nainital is just an hour away…

 

 

 

Coming next: My Winter Holiday in Uttarakhand (Part III): Nainital

 

 

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