A Place I’ll never forget – Chandrashila

Ready, Set, Go, Repeat.

Just as monotony was about to set camp I discovered what I would really like to remember years and years down the lane. The beautiful mountains set on a canvas of the blue sky, the stranger who became a great friend, the history attached to that lady’s unique head gear and so on. The real treasure I realised is hidden somewhere I wasn’t looking at earlier! That marked the start of my journey to explore and experience some of the finest gifts that nature has to offer.

The very first- Chandrashila. A place that will stay with me forever.

My friend and I headed out with a small rucksack, very little cash and no plan whatsoever. We went to the bus station, only to realize that all three of the possible buses were completely full. Instead of going back and taking one the next day, we decided to take our chances and go to a place six hours from there banking on the possibility that we might find a connecting bus, which fortunately we did. After 20 hours, 5 buses and a generous lift from a driver, we reached Duggalbitta which is 14 km short of the base camp, Chopta.

The scenic view at Duggalbitta

Through the lush green forests, pin drop silence and our hearts beating out of our chests we sometimes even wandered into the wrong trails only to realize much later. Everything around us was either green or brown, and so real, that it made everything back in the city seem like rubble.

Before we could realize, it had already started to get dark and we were nowhere near our destination. However, we were lucky enough to find a campsite and decided to spend the night. It felt like a three dog night with our tent setup right in front of a stream that goes on to join the Mandakini river. The thunderous roar from the stream gushing down the hill made us realize her overpowering presence and the fact that it is us, who are the guests in her home.

It was only the next morning when we got to see what we were hearing last night, and my God, was it majestic! A scene out of a children’s book, with water finding its way around the plush green patches of the mountain, so pure, so serene.

What we had heard during the night and saw during the day

Soaking it all in, we trekked our way upwards and reached a deserted village.

We had thought that no place would be able to surpass the beauty of the place we had left in the morning. Well, we were wrong!

It was like entering an all new world inside of a snow globe, full of small bridges with water flowing under them, small cottages and the view of the snow clad mountains. It seemed like the humble abode of the Gods themselves.

The only ones there!

How is this place not famous?

Having had quite an eventful day, we finally reached Chopta and found a small lodge to spend the night where we got the room at the remarkable price of Rs. 300.

What followed was the D day, the final ascent to Chandrashila.

We packed our bags with necessities like water, protein bars, cameras and headed out to start the trek. The first 3.5 km was a very steep ascent and quite draining too. It was a well marked trail with a breathtaking view of the Garhwal Himalayas.

The way up

We climbed through the cool breeze and deserted homes to reach Tungnath, which is the highest temple of Lord Shiva perched at an astounding elevation of 12,073 feet above sea level. There was undoubtedly a spiritual air around the place engulfing the beautiful architecture.

Tungnath

We went further, only to see that the well-marked trail has now reduced to a very broken, narrow, steep and dangerous trail heading upwards.

We started climbing and all we could hear was the air and all we could see was the edge of the cliff, just 2 steps to our right. We climbed right through the fear and finally reached the top.

The path leading to Chandrashila

There was a pattern that I noticed – From Duggalbitta, through the campsite, the deserted village and then Chopta. There was a similar progression in all these places. All of them were completely untouched with each being more beautiful than the previous one. How did I deduce that, you ask?

Well, it was because I was staring at the answer! Chandrashila!

Oh My! That place. It just shut me up!

I finally understood what ‘not having words to describe something’ meant. We were feeling like literally on top of the world with endless mountains till as far as one could see, with clouds below us and the rays of the sun piercing through them.

Towards one side were the snow covered Garhwal Himalayas with Kedarnath and peaks like Bandarpunch in our sight. Whereas, on all the other sides were endless mountains and dense clouds. Even pictures were not able to do justice to the astounding beauty that was in front of us. We just sat there on the top, not saying a word to each other, listening to Pink Floyd and trying to take it all in. We took out a vest and wrote our names, date and a small quote- ‘Trek your way through life’ with a piece of charcoal we picked up on the way and left it there for anyone else to see.

Endless mountains

Chandrashila summit

We were trying to come to terms with the view when it had started to become a little dark and it was time for us to leave. We headed back down, but the memories of what we had just witnessed had taken over us, and the descent felt like a cakewalk.

We reached back to Chopta but had no conveyance to go further down, which is when we asked for a lift from a cab driver there. He gave us only one exhilarating option- to ride on the roof. We looked at each other and hopped on.

The sun had set and it was quite cold. We were on top of a car with 2 other people (and of course a big tyre), driving 30 km on extremely narrow roads to finally reach Ukimath. We were freezing when we got off but the experience was unparalleled.

Finally, after 3 buses and countless hours we reached home only to create a memory which is forever etched in my mind. Although it has been quite some time since this trip, I remember everything like it was yesterday and can relive the experience by just closing my eyes. With all the evidences to back me up, I can safely say that a part of me will forever be there in Chandrashila.

 

It begins with Chail

Travelling Solo? ….I used to think about it, dream about it….fantasize about it!.
I didn’t want it to become ‘ just a dream’ and wanted to act on it, so there i was on the day of my 20th b’day wanting to fulfill my dream instead of spending yet another b’day drinking with friends, i packed my bags and with what little i knew, decided to go to chail . My whole family was skeptical about the idea but my father was confident enough in me to let me go.

I arranged a few things,booked a ticket for the same evening , and was off to catch the bus.I entered the bus with a sense of purpose ,which ironically so, I had none.I had just booked a one way ticket to a place,with no idea what  I was to do there and more importantly , where I had to live.

I was just about to sit ,when the bus started  ,and I was officially ‘en-route’. There was no turning back. It took the bus around 30-45 min to reach the outskirts of Delhi ,that is when  a strange feeling of happiness came in me. It was because I had just realized that I was ACTUALLY doing what I had fantasized about for such a long time.

With wind in my hair and Pink Floyd in my ears the 8 hour journey didn’t seem that long. I got off at Kandaghat   where  I was supposed to wait for  another 2 hours for the bus that was to take me to chail. It was 6 in the morning ,the weather was amazing and I sat on the edge of the road , looking at the amazing view in front of me. Never had I admired nature the way I did at that place and time. But this quiet admiration got interrupted by a thunderous roar that I heard coming from down the road . To my amazement,  it was  a group of bikers coming this way one behind the other. I sat there in awe of them, feeling like a partner in their  journey, just only without a bike.

Biker’s Gang

It was a small bus and I went and sat on the last seat(old habbits) .The people seated with me were locals. They seemed to be mere acquaintances to each other at first, but as the bus started moving I realized that they considered  themselves as a close knit family. I felt like I was going on someone else’s family vacation ,because everyone in the bus just kept laughing and talking to each other, although I didn’t understand a word they said. It was a good change of pace looking at this, having come from a big metropolitan like Delhi where such occurances are very rare.

En route to Chail

I got off from the bus a few kilometers before the main market at an intersection ,and started walking downhill from there. I kept walking for a few kilometers  and never did I come across any vehicle or even any person for that matter. It was at that point when the feeling of me being ‘alone’  actually started to sink in. After walking for over an hour I came across a hoarding of a resort(Rashi Resort), so I decided to check it out .It was not too expensive so I took a room and kept all the clothes and other stuff in the closet. Not having eaten much, I immediately got something to eat and headed back out.

I asked the receptionist about unexplored locations in the area and he told me there are pathways connecting the roads that only the local people take which are empty most of the time. With no more thought I was off to check it out. After about half an hour, I found a trail leading upwards into the dense trees and bushes. It seemed to be a path no normal person would ever take, but then again ,who wants to be normal?

I head into the trail , it was a steep climb in a zig zag pattern. There came a point when just before the trail was bending towards the right there was a drop of more than a couple hundred ft. I stood there and in front of me was an amazing view of endless mountains for as far as I could see. It was the first time that I felt as one with nature. Everything around me was either green or brown.

Trail leading into the forest

On going a little further I had to climb up to reach the road, only to find another trail that was leading into the woods. It took me a little over an hour to reach the top, going through 3-4 such trails. I came out of the trees , panting, feeling like a nomad finally finding civilization. There were many shops  where asking around  led me to learn that Chail has the highest cricket ground in the world. That intrigued me quite a bit and I was bound to go there.

After walking for about 3 km uphill, I reached the ground.  There was nothing fancy about it ,just your average cricket ground that you find in every neighborhood in Delhi, yet had the distinction of being unique. I was taking photographs when a group of friends came up in their car. They were checking the place out and asked me to take a couple of pictures of them, so I obliged.  One thing led to another and we started talking, which is when I got to know that they had come from Punjab. The conversation was going quite smoothly up until I told them that I had come alone from Delhi. There was a moment of silence, followed by a series of questions, followed by endless praise. They looked at me with awe and told me how amazing it was, for me to do this. That look, those words were a reassurance that what I was doing was right. We took a picture with each other and parted ways. It was amazing how a few  strangers could influence me like that.

Highest Cricket ground in the world

I started on my way down in the afternoon and walked till I reached the market again. It was a lot more crowded than it was before. I sat there in the middle on a bench, a little tired. It was a very lively atmosphere with children playing cricket, the smell of food all around and of course the amazing weather.

It was already getting dark so I decided to eat something at a dhabha before heading back to the resort. I was famished , maybe that’s why everything in the Thali tasted the same and yet was equally good. By the time I finished eating ,it was dark and I couldn’t go back by the same route I came from( through the woods),so I had no other option but to walk downhill on the side of the road. I had a few more kilometres to go when I learnt an important lesson, that walking on the edge of the road , on a hill ,in total darkness, with cars coming at scary speeds , there is not much a phone flashlight can do to help ;p

Hiking at Night

Making it back to the resort (miraculously ;)) , I was beat and had to call it a day, hoping the next day would be just as eventful.

I slept like a baby and woke up fresh the next morning. By 8 am I had left the resort to go to Kali mata mandir which was 25-30 km uphill. I had just started when I was fortunate enough to get a lift from a person going to the same place. We hit it off really well, sharing our diverse experiences and backgrounds , so much so that we didn’t even realize that we reached there so fast.

 The entrance had a royal touch and was quite welcoming. It seemed  as if we were going to enter a castle like in the game of thrones.

Entrance to Kali Mata Mandir

It was on top of a hill and the weather was absolutely breathtaking with the fog so dense that I couldn’t even see properly beyond the boundaries.

Climbing a series of stairways led me to the main temple which appeared to be out of a scene of a Bollywood movie.

Kali Mata Mandir

I stayed there for an hour or so ,sitting on the ledge, taking photographs and listening to music. After a while,when I headed out of the temple I saw the person I came with, still there, taking photographs. So we decided to go back together again. We were in the car and had already covered half of the distance when it struck me that it was my last day in chail and I didn’t get a chance to be by myself, exploring things ,which was the sole purpose of my trip. So I asked the guy to let me off as I wanted to hike the rest of the way . We shook hands and went our separate ways.

At Kali mata mandir

I got off in the middle of nowhere and started walking down the road while looking at the picturesque view and listening to John Denver. Although it seems a bit cliché ,but was actually quite memorable . I walked for a long time until I reached back to my resort.

It was already noon when I reached, so I ate something, packed my bags and checked out of the resort. I asked around about the timing of the buses plying on that route and got on one after waiting for about half an hour.

My return journey had me changing 3 buses, that too while it was raining quite heavily, only to reach the railway station so as to cover the rest of the distance by train followed by covering 15 stations in the metro, followed by an auto to finally reach home, AND I WAS STILL in awe of the fact that I had actually Done what I had been planning for so long, which made this tedious journey seem like nothing.

This trip, although quite short , was responsible for instilling in me a sense of confidence and personal achievement. It was full of firsts and paved the way for many more amazing trips, helping me to meet new people and have new experiences.

Watch this space to know more.

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