April 15th, 2016
If you are living in Delhi and you are an avid traveller you cannot spend a long weekend sitting back at home doing nothing . We rather choose a “ Do nothing “ vacation. So don’t expect my blog to provide you info about nearby Interesting places or what to shop …kind of stuff. Its ….Do nothing…just drive in to your stay….enjoy the local food….wake up to the chirping of birds…see the landscape when the first ray of the sun touches it….watch carefully how the butterfly sucks the nectar on a bright sunny day…see the birds busy finding its favorite food.
This Ram Navami we had a long weekend and on the dinner table when my hubby declared that it will be a holiday for him too …we took no time to decide Chakrata, a small quaint village in the lap of Himalayas as our destination.
Finally the day came and our “Fantastic Five” were all set to enjoy our next vacation.
Members of Fantastic Five:
1)My daughter, Anushka
2) My hubby, Arnab
3)My 11 years old dog Lassy, who has experience of 10 years of travelling
4) My 1 year old dog, Chocos,who did his first road trip when he was just 2 months old
5) And myself
We set off at 6:30 in the morning.
I think many people were on vacation spree , as a result there was quite a lot of traffic on the road. Crossing the Delhi border was uneventful and with the usual attention that our car gets. We are used to the gaze and attention that we get…. All thanks to Lassy and Chocos…. Lassy acts like a celebrity and doesnot even bother to look towards the people whereas Chocos gives a smile ( yes…dogs do that ) and waves his tail at them.
Crossing the border, we thought of satisfying our grumbling stomach… we took a breakfast stop. We had chicken burgers packed with us. Seeing the number of people buzzing infront of all the dhabas, we patted our back for the decision of carrying food along with us.
Now about the route we followed. On taking experts opinion we knew that this route is fastest.
Delhi – Karnal – Indri – Ladwa – Yamuna nagar – Paonta Sahib – Chakrata.
Road map Delhi to Ramtal Resort, Chakrata
After about 1 hour from Yamunanagar the green cover by the road started to get denser. Sometimes ignorance leads to wonderful surprises😊 we did not know that the road moves thro’ the outskirts of Kaleswar national park of Haryana.
We didnot miss the photo op😆……got down from our car and took some photographs…
Photo_op @ Kaleswar National Park
Needless to say, we did not encounter any wild animals …only monkeys in large groups were ruling the road…
The road thro’ the National Park
At Sahiya , instead of taking the road towards Chakrata, take the road towards Yamunotri to reach Ramtal resort.
The road towards Ramtal is quite narrow. Driving on this road you will lose count of the number of curves….the surface of the road was excellent throught. While we were ascending the mountain it appeared we were the only inhabitant of the land…. No people were to be seen…. Few mud houses were scattered over the mountains far from each other….. our car moved through the dense forest of pines, deodars and rhododendrons. The valley was claded in red as the rhododendrons were in its full blossom.
We reached the resort at 3.30….
Ramtal resort….consists of just 5 swiss tents….very neat with attached bathrooms. All the tents faces the valley.
Ramtal Resort, Chakrata
As you step outside the resort premises there is a ground which is flat surrounded by rolling hill slopes…. it appears as if nature has created a stadium….
After taking a short walk in the evening, we had an early dinner and went to bed.
April 16th, 2016
Nature has its own melodious way of starting your day which gets lost in the mechanical alarms that we rise up to every morning in the city.
I opened my eyes to the chirping of birds at Ramtal resort. I left my bed without any hurry and sank myself on the chair placed in the porch of the camp. Chirping of birds filled the air, the fresh white daisies swayed when the breeze touched them. The rays of the sun touched the top of the mountains while the valley was still waiting patiently for the warmth.
“Such a beautiful morning should be enjoyed with a hot cup of tea”. As I thought of leaving the warmth of my chair, a staff member with a flask filled with tea appeared. He poured the tea into the cups for me and my hubby and moved hurriedly to the next camp. We two sat there enjoying every sip without any rush.
It was quite late when they served the breakfast due to full occupancy at the place and there was only two staff to serve them. But the poori sabji that they served after long wait for breakfast would make anyone drool and we concentrated more on the food, forgetting and forgiving for the delay.
After breakfast, we went out to explore the place.
Just beside the resort is the Ramtal park. A black arched gate marked it’s entrance . The slopes of the mountain in the garden had deodars, pines , silver oaks and apples . We kept on walking on the track. The slopes on the side of the track were covered with different types of ferns, algaes and small plants bearing tiny flowers. The serpentine road down below moving along the mountains presented a picturesque scene.
Black Arched gate marked the entry of the garden(taken from the top )
Terraced slope and a double-storied mud hut in our vicinity
The serpentine road
It was midday and temperature was soaring so we decided to return to our camp.
The camps were quite spacious with a double bed and a single bed. There was a wooden stand with electric boards and switches.
The lunch was ready. The cook deserves appreciation…every meal out of his kitchen was perfect and tasty.
Anupam, the owner had previously informed me that sunrise and sunset both can be viewed from the place. We missed the sunrise but didnot want to miss the sunset.
We , walked uphill and reached a lonely, newly built cottage which was uninhabited at that moment. We sat on the porch of the cottage and watched the color of the sky slowly changing as the sun started descending. The valley down below looked so beautiful. Smoke was coming out of the chimneys of some mud huts. The villagers have lit up the chulhas to cook dinner. Some kids were playing cricket in the nearby field down below and their cacophony filled up the evening air.
The sun preparing itself to take leave for the day. The presence of cotton-like clouds sailing In the sky during sunset filled the sky with a rich golden color.
Gradually , it started getting dark … So we slowly walked towards our camp.
No words are expressive enough to describe this sunset
Splash of colors
The evening went by chatting, playing board games….. There was so much time for each other. Time …..the costliest asset in todays world…. we utilised each moment to the fullest.
Had a home made( like ) dinner…. Chicken was served in addition to dal, chawal and sabji.
Next morning , we left for home, only after savoring the yummulicious chole bhature.
We left chakrata full of energy to take on the chaotic, mechanical city life……
Let the nature fillup your senses
Welcome aboard, Minakshi! It seems to be a nice place. Those pictures are simply wonderful. Keep travelling and keep writing :-)
Thanks for your appreciation…
Dear Minakshi
Thanks for such a nice post. It is quite informative and makes me curious to visit Chakrata. In fact, I have plans to visit nearby places like Lakhamandal.
I am surprised to know that you travel with your two dogs. How do you look after them during travel and stay in hotel.
I have a dog who is two years old and I cannot take him with me in my car as hotels don’t allow him to stay with us.
Kindly provide some suggestions.
Hello Ajay..
It’s really nice to hear that you are eager to take your pet along on your next vacation.
It is quite an old post ..at that time we had two dogs but now we have five..and yes, we do travel with all of them .
Many dogs have motion sickness, if your dog has that, please do give him a domstal or similar medicine which will take care of his nausea. Best is to ask a vet.
Feed him atleast 2 hours prior to the journey and in moderate amount.
Give him water in small amount whenever you take a break during the journey..
Try to take a break in every 2 hours and get him out of the car to relieve himself and take a walk.
For hotel booking..we refer to TripAdvisor or similar ones and use filter “pet friendly”
We email these hotels and very specifically mention about them . If the hotels, gladly accept their presence,and believe me, there are lots of hotels who do so, we go ahead with booking.
Scene is much better now in pet travels as compared to when we started travelling with our first furry kid in 2004.
So..go ahead ..
Happy travelling..
Very well articulated and beautifully written journey!
Your words actually transposed me to this little lovely place!
Regards
Vikas Saxena
Thanks a lot Vikas for those encouraging words..
The place is as if beckoning me to visit it now. What nature’s bounty!! Keep adding such posts.
Dear Sharmistha,
Words of appreciation always acts as an encouragement…thanks for your appreciation..
Minakshi,
Well explained about your journey to Chakrata. I am also planning to visit by the same route.
One thing, you said the distance from Delhi is 327 kms and expected time to reach is 7 hours 5 minutes. How come you took 9 hours to reach?
There were 2 reasons :
It was a long weekend so NH 1 was totally packed
The hill roads were narrow and curvy and you cannot maintain speed beyond 30km/hr…atleast we could not do it…
Great post Minakshi. Your pets are Ghumakkars too.. that is surely your impact on them :)
Very nice post and the Swiss tents really look welcoming.. I have stayed in tents only once until now and your pictures make me wish for more stays!!
Yes Archana …my pets are great ghumakkars…and we always take them along with us for vacations.
We have stayed at tents twice before at Shivpuri near river Ganges…it was an amazing experience too..
Welcome aboard Minakshi.
The last photo sums up it all. I visited Chakrata long time back, I think in 2003 or so. During that time, it was a one way street for the last 30 kilometres and there were gates on both sides which would open at fixed time. This stretch was narrow and prone to landslides and what not and hence it needed extra attention. The town, being a cantt, was clean but hardly any tourists.
You reminded me of our drive. Hope to read from you and see more of your dogs :-)
Wow…what an experience it must have been…thanks for sharing it.
Whenever I will write a travelogue..you will find my dogs in it…as they are part of our travel team.
Hi Minakshi,
Can you please share the details of the place where you stayed and the contact number. We are also planning to go to Chakrata with our cute dog Buzo.
Aman
Hi Aman,
I am sure Buzo will be super happy at this place and so will be his human companions..
This is there website..you will get all the details here:
http://ramtalresort.com/
Just an advice, don’t go there during summer months.
Hi Minakshi, just one word to say, ‘Breathtaking’!!!! :)
Hi Pooja,
It was really a rejuvenating experience for us too.
Hi Minakshi, Thanks a lot for wonderful story of your sojourn at Chakrata. We are planning to leave for Chakrata day after tomorrow and I wanted to confirm which road to take since Vikasnagar – Chakrata road is reportedly in bad shape. We also have plans to stay at Ramtal Resort and your experience of their kitchen is definitely encouraging.
You advised not to go to Chakrata in summer months. Is our decision to visit there a bad one? Will it be hot and humid there?
Best regards,
Sushant Singhal
I am so sorry that I was not able to answer your queries on time..was pretty busy travelling myself .
We visited there in April and it was hot during daytime..the camp didnot have any provision of fan.
Did you visit Chakrata ??? If yes, would be waiting to know your experience.
Sushant Sir – I read this recently, last week.
http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/uttarakhand-8-dead-9-injured-as-vehicle-topples-2890820/
I have driven to this place a really long time back but I am not too sure how much things would have improved. Driving in Garhwal in rains is not a great idea, in my opinion.
Minakhsi was there recently so she would know better.
Hi Meenakshi!
Me n my family r planning for Chakrata next weekend but we can’t leave b4 4 in d evening on Thursday. So I was wondering could you suggest me some hotel on the way so that I reach there in 5-6 hours and next morning Around 11 we could leave for chakrata.We want to spend a lazy weekend
hey! sorry for incomplete comment.. Also wanted to mention that I wanted to stay in some nice Quint place on the way from delhi to Chakrata..so hotel in preferably some nice village or town on the way.
Dear Minakshi
It was a very good and elaborate travelogue about the beauty of Chakrata which evoked a desire in me to visit this place at the earliest.
I’ve a 15 months old dog whom I intend to take along but not sure where to keep it as no hotel will allow him to stay with us.
Since you have been travelling with your dogs for many years, can help me by sharing your experience that how did you solve this problem of accommodation of your dogs
Hey Ajay..it is great to hear that you would love to travel with your dogs.
Now my gang has increased from 2 furry members to 5 and still we always go on vacation with them.
After picking up our holiday destination , we look for good spacious resorts which are pet friendly. Almost all the booking sites have options to select pet friendly ones. After selecting the place I call them and email them with all my pax details. Once they confirm we proceed with the payment.
Let me know, if you have any more queries.
Happy travelling