A sweet chirping sound woke me up. Glancing through the window, I saw a couple of birds hovering over a tree’s branch. In the background, sky seemed to be a color tray of reds, blues and blacks. It must be early morning, I reckoned. I wanted to sleep, but the sound of the birds was equally irresistible to avoid. Back in Delhi, I was not accustomed to hear such sounds at least naturally (I have a chirping bird call bell though). Fascinated and impressed, I shoved off the quilt, walked to the balcony and greeted the day. The quietness of the morning was so good to experience. The nature was brilliantly articulate in expressing the onset of the morning. The light emerged lazily and in a tender manner as if a sapling breaking out of wet mud. Instead of noise, there were sounds, musical sounds of nature. This was my first morning in Dhanaulti.
Dhanaulti, a quite hill station around 25 km from more popular Musoorie makes a good excursion for travelers. We arrived here the day before from Musoorie, late afternoon. The spiral journey amidst the green valleys from Musoorie to Dhanaulti was a mesmerizing experience in itself. A jeep briskly drove us around the valley ascending roughly 2000 feets above Musoorie. We were determined to leave the last trail of society far behind and reach a place where nature is the dominant force. Whenever the jeep stopped, I proudly looked down the valley and mocked the ‘electric’ civilization that I left below.
The habited Dhanaulti is a half-kilometer straight stretch of hotels and residences, enclosed by two Eco parks on both ends. The Eco parks are the main attraction of the place. They are protected patch of small forest containing mostly Deodar trees. But the faint mimicry of forest like ambience was tempting enough for me who was used to live in Delhi. Every now or then a chunk of cloud would pass by us, blurring the entire area. We trekked into the forest until there was no trail left. The park had a crafty design. It had a couple of view points, bunch of meditation joints all facing towards the snow capped ranges of Himalaya visible at a distance. However, the sun was about to set and it was gripping cold. Not heavily clothed, we decided to head back to the warmth of our hotel room. I had little idea that my ‘TRAVEL ENLIGHTENMENT’ is waiting to happen inside the hotel room.
Tired from the day’s trek, I leaped to my bed. I still felt cold. I swayed my eyes to check over the window’s latch and I witnessed the best sight I ever had in my life. The sun had just set, leaving behind a stretch of bright taillight. The clouds had receded to our height, but down the valley thick mist still existed. The setting sun left a pale orange light at the threshold of the clouds. The vast sea of mist spread limitless as far as our eyes could see. The grandness of nature was endearing to watch. And all that from the coziness of our hotel room, sipping a cup of black coffee. The moment was bliss.
The grandeur was so vast and limitless that it never appeared Earthly. As if it was a symbolic display of cosmic truth. The mist seem to be representing the world that we live in. We are the tiny drops that constitute that mist, so very attached and absorbed in that haze. But up there a blessed energy awaits us. Only if we have the courage and awareness to unbound from this ocean of mist and set our selves free.
These were thoughts too deep for me to answer and generally such thoughts lead me to a good nights sleep. So happened that night aswell.
Thankfully this morning was sunny. We wrapped up the other Eco park today, all along clicking some fabulous pictures. This park had an excellent view of the Himalayan ranges including Nanda devi among other peaks. In the afternoon we decided to get back to Musoorie and stroll along the Mall road till the evening when we drive back to Delhi.
Back at Musoorie, we roamed and strolled along the Mall road until tired. Boarding at much recommended ‘Chick Chocolate’, a fast food café joint and relishing over the hot chocolate fudge, we had a lot of sweet memories to contemplate.
I have heard lot about Dhanaulti and snow there in winters but had never been there.
Musoorie i had been many times.
The Pic that you had taken from your hotel room is one the best i have seen this season.
Great !
Thanks Abhishek…. it was a pleasent coincident that we witnessed that sight
OMG that photo from your hotel room was awesome. I was staring at it for so long that the clouds seemed to float. Great. Any details about which hotel that was ?
Patrick
thts amazing ….. I stayed at Himalaya guest house, however thr are very few hotels thr and anyone facing the valley (opposite the himalayan ranges) would have given this view that day
Dhanaulti is one of my favorite Hill station, I have been to this place many times , my last visit was in June -10. Thanks for refreshing the memories.
Keep writing.
Thanks Mahesh
Great photos. Memories of my visit to Dhanaulti in May 1998 had nearly faded. Thanks for refreshing them. Which hotel did you stay in Dhanaulti? I don’t remember seeing any hotels in 1998 except for the tourist bungalow of Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam.
I stayed at Himalaya Guest House .. its between the two Eco parks
Very Very nice Abhinav. The photographs were out of the world.
Very Very nice Abhinav. The photographs were out of the world. keep writng for Ghumakkar and share your experiences.
thanks Sishir
not only are the pics good, the writing surpasses any that i have read at ghumakkar……….. from the first paragraph onwards it was fun to read…. gr8
I am delighted to hear that Onil.. thnx
Abhinav,
Mesmerizing write-up. Loved the way you described Dhanaulti. Keep it up.
the pic before the last one, landscape with the window frame in front, is brilliant. Your write-ups are always spiritual :-)
write more.
Hi,
I went to Dhanaulti, for a day, on 21st Dec. Its a beautiful place. But the best part i liked was the Surkanda Devi temple… which requires 1.5 KM of steep trek. The views from the top were awesome. Did you try that?
Unforunately we missed the temple trip….. I generally avoid temples and religious sites during my trip… had I known that it involves a trek, I would have surely gone :-(
Dear All,
We are planning to visit Dhanaulti in Jan / Feb 2015. Our main motto is to enjoy snow.
Can you please advise the dates on which we should travel.
Best regards,
Manish Katoch
That is the best time to visit the place. Infact it remains covered in snow till april. However, climate and time is changing :-) .. you can never be sure. The best idea is to call the hotel before you depart. Dont depend on internet for forecast.. internet only knows mossourie
Thanks Abhinav….. will plan accordingly……