a sojourn in uttarakhand-3

Day 3 of our short tour started with a shock. We contacted our driver and got the reply that he had left for Delhi because of some preoccupations. We were literally blown out of the water after this unexpected turn of the event. We enquired the local people about the available options and then headed toward the bus stand to catch the next bus and to reach Dehradoon. But we had to face another surprise. On our way our driver called us back and said that he was back with us, the reason he gave that he don’t want us to take pain at this time of the year and the reason which we supposed that he didn’t get any passengers for Delhi. So it was back to square one for us. All of us were together and were heading toward Dehradun.
There is a fundamental difference between the nature of the people visiting Haridwar and that of visiting Dehradun. Haridwar is more a religious place than a scenic. People come here from all part of the society whether it be rich or poor, middle or higher, rural or urban etc. the tourist at Haridwar are more on a pilgrimage than on a tour. But at Dehradun the situation is different. Tourists are here to enjoy the natural beauty of the place. The sky kissing mountains, the deep valley, treacherous path to the location is all together a different experience. On reaching Dehradun we enquired about the places to visit and headed toward Sahastradhara.
'Thousand fold spring' is the literal meaning of the term Sahastradhara. It is a lovely waterfall, with a depth of 9 meters. What makes the torrent so popular is its therapeutic value since its water contains Sulphur. Besides its medicinal merits, the stream presents a pictorial environ where one can spent hours in the calmness of silence. The Baldi River and the caves exaggerate the aesthetic beauty of the site. Sahasradhara’s water is filled with lime, and the residues it left behind forms a projecting ridge, in the shape of a cave, on the top of which the water dance like a shower. This enchanting scenery and the lush vegetation makes this stunning spot a tourist’s dream destination, where one avail a tranquil holiday.
On reaching here we had a quick bath. The flow of the water, the enchanting surroundings and it’s much acclaimed therapeutic value increased our enjoyment. After having bath and recreation it was time for us to have some breakfast. Our next destination was Mussourie. You all must have heard about the scenic beauty of the Mussourie. But the path to reach Mussourie is itself very eventful. The deep curves, the heart throbbing cuts, narrow roads and all these adjoining the high raised mountains are sure to give you a life time experience while traveling. We reached Mussourie and headed to Campty fall. The road to Campty fall was again filled with thrill, adventure, beauty and fun. This was my second trip to Campty fall. My earlier one was with my family a long 17 or 18 years back. It is difficult to recall any thing after such a long period of time, but I remember that I Campty fall used not to be the same when I came here last time. A lot of manual interference hence altogether changed the landscape. Artificial reservoir, cemented boundary, man made bridge is only to name the few. The water reservoir was looking more as a swimming pool than a natural reservoir. A lot of construction work was still undergoing.
The journey to Campty Fall was covered partly through cab and partly on foot. While going to the fall the path had a downward slope, and it was easy to cover that distance. Thanks to the district administration the road was in good condition and a lot of shops were available for refreshments and other stuffs. Campty Fall was heavily crowded. Tourists were there from all the age group and both the gender. After changing into the swimming costume and keeping our valuable in the safety locker we descended into the pool. The water was ice cool, chilling, gelid and what not. For initial 10 to 15 minutes my body was unable to adjust to the temperature of the pool. I have been to Rishikesh, Haridwar and Sahastradhara but he water over here was undoubtedly more bone chilling then anywhere else. But once our body adjusted to the water than it was nothing but loads and loads of fun. The water descended from a very high cliff and came down to us with full force and vigor. The fun was endless, the joy was incomparable and enjoyment is inexplicable. Seems it is the most fitting end to our tour of 3 days. When we came out of the pool after almost 2 hours then another story started. Our bodies were shacking as if they are a mobile on vibration mode. Especially I was not able to adjust myself to the temperature. The food was obviously at double the rate as compared to plane. Tea 10 Rs. a cup, hide and seek 20 Rs. a packet and so on. Even then I had 3 cup of tee due to my unstable state. Now it was the time to get back to the cab. On our way we found some lovely chicks and Amit had the honor to click them. Life is real fun with friends.
Now we were at our way back to Mussourie. On our path we went across famous Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Adminstration, where the best brain of the country studies. On coming back to Mussourie and parking our cab we were again on our foot. Driver told us to free ourselves before 5 in the evening so we can reach Delhi on time. The road where all the shops are located is known as Maal Road. Visiting Hill station is always fun. Being surrounded with hill on one side and cliff on the other was enough to give us a memorable view of the surroundings. After visiting some spots we reached trolley point. Here the trolley goes to a mountain point called gun hill point. It is said that from here one can have the view of whole of Mussourie. This was the most suitable place for photo shoot but unfortunately Amit’s camera gave up at this point. Hari’s mobile came for our rescue. While we were climbing a small rift to have a better look of the surroundings, Hari’s leg slipped and he had a minor accident. Initially it seemed as something trifle but we found that he was unable to bear his weight (on coming to Noida he had a plaster on it). As one of our tour member was injured, we had no other choice but to return to the camp. The driver was also continuously calling us to embark on the return journey. As it was Tuesday, I looked for a hanuman temple and soon found one. I gave the temple a brief visit and soon joined the group.
After about half an hour we were on our way back to the Noida. Hari occupied the back seat due to his injury; Dushyant joined Hari help him. And we sat comfortably on the middle seat. The road back to Mussourie was again the same but most of were tired and sleepy to enjoy the beauty any more. On reaching the plane Amit did some photo session of the chicks on the road, and was about to be slapped on at least two occasion.
On or way back we had to take the longer route as the administration had closed some of the route seeing the heavy rush in traffic. The journey was almost over. On our way back we had snacks and dinner in the night. Almost at 1 am in the morning we reached the Jaipuriya apartments (where Hari and group stay). After 3 long blogs I don’t need to say anything in conclusion. That was the end of a lovely tour.