19/01
19/01
For quite some long time, me and my hostel roommates were planning a trip to Mussoorie. As our college was in Dehradun itself, Mussoorie was just an hour drive from there. There is government bus service which runs from Dehradun to Mussoorie in every half an hour but you’ll not get this bus from the usual ISBT, there is a separate bus stand for these buses near railway station. Travelling by the bus was a cheaper option but we decided to rent bikes as we wanted to enjoy the beautiful scenery and stop at our own convenience.
In total we were 5 boys including myself so we decide to rent 2 scooties and one Royal Enfield, which costed us 500 each for the scooty and 1300 for the bullet per day. Our day started at round 9am as we left our hostel and fueled up our bikes and took the fastest route to Mussoorie which was via Rajpur road. We took a break at the famous Maggie point to enjoy the hot pahadi Maggie and chai with a terrific view, we also clicked some good photos there. Including the Maggie break it took us one and a half hour from the starting point to reach Mussoorie mall road.
As we reached Mussoorie, the cool breeze welcomed us, taking all our fatigue away in a moment. But we all were confused that time about where to go now, as there were many tourist places and covering all of them was not possible in a single day so we ended up deciding to do the George Everest trek as we all had heard many things about that place from our local friends. It took us around 20 mins from the main Mussoorie mall road to the parking of George Everest. There is no entry fees or ticket required.
As it was winter season that time so the trek path had many small patches of snow which was making the ground slippery for us to walk. It took us around half an hour to reach the top but after reaching there we realized that the actual peak was far more away and also it does not have any proper way to reach there. So finally, we all decided and made our mind to climb the trek and reach the final top as coming here would be a waste without reaching the top. We faced a hell lot of difficulties and challenges while climbing up as we had to make our own way and we were also at a good height so it was risky too. The experience was full of adventure and thrill and specially for one of our friends who was from Kolkata as he have had no such past experience of this kind of trek. After making to the top we all were very amazed by the beauty as we were above the clouds and the view from there was just mind-blowing. That place had a very peaceful vibe, it was worth the efforts we did to reach there. When we were coming down from there, we realized that there was a way for coming up but very few people knew that. It was left from the snack shop which came in the way while climbing up to the George Everest base. After coming down all of us were hungry so we had a good lunch at Mussoorie mall road and then we decided to return back as we all were really tired.
Our small one-day trip went much better than what we expected, we ended it up by having the best mutton momos in Ghari Cantt. On my way back to Dehradun, the next morning, my memories were revolving around the scenic beauty of that place, which truly is called, the ‘Queen of the Hills’. I would never forget that ‘fairyland’ atmosphere in my lifetime.
09/02
09/02
Mussoorie also known as the queen of hills has many beautiful places nearby which can be recreational, peaceful and basically anything depending on what you want it to be. But today I am going to give you my insight on the crown of the Queen of hills, that is the Mall Road.
There are dozens of things you can do on mall road from shopping fancy and trendy clothes, first copy items which most probably you won’t be able to differentiate from the original ones. You can have your food here even if you are someone planning a trip on tight budget. There are many exotic restaurants and hotels here on the mall road. For teenagers it is like a place where they can take cool pictures, for couples it’s a place to just walk and what is better than just a lovely walk and for parents you can get strollers here for your kids and even cycles. Mall road is also a great place if you are an artist, you can just take your items and do your art there like no one is watching to kill your fear to face public, you can dance with your own music, play your music and sing, sit on the road side and paint or you can do anything that fills you with joy.
Mall Road has two sides to it. One is the day time and other is night time. In day its averagely crowded and you can take bright pictures and find whatever you are seeking. As the evening arrives the crowd starts to increase, this is the time when you can just feel the atmosphere filled with hustle bustle of all sorts of people. The crowd is at peak from evening till 8-9 pm at night as people start to head back to their accommodation after that. If you are a solo person, a couple or anyone who enjoys the grace of night, silence, minimal crowd or just the presence of your partner then you should surely visit here at night after diner. Day will give you a bright view of the doon valley but the night will give a beautiful sky filled with stars and doon valley glowing in the dark.
06/03
06/03
One of the most beautiful places near Mussoorie where you can feel your lungs getting filled with oxygen which gets you high as you inhale it with the positive energy around it. Surkanda Devi Temple is situated in Dhanaulti which is just 1-2 hour ride from either Dehradun or Mussoorie depending on how many breaks you take to enjoy the scenic view. You can reach here by road enjoying the breathtaking scenery along the way, if the weather is clear you can even see Himalayas when you head to the temple. After the road journey is finished it is a 2 kilometer uphill walk to the temple. There are shops on the way if you need hydration or food. You can buy offerings too from the shops.
When you reach the temple you can feel all the fatigue dissolving as you feel your surroundings. It’s a beautiful temple with a great story about Goddess Sati who self-immolated herself in the Yajna as she and her husband Lord Shiva was insulted by her father Daksha Prajapati. This triggered Shiva’s wrath, he held his wife’s dead body and went on a rampage to destroy everything that comes in way till the body rots to nothing. To stop this all the gods prayed to Lord Vishnu who after hearing the gods used his ultimate weapon Sudarshan Chakra and destroyed the body of Sati. When the body was destroyed, its different parts fell in many places which are current Shakti Peeths. Surkanda Devi temple is one of the places where a part of her body fell.
At the top after you have gathered your breath and blessings, you can look around as the temple premises gives a 360 degree view of the surrounding area.
Mountains, Beautiful sun and snowy Himalayan peaks;
What else do we need to be at peace.
For the people who are sensitive to energies or people who meditate will feel a surge of energy. People who are always up for exploration will find it a place filled with amusement and people who want to feel relaxed and at peace will find it there.
15/02
15/02
From beginning, I love travelling and exploring new places. And at this time I was introduced to my new phase of life that is college. My college is in Dehradun and I was really excited as it being just on the foothills of mountains and surrounded by all of them. So I got admission in the month of august, which is also a good season to visit in Dehradun. I opt for hostel and was introduced to my roommates. After spending more than half a month, we developed some understanding among us and now since a Sunday was approaching, we decided to visit some places in Dehradun. We started our search from internet, talked many local friends and relatives and then made up our mind. So the place that we decided was Robber’s Cave or( Gucchupani ). We were really excited as first of all it was a place where everyone would love to it and second it had some history behind it, as locals metioned that some years back this was a secret passage for robbers to get into the city without anyone noticing them. So we all were ready and waiting for Sunday to arrive.
Sunday finally arrived and as we expected we were ready to leave for our first trip. We all woke up on time, wore some light clothes and had our one “waterproof” bag ready, since there was water in those caves. So our college was near to Dehradun bus station, so it was not very difficult for us to get vehicles. We booked one Vikram or auto-rickshaw since we were a group of 6 people and took off for our destination. Robber’s Cave is situated at a distance of 14km from Dehradun bus station and 10km from Dehradun railway station. So, it approximately took us more than half an hour to reach to our destination but, at that time few drops fall on our heads, but we ignored it since it was light rain and then continued. So now we were at the entrance of that place(still caves are some metres away from entrance) and took the tickets from the counter(costing Rs 25 per person) and as we walked we started noticing crowd. People were there in a good number and it was there when we got some good feeling, but rain suddenly increasing its speed, which made us a little worried, but we continued towards our destination and we finally arrived on the entrance of caves. Water flowing through caves and cold water touching your feets gives such a good feeling, but now we a bigger problem stated to emerge and that was rain. It was escalating at a great speed, so we started moving into the caves without wasting any time but now situations there were not so good, so guards were backing up people from the caves and that was how one of our friend couldn’t go into the caves. Now we five were left but still there were many people with us and enjoying the moment. As we walked in, the water started to rise from our feets to legs and then to waist. The caves from inside look very beautiful and there our many stops where you can climb, rest and have some pictures clicked. But in our case rain we couldn’t do that much since rain was on its maximum level and guards have come inside to clear the place as water level was rising at a very fast rate. So we also backed up and started moving towards the entrance. As we were moving we felt like something was falling on our heads other than rocks, so when we looked upside we saw small pieces of rocks and sand falling, which made it more worse for us. But somehow we finally arrived at the entrance, reached to our friend who was left behind and started leaving. But suddenly a idea about our phones arrived in our mind and when we zipped off that ”waterproof bag” we saw our phones were all wet. We didn’t know what to do at that time, since it was raining also, so we decided to take some shelter and then look towards our phones. So there is a café in the compound of this place which was big enough. So we got inside it, get us something to eat since we were hungry at that time and then have a look towards our phones. Our phones were still partially working and we felt that they would start working normally after some time. Then we got out of the entrance and felt to drink some tea since rain was still on its move, so we had some time tea and at that time rain stopped. Now we were in such a condition that from head to toe we all were wet as well as our phones also. So we quickly got into a local bus and took off for our hostel. It was in bus we realised that how could our phones get wet in a “waterproof” bagpack, but it was very late as we tried to switch on our phones nothing happened and 3 out of 6 phones were not working. It was a shock for all of us but we got learn many things from this trip.
So, the conclusion from this trip would be first that dehradun’s weather is unpredictable and avoid going to watery places in Dehradun during rainy season and second if still you want to go then go with a full preparation that is carry some waterproof things(which should be genuine). But still this trip is worth remembering for us (excluding our phones got destroyed) since it was a trip to a new place with new friends. I am looking up for such trips in future.