A CONVENIENT HAVEN FOR PHYSICAL &
SPIRITUAL REALMS
June 2024
“While the hustle and bustle of the ‘Char Dham Yatra’ into the Garhwal
hills is the main focus of the tourist influx in Uttarakhand, the cognisant are
happier undergoing mystic communion in the relative solitude of the pristine
Kumaon hills, where the earth and etheric energies conjoin to offer a
privileged treat for pursuing physical as well as spiritual quests.” – Col
RS Sidhu
The Hills of Uttarakhand
In the public consciousness at large,
there is no denying the allure of the Garhwal and Kumaon hills of Uttarakhand.
These two adjoining hill regions, have their own distinct ethnicity, culture,
language, and way of life.
Come summer vacations, tourists in
hundreds of thousands ascend the hills of Uttarakhand to escape the scorching
heat of the plains, polluted environment of urban population centres, and the
humdrum routine of their daily life. It is another issue that this moving mass
of humans and motor vehicles orchestrate the very same chaotic environment that
these visitors are trying to temporarily escape.
To the adventurously inclined Uttarakhand
offers the lure of climbing the high and forbidding Himalayan peaks, rafting
down the rapids of the Himalayan rivers, paragliding on the abundant thermal
air currents in the low Himalayan foothills, and trekking the numerous trails
passing through pristine hills, verdant valleys, and glaciated terrain of the
central Himalayas.
To the environmentalist Uttarakhand
offers thirteen large biodiversity nature parks, forest reserves, avian and
animal wild life sanctuaries, of which the Jim Corbett and the Rajaji National
Parks are more renowned because of their relatively easier accessibility.
For the religiously inclined the
Garhwal hills of Uttarakhand offer the opportunity to undertake ‘Char Dham
Yatra’ to seek blessings at Badrinath and Kedarnath shrines, and salvation
dip in the holy waters at Gangotri and Yamunotri, the mouth of two of the most
sacred rivers of India. Those unable to undertake this arduous week or so
duration of pilgrimage, due to time or physical constraints to withstand the
rigours of travel in high altitude terrain, are content to take a holy dip in
the Ganga at Har Ki Pauri in Haridwar or at multitude of ‘ghats and ashrams’
along the river Ganga at Rishikesh.
The Kumaon hills, on the other hand, have
their own bounteous locations that offer distinctive experiences to the
visitors. One such unique gem of a locale is the Binsar Wild Life Sanctuary
(BWLS).
Unique Location of BWLS
But what is lesser known is the proximity of BWLS to the Patal
Bhuvneshwar and Patal Devi shrines lying in close vicinity to the Kasar Devi
and Katarmal Sun temples, which together epitomise the cosmic union of the
earth and etheric energies. The principle of duality at work yet again. No
wonder, the region around Almora is awash with ‘sidh peeths’ (spiritual
centres) such as Neeb Karoli Baba, Dol Ashram, Sharada Math, and Buddhist and
Christian spiritual retreats.
The sanctuary is spread over 47
square kilometres, with ‘Zero Point’ at an altitude of 8000’ being the highest
vantage point. On a clear day ‘Zero
Point’ offers a 180 degree panoramic view of the main Himalayan range peaks,
such as Chaukhamba, Trishul, Nanda Devi, Shivling and Panchachuli, amongst
others. Apart from the broken approach road, which leads close to the
top, there are numerous bird watching trails crisscrossing over the extensive
hilly terrain. An idyllic magnet for
the true nature lovers.
Five isolated residential resorts are
scattered across the upper reaches of the BWLS, thereby giving exclusivity to
the residents.
Day 1 –
The Road Drive from Dehra Dun to BWLS
We started off from Dehra Dun in a
Maruti Ignis at 5.45 AM, to beat the ‘Char Dham Yatra’ traffic rush. Crossing
through Haridwar and Najibabad in the early hours of the morning was a breeze,
as we literally had the road to ourselves except for sundry local vehicular
movement. After Najibabad we got onto the four lane toll road leading to Rudrapur.
After Kashipur we turned off the toll
road at Bajpur to move on a secondary road towards Kaladhungi and thence onto
Nainital. The Kaladhungi – Nainital road winds through low forested hills,
making the drive enjoyable. Just short
of Nainital we took the recently constructed bypass which led us to the Bhimtal
– Bhowali road. From here onwards there was distinct increase in the traffic
density.
From Bhowali we took the road to
Almora which goes via Kainchi Dham, a small but spiritually significant hamlet.
It attracts a heavy rush of devotees, making it a major traffic bottleneck. Suddenly
the traffic slowed to a crawl, a sign that we were in the vicinity of this
spiritual centre frequented by national and international celebrities from all
walks of life. It can take anywhere from half an hour to two hours to cross the
Kainchi Dham stretch. We considered ourselves fortunate to cross this space in
approximately half an hour. The road ahead of Kainchi Dham is under
reconstruction, and the consequent traffic blocks further added to the travel
time.
After crossing Almora we turned onto
the road to Bageshwar. We crossed in close proximity to two other famous
shrines of Almora, the Kasar Devi and Golu Devta shrines, to reach the entry
gate of the BWLS. This gate is staffed twenty four hours by forest officials.
Here we secured an entry pass by paying INR 650 for the two of us and the
vehicle, valid for three days.
We reached our destination Tree of
Life Grand Oak Manor resort, around 3 PM. The last 700 mtrs of the steep dirt track
to this resort is passable only for four wheel drive vehicles. So we parked our
car by the roadside, like several others, and were ferried to the hill top by
the resort vehicle. The property is perched on a hilltop and, despite the thick
tree cover, offers a 320 degree unrestricted panoramic view of the green countryside,
including several of the far away snow clad Himalayan peaks.
There are ten odd sparsely furnished
but comfortable rooms, with hot and cold running water in the attached
washrooms. There are no fans as the climate is salubrious even at the peak of
summers, and the power supply is primarily solar generated, with a noiseless
generating set for emergency power supply. A sitting lounge with a small
library and a weak Wi-Fi network are the only amenity on the premises. The
dining facility is quaint, with a view of the green exteriors, and the food is
delicious and well served by courteous staff. Owing to the remote location of
the resort we had opted for the Modified American Plan (MAP) rates, that
included breakfast and dinner.
After a quick lunch, we settled down
in the ‘Writer’s Room’, allotted to us. It had a bare writing table and chair
placed in the curtained off bay window, to do justice to the nomenclature of
the room!
We were out by 5 PM to explore the
sanctuary. By 6.30 pm storm clouds started gathering overhead, so we called it
a day and returned to our room. We were quite intrigued by the palpable energy
vibrations we could sense in the room, more so as the place was quite far away
from the other recognised energy centres. Discrete enquiries from the staff
revealed their ignorance of the subject. Even more intriguingly, the intensity
of the energy vibrations petered off over the next two days of our stay.
After enjoying a leisurely dinner, we
hit the bed for an early sleep.
Day 2 –
Exploring the Surroundings
The staff had advised against
venturing out from the premises before 7 AM, the time by which day visitors to
the sanctuary start arriving. However, so as to savour the solitude, we slipped
out by 5.30 AM and took the Hunter’s Trail which is the secondary route towards
‘Zero Point’. We trekked for around two hours, enjoying the early morning bird
calls and some flowering rhodendrons amidst the forest greens, before returning
to the resort.
Post breakfast we left the location
by 10 AM to visit Kasar Devi and Katarmal Sun Temples. The Katarmal Sun Temple
lies on the Almora – Ranikhet road, an hour plus drive from BWLS. It dates back
to the 13th Century CE and is on the Archaeological Survey of India list
of protected monuments. The temple is constructed from cut rectangular stone
slabs, and has some 45 smaller temples clustered around it. The temple faces
due east, and the ‘garbhagriha’ has stone carving of the sun chariot
drawn by seven horses. Despite the midday heat, the place had a pleasant aura
surrounding it.
From the sun temple we took the road
back to Almora and halted at Mohan Café for our lunch. The Cafe is located in
the vicinity of Sharda Math and Kasar Devi temple, and has an excellent
ambience with delicious food. It also boasts of a superb patisserie shop.
The Kasar Devi Temple is perched
midway on the slope of a hillock at an elevation of 7000’, and is accessed
through a short flight of stairs. Though this temple finds mention in the ‘Skand
Purana’, in modern times it first came into prominence when Swami
Vivekanand meditated in the adjoining caves sometime at the close of the 19th
century. From the Kasar Devi Temple, another flight of stairs takes you to a
Shiv Temple located approximately 50 mtrs above.
The two temples and the adjoining
ridgeline is deemed to be one of the three places where the Van Allen
electromagnetic energy belt above the earth’s atmosphere comes in contact with
the earth’s surface, the other two being Machu Picchu at an elevation of 8000’
in the Andes Mountains of Peru, South America, and Stonehenge in Scotland which
is almost at mean sea level.
At the time of our visit strong
surface winds were blowing and dark clouds had begun to gather overhead. We sat
in meditation for roughly half an hour, soaking in the etheric energy. Contrary
to the professed view of Cranks Ridge, adjoining the Kasar Devi shrine, being
the place with the strongest electromagnetic vibrations, we felt the strongest energy
vibrations at the Shiv Temple premises. On an impulse we got up from our
meditation and walked three hundred metres away to where we had parked our car.
As a very interesting coincidence, at the very moment when we sat inside the
vehicle and closed the doors, the heavens opened up with heavy rains and a
hailstorm.
We were back at the resort by 5 PM.
It had rained at the BWLS as well, adding a nip to the evening breeze. With the
breaking of the clouds, there was a distinct improvement in the visibility, and
suddenly we could see the snow clad Trishul peak from the vantage point at the
resort. A very satisfying day indeed.
Day 3 – Exploring BWLS
With the dawn breaking we were out of
the resort by 5.30 AM for trek to Zero Point, at a distance of six kilometres.
Though the vehicles can go for another 3.5 kilometres on the road, we decided
to walk it up. The incline was gentle, and by quarter to seven we reached Zero
Point, the highest point on this ridgeline. The vantage point has a double
storeyed, rectangular, but open machan made of masonry.
Despite yesterday’s rain, a
shimmering haze persisted on the horizon, which gave a misty view of the snow
covered Himalayan peaks on the far horizon. Series of ridgelines and valleys
with water channels unfolded through the haze as the visibility got better as
the sun rose above the horizon. There was not a soul in view and we had the
entire place to us. We spent one of the most satisfying half an hour, in
complete solitude, admiring the majesty of nature. Halfway through the return walk we came
across the first pack of day visitors trudging uphill.
We spent the rest of the morning
browsing through the books in the small library, and generally lazing around.
In the afternoon we drove back to Mohan Cafe for lunch, as well as undertaking
a short trek through the BWLS.
Day 4 – Return Journey to Dehra Dun
We left for Dehra Dun at 9 AM. To
avoid the traffic woes on the Kainchi Dham road, we turned off the NH 109,
after crossing Chausali, onto the road to Mukteshwar. After a drive of half an
hour we turned onto the road towards Talla Ramgarh. Thence the road goes on to
merge with the Mukteshwar – Bhowali road. The roads were narrow but with reasonably
good surface and the traffic was minimal. As we entered Bhowali we got caught
up in a traffic snarl that lasted for around half an hour. In fact, thereafter
we were ensnared in series of traffic bottlenecks due to the heavy upcoming
tourist traffic.
The return journey was overall
uneventful, as we reached Dehra Dun by 9.30 PM.
An Outlook on the Past and the
Present
In the pre-written history days our
ancestors went into the hills and forests for solitude, solace, and contemplate
the course of next life. Today’s mass move into the hills, albeit for temporary
duration, disturbs the tranquility and balance of the invisible forces of
nature. This has the potential to set into motion unintended consequences.
In the realm of adventure, activities
are undertaken just for the experience of it or for internalising learnings
about self and others. But for learnings to emerge, the whole gamut of activity
needs to be processed. Same holds true for the spiritual sphere as well. The only
difference is that, processing is replaced by contemplation. Both require
alternate spree of hectic activity followed by a period of calm and peace. Just
as there is pre-storm lull followed by post-storm stillness in the air.
There are pitfalls galore in both the
adventure and spiritual realms, as also one broad commonality, that is the
willingness to plunge head on into the unknown; and this can only come from
confidence in self. Unless of course, we get inveigled into the web of the ‘principle
of duality’, were we to dwell on the adage ‘fools rush in where angels fear to
tread!’
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