Kumaon: A Slice of Heaven

Kumaon’s USP is its landscape- a panorama of hills covered with woods of pine, oak, cedar and rhododendron (the latter a flamboyant display of crimson during spring). Many of India’s highest peaks, including Trishul, Nandadevi, Nandakot and Panchchuli, snow-capped even in summer, can be seen from much of Kumaon- especially Mukteshwar and Binsar.

Check out the `Lake District’- a series of lakes, of which the best-known is Naini Tal, which lends its name to the largest town in Kumaon. Within a 25 km radius of Nainital are more lakes: Bhimtaal, Naukuchiataal and Saat Taal, all worth a look.

For a peek at Kumaon’s flora and fauna, fit in a sojourn at the small Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary. Mukteshwar, though not a reserve forest, is also thickly wooded and offers some truly splendid views of the Himalayas.

And lastly, three suggestions- of very different types. The 10th century stone temples of Jageshwar, considered one of the holiest Shiva shrines in India. Almora, no great shakes otherwise but producer of a delectable sweet known as baalmithai. And Ranikhet, home to the Kumaon Regimental Centre, a military-dominated town of pinewoods, golf courses and beautifully well-maintained streets.

Quick Tips:

1.According to the travel guides, the best time to visit Kumaon is either summer (April to July) or late autumn (October to November). We timed our trip for mid-September, when the monsoon hadn’t yet gone, and the region was absolutely gorgeous- lush green all around, with waterfalls, crystal-clear mountain streams and mist on the far hills. Lovely! Try it around this time.

2. Ask for directions even if you’ve got a road map. Many signboards are wonky (we found some pointing the wrong way!) and a few milestones are defaced. But the locals will always be able to lead you to handy shortcuts which will help save loads of time.

3. Carry a flashlight- power failures are common in the hills and Binsar doesn’t even have electricity.

4. In smaller places, laundry facilities are more or less non-existent. Pack drip-dry clothes, detergent and some plastic rope so that you can do your own laundry when it’s necessary.

5. Stick to Indian vegetarian food- it’s the safest bet. A lot of eateries serve so-called `continental’ and Chinese food, which can yield some unpleasant surprises! Indian non-vegetarian food in the restaurants tends to be too oily and spicy, even for Indian palates.

Best Way To Get Around:

Kumaon is uphill all the way- barring towns like Haldwani, the area's all mountainous. We live in New Delhi, about ten hours’ drive from Kumaon, so we drove up into the hills (check out my entry on The route we followed for details). The fact that distances within Kumaon are fairly short- in most cases less than 100 km between one major town and another- makes it easy to drive without getting too tired. For those without their own vehicles, jeeps (always chauffeur-driven) can be hired in Delhi to do the entire trip.

Alternatively (an option only for the adventurous!), you could travel by local buses. Be prepared, though, for ramshackle seats, breakneck speed, crowded vehicles and unforeseen stops. Travelling by bus, however, can have its pleasant side, especially as you’ll meet local Kumaonis, who are, like all of India’s paharis (literally, `hill people’), renowned for their friendliness.

The last option- and this is for the outdoorsy type- is to trek. There are trekking trails all through, and you can contact the Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN, the region’s main tourist development organisation) for details. As an option, go biking through the hills- bring your own bike, or hire one in Delhi.

We were on a tight budget, and headed for some of the less touristy places in Kumaon, where the likelihood of decent accommodation was in many cases pretty dim. The obvious choice, therefore, was KMVN and its Tourist Resthouses.

KMVN, or to give it its full form, Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam, is the main body in charge of promoting tourism in Kumaon. KMVN has its headquarters in Nainital, and a veritable horde of Tourist Resthouses--they call them TRHs--all across Kumaon, even in places you wouldn’t think any tourist would ever stop at. What makes them a good bet is the fact that they’re invariably clean and comfortable, always inexpensive, and there’s bound to be one literally wherever you might want to go.

We stayed at TRHs in Nainital (TRH Mount View; Nainital has a TRH Snow View too); Mukteshwar, Almora, Binsar, Ranikhet, and Bhowali. In all cases, the TRH was at a prime location--just on the outskirts of town, so there was none of the crowd and pollution you’d expect; perched on a hilltop, amidst woods, and delightfully tranquil. (The TRH Binsar commands such a gorgeous view that people staying at nearby resorts come here just to take photos!)

Anyway, down to the basics. Everywhere, we got a double room, with clean linen, two bedside tables, chairs, a dresser, wardrobe, attached bathroom with running hot and cold water (except in Mukteshwar and Binsar--they don’t have running water, but will supply you bucketfuls), and even a tiny 14" colour television--the last not in Mukteshwar and Binsar (Binsar doesn’t have electricity--but they give you loads of candles, and anyway the place is so utterly lovely we actually didn’t mind).

All the TRHs had dining halls plus room service (watch out: in some of them, room service tariffs are 25% higher than the dining hall tariffs!), with a fairly wide range of largely Indian grub on offer. The only problem was that this being more or less the off-season, we were in many cases the only residents--which meant that we actually couldn’t order just what we wanted. The staff was usually very sweet about it, but what we invariably ended up having was rice or rotis, dal (lentils), and vegetables. Usually well-cooked, but a bit boring.

For complete information on each of the KMVN TRHs across the region, check out www.kmvn.org. It lists all the details--down to number of deluxe and single rooms, facilities, and tariffs, both off-season and peak season. What makes life easier is that you can make reservations by sending an email to kmvn@yahoo.com. They’ll make the necessary bookings for you in whichever TRH you want for whenever, and you’ll have to send them a payment in advance. Once they’ve received that, they’ll send you the vouchers (we got ours well before we were to leave, which was a real relief!). All in all, a fairly efficient bunch to deal with--and the TRHs are, though not luxurious, worth every rupee you spend.

We’d not originally planned to go to Jageshwar, but the discovery that it was just 35km from Almora, where we were staying, made us do a rethink. The trip could be done in half a day, and I remembered having read that the ancient stone temples were worth a look. So after breakfast at Almora, we drove off northwards to Jageshwar, which is considered the eighth of the 12 "jyotirlingas," specially sanctified shrines to the Hindu deity Shiva (the Destroyer, in the Hindu Trinity). The grey stone temples at Jageshwar date back to the 10th century and were built by the rulers of the Chand dynasty in the heart of a dense deodar forest, beside a rushing mountain stream. What comes as a pleasant surprise is the fact that the forest is still dense and quiet, the stream crystal-clear, and the temples, along with their surroundings, clean and non-commercial.

Well before we reached the temples themselves, the deodar forest had begun, and the road, winding its way up through the dense, dark wood, turned up surprises at every other turn--a small stone shrine here, a quiet temple perched atop a hillock there--and all of them a thousand years old!

In all, there are about a hundred shrines at Jageshwar, some large and some small. All are protected by the Archaeological Survey of India (which, by the way, have done their bit towards conserving the temples, but have also gone and made a hash of the aesthetic appeal of the place: they’ve given each of the larger temples a metallic "umbrella," painted a ghastly blue, to protect them from the elements. Try not to pay attention to them!). Most of the shrines are located in the actual temple complex, but a kilometre short of this is the Dandeshwar Group of temples, a bunch of seven or eight shrines dominated by a massive temple with a towering spire.

The main Jageshwar Group has a vast array of stone temples, all of them magnificently carved--but the best of the lot are the shrines dedicated to the deities Jageshwar, Mrityunjaya, and Pashtidevi. These, in particular, have some beautifully intricate carving along the outer walls and at the main doorways.

Before you leave Jageshwar, take a peek at the houses in the street outside--there’s some excellently carved woodwork here, in traditional Kumaoni designs, decorating the façades of the buildings.

This guy’s diminutive. And when I say diminutive, I mean it with a capital D. He’s wearing khaki trousers and a camouflage jacket- a subdued medley of olive green, tan and brown. His name’s Raju, he’s a guide, and he’s come to take us on a morning walk through the Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary. Doesn’t look much, but boy, can he climb (this is between 8,000 and 9,000 ft above sea level and he’s keeping up a running commentary while striding up a steep incline- all without running out of breath)! And does he know this place: each pugmark, each leaf, each inch of humus upturned by a boar’s tusk . . .

Raju comes knocking at our door seven o’clock in the morning, punctual to the minute. This is when there’s most likelihood, he says, of getting a rewarding view of both the mountains and the animals. What we unfortunate souls end up seeing is neither. But the hour-long walk, from the Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN) Tourist Resthouse where we’re staying up to Zero Point, the highest spot for miles around, is nevertheless one to cherish.

The British were the ones who gave this area its name, distorting the original name of the Bineshwar Temple to the more easily pronounceable Binsar. A few of them built quiet summer retreats here, among the tranquil hills -- summer retreats that are today modern resorts.

Binsar today is one of those unusual places which, though it’s just 20 km from the busy town of Almora, feels more or less cut off from the rest of the world. Unless you have a vehicle (or can take a lift in one), you have to walk some 10 km along a narrow mountain road through dense forest to get to the main highway. There is no electricity, and at the Tourist Resthouse, we can get hot water only by asking for it -- and then only one bucket per couple per day. Adventure? You bet!

But back to the walk: uphill all the way, first a gentle climb, and then gradually steeper, till the only one not panting is Raju himself. He’s telling us about Binsar. About how the area was declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1988; about how it stretches over all of 46 sq km, a large section of it pure stands of pine. The section we’re walking through is however dense with rhododendron (locally known as buraansh -- dazzlingly beautiful in spring, when its bright crimson flowers are visible for miles around) and oak (locally, baanj). The monsoons are still not over, and the moisture has brought the forest to life. Each tree trunk and each bank of earth is covered with a carpet of bright green mosses and ferns, and every now and then we come across a rivulet making its way down the mountain. Best of all, the soft damp mud has captured signs of all the elusive animals we never actually get to see in Binsar. A leopard’s spoor, fresh and well-defined. The scrape of a mountain goat’s hurried route up a slippery earth bank into the sheltering undergrowth above. And all along the way, the furiously ripped-up earth, signs of wild boar burrowing for roots.

Raju points out a leopard’s cave -- "It had cubs last year; large specimen this one is, more than seven feet long" -- the sudden flash in the trees of a Eurasian jay, and the many herbs growing along the way. There’s wild turmeric, wild strawberries, vajradanti (a herb that’s renowned for its power to strengthen and heal gums and teeth); and bicchhoo booti (literally, `scorpion herb’, a stinging, nettle-like shrub which is, surprisingly enough, a remedy for swellings), among others.

He draws our attention to the harsh, bark-like alarm call of a munjtac or kakar, a barking deer, somewhere deep in the forest. And when we finally reach Zero Point, it is he who leads the way up the somewhat vertiginous watchtower at the place. We climb up four flights of metallic ladders and look out over the surrounding forest. Even though mist and cloud shroud the mountains, the forest around us is impressive in itself.

But Raju looks a little apologetic. "If only you’d come two months down the line", he says. "By November 15th, the view from here is awesome. On a clear day, you can actually see across 400 miles of Himalyan peaks- right from Nepal to Garhwal". Nandadevi, Nandakot, Nandaghunti, Panch Chuli, Trishul, Hathi Parbat -- mighty mountains, snowclad through the year, but (to our disappointment) veiled right now.

We catch glimpses -- tantalizingly brief -- of them, later from the terrace at the Tourist Resthouse. Through the shifting mists, we look out, over a dense wood of oak trees through which a noisy troop of langurs makes it way. We watch a civet leap nimbly onto the boundary wall of the complex and then vanish into the woods. We see butterflies and birds -- hoopoes, redstarts, a majestic eagle, yellow wagtails by the dozen -- and we see the mountains, far away in the distance.

And we agree with each other. Binsar may not top the charts for great wildlife photography, but when it comes to sheer beauty, this is one wildlife park that takes some beating.

Who first referred to the area around Nainital as the `Lake District’ is not actually recorded, but it’s an apt sobriquet. This region, contained within a barely 25 km radius of the central town of Nainital, is really one of lakes- there’s literally one lurking around every corner, encircled by rolling hills covered with pine and oak forests. The lakes around here are a dime a dozen, and with names that are exotic even to Indian ears: Naukuchiataal, Lokhamtaal, Khurpataal . . . a taal is a lake, and there are many taals here, each lovelier than the last.

Our trip to Kumaon was not long enough to cover all the lakes (we left out the smaller ones, which include Khurpataal, Malwataal, Harish taal and Lokhamtaal), but we did manage to see four of the best: Nainitaal, Bhimtaal, Naukuchiataal and Saat Taal.

Nainitaal is not just a lake, but an entire town -- and the oldest tourist destination in this part of Uttaranchal. The lake spreads, green and beautiful, lined all along one shore by a boulevard known as The Mall (with shady poplars, Oriental plane trees and pretty wrought iron benches) and on the other by a road climbing steeply up through dark woods of deodar. The Naini Lake has an interesting legend attached to it -- it is said that the Hindu God Vishnu (the Preserver, in the Hindu Trinity), in order to stop the destructive taandav dance of the god Shiva (the Destroyer), was forced to kill Shiva’s consort Sati. After slaying Sati, he chopped up her body and scattered the pieces- and one green eye of the goddess landed at this spot, changing immediately into a green lake, to be named after her nain (`eye’).

That’s the legend everyone knows. There is another myth attached to Nainitaal; and this one centers around the fact that the lake has another, less popular name: Tririshi Taal (the taal of the three sages). Legend has it that three ancient sages -- Anni, Pulastya and Pulaha -- formed the lake by bringing water to it from the sacred Mansarovar Lake, in present-day Tibet.

Nainitaal is pretty, and was especially so when we visited it, during the offseason. When the tourist season reaches its peak, you can’t see the lake for the sailboats, rowboats and paddleboats on it!

Bhimtaal, 22 km from Nainitaal, is the largest of the area’s lakes, although the town that spreads around it is much smaller than Nainital town. It’s a fairly nondescript sort of town, with little to attract tourists, except for holidaymakers who like to go boating on the lake. The lake, by the way, also has mythical connections -- it is named for a legendary hero named Bhim, one of the five Pandava brothers, heroes of the Hindu epic, the Mahabharat. It is believed that Bhim (who was renowned for his strength) dug this lake out of the earth to quench the thirst of his four brothers and their wife, Draupadi. Bhimtaal is all right for a few photographs, but we really didn’t find it terribly fascinating.

What was next in line was equally disappointing, especially as we’d heard much praise for it. The lake closest to Bhimtaal, just 4 km from it and 26 km from Nainitaal, is Naukuchiataal. The lake has nine corners, and it is said that if you catch a glimpse of all nine at one time, you are assured of nirvana. What that belief doesn’t say is that you might need to be airborne to manage such a feat- we tried and tried, but couldn’t get anywhere past five corners, and that too with a bit of cheating! Anyway, not much here again- just a bit of so-so fishing; a few boats for people who want to go out on the lake, and a large of lovely pink waterlilies.

After Bhimtaal and Naukuchiataal, we were not very hopeful of Saat Taal (`seven lakes’), so the breathtaking beauty of this last set of lakes -- and especially of the first lake, Garuda Taal -- came as a pleasant surprise. Saat Taal consists of seven interconnected lakes, of which only Garuda Taal is separated from the rest by a low hill. The lakes -- Garuda Taal, Ram Taal, Sita Taal, Laxman Taal, Hanuman Taal, Bhiyun Taal and Sukha Taal -- are surrounded by thickly forested hills, covered with oak, pine and rhododendron, and at the time we went, the monsoons had made the entire area a gorgeously stunning green all the way. Sukha Taal, Bhiyun Taal and Hanuman Taal are seasonal lakes and fill up only at the height of the monsoon, so we couldn’t see them -- but Ram Taal, Sita Taal and Laxman Taal were there, nice enough (and with the ubiquitous boats!).

But best of all, worth every litre of petrol and enough compensation for all the lakes that seemed so-so, was Garuda Taal. It’s completely untouched by tourists, a pretty little lake deep in the woods. It’s currently on land owned by the Methodist Church of India, but everybody’s free to wander around, so do head off and take a few pictures -- it’s worth it.

We’d planned a ten-day trip to and from Delhi, which is southwest of Kumaon, and driving all the way there and through the area was one of the things we were looking forward to - everybody had been telling us how very scenic it all was. Although we covered a large number of places (Nainital, Bhimtal, Naukuchiatal, Saat Taal, Mukteshwar, Almora, Binsar, Ranikhet, and Bhowali), the actual driving was strenuous only on the first and the last day, when we had to cover the 300-odd kilometers between Delhi and the hills.

Roughly, our trail was:

Day 1: Delhi-Nainital (314km): The road is National Highway (NH) all the way (which, in terms of Indian roads, means it’s better maintained than the others). From Delhi all the way up to Rampur, we followed NH24, which was by and large okay, except in some bits, especially near Garhmukteshwar, where heavy monsoon rains had wreaked havoc on the road surface and left it pitted with potholes.

From Rampur onwards, the road changed to NH87, which continued up to Rudrapur (the first town in Uttaranchal) and then beyond till Nainital. Shortly after Haldwani and Kathgodam, NH87 rises up into the hills, and we were in for a pleasant surprise: the road was beautiful. Although a little narrow, it had an excellent surface, the view was stunning, and a clean, unpolluted breeze swept through the car windows bringing with it the fragrance of pines. Mmmm!

Day 2: Nainital: We spent the entire day exploring town and recuperating from the long drive of the previous day.

Day 3: Nainital-Bhimtal-Naukuchiatal-Saat Taal-Mukteshwar (approximately 100km): This may sound like a long, long drive, but it’s not. Bhimtal is just 22km from Nainital; Naukuchiatal is 4km from Bhimtal, and Saat Taal is 7km off the Nainital-Bhimtal road. We had to come back to Nainital to go to Mukteshwar, which was 52km away. The entire area is gorgeous, all pine woods and stunning landscapes.

Day 4: Mukteshwar: A day spent totally in Mukteshwar - it’s a really pretty place, and warranted it!

Day 5: Mukteshwar-Almora (50km): Okay, this was the first of the slightly bad roads in Kumaon. The road downhill from Mukteshwar is a dirt road for much of the way, but it makes its way along wooded countryside, with mountain streams all along the way. It was beautifully cool, and there were plenty of birds - especially hoopoes and yellow wagtails - all along the way, and the journey was so lovely, we actually forgave the road!

Day 6: Almora-Jageshwar-Binsar (approximately 90km): Almora to Jageshwar is about 35km, a good road but not exceptionally pretty until we got to Jageshwar itself, where the deodar woods form a picturesque backdrop to the temples. To get to Binsar, we had to come all the way back to Almora, and then go further - up to Kaparkhan, beyond which the mountain road into the Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary is fabulous. The road’s narrow and gravelly in parts, but the dense woods around (plus, if you’re really lucky, the chance of seeing an animal or two) makes it worthwhile.

Day 7: Binsar:A day we spent in wandering through Binsar - a morning walk, an after-lunch walk, an evening walk, and then evening tea while sitting on the terrace watching the sun set across the snowcapped peaks in the distance. Awesome.

Day 8: Binsar-Ranikhet (65km):Again a part-scenic, part-not road back to Almora, followed by the 44km road to Ranikhet, which was really quite lovely all the way. Ranikhet begins with the army cantonment’s golf course, and the first sign you see warns you to go slow and watch for golf balls that might hit you!

Day 9: Ranikhet-Bhowali (44km):Pretty road - we were still in the mountains. Bhowali, though, was a disappointment (not that it has much to recommend it: all it's known for is its many orchards; it’s a major center for fruit cultivation). Easy drive - so easy, in fact, that we decided to visit (once again!) Saat Taal, which we’d fallen in love with the first time we saw it.
Note:About 5km down the Bhowali-Bhimtal road is the Fruitage shop. They sell excellent fruit and vegetable products - jams, squashes, pickles, canned fruit and juices - made from local produce. Great stuff (we bought loads!), and reasonable too.

Day 10: Bhowali-Delhi (314km):More or less the same route as Delhi-Nainital, as the road from Bhowali connects to Jeolikot and then follows NH87 - the road to Delhi.

We didn’t have the time to stop over at Jeolikot, but I believe there’s a house here which had been built by a retired British Army major called Warwick. May not sound like anything extraordinary in a region that’s dotted with relics of the Raj, except for the fact that after he died, Warwick was discovered to be a woman - and supposedly still haunts the place! Maybe we should have pulled out some time and stopped over anyway...!!