Jolly Miles

The choice between Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh is always a tricky one. There is no clear winner and definitely no loser. Usually, I take the call about a fortnight before the trip and accordingly plan my itinerary. This time I left the choice right to the Kashmiri Gate bus stop at New Delhi. “Uttarakhand this time.” There was absolutely no itinerary, but absolute clarity on the type of destination. It had to be away from the crowd, this was the minimum, other things in mind were somewhat poetic.

The first pitstop of my uncertain circuit was Haridwar. I reached around 8 PM, checked in at a hotel near the bus stop and immediately left for Har Ki Pauri. I prepared a rough itinerary as walked along the paved banks of the Ganges, felt the cold breeze and watched people taking a dip in the cascading river. I have always found this place magical and over the years it has become more colourful and coruscating. I had dinner at the Chotiwala restaurant, savoured a glass of kadai doodh in the streets and returned to the hotel.

Early morning, I left for Sari village. It’s a remote village in the Rudraprayag district that has recently found prominence among travellers looking for a pristine getaway in the Himalayas. Reaching Sari through public transport is tiresome. I took a bus from Haridwar to Rudraprayag then another one till Ukimath and finally one that took me to Sari. One can avail shared cabs as well but I generally find bus more comfortable than the cloistered cabs that ply in the hills. I reached Sari around 8 PM. It was perfect; here the stars were not obscured by pollution and the silence of the hills was only pierced by the babble of the Mandakini river flowing in the valley below. Remember the poetic criteria for choosing my destination, it seemed to fill most of them.

Electricity is often erratic in the hills. On reaching, I found that there was no electricity. After toiling for some time in the dark, I managed to find a decent homestay but they did not agree to prepare dinner. I had to quickly find something as shops usually close early in the hills. Luckily, Sari is blessed with some good cafes. I had dinner at Cafe Nirvana, a small cafe with a good ambience located at the corner of the main street. On returning, the homestay host lit a nice bonfire for the guests. It allowed everyone staying there to know each other, share stories, enjoy the music and feel some warmth in the frigid air. It was a good ending to a really long and enervating day which included one flight, one metro ride, 2 buses and a few cabs in between.

Sari is a beautiful place, I realised this only the next morning. The door of my small room opened to a wide balcony which further opened to the expansive views of the magnificent Chandrashila peak. Stepped cultivation in the valley below looked stunning under the morning sun. I had a sumptuous breakfast relishing the beautiful sight from the balcony. After breakfast, I filled a water bottle and started my trek to Deoria Tal. There are two paths to reach Deoria Tal, one starts in the middle of the village and has a well-paved path from the beginning to the end. There is another path that is unmarked and starts in front of the Anjali Homestay. The former is the popular one while the latter is for those seeking adventure; I choose the second one! I planned to shift to Chopta in the second half of the day so I started quite early. I was joined by another couple whom I met last night at the bonfire.

It’s an easy trek. We climbed at a good pace with intermittent stops to sip in some water and click photographs. December is about the ideal time to be there; there was bright sun but the wind was cold, there was snow on the peaks but the trekking path was dry. We reached Deoria Tal in less than an hour. When we reached we were the only ones there and it was atleast another half an hour before the next set of visitors arrived at the scene. We had a good time there and relished the beauty of the landscape with minimal interference.

While descending, we decided to try out the other route. This route had a stone-paved path and passed through the village settlement. It was like strolling on a footpath. We were glad that we did not choose this path while climbing. However, it also had its own merits, this was easier to climb which enabled many more people to reach Deoria Tal and relish its magnificent views. It was heartening to see elderly people and kids climbing through this route, it would have been much more arduous for them to reach Deoria Tal through the other route. After returning, I had lunch, guzzled a few glasses of fresh kinnow juice and departed for Chopta.

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