From Coast to Coast

The enchanting journey begins from Chandipur, Orissa to Digha, West - Bengal on feet.

It was my first coastal or beach trekking. I never loved to visit sea side as the consecutive waves make me numb and monotonous. My first choice was Mountains always. But after doing this trek I found myself in love with unexplored and less visited beaches and to unravel the beauty of fishing, different patterns of sands, high tide – low tide, sea animals and flora of the sea coasts, sea side villages and village peoples.

It’s a 3 days trek starts from Balamguri River Fishing Harbour and through the fishing village Majhichak we came to the coastal area. I found the first glimpse of unknown coast very uncanny. It’s full of dead bodies of Sea snakes, Jelly fish, Loligo, Hermit crab, Limulus etc. The Casuarinas welcome us to their paradise. The twinkling sand grains pretend talking to us their story. The uncountable waves sing their songs without any break and rest. Through this mystic environment we made our way towards Koshapol. It was a long trek as we covered approx 20 kms that day.

Before Koshapol we had to cross numerous rivers by feet and by boat. And this river crossing is so enjoyable that cannot be expressed in words and can only be experienced. We approached to Koshapol in the evening. It’s quite a big village. We stayed in the Panchayet building beside a school. We had our diner with Chicken Curry and Rice in a small mud hut nearby. From the market we bought hand-woven towels (gamcha). It was a moonlit night. We spent our evening on the rooftop by lying and singing songs.

Next morning we started early after breakfast. Today our destination is Dogra. It was also a long trek of approx 18 kms. It took the whole day through the villages of Orissa. We got few sand blisters in our feet. But the beauty of villages and the sea removes all pains and soothes our eyes. That time was the pick season of paddy harvesting. We have no idea but these seaside villages are fertile enough to grow vegetables, paddy and coconuts well by making soil dams to restrict saline water from the sea. The people are very much active in cattle rearing, farming and fishing.

We reached Dogra at about 4 o’clock in the afternoon. We had our bath and took rest in the forest bungalow. This location is on the beach and it’s a famous local tourist spot. We enjoyed the night beneath the starlit sky and chicken, dal, rice and salad made by our bungalow caretaker’s wife. We had a nice sleep.

Next morning we headed for Taalsari. It was a short trek about 8-10 kms. The route was simple but through sands. From Kirtania ghat we boarded boat to cross Subarnarekha River. From the ghat its few minutes walking to reach the auto stand. It’s the end of our trek. So we were little upset but home was also calling. We carried in our souls the mystic maze of nature and adventure as well. And in this trip I fall in love with the Sea and coasts and wrote a love letter for them in my blogs.

By road we reached Digha railway station by Auto rickshaw and headed to Kolkata by Kandari Express. And now I cherish those moments by recapitulating my memories in the lap of sea shores.

Hidden Treasure of Kumayun

Kumayun Himalaya – called “Deva-bhumi” was our ultimate destination in early winter, Pindari glacier. The virgin beauty of Pindari glacier trekking moves us to heaven. To grasp more tightly the hidden paradise we started our journey on 10^th November from howrah station.

There are so many routes to reach the last metorable spot –Loharkhet village. Haldoani or Kathgodam is the nearest railway station. We started our journey from Tanakpur. We went first to Bageshwar, a busy hilly market area. We stayed at Hotel Siddharth near bus stop with a moderate hotel fair. You can get a clear view of Gomoti River from this hotel. Bageshwar is a spiritual place as it has ancient temple of Bagnath beside the confluence of two rivers Gomoti and Sarju.

We took our daily food stuffs and kerosene for coming 8 days. We brought stove and cooking utensils from Kolkata. As we are going this route in off season had to take these stuffs otherwise you can get lunch-dinner on the way. The top season is May-September.

Next morning after a huge packing we moved towards Loharkhet by jeep, 42 kms away from Bageshwar. From Varari we had a glimpse of snow capped peaks- Nandakot, Kafni, Changuch etc. At Loharkhet we stayed in KMVN rest house 1.5km from village Loharkhet. Through the whole trekking we availed KMVN rest house with a rate of Rs.100 per person.

Day 1 – Early morning we started our trekking to the farthest corner of Himalayas, in the lap of Nanda-devi twin peak, Pindari glacier (3660mtrs). We covered 11kms that day to reach Dhakuri(2683mtrs). We had to cross Dhakuri pass (9300feet).

From Dhakuri pass we got bird’s eye view of a huge range –Nandakot, Nandakhat, Miketoli, Panwalidwar, Suderdunga etc. The fresh breath and tenderness of eyes removed the tremendous fatigue. We sipped hot mixed vegetables soup and enjoyed golden sunset on Nandakot from KMVN rest house.

Day 2 – Khati was our next destination, 9 kms away. On our way we enjoyed stage cultivation, dense forest and gurgling mountain streams. The village people really made our day with their smiling face. Their cheerful voice and facial expression welcome us to the land of Nandadevi. Khati is the last village of this trek route.

Day 3 – Early morning we move for Dwali, 12 kms from Khati. This road is fully through unending dense forest where we saw white monkeys gazing at us so curiously. Pindar river is our all time- all day friend from Khati. Dancing Pindar will engulf all your fatigue. Several times you have to cross the river by wooden broken bridge. This was very much thrilling for us. We collected lots of walnut from this forest. Our guide told us about the dense wildlife – Beer, Monkeys, Fox, Mountain goat, Himalayan snakes, Bison, Porcupine etc. Around 3pm. We reached Dwali rest house and enjoyed the breathtaking spectacular view of Nandadevi east.

Day 4 – Because of off season we had to move on to Pindari zero point and back in one day, 24 kms, as the in between Phurkiya rest house was closed, which is 5 kms away from Dwali. These 24 kms seemed to us an impossible task but mental strength pulled us to our destination. During the 12 kms up I got serious headache because of empty stomach and dehydration. But the beauty of nature wiped our fatigue – barren hills covered with wild bushes and pale grasses, snow capped mountains, amazing rock surface( perfect for climbing), hide and seek with sunlight, mountain streams and water falls, deep rocky gorges of Pindar – all these things were mesmerizing. The mystic maze of adventure dragged us to the destination. We had a rare view of Mount Baljouri near Phurkiya.

1 km before zero point there is Swami Dharmanada ashram where we had hot tea, mouthwatering Khichuri and hot water, only after that I could grasp camera. Everywhere I felt a spiritual presence you believe or not. I never realized this type of heavenly presence of Almighty before. The landscapes seemed to me art work of God on a huge canvas.

We had to rush immediate after having lunch because of bad weather. We almost ran and jumped across boulders as the sun is setting down. The last glow of setting sun was spreading everywhere.

Day 5 – We experienced snowfall this morning at Dwali and walking with snow falling from hazy sky really made our trip full. Soft snow covered our entire body.

After that 2 days of trekking brought us to Loharkhet. Carrying a flooded heart with memories we had to return to home-sweet-home. And now this is like a dream come true. 

Spiritually Blissed Himachal

      Himachal Pradesh is really a nest of beauty and spirituality. From the ancient era Himachal showing the real core of Indian culture - Bhakti, Gyan and Karma.

      We started our journey from Amritsar. Visiting the Golden temple we took the entry to the mystic lush green Himachal.

      Dharamshala – is a place of tranquility and eternity. Chamunda Devi temple is the famous temple of this area located 10 kms west of Palampur. Chamunda  Mata idol is considered so sacred that it is completely hidden beneath a red cloth. Here Lord Shiva is present in the form of death, destruction and dead bodies along with Devi Chamunda. The temple glows with all its mystic sparkling effect beside Baner river or Banganga. Devotees take a holy dip in Baner and then worship and pray to Goddess Chamunda.

Baijnath temple near Palampur is a very ancient Shiva temple stated that it was built at the period of Pandavas. Palampur is also famous for its tea gardens and agricultural universities.

     After that we visited Jwalamukhi temple crossing the huge Kangra valley. It is one of the 51 power spots or shaktipeethas of India. It is 30 kms south of Kangra valley in the lap of Shivalik range of Himalaya. The temple is dedicated to the Goddess of Light, i.e. Sati or Parvati’s flaming mouth. In mythology of India it is stated that Sati’s tongue fell in this place.

    Bajreshwari Mata temple is also situated at kangra valley and one of the shatipeethas where Sati’s left breast stated to have fallen in Puran. The temple also called Kangra Devi or Nagarkot Dham. Gupta Ganga and Kangra Fort are near to this temple. You have to trek 1 km to reach the sacred Mata temple and you will surely feel like paradise and eternal peace.

After visiting the west part of Himachal we went to Kullu and thus Manikaran, which is famous for its hot springs and Parvati river valley. Manikaran is both Hindu and Sikh pilgrimage. Ramchandra temple and Sri Gurunanak Ji Gurudwara resides together. In manikaran you can experience the nature in the clad of God. Mountain locked area with lush green patches of dense forest and dancing river Parvati have drawn the ultimate spirituality and heavenly atmosphere.

Our next destination is Manali. On the way to Manali you can visit the many natural cave temples. Manali is situated on the bank of river Beas and also Manalsu River which culminates in the main Beas River.

Manu Rishi temple is 2 kms from Manali town dedicated to sage Manu and Manali itself named after Manu Rishi. The wooden sculpture is noticeable in all temples of Himachal. This temple is the ideal place for Dhyan or Meditation. The never ending silence, snow capped mountains, murmuring of Beas, green covering of pine forest and the simple minded peoples are the only ornamentation of Manali.

There are so many temples like Hadimba Mata and Ghatotkach temple, Siyali Mahadev temple, Vashisht Muni Ashram and Kund, Gayatri Devi and Shiva temple at Jagatsukh, Shankar Bhagban temple at Naggar etc.

      But the spiritual feelings will be the same in each and every corner of Himalaya as the Goddess is nature and we worship the beauty of nature and the incredible creation of it.          

Virgin Beauty of Neora Valley National Park

It was a pleasant morning we started our journey by bus from Siliguri to Kuapani (near Lava). While gaining altitude after Gorubathan we felt chilly breeze and misty romantic weather. The lush green forests and lesser Himalaya will certainly give u peace and tranquility.

Neora Valley National Park is of 88 square km. area and it has its highest point at Rechela (10,458 feet). Starting from 1000 feet to 10,000 feet causes the huge Biodiversity of this National Park.

It took almost 3 hours to reach Kuapani from Siliguri. Kuapani is a small village under Kalimpong subdivision Forest. From this place our Trekking begins towards denser and richer biodiversity.

The spiral trails, shadowy ups and downs, rich flora and fauna, cold breeze, cloud fight, sounds of Jhora (mountain springs) and birds, aroma of rain forest, mosses and ferns, no human habitat will certainly give u eternal peace of mind. You can experience rare glimpse of ample Tree Fern (Dicksonia antarctica), Tiger Fern (Nephrolepis exaltata), Lycopodium annotinum, Dhupi (Cryptomeria japonica) and Orchids.

First night we made our camp near Neto. It was a short 2 hours trek from Kuapani.

We came to know that this forest is a big reservoir of Barking Deer, Dhol (wild dog), Asiatic Black Bear (Ursus thibetanus), Red Panda (Ailurus fulgens), Gour, Asian Elephant, Royal Bengal Tiger, Asiatic giant squirrel and Leopard. These are all schedule I animals in Red Data Book (RDB) that means endangered species. And also some Schedule I bird species like Satyr Tragopan (Tragopan satyra), Great Hornbill, Blood Pheasant (Ithaginis cruentus) and Rufous necked Hornbill (Aceros nipalensis).

                            

Second our journey continues to Leolakha. This place is very moist and full of blood sucking leeches around, though we put our camp over there near a Jhora. The place is so serene and virgin. The thick moist forest and starlit clear sky made us crazy for nature. I think this is called true Wilderness.

Third day we came to a small village called Birashi but could not found any camping ground, so we headed for next village Lakethang. It is also a small village with 5-6 families. Their main occupation is farming and cattle rearing. They speak Gorkha and Nepali but understand Hindi. After spending a beautiful breezy and moonlit night we headed for Dolay next day.

Dolay is our last destination into the forest. There is a Forest Rest House at Dolay. The day was Dolpurnima – a full moon night. The whole forest seemed to be very happy and thus celebrating their freedom by dancing and singing their whole body and leaves. It was such a mesmerizing and unique experience I ever had. During night the air was blowing from rapid directions and the rich vegetation was floating away by moon light. We were sleepless up to midnight beside fire and singing songs in the shivering cold weather but having our best time ever into the wild.

Heart to Heart with Nature

I am always attracted by Nature and Natural patterns around. I always looked for serenity, tranquility and mental peace through Nature. So this hunt still continues and I have started holding my pen and creating a whole new world of my Journeys across the less known and less traveled paths of India. Lets start my Journey to introduce you, my friends with deep core of Nature and thus finding eternal peace.........