Sitlakhet – a destination of snow & solitude
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| Snowfall at Sitlakhet |
The
name ‘Sitla’ in Hindi means ‘Cool’ and ‘khet’ is ‘farm land’, so the trans-literation
of name would be ‘Cool farm land’ or more appropriate would be ‘farms in cool
climes’ and during my recent visit I found that it does fits its literal
translation. Sitlakhet is an unspoiled
nature’s treasure trove nestled on the lap of a hill, the top of which is
occupied by the famed Shyahi Devi temple, overlooking the valleys below it and
bestowing it with a nature’s gift unparalleled in the annals. Perched at an altitude of 1785 meters i.e.
the exact elevation of the Tourist Rest House or TRH for short at Sitlakhet,
managed by KMVN, which translates to around 6000 feet above MSL (Mean Sea
Level). However, the famed Syahi Devi
temple would easily be touching 7000 feet above MSL. If you search the net for the destination, it
would throw up results in name of ‘Anant Rasa’, a resort being run by the famed
photographer from Nainital, Sh. Anup Shah.
The place also houses a camping site run by the ‘Discovery
Channel’. The entire verdant valley is
cocooned in dense forest of Oaks, Silver birch, pines et al and is nature’s
treasure trove in all its splendour.
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| Taking a selfie en-route at Mukteshwar |
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| The small market of Sitlakhet |
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| Tourist Rest House run by KMVN at Sitlakhet |
We had started from Padampuri late in the afternoon, as the
train was delayed and we had taken a break to have some snacks etc. as detailed
in my previous blog. We headed on the
road towards Dhanachuli, but just before reaching Dhari, the driver took a
detour through a village road and he took the diversion at Boranshi, being a
short cut that runs through small hamlet named Chaukhuta and reaches Kasiyalekh
and therefrom through Gangachor to the junction called Bhatelia. From Bhatelia the road leads towards
Mukteshwar and this distance is about 20 odd Kms. The weather had turned inclement as we
commenced with our journey from Padampuri and by the time we approached
Mukteshwar, it had started snowing and the children got excited and alighted
from the Car at the forest checkpoint to click a few photographs. The road distance from Mukteshwar to Almora
is about 32 Kms. via Sheetla – Khawarbpul.
Having gone past Almora, we headed downstream towards Kosi, a further
distance of 10 Kms. and therefrom having crossed the bridge, we headed towards
the road leading past the ITBP Camp and the barrage built on Kosi River for
supplying drinking water to residents of Almora. After having gone past a small hamlet named Deoli
we reached another nondescript little village named Kharkuna wherefrom the road
bifurcates and the straight one towards the right hand side leads on towards
Dhali and onwards to Sitlakhet, the total distance being about 27 Kms. from
Kosi bridge. Thus, it was a long haul of
almost 80 Kms. that took about three & half hours’ drive because of the
weather & road conditions. As it was
getting late, I decided to explore availability of boarding in the TRH and got
one as it was in the middle of the week and it usually gets its guests on
weekends.
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| Snow on a tuft of grass |
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| As it snowed intermittently from the evening in Sitlakhet |
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| The morning after the snow fall in Sitlaket |
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| The author out for a shoot |
After having checked into the four bedded room, we
ordered for some bread pakoras and coffee and as the evening started setting
in, the cook Ganesh asked for the dinner order, as the TRH is at an isolated
location and Sitlakhet itself is a very small hamlet and thus, in order to procure
non-vegetarian or any specific vegetarian food, one has to book well in
advance, so that the procurement may be done from either Kathpuriya, Majhkhali
or Ranikhet. Accordingly, we placed our
orders and just as we had started enjoying Pakoras & Coffee it started
snowing at Sitlakhet. As the evening
slowly merged into the night, the intensity of the snowfall increased with
every passing minute, but the children were enjoying the experience
immensely. News came in late in the
evening that the person entrusted with the job of procuring our order from the
nearby road head was struck in the snow and thus, the order may have to be
revised. The staff of three that runs
the TRH had lighted a small bonfire to keep themselves warm and as the
electricity got disconnected due to the snowfall, we made a beeline for the
space behind the kitchen where the fire wood had been lit, to keep ourselves
warm. However, at around 8.00 P.M some
good news poured in that the person assigned the task of procuring Chicken had
finally made it to the TRH and we could therefore, relish our next order of hot
Chicken soup, that was prepared quickly and served piping hot and for dinner we
got served ‘Garlic Chicken’ preparation with rotis/hand baked breads. The cook Ganesh has some exceptional culinary
skills and enjoys his work, which in turn results in some lip-smacking snacks
and/or main course meals.
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| The Shahi Devi temple complex at Sitlakhet |
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| Close up of the Himalayan ranges as seen from Sitlakhet |
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| Panoramic view of the Himalayan ranges as seen from Sitlakhet |
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| Panoramic view of Almora from Sitlakeht |
Bereft of electricity and with a solitary candle light
flickering in one corner of the room, we all retired for the night in the cold
climes of Sitlakhet and being tired over the day’s journey, all of us fell
asleep quickly. I was the first one to
wake up in the morning and immediately peaked outside, although the sunlight
was all around, yet the sunlight was only filtering through in patches, as the
clouds were in motion in the deep blue sky above. I got up quickly, completed the morning
ablutions and moved out to get some shots with my camera. As the cloud cover became thinner with
passage of the day, by 9.00 A.M. a lot of birds started chirping all around and
I had a fabulous time shooting to my heart’s content. Later in the morning I moved towards the
market and headed towards the Shyahi Devi temple. However, the road that leads to the temple
top is neither paved with concrete nor is its surface tarred and hence the vehicles
run only for the first half of the journey of three Kms. i.e. one & half
kilometres and the remaining half has to be completed on foot by trekking. Due to the snowfall the vehicles too were not
plying or going up the trail and it was not possible to trek up to the temple
in the slushy & snowy conditions and therefore, I had to give up any hope
of making it to the temple top, however, for the benefit of the readers I am
providing with a link to the photographs of the temple - http://wikimapia.org/18958637/Siyahi-Devi-Man.
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| Himalayan Yellow finch enjoying the Sun after nights snowfall |
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| Return of the Himalayan Griffon - flying high in Sitlakhet |
Not being able to accomplish my
target of visiting the temple, I returned back to the TRH and after having
partaken the B’fast that is part of the tariff charged for the room, we headed
for my pad and en-route went past many a small hamlets till we reached
Kathpuriya, which is another small hamlet on the State Highway from Almora to
Ranikhet and at a distance of 10 Kms. from Sitlakhet. On the way I struck up a conversation with
the driver of the taxi hired by me Mr. Chandan Singh, who is a local resident
and resides near the temple at the hill top and he informed me that Sitlakhet
had abundant water being blessed by Shyahi Mata and a natural spring takes care
of all local requirement of water and also supplies water to Almora
township. He also informed me that the
temple was surrounded by about seven Deodar trees, which appear in shape of two
tigers when seen from Almora or other nearby hilltops. Another small snippet that he provided was
the fact that a small village, about 2 Kms. from Sitlakhet called ‘Khoont’, is
the ancestral home of the legendary freedom fighter & politician Late Sh. Gobind
Ballabh Pant. As we reached Kathpuriya, one
enters the state highway running from Almora to Ranikhet, one has to turn left
and head towards Majhkhali and thereafter reach Ranikhet, which is about 18
Kms. from Kathpuriya. From Ranikhet we
rambled down to Ganiadoli, where we made some purchases for daily needs/use for
our home and then headed further via Tarikhet to our final destination to our
home in Timila. Thus, ended the winter
vacation break journey for the year.
Here is the link to the video for the destination -
© S Roy Biswas
