Panoramic view of Kosi River meeting Khairna River at Khairna
Having described
Tarikhet in my previous blog, as I reiterate my steps back towards Kathgodam
from my village Badankhet in Tarikhet Block in Ranikhet Tehsil of Almora
District in Uttarakhad in Kumaon region of the State, one passes through the
junction of Ganiadholi, wherefrom the road bifurcates towards Ranikhet and
Tarikhet.Thereafter, as one heads away
from Ranikhet, one comes across villages like Pilkholi, known to the travellers
where one can buy traditional Kumaoni sweets like Choclate (a milk based
product), Bal Mithai and Singhori (remaining ones too be milk based
sweets).Thereafter, across the twenty
three kilometres journey from Tarikhet to Khairna one passes by many other
villages perched by the roadside in the following sequence - Bajol – Bhujan –
Majhera.Thereafter, one crosses the
bridge across Kosi River and turn right towards Kharina and the other road from
here, towards the left hand side, heads
towards Almora.Thus, Khairna (PIN Code
– 263135/STD Code – 05942) is also basically a junction point, wherefrom the
road bifurcates towards Ranikhet and Almora.
Ganiadholi - wherefrom road bifurcates towards Ranikhet & Tarikhet
A panoramic view of villages perched on the road from Ranikhet to Khairna
Khairna is also a
market township that caters to the needs of the villages all around it that are
situated on the road towards Betalghat and other villages of Naintial district
around it.Earlier, the two destinations
of Khairna and thereafter, Garam Pani were distinct and separate, but over the
years, with the spread of the market area along the highway, the distinction
has all but faded.There is a Petrol
pump situated in this quaint village town, being bang on the National Highway
109.Khairna is situated on the
confluence of the Kosi and Khairna Rivers, the first one flowing from Almora
side and the second one from Nainital side.Khairna is thus, placed in the valley perched in between mountains at an
altitude of 913.34 meters i.e. about 2996.51 feet above mean sea level
(MSL).Therefore, during the day time in
summers it is considerably hot and heat is modest during the nights.However, during winters it is quite cold but
not totally unpleasant.
Khairna by night - shot taken from KMVN, Khairna
A Crested Kingfisher in Kosi River - early morning shot
View of TRH at Khairna managed by KMVN - sourced from internet
There are no distinct
travel landmarks in Khairna, but can be used as a transit point while
travelling to distant destinations in the Kumaon region.Although fishing is prohibited, but one can
enjoy feeding the fishes by going down the stairs of the KMVN managed Tourist
Rest House in Khairna, which also offers a restaurant as well as rooms to stay
for the tourists/visitors.The freshly
cooked food in this restaurant has always been my favourite and whenever, I
traverse through this part, especially when travelling by train upto Kathgodam,
I stop here for either lunch or snacks and never had any complaint regarding
the quality of food.Various aquatic
birds can also be spotted in this region, especially early in the mornings and
hence a short stopover for birders is also advisable.So next time you are in Kumaon, remember this
quaint nondescript destination.
Red billed Blue Magpie calling in the hills of Uttarakhand
Having
started with the construction work in Timila, I wanted to show the place to my
mother & children and as the weather had remained quite cold in the hills
during the month of March, 2014 we decided to visit the destination during mid
April and we chose 18th April, 2014 as there was a three day break from
School & Office that we got during the week ending with ‘Good Friday’
holiday. We started early morning for
Anand Vihar Railway station, as we were scheduled to board the ‘Shtabdi train’
for Kathgodam. As I found out on this
day, that the proverbs are coined by experienced persons and come true ever so
often, this time around the proverb ‘Morning shows the day’ came true, as we
started our journey by Taxi at 4.30 A.M early in the morning. It had started drizzling and by the time we
reached the station, the intensity had increased as also the wind speed and
almost everyone waiting at the station was forced to take out their light
woolens etc. This rain continued all
through the journey from Delhi
to Kathgodam. We reached Kathgodam around
12.00 Noon and as we alighted from the train, the cold winds lashed us fiercely
and we immediately booked a Taxi to drop us at Chilyanaula, Ranikhet. The road journey took us from Kathgodam,
Bhimtal, Bhowali, Kainichi Dham, Garampani, Khairna to Chilyanaula in Ranikhet,
where we reached around 3.00 P.M and had to ask for Room heaters during the
night, because of the intense cold after sunset. I have described the destinations many a
times in my blogs and would like my viewers to enjoy the journey through the
photographs, having detailed tags and enjoy the journey through my lens, when
the hills turned to winter during the spring time -
Desolate Kathgodam
Monkey too huddled in the cold
Headed towards Bhimtal
Passing by Bhimtal
Just past Bhowali
Wet all around
Just enjoy the view
Stranded tourists in the cold weather - awaiting repair of car tyre - just ahead of Kainchi
Going past Kainchi
View of river valley near Garam Pani
Naturally crafted stone toad
A few more for company
Just past Khairna
Road headed for Ranikhet
View of valley towards Ranikhet
Dwarhat as viewed by 500mm lens from Chilyanaula
Sunset over Chilyanaula
View of Chaukhamba peaks at sunrise from Chilyanaula - shot with 500mm lens
Of all the major tourist destinations in Kumaon, Ranikhet was the only one missing from my list of visited destinations. I was itching to visit the place and when the opportunity came during the four consecutive holidays this month, I grabbed the opportunity and we four friends packed our bags and headed for the famed destination. Ranikeht is at a distance of 360 Kms. from Delhi and with usual breaks for B’fast & lunch etc. it takes about 10 Hours drive to reach. As the flyover across the railway crossing, a the major bottle neck near Ramnagar, has since been completed and thrown open to traffic, we had a smooth drive all the way.
We had crossed the Delhi border and entered Ghaziabad by 8.00 A.M and being a holiday we encountered almost no traffic jams en-route. Having reached Garh Mukteshwar at around 9.30 A.M., we stopped at the landmark ‘Skylark Restaurant’ for B’fast. Our next stop was at Pant Nagar where we stopped for some delicious home made lunch at residence of Uncle of one of our friends. By the time we got past Haldwani it was almost 3.00 P.M and the gradual ascent to the hills began just as we crossed Kathgodam. The horizon was covered with clouds and we started anticipating heavy downpour. Having gone past Bhimtal, Bhowali, Garam Pani we reached Khairna wherefrom the road bifurcates, one moves straight towards Almora and the other one turns towards the right, across the bridge over river Kosi, towards Ranikhet. After driving for another 37 odd Kms. we reached Ranikhet.
Ranikhet, literally means“Queen's Meadow”, is perched at an altitude of 1829 meters. As per local folklore, Queen Padmini of Kumaon was in love with this tiny hill station that overlooked the vistas of Himalayan ranges. King Sudhardev obliged her by building a grand palace here and named this place Ranikhet, the queen’s field. Though no trace of the palace can be found here today, but the place still retains the same bewitching attraction, full of flowers, trees and green meadows in the midst of heavenly Himalayan surroundings. The Britisher’s established the headquarters of the Kumaon Regiment here in 1869 as a series of Cantonments starting from Almora & Lansdowne. Ranikhet still is a cantonment town and is the home to the famed Kumaon Regimental Centre & Naga Regiment. However, the main city of Ranikhet is fairly crowded with bus stand and bazaar area thrown in, but the military area offers serene environment. After having settled in the old establishment called ‘Moon Hotel’, which not only commands a spectacular view of the Himalayan ranges but also offers ample parking space in the cramped environs of the market area. After having had some Tea/Coffee, we went out to explore the market area and as it was getting pretty cold, we all retired back to our Hotel room for the night.
Early next morning I got up very early, having been awakened by constant calling of the Rooster, a rarity in place like Delhi. Having stepped out of the hotel room I was greeted with an astounding sight to sunrise across the Himalayan ranges that were glowing in an eerie orange red colour. The constant chirping of birds, accompanied by many fragrances of flowers and multitude of hues & colours, left an extraordinary and unforgettable imprint on my mind. We enjoyed the serene beauty for as long as it lasted and then ambled back towards the hotel. Just at the hotel entry gate we found a tea stall serving the locals hot tea and we too joined the chorus and enjoyed piping hot tea laced with ginger served in glass tumblers. Since our next destination was Soni village and thereafter a visit to the Binsar Mahadev temple complex, we headed back to our rooms and after taking bath checked out of Ranikhet.
Soni is a small village perched at an elevation of 1800 meters on the Ranikhet-Ramnagar road about 18 Kms. away from Ranikhet. We made a stop over at this destination as one of our friends Sh. Dinesh Bisht belongs to this particular village and we stopped here to have a good look around. After staying in the village for about an hour we headed towards the famed ‘Binsar Mahadev’ temple that houses the famed ‘Swarg Ashram’ also. The temple is said to be very old with a naturally occurring Shiva Linga being the main deity. We happened to visit the temple on 6th April, 2012 and being Hanuman Jayanti, I had requested my friends to abstain from eating non-vegetarian food on that day. But as luck would have it, because of the schedule we did not even have our B’fast when we reached the temple and were pleasantly surprised to find that the rendition of ‘Ram Charit Manas’ being recited by students. We made our offerings to the deities of the temple and lastly visited the chief monk of the temple Mahant Ram Giri ji, who insisted that since we had come on an auspicious day we should partake the ‘langar’ (free community lunch) and only then leave the temple precincts. Since we had nothing much to do except to visit some more destinations around Ranikhet, we agreed to his suggestion.
As we had a few hours to spare, I requested my friends to visit the eco-park & restricted forest area, in the immediate surroundings of the Forest Rest House of Soni, which is housed about a Km. from the temple and we made it to the jungle area through the side gate of the temple. The time we spent in the forest area was personally satisfying as I spotted a large number of birds, most of which I had seen for the first time and could hardly photograph because of the dense foliage and flirting nature of the birds, but the plethora of chirping sounds made my day and I could get a few very good shots of the birds. Both the flora & fauna of the region was rejuvenating & soothing for the frayed nerves and worked as de-toxicant for the built up city life stress. Having wandered for a few hours, we headed back to the temple and by the time we reached ‘havan’ (ritualistic Hindu offerings to fire) was taking place and on its conclusion thereafter, community lunch was served. Having partaken the same, we headed back towards Khairna.
We reached Khairna after having driven for a hour & half, where we stopped over at the ‘Highway Cafe’, run by KMVN and had Tea/Cold drinks. Thereafter, we headed for Siltuna village for a survey of the village for finalization of our project of acquiring a piece of land in the hills. After spending some time here, we again headed back and stopped over at Kainchi for some local delicacies like Lemon water & Pakoras and I was quite lucky to find a Barking Deer (known as Kakkar or Ghural locally) loitering over in the forest across the road beyond Garampani and photograph it in the wild en-route. We stopped over at Bhowali for the night at the KMVN run Tourist Rest House. Early next morning we headed back for Delhi stopping in between at Bhimtal for B’fast and for lunch at Garh Mukteshwar (Skylark Restaurant) before reaching Delhi early in the evening. Thus, concluded our short but refreshing tour to Ranikhet.
