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Been there, and done all that?

A roadmap for doing the unusual during your next trip to Mussoorie

SUMMER RETREAT There's a lot to discover in Mussoorie outside of the tourist circuit

Surely there are a lot of places in India where you don't wish to be spotted as a tourist anymore. Correct me if I am wrong when I reel out some of the names in the category... Naini Tal, Mussoorie, Shimla, Jaipur and Dehra Dun. The lack of newness about these places somehow doesn't excite the visitors who have already made a few trips to these destinations. Everything there has been done umpteen times and there is hardly anything new to talk about.

That is precisely why this trip becomes striking and exciting, for, in spite of being in Mussoorie, one could save oneself from being caught on the tourist circuit. From the beginning, it was meant to be different. We checked in at a new place called Nabha Palace (not so new, it came up as a heritage hotel in 1994, one finds out after reaching there).

Nabha Palace, the summerhouse of the erstwhile Maharaja of Nabha in Punjab, and now a Claridges Hotel property taken on lease, is not actually in Mussoorie but in Barlowganj, just three km short of Mussoorie town. And what's more, this elegant resort rests on its own hill spread across an area of over 13 acres of cedar (deodar) forests. Apart from a few odd visitors lounging on those long cane recliners and basking in the sun with their faces hidden behind a book, what catches your eye at Nabha is a group of friendly monkeys.

Not doing the usual

Perhaps this is one odd place where monkeys and the Himalayan langurs have a good understanding. When the common red monkeys decide to check out your leftover coffee on the table, fiddle with your mobile phone (sorry, but it works there) or perhaps knock your door (believe me, they do), the langurs dawdle off elsewhere, and vice versa.

Breaking your conversation with the all-pervading silence is the endless chirping of birds. Giving the Kempty Falls, the Mall and the Camel's Back Road a miss, we motor up to Char Dukan above Landour Bazaar.

Just to check the changes that have taken place in the area over the years. Sadly, Char Dukan, except for the first shop with a little sit-out, known for sprinkling some magic on the standard Maggie noodles by that pavam-looking shopkeeper Vipin, the rest have turned into little tiled monsters with aluminium doors. Hiking up to Sisters' Bazaar from the old church (it looks unkempt now), we note those interesting name plates of several sprawling summer bungalows, stopping only to have some adrak chai at Devdar Woods, an old British style lodge given out on rent.

The next stop is Prakash's Store, claimed to be "the oldest shop in Mussoorie," to pick up a can of locally made peanut butter, some cheese and mint-flavoured jujubes.

Rounding off the nippy day with dinner around a log-fire and ghost stories at Nabha, we begin the next day with a trip to George Everest's house at the far end of Mussoorie. Though SUVs can go up the rocky pathway to the house, one decides to hike. The first view of the house becomes visible after a panting walk of about 35 minutes.

It is an important heritage property which belonged to a man after whom the great Mount Everest is named, sadly lying in a dilapidated state today. The Uttaranchal Government, which owns it, did try to revive it, the locals say, but no sooner did the caretaker leave, the house was ransacked.

Today, it is just the bare bones of something that was imposing once in the midst of the peaks. The locals have even taken away the doors and the windows, and the walls are full of charcoal scribbles of many a lover's ardent declaration!

What looks to us as yet another blow to the bungalow is the tiling of the bathrooms and the kitchen floors by some government contractors by tilling the original red cement flooring.

With a heavy heart, we slowly take the downhill road that forks to the left of the Everest house into a village with just one creaky teashop. Snaking our way through, we land up in the Cloud's End area.

It has a rather expensive 19th Century lodge for those with deep pockets but also has a low-priced camp with tents. As there is nothing beyond Cloud's End, you would find quite a few adventurers indulging in shooting here besides spotting the types doing yet another adventure sport, paragliding, at a place just off Mussoorie town.

The tiring day ends with a four-course gourmet dinner at Nabha Palace rolled out by The Claridges Executive Chef, Ranveer Brar. And in the morning, the present royal scion of Nabha, Hanumant Singh Tika, arrives from Delhi for the weekend.

His family has kept one side of this sprawling place for itself. We have breakfast with him as he gets nostalgic about his growing up years there, before taking the bus back to Delhi.

SANGEETA BAROOAH PISHAROTY

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