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In the lap of nature

Photos: YUSUF UZ ZAMAN

Refreshing A view of Mukteshwar and (below) Chauli Ki Jaali

MUKTESHWAR

USP: Breathtaking ‘chilly’ beauty

Just imagine, you get up in the morning and find yourself surrounded by blue, white and black clouds which caress you while sending a shiver down the spine. A shiver caused by the cool air that blows over the mountains, which seem just an arm’s length away. You sip a cup of hot tea while looking out over lush green forests — a few lovely, colourful cottages peeping through the green cover — from a height of 7000 feet above sea level. Well one is talking of Mukteshwar — a breathtakingly beautiful place people often mistake for Garh Mukteshwar. Mukteshwar is just 50 kilometres from Nainital. It is a largely unexplored hill station. That’s why you find comparatively fewer hotels or resorts there. You just have to be lucky to find a place to stay. We stayed at a private property at Sarga Khet, right at the top — probably the best location in Mukteshwar.

We didn’t want to venture out of this heavenly place but someone told us about Chauli Ki Jaali, just two km from Sarga Khet and probably 50 feet higher. It overlooks Government-protected forest area inhabited by wild animals and pine trees. It has got its name because of a big hole in a rock.

The hole is large enough for a man to go through, but is located at a dangerous position. The locals say that couples who manage to touch this hole together are blessed with children. And the hole ‘accepts’ or ‘rejects’ the people as it wants. For instance, if people perform the proper rituals, etc., they can expect to slip through even if they are overweight! You can locate rock climbers and trainers here. Vendors, most of them children, chase you with their baskets full of plums, peaches, apricots and apples, fruits that grow here in abundance.

Our next destination is Kala Patal — a 40-foot high mountain spring, seven kilometres down Sarga Khet. You really have to be energetic, adventurous and patient to reach there. Its approach is steep and uneven through the dense forest lanes. But it’s worth the effort. We tried to track its progress through flowing water for over an hour but couldn’t. We found it connecting to the thick forest — said to be the favourite place for rare tigers who come there to quench their thirst.

On our way back, we made a stopover to see and enjoy fresh plums, apples and peaches from the jungles. There were countless harmless langoors competing with us. Juicy fruits straight from the trees were great energisers.

A word of caution — take light woollens and an umbrella as it invariably rains here because of constant cloud cover. Take medicines to avoid nausea and giddiness, and if possible mineral water to drink. Water there has strange taste. Mutton, for instance, takes more than four hours to cook even in a pressure cooker.

RANA SIDDIQUI

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