Day 3:
We started early in the day for Sahastradhara waterfalls, 11
km from Dehradun to avoid the maddening crowd and to enjoy the splendour of the
nature. As the name suggests it a thousand fold spring. The natural sulphur
spring is most popular among locals and tourists for its ameliorative medicinal
properties. Unlike the regular waterfalls bustling water with rapid force, it
is a natural spring and the water drips from the limestone stalactites,
thousand in number and has lower temperature than its surroundings. The
aesthetic beauty of the place is enhanced by the gushing waters of Baldi River
flowing at the foot of the hill. Though we wanted to take a shower under the
spring, it was quite slippery and we weren’t ready to take any risk since the
river below is also overflowing. The place is complete package for
entertainment, relaxation and mythological significance. An old Shiva temple
along with Guru Dronacharya caves is also present at the location. The
proactive tourism department has developed a manmade amusement park with
several water games at the location making it an ideal picnic location. The
newly constructed ropeway, a latest addition to the place is attracting scores
of tourists to view the steppe farming on hills which is marvellous to watch.
Hill top has other attractions like a children’s park and a Shirdi Sai Temple
too. After relishing the fantastic view of the steppe farming we longed for
good food and the numerous restaurants offered a variety of food. Having
delicious food besides the nature made our breakfast most memorable.
We checked out of our room and drove towards Mussoorie in the
Garhwal Himalayan ranges, also referred to as Queen of the Hills. It is 6100ft
above sea level and it green hills have wide variety of flora and fauna. Though
rumours were rife that heavy traffic of the extended weekend had forced
authorities to close down the road towards Mussoorie we disregarded them as several
vehicles are moving towards the hill. It was 20 km drive from the resort. Since
our earlier plan of staying at Lansdowne was foiled due to bad weather, we were
determined to make it to Mussoorie. The first 15 km of drive uphill was quite
comfortable but the massive traffic blockade in the last lap of 5 km to the
hill made it an arduous journey. During the drive we passed through several
streams and passionate tourists taking a shower under them was a common sight.
Roads were crammed with vehicles till to the out skirts of Mussoorie. Hence
instead of venturing into the city we directly drove to Kempty waterfalls, 15
km from Mussoorie on the Chakrata Road.
Kempty waterfalls is regarded as one of the most beautiful
waterfalls in India. The road to Kempty was very windy so great caution must be
exercised while cruising through sharp turns. It is at a lower elevation than
Mussoorie at about 4500ft above sea level. The green vegetation looked bright
and fresh in this monsoon season. Enveloped by the majestic mountain cliffs,
the sparkling waters tumbling down from a high altitude is a breath taking view.
It then splits into five streams which appear to make a somersault before
finally hitting the bottom. Being
monsoon season the intensity of the waterfalls was at its zenith. One could
walk down the terrain to reach the bottom of the falls else cabin cars are
available for round the trip journey. We preferred the ropeway which offered a
fantastic view of the falls and a children water park. Tourism department did a
commendable job of constructing an enclosure similar to the swimming pool so that
people of all age groups could take a plunge in the natural waters of the
Garhwal ranges. The excitement of tourists near the falls was palpable and the
joy was too infectious. The peals of
laughter and joy of people in the pool was in air. Though we resisted the
temptation of drenching under several water streams we encountered on our way
to Mussoorie these falls were irresistible. We were contemplating about another
set of clothes to plunge into the pool. But thankfully, there were several
stores near the waterfalls that lent swimming costumes and floating tubes for
kids. They had lockers and changing rooms too. Within few minutes we were ready
in the new ensemble and jumped into the pool containing chilling mountain
waters. We had loads of fun and bathing in the chilly water revitalised our
fatigued bodies and energised our souls. The laborious experience of wading
through the blocked roads was obliterated by this shower. We briskly walked
through the market and stepped into an eatery serving piping hot tea, rotis and
aloo subji. After satisfying our hunger pangs, we started our return journey to
Mussoorie, little jittery, as we have no reservation for accommodation. On the
way back, in the happy valley we saw an old Tibetan temple close to the Lal
Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration.
Kempty Waterfalls
We reached the Gandhi Chowk in Mussoorie and parked car in
paid parking and began our hunt for a decent room. Luckily, we could find a
decent hotel where we dumped our luggage and walked towards the Mall Road.
Being pre-occupied with thoughts of accommodation, we failed to notice but the
temperatures have dropped suddenly. By 7:30 temperature it was 16C reminding of
ensuing winter. We leisurely walked on the Mall Road which is clean as per
Indian standards. Mall road is full of small stores selling colourful woollen
clothes, wooden articles, sandals at modest prices. The quality of the products
is good too. We spotted a small stall serving hot jalebis and gulab jamun, and
without a moment of hesitation we gobbled down the sweets. One cannot ask for
anything more, having hot jalebi’s in a chilly weather was just divine. We strolled
on the road for some time, made some quick purchases and enjoyed rides in the
children park. While walking back to our room, we visited Lakshmi Narayan
Mandir and stopped at the Mussoorie Library for a brief photo session. Mall
road is almost 3 km long with numerous hotels, restaurants, a Tibetan Market,
aquarium and hub of all commercial activity. City was bustling with fun and
frolic till 11pm.
Lakshmi Narayan Mandir
Mussoorie Library
Photography : T. L. S. Bhaskar and Samanvit Teegela.
@ Copyrights reserved.
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