Route: Gurgaon - Pipli - Yamunanagar - Poanta Sahib - Herbertpur - Vikasnagar - Kalsi - Sahiya - Chakrata - Deoban - Chakrata - Gurgaon
Distance: 720 kms; Days: 2
24th Sep'06
Chakrata holds a very
special place in my heart. It is a perfect combination of serenity and
adventure. I still remember the first time when I visited Chakrata, amidst
the cloudy mist it was nothing less then a fairy tale. Even today, it
is amongst my favorite places and I can actually think about kicking
off my shows for good in its peaceful environs.
My first bike trip to Chakrata was back in 2006. At that time I
was testing myself to see if I got what it takes to be a rider and the outcome
was little disappointing to my wife. Anyways, coming back to the
story. In 2005, when I came to Chakrata, I
couldn't make it to Deoban due to heavy rain, but I promised myself to return
and I did.
We
left Gurgaon around 5:30 am and managed to get out of Delhi in good time. We
were cruising down the highway, when suddenly the engine jammed. The thought of
not going to Chakrata was quite disappointing. But as it turned out, engine
jammed due to extreme heat. After a while it cranked back to life and we took
it little slow this time. We crossed Poanta Sahib at around 11 am and reached
Kalsi gate at 12. In 2006, only one way traffic was allowed to move at a time,
but I guess today you can move freely. We managed to reach the gate on time and
were given green signal to move ahead. The first 10 kms from Kalsi are very
dramatic. Every year, there are massive landslides in this area and one can
clearly see the brunt of these landslides.
Rest of the journey was peaceful and exciting, with curvy smooth mountain road, every corner turned into a picture perfect frame. We reached the cantonment by 3pm and it was time to check in to our favorite Himalayan Paradise, about 6 kms ahead of Chakrata towards Tiger Falls. We checked in, ordered some food and parked ourselves on the terrace, immersing ourselves in the beauty surrounding mountains.
After lunch and little rest, we
started inquiring about Deoban. The road was clear with few bad
patches, doable but we were suggested to go in the morning. But morning was too
far. We decided to explore the surrounding area and go to Deoban next day. We
chugged towards the town, took a turn towards Deoban instead. Crossed the
barrier, chugged further. Although, we were not planning to go to Deoban that
day, but there was something that pulled us towards it.
Every turn presented itself with a scenery to die for,
we started to chase the bends, Promising ourselves 'just one more bend and then
we will turn back'. But that last bend never came and we finally reached
Deoban. It was cold and we were not equipped to handle cold, but no regrets. On
our way we saw two white and one black horse grazing in a meadow and that was
something out of the world. With mist descending on them, three horses grazing
freely in the meadow, this was a scene straight out of fairy land.
It was getting late and dark and we decided to turn
back and leave exploring for another day. It got dark really fast and climbed
down the mountain in dark. What an experience it was, cold, freezing, exciting,
haunting, all mixed up. With a great sense of achievement and satisfaction, we
reached our hotel. Tomorrow was an another day, a day to explore Deoban.
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On our way to Deoban, we saw another road going
towards Mundali, which appeared to be much higher then Deoban. Due to paucity
of time, we had to choose between Deoban and Mundali. And we chose Deoban
and kept Mundali for an another day.
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