Naggar - Where time stands still

Woodwork - Naggar Castle

After enjoying couple of days full of activity in Manali we were thinking of spending a night in seclusion. So we thought of Naggar. Naggar was the old forgotten capital of Kullu valley, where time stands still. The highlight of naggar is the Naggar Castle - a heritage hotel run by HPTDC.

Apple Orchards enroute Naggar

We requested HPTDC office to change our existing booking of hotel Beas in manali to Naggar castle for a day. As rooms were available, our request was readily accepted.

 

Naggar can be reached in two ways from Manali - one via Patlikhul driving through the NH along the west bank of beas river, another via the old naggar road, which runs along the east bank of beas, crossing through small little hamlets such as Jagatsukh. To enjoy a slice of rural himachal, we chose the second option. The drive was really scenic. We drove past the sprawling apple orchards, and tiny little hamlets, with the cascading beas flowing in the distance. It was October, most of the apples have already been plucked by then, but we were lucky enough to spot a few red juicy ones still hanging to the branches.

Looking from the valley view retaurant

Naggar is hardly an hour's drive from Manali. From the main Naggar village, the castle is another 1 km uphill drive through a forest of thickly wooded deodar. On the very first sight the castle looked intriguing. Standing tall atop the highest hill in naggar and overlooking the kullu valley and the cascading beas river it really looked the royal residence. We checked in to our 'River View Suite', which was certainly one of the best located rooms in the castle. From the balcony we got a bird's eye view of the beas river. The room beside it is named Greenfield Suite. Which also boasts of the same view. The room was spacious, squeaky clean and neatly maintained. The curtains in the window are classy. We really felt a home away from home inside our river view suite.

Naggar Castle -view from outside

After two hectic days in Manali we planned total non activity in Naggar, so after freshening up, we came to the valley view restaurant for a sumptous lunch. The valley view restaurant is superbly located overlooking the naggar valley and the main naggar village below the castle. Me and my wife ordered roast chicken and chikcken shashlik. In places like this the service will be slow, and that's what makes it a perfect romantic destination. We sat there enjoying the view, the cool breeze and the ocassional tweets of mountain birds. It was a perfect place to spend some quality time with your loved ones. The lunch took almost 40 minutes to arrive. It was really delicious, specially the roast chicken with its crispy skin tasted awesome. We enjoyed the meal thoroughly.

Walking through the quaint hillslopes of Naggar

After the meal we roam around the castle. The castle is made of stone and wood. The architecture is typical to himachal, the wood carvings in the pillars and in the outer walls in the balcony is really intricate, and oozes class. There is a temple inside the castle called Jagatipatt temple. The richly carved wooden door of the temple is amazing. Built in 16th century the castle was the royal residence  for the Kullu kings for almost 100 years until the capital was shifted to Sultanpur in 17th century.

Tripura Sundari Temple - Naggar

On the afternoon we went for a short walk in the naggar village. The village was sleepy serene. The hill slopes are thickly wooded with huge deodar trees. We went uphill towards the Nicholas Roerich art gallery which is another famous place in Naggar.  The view from the sorrounding hills were awesome. We say few blue magpie in the foliage. After spending half an hour in the art gallery we came downhill and visited the richly carved tripura sundari temple in the village. The temple is huge, and richly decorated. When we visted the temple the priest was performing the sandhyarati. The chimes of the bells and the chants of the devotees on a sleppy silent afternoon created a divine atmosphere.
After the sandhyarati was over we came back to the castle and watched the sunset from the balcony sipping on a hot aromatic tea.
We sat on the balcony for an hour more and ordered our early dinner by 7 p.m. Just like the lunch, the dinner was delightful as well. The crumb fried chicken with french fries marked a perfect end to a very satisfying luxurious stay in the lap of  himalaya.

Chopta - The Valley of Rhododendrons

Majestic Mt Kedarnath at Chopta

Sometimes a generous discount in airfare could make a huge difference in a trip planning. We were planning for a weeklong trip to Gahrwal, including Rudraprayag, Auli and Haridwar. We badly wanted to add a day for Chopta, but could not quite squeeze it into our itinerary. But miracles do happen! Just 15 days prior to the trip the airline giants got involved into an unprecedented fare war, and started offering great discount. We pounced on that opportunity, cancelled the 30 hour long Kolkata Haridwar train journey, and bought ourselves a ticket in a Kolkata Delhi evening flight. From Delhi we boarded the Dehradun AC express at 23.55 p.m., which reaches Haridwar by 4 a.m. A day was saved, and to everyone’s delight Chopta got included on the plan.




Confluence @Rudraprayag

The next 6 hour bus journey from Haridwar to Rudraprayag was tiring to say the least. We dropped off most of the time, except for a sumptuous breakfast at Devaprayag. Some tasty alu paratha and a cup of hot tea at a very reasonable price made us feel energetic. We reached Rudraprayag at around 11 a.m. and checked into the GMVN. The location of GMVN is superb; all the rooms have a view of the confluence of Alakanadaa and Mandakini. We were saving energy for the next few days for our activities in Chopta and Auli. So we mostly spent the day, sitting at the balcony overlooking the languid Alakanadaa and the cascading Mandakini.

Emerald Mandakini River at GMVN Chandrapuri

The next day we started early for Chopta. There were no bus services from Rudraprayag to Chopta, so we booked a car for the entire day. From Rudraprayag we took the route that goes to Gaurikund. The road condition was quite smooth. Our car purred its way alongside the emerald Mandakini. We went past Tilwara, Augustmuni and reached Chandrapuri in an hour. At Chandrapuri for the first time we got a glimpse of the mighty Himalayan snow peaks. Mt Kedarnath and Mt Chaukhamba were towering over the river valley. GMVN has a nicely located accommodation at Chandrapuri by the riverside. We went to the GMVN restaurant, for breakfast. The emerald water of Mandakini was really tempting. We sat by the riverside for a while, and enjoyed the lyrical Mandakini till our breakfast got ready.

Omkareshwar Temple Ukhimath

Chopta was another 45 Km. from Chandrapuri. After Chandrapuri the road started to deteriorate a bit. At Kund we took a diversion from the Gaurikund route, and took a right turn towards Ukhimath. Ukhimath was ravaged by a devastating cloudburst on September 2012. Signs of that destruction is still prominent everywhere. The road from Kund to Ukhimath was almost nonexistent. We somehow negotiated that horrific 5 Kim stretch, and reached the Omkareshwar temple at Ukhimath in half an hour. It is the winter seat of Lord Kedarnath and Lord Madmaheshwar. The temple structure is century old, and has an aura within it. The temple courtyard was serene, peaceful. The priest greeted us, narrated the history of the temple, and showed us the deity of lord Omkareshwar, Lord Kedarnath and Lord Madmaheshwar. We paid our homage to the almighty, and then continued our journey towards Chopta.  

The snowy mountains of Chopta at distance

Soon after crossing Ukhimath, we entered the region of Kedarnath musk deer sanctuary. The forest was deep, silent. On the distance we could see the snowy mountains of Chopta. Chopta is almost at a height of 9,500 ft from sea level. The 28k.m road from Ukhimath gradually climbed its way through the forested slopes of Kedarnath musk deer sanctuary. In another half an hour we reached Duggalbhitta, the last settlement, before Chopta. From here we once again got a great view of Mt Kedarnath and Chaukhamba. Both were looking tantalizingly close, and sparkling like silver against a clear blue sky. We stopped here for a tea break in a road side dhaba, to enjoy the nature. It was early spring, bloom time for rhododendron – the state flower of Uttarakhand. The hill slopes around Duggalbhitta was full of red rhododendrons. The locals said, they will be abundant in Chopta. In fact at this time of the year, Chopta becomes a valley of rhododendrons. 

Spring at Chopta

 The last stretch of our journey from Duggalbhitta to Chopta was magical. As we climbed up, the rhododendrons grew in number. They changed in colour as well.  On the lower altitude, we mostly saw the red ones, but now we could see a profusion of pink. The road was almost covered with their pink petals; it felt like Mother Nature has laid a pink carpet in welcoming us.

Chopta full of snow

On first look Chopta looked like a fairy tale hamlet. Covered with snow, and dotted with clumps of bright pink rhododendron. There were hardly any tourists, and except for a couple of dhabas all other shops were deserted. It looked like the place is yet to come out of its hibernation.  From the top we got a mesmerizing unobstructed view of the Himalayan snow peaks. Kedarnath, Bhrigupanth, Chaukhamba, all appeared at their majestic best. We saw the abandoned GMVN tourist rest house, which was shut down in the 90’s due to environmental issues, and wished, if it was operational! It could have been the perfect base for enjoying the beauty of Chopta.




Rhododendrons at Chopta

We spent couple of hours in Chopta, played with the snow, rambled around the forested hill slopes clicking photos in frenzy. Chopta is the gateway for Tunganath – the highest of the Panchakedars. A steep 3.5 kms trek from Chopta market, will take you to Tunganath. The route looked really enticing, full of thick woods and colourful rhododendrons. We started on that route, but soon realised, there was too much snow, and it could not be climbed without proper shoes. So we decided to come back.

Green vallley at Chopta

We were done with all the activities, but still didn’t feel like leaving Chopta. So we sat on the edge of the mountain, and enjoyed the valley down below. The air was chilly, but a bright sunshine on our shoulders, kept us warm. Some horses were grazing lazily at the valley, looking at them, my wife commented on her IT terminology – ‘They are currently in bench!’ I replied –‘But they won’t be for long’. Indeed Chopta will be busy in a month’s time, when Tunganath temple will reopen, on the holy day of Akshaya Tritiya. Pilgrims will once again flock here from every corner, and Chopta will come out of its sleep. The horses will be busy again too, carrying pilgrims on their back on the way to Tunganath. Till then we left it at its surreal best, and started our journey back to Rudraprayag.