SWAGAT LEAD | SUMMER ESCAPES

 

HIGHLAND HOLIDAYS

 

As the mercury soars, beat the heat and head for the hills. Anita Rao Kashi recommends five off-the-beaten-track destinations. 

 

 

 

Searing heat, school holidays, constant whirring fans or the drone of the AC, listlessness, rising tempers. It’s that time of the year when one looks back on winter with fondness, even as the eyes longingly seek out the nearest hilltop. That’s when the urge to escape to the nearest high-altitude abode sets in and takes on an almost manic hold as the days lapse into one long continuum of swelter and sweat.

 

But as the mind starts to picture the country’s hill stations and the mental crossing out begins, the feeling is more of despair than consolation. Shimla ? Been there, done that ! Kulu Manali? Ditto ! Darjeeling? Nainital? Ugh ……not too keen to elbow a path amidst the crowds ! Ooty? Too commercialised ! Kodaikanal? Last year !

 

But hold the despair. Thankfully, India is blessed with far too many places, whatever the weather and reason for escape, that there’s always plenty to be explored, discovered and savoured. As the summer hordes head to the obvious highrises of nature, you can take a pick from these five hill stations off the beaten track that are worth visiting this summer. Each is unique in its own right. Some of these are often overshadowed by the presence of a far more well-known name in the vicinity, but, that’s probably the reason for its relative sense of being untouched and serene. They are not short of epithets either: from the Switzerland of India – Kausani,  to the Scotland of India – Madikeri, these hills are truly alive with music for the heart, soul and body.

 

COONOOR

Not my brother’s keeper

Nestling smack-bang next to Ooty at a mere 17 km, like a little boy next to his older sibling, Coonoor in Tamil Nadu has never aspired for greatness. And therein lies its charm. As the curving road descends into Coonoor from Ooty, it is evident that this little hill abode is more warm and inviting, beckoning the visitor to live life at his own pace.

 

Coonoor embodies the Nilgiris in all their glory: mist-covered mountains, rolling tea estates interspersed with bright colours of sunflowers and other mountain flowers, every turn on the winding road revealing a sight so much better than the last one. It might have once been the habitat of tribes long forgotten, but it is now more of a throwback to the British Raj era. There’s evidence of this everywhere: gabled houses, street and area names, and grave stones with a profusion of names from the British armies. And yet, it is not frozen in time – just replete with tranquillity.

 

It is very tempting to spend time here, just rambling along, taking long walks or treks among the tea estates and forested areas. But it’s also worthwhile to look at the usual sights. At the centre of the Coonoor’s existence is Sim’s Park, a veritable feast of flora offset with pretty structures and ponds. More than 130 years old, the park is rumoured to have been laid with plants and trees imported from all over the world. Certainly, many of the towering teak and mahogany trees seem to bear testimony to this. The annual fruit and vegetable show held in May, is a keenly awaited event.

 

A little away from town, the thing to see is Dolphin’s Nose (10 km) so called for obvious reasons. It is popular picnic spot; on a clear day, the Catherine Falls which falls from the nose, is visible. Also worth seeing is Lamb’s Rock (8 km) which boasts of fantastic views of the hills and vales around while the Law’s Falls (7 km), another waterfall, is located on Mettupalayam Road. Take a brief break from nature to visit the Droog Fort (15 km), the ruins of a fort believed to have been built by Tipu Sultan, though getting to the ruins itself could involve more communing with nature in the form of a 3-km trek ! Finally, to round things off, visiting the Kodanad view point near Kotagiri (19 km) is a must. It is here that the magnificence of the Nilgiris comes home in all its splendour – mist and cloud-wrapped mountain ranges with trickling streams, winding river below and an all-pervading calmness. 

 

MADIKERI

Of coffee, Cauvery and Colonels

Quite in contrast to Coonoor, Madikeri (also anglicised to Mercera) is the vibrant capital of Coorg (also called Kodagu), the land of the fiercely loyal and martial Kodavas (Coorgis) who have the distinction of providing a steady supply of Indian defence personnel. It is not difficult to see why the Kodavas are extremely proud of their heritage – both cultural and natural.

 

Since Madikeri is connected neither by air or rail, the only way into town is via road from Mysore. And, as the plains give way to the mountain ranges and the road begins to curve upwards, the wide vistas of hills and mountains bring to mind images from foreign shores. It is only here that the mind begins to comprehend the true meaning of the term ‘nature’s splendour’ while the eye almost goes into shut-down mode unable to take in the innumerable shades of green.  There’s much competition here to catch the visitor’s attention: mountains, hills, valleys, sholas, paddy fields, grasslands, coffee plantations, pepper and cardamom plants, orange orchards. And amidst all this, flows the life-giving Cauvery, regarded as the source of all existence by the Kodavas.

 

Madikeri is a trekker’s paradise and local guides and wildlife societies can lead avid enthusiasts into realms quite unimaginable. But in the midst of town is Raja’s Seat, a cliff-edge point where the Maharajas used to watch sunsets. On clear days, sunsets are watched with silent reverence, with a strong urge to applaud nature’s spectacular performance. On cloudy days, puffy clouds playing hide and seek with the mountains, is an equally riveting sight. There’s also the Madikeri Fort built by Tipu Sultan and the Omkareshwara temple, almost 200 years old, dedicated to Lord Shiva, and built in a uniquely mosque style with central dome and minarets. Then head out of town to Abbey falls (6 km), located inside an estate, where water gushes out over rocks and plunges a few hundred feet.

 

Visitors to Madikeri just cannot go away without visiting Talacauvery (48 km), in the Brahmagiri hills, the birth place of the river Cauvery and a place held very sacred by the Kodavas. On the Tula Sankramana day, an auspicious date which falls in October, the river appears in the form of a rushing spring and is venerated with much ceremony. But quite apart from this, the place offers almost 180 degree view of the mountain ranges and is quite a breathtaking sight on most days.

 

Other places to visit nearby include the Dubare elephant camp (30 km)  run by the Jungle Lodges and Resorts, a unique place where visitors can bathe, groom, feed and ride on elephants. There is also accommodation for visitors here. At Bylakuppe (35 km), South India’s largest Tibetan settlement, one can visit Tibetan monasteries, eat Tibetan food and buy exquisite handicrafts. At Kushalnagar (30 km) is the Cauvery Nisargadhama, an island formed by the splitting of the river Cauvery where the forest department has a resort with wooden cottages standing partly on stilts over the flowing river and nearby is the Harangi dam.

 

PACHMARHI

Life’s a series of picnics

If Madikeri is vibrant and busy, then Pachmarhi, in the heart of Madhya Pradesh, is at the other end of the spectrum. Almost sleepy (though it could get a tad noisy during some long weekends), untouched and enmeshed in wilderness, it is easy to lose track of time and spatial contexts.

 

Despite being the highest peak in MP, getting to the hill station is a bit difficult, thanks to bad roads. But this has its own advantages: it is yet to be run over by hordes, making it the perfect getaway for short or long escapes. Pachmarhi is unique in many ways. The town itself is quite tiny, balancing itself on a little plateau.  There’s a little bazaar in the centre of town, and an Army Station with the rest of the area bearing signs of a colonial past in the form of English-style churches.

 

But outside town is where all the action is. It is not lush green all the way: bamboo and sal forests are broken by rocky formations and cascading rivers and streams, which lend an interesting slant to the landscape. Adding more texture to this scene is the presence of the Satpura National Park, a little into the distance, with its dense forests and wildlife as well as the Narmada and Tawa valleys. To watch this panorama, as well as sunsets, the place to head to is Dhupgarh, which is considered to be the highest peak between the Nilgiris and the Himalayas. Meanwhile, it is the abundance of little rivulets, tiny waterfalls, ponds and sundry water bodies, just a few minutes outside the little town, waiting to be discovered and savoured during walks, gives the place its distinctiveness. Just imagine the number of picnic possibilities !

 

If the need to break the solitude grows strong, then head to the Jatashankar and the Mahadeo (10 km)  temples, two shrines which are held sacred by the locals. The Shivaratri celebrations at the Mahadeo temple is quite popular and devotees throng the temple during the occasion.  If it is a dip in cold water that you want, then Bee Falls, Rajat Prapat and Duchess Falls (3 km) are most apt; for some ancient history and heritage, there are the Pandav caves , believed to have been lived in by the Pandavas during their exile, and other caves in the area which contain pre-historic rock paintings. For eco-tourism and adventure, the Satpura National Park is just a drive away.

 

KAUSANI

Switzerland in India

If Pachmarhi is all about scalability, then Kausani in Uttaranchal, up in the North, is about majesty, larger than life and cliché-defying beauty.  Located in the Kumaon hills within shouting distance of the Himalayas, it is easy to understand why the place evokes superlative adjectives.

 

It was Mahatma Gandhi, visiting the place for 12 days after his imprisonment, who gave it the moniker Switzerland of India, after being awed by the uninterrupted view of more than 300 km of snow-capped Himalayan ranges. And it is here that the famous litterateur Sumitra Nandan Pant was born and lived, drawing inspiration from nature’s magnificence all around.

 

With such well known names as Almora, Nainital and Mussoorie around it, Kausani is relatively unknown and is hence the perfect place for a peaceful holiday. The feast begins on the drive from Kathgodam, where the views are one never-ending saga of beauty, the green broken by the bright hues of the rhododendrons which are in profusion around this time. In Kausani, there’s little else to do but gape and then gape some more. It is fascinating to watch the mountains turn from dark brown just before sunrise to a shimmering white gold by early morning, turning it into a great outdoor show, much like the aurora borealis. On clear days, the Nanda Devi and the Trishul peaks are visible, so there’s scope for more gaping. Also, like many hill towns, there is precious little by way of public transport, but much of the pleasure is to be had by walking, so do come prepared.

 

Quite apart from the gaping, two must-see places in town are the Anashakti Ashram, set up in memory of Mahatma Gandhi, whose stay in Kausani inspired the treatise on Anashakti Yoga, and the Pant memorial set up in his ancestral home with furniture and artefacts he used. There’s also the Katarmal Sun Temple, on the way to Kausani, a complex of 44 temples believed to be more than 800 years old. Outside Kausani, the places to visit include Baijanath (16 km) in the Garuda valley which has a temple complex and Bageshwar (40 km), located at the meeting point of the rivers Gomti and Sarayu. The temple complex is the main attraction and is festooned with traditional Kumaoni offerings. This is also the starting point for trekkers who begin treks to Pindari, one of the accessible glaciers in the Himalayan region.

 

GANGTOK

The border paradise

In complete contrast to all the other hill stations, Gangtok, the capital of Sikkim in India’s Northeast, has a flavour all its own. The distinctiveness stems from a juxtaposition of a variety of factors – the obvious beauty of a hill town that boasts of unimpeded views of the Kanchenjunga, a culture that is slightly off-mainstream and a race that could be termed foreign (sharing borders with Bhutan, Tibet and Nepal) when compared to the rest of the country. And yet, the warmth exuded by the place and the people is very Indian.

 

The drive into Gangtok from Siliguri aptly sets the tone for the visit. The winding road, which runs for the most part alongside the river Teesta, is in turns stunning and heart-stopping. All over town, there are enough reminders of the brooding presence of the mountains as they are never far away from the line of sight. Long walks to take in the ever-changing view of the mountain ranges is the best way to spend time here, stopping by the View Point to take in a more panoramic view. For a change of perspective, try the ropeway which provides a bird’s eye-view of the town, the Sikkim Parliament house and the mountains and valleys around. Life here is unhurried and simple – the CM’s motorcade consists all of two vehicles and traffic cops unobtrusively stop motorists for a couple of minutes for it to pass, before things get back to normal.

 

Gangtok is also a town that takes certain things very seriously. Plastic for example is banned, while its main thoroughfare – MG Road – is strictly for pedestrians in the evening. So, as the sun begins to dip, short sirens pierce the air and motorists make a mad dash to their vehicles. The road magically clears out. Cops roll out barricades at the two ends of the road and then all is peace. Lovely lilting music starts playing on loudspeakers mounted all along the road and pedestrians have right of way. Pure bliss ! 

 

A visit to Gangtok can never be completed without visiting Buddhist monasteries. By far the most important monastery is Rumtek (25 km), which is almost 300 years old. The distinct architecture, the maroon and yellow robed monks of all ages and their muted chants lend a sense of serenity to the whole place. The brilliant-hued towering idols, the beautiful painted walls and exquisite thangkas add surreality to the picture. Enchey monastery, located above Gangtok is also worth a visit. For Buddhism enthusiasts, a rich resource is the Institute of Tibetology which houses many Buddhist artefacts, statues, manuscripts and thangkas.  For a bit of variety, head to the Tsomgo Lake (40 km) outside Gangtok, a water body which is almost a kilometre wide and is sometimes still frozen in April .

 

Five regions, five abodes of peace even as the plains reel under rising mercury levels. Each distinct in feel and flavour, yet all having one thing in common – the hordes are yet to discover them and descend. What are you waiting for? Time to pack your bags and head out ……

 

 

 

 

FACTFILES

 Factfile Coonoor

Altitude: 6,100 ft

By Air: Coimbatore (100 km) is the nearest airport. Indian flies to Cimbatore from Chennai, Delhi, Kochi, Kozhikode and Mumbai.

By Rail: Mettupalayam (46 km) is the nearest railhead

By Road: There are regular buses to Kunnur; taxi services are also widely available.

Where to stay: Taj Garden Retreat, YMCA guest house, Velan Ritz, Wellignton, Vivek Tourist Home.

What to see and do: Trekking, nature walks, birdwatching, Sim’s Park, Lamb’s Rock, Droog Fort, Catherine Falls, Dolphin’s Nose.

What to eat: Though the local fare is typically South Indian, it is worthwhile to try the fruit extracts and preserves.

What to buy: Embroidered linens, furniture.

Nearby attractions: Kotagiri, Ketty and Ooty

 

Factfile Madikeri

Altitude: 3,800 ft

By Air: Bangalore (about 240 km) is the nearest airport

By Rail: Mysore is the nearest railhead; 3 hours by road

By Road: About 6 hours by road from Bangalore via Hunsur and Kushalnagar.

Where to stay: Mayura Valley View, Raj Darshan, Coorg International, Orange County, Club Mahindra Kodagu Valley Resort.

What to see and do: Trekking, nature walks, golfing, elephant camp visit, Tibetan monastary, dam.

What to eat: Akki (rice flour) roti, kadumbuttu (rice dumplings), pandi (pork) curry, koli (chicken) curry, mango curry and bamboo shoot curry.

What to buy: Coffee and spices.

Nearby attractions: Abbey Falls, Bylakuppe, Dubare elephant camp, Kushalnagar, Harangi Dam.

 

 

Factfile Panchmarhi

Altitude: 3,500 ft

By Air: Bhopal (about 200 km) is the nearest airport

By Rail: Pipariya (45 km) is the nearest railhead

By Road: Buses ply from Bhopal and Nagpur as well as from Pipariya; taxi services are also available.

Where to stay: Rock End Manor, Panchavati Cottages, Satpura Retreat.

What to see and do: Trekking, nature walks, Priyadarshini point, Satpura national park and Bee falls, Jamuna Prapat, Mahadeo hill, Pandav caves.

What to eat: Wholesome north Indian fare.

What to buy: Local handlooms and handicrafts

 

 

Factfile Kausani

Altitude: 6,200 ft

By Air: Pantnagar (180 km) is the nearest airport

By Rail: Kothgodam (140 km) is the nearest railhead

By Road: Buses ply to Kausani from nearby towns; taxi services are available.

Where to stay: Krishna Mount View, Mountain Villa, Sun and Snow Inn, Sagar.

What to see and do: Trekking, Baijnath temple, Anashakti Ashram, Pant Museum.

What to eat: UP and Bengali food.

What to buy: Woollen carpets made by inmates of the Lakshmi Ashram, rhododendron squash, tea.

Nearby attractions: Bageshwar,

 

Factfile Gangtok

Altitude: 5,050 ft

By Air: Bagdogra (about 125 km; 5 hrs by road) is the nearest airport; there is also a helicopter service between Bagdogra and Gangtok but it is best to ascertain the availablity of the service before departure.

By Rail: Siliguri (115 km) and New Jalpaiguri (125 km) are the nearest railheads.

By Road: Gangtok is well connected by private and state run buses; there are regular taxi services (available on share-basis) from both Siliguri and New Jalpaiguri.

Where to stay: Tashi Delek, Central, Tibet

What to see and do: Institute of Tibetology, Rumtek and Enchey monastries, Sikkim parliament house, View point, orchid garden, ride on the ropeway.

What to eat: Momos, Thupka and Tchang (beer made from millet)

What to buy: Tibetan handicrafts, carpets, thankas, Buddhist souvenirs, Tibetan jewellery

Nearby attractions: Pemayangtse monastary, Rabdentse ruins, Borong hot springs