River Bhagirathi welcomed us with its musical flow as we came out of our rooms after a good night’s sleep. The view of the river and areas around the Bhagirathi River-view Homestay was calming and mesmerising and boosted up our energy.
We had a relaxed breakfast served hot and we started off for our next journey.
Gangnani in Uttarakhand is famous for its natural hot water springs – Rishikund, which is believed to have therapeutic properties. People also consider it auspicious to have a dip here before going to Gangotri. We of course, did not plan it specifically, but wanted to visit it on the way back from Gangotri. But then due the traffic woes of the previous day, it was not easy to reconcile and take a bold step come what may. Since the place was not very far from the hotel, but on way to Gangotri, we thought we will try to go there first and then proceed to Tehri Dam. But unfortunately, when we just entered the main road, already there were cars lined up towards Gangotri. We were not allowed to go in that direction despite our informing that we are only going to the thermal spring at a short distance and not to Gangotri. Our joining the long row of cars already on road meant long hours of waiting and so we decided to skip it to some future occasion.
Our journey towards Tehri Dam was uneventful except for a half an hour stop at one place. On the way we stopped over for lunch of Chapattis, Rice Dal, Palak Paneer etc. at the Krishna Pratyush Restaurant.
The drive to the Resort via Tehri dam was quite exciting, with winding narrow mountainous roads. For several miles we could not see any vehicle other than ours. Till we reached a town Chamba, which was bustling with activity, the situation continued like that. As we moved down from uphill through the long winding narrow roads, we had a good view of the dam and the reservoir from many angles and heights and took some snaps as well.
At one point we stopped the car to have a look at the bridge to cross over the catchment area of the dam. Down below in the middle of the catchment area we could see a row of small floating cottages, which were resorts for tourists. Our accommodation was planned in these, but enough rooms were not available and so booking was done at the “TEHRI RETREAT”. We crossed over to the next mountain via a green iron bridge, when these rows of floating cottages were clearly visible.
Tehri dam is the tallest dam in India and 13th in the world. While passing by the Dam, we all recollected the protests from local people on relocation of lakhs of people from their villages and concerns raised on the environmental hazards of locating such a huge dam in the fragile ecosystem of Himalayas. As we looked down at the waters there was an eerie silence amongst us, thinking of the agony that those displaced local villagers would have undergone, albeit compensations which may have been given to them.
We reached the resort “Tehri Retreat” by evening. The place was quite cool, nestled amidst pine forest and mountains. Accommodation was a cottage with two huge rooms and a living room area. It had all facilities for a comfortable stay.
The view as we stepped out of the cottage was simply marvellous. The night view also was great.
We had a relaxing time there and had a good buffet dinner.
For someone who is fond of nature, flowers and plants, there was no end to clicking away photos. Sharing some photos of plants and flowers seen around the Resort. There was an apple tree in the compound which had very small apples, green in colour.
Incidentally, this is a pet friendly accommodation where one is allowed to bring along their pets as well. We could see a couple of dogs and cats roaming around freely, without causing any trouble to the guest.
Here we met a couple who were staying at the resort for a longer duration and we all had good discussion on topics of mutual interest and exchanged notes for connecting in future.
By about 12 noon, we proceeded to our last destination Rishikesh. On the way we had lunch at TATTV CAFE – a restaurant in the main Rishikesh Centre. There was also an organic store on the ground floor from where we bought some nuts and dry fruits after our lunch. The Restaurant offered a wide variety of food, including Chinese, Israeli and Italian. We had Pitha with Humus – a middle eastern food, Spaghetti Aglio e Olio a pasta dish typical of the Italian city of Naples; Pizza and Sizzlers and a dessert of Banana split.
The Sizzlers served sizzling hot in cabbage shells was quite a visual treat and a delicacy!!!
Behind the compound there was a mango tree which had lots of mangoes. Somewhere I had a snapshot of litchi tree also but not able to recollect if I saw it near Tattv Cafe or elsewhere.
At Rishikesh our stay was at “Neemrana’s Glasshouse on the Ganges”, a hotel by the side of the Ganges, on the slopes of a mountain. It was quite comfortable and was in the midst of a small forest, with music of the river in the background. The rooms were at different levels, with a dining hall two levels down the slope.
The room had all facilities for a comfortable stay and was very spacious. Apart from electric kettle there was a coffee maker too. We found the box in which tea/coffee sachet were kept quite cute.
The Hotel served tea and snacks at about 4 pm and then an elaborate dinner. Since all of us are happy to try out new cuisines, we opted for “Shapta“ a Nepali Stir Fry; Asian stir fry; Thai Red curry with steam cooked rice; and Garlic Naan. The dessert was “Jhangore Ki kheer” garnished with pista, badam and cashew, which looked just like rice kheer and was very inviting. This is a very special dish of Uttarakhand and made of Barnyard Millet.
The breakfast was complementary and had a good spread of very soft stuffed Poori which we found very special and tasted a bit like Kachori. There was dhaniya-pudina chutney to go with it. There were also other items like Alu Porotta, Bread Omelet, Potato Wedges, Samosa, fruits, juices, cornflakes etc. to choose from.
One of the things which I found interesting was some measures the hotel had taken for propagating Climate change initiatives through some of their items/actions. The drinking water supply in the room was through bottles of glass with a tag attached to it saying “Good for Mother Earth” – and not pet bottles. The Tag may be a strategy of the company supplying the water viz., “BelGrey”, but still the hotel need to be also commended for having chosen to take this eco friendly measure. Similarly there was a board requesting to skip housekeeping saying “together we can save our planet”. Such small initiatives help in reminding guests at least for a moment about Climate Change and its implications.
Another feature I found interesting was the nature friendly portraits displayed in the rooms which were that of different kinds of birds.
Sitting at a level below the dining hall, we all enjoyed the view of Ganges flowing down below. There was a route from where we could reach the river.
All around we could find Bael tree with some fruits on them, but there were very little leaves on them. This tree is considered sacred since the leaves are offered to Lord Shiva. There were also very fragrant Curry leaves all around the place.
There were a number of electric lanterns used to light up the pathways, the shape of which reminded us of our childhood days when such lanterns, called “Ranthal”, used to be lit using kerosene.
That was our last day of a memorable trip, before both of us took our flight to Mumbai from the Jolly Grant Airport of Dehradun. Throughout the journey I tried to capture the flowers and trees which are seen in the areas through which we traversed. Came across several wild flowers and some trees of which shots are posted below. Most of these photos have been taken from the moving car and so may not be all that clear.
Six days spent together so very happily and time really flies. Quite a memorable trip for all six of us spending relaxed time together, talking sweet nothings, old memories, exchanging interesting childhood stories of both the children, most importantly being away from the madding crowd and busy schedules. We took our flight to Mumbai for a few days stay. all of us were bit sad to say bye and get back to respective zones, but eagerly looking forward for our next trip together. Already we had agreed upon visiting one or two more Dhams, may be Badrinath or Kedarnath, sometime later.
Well, eagerly waiting for those plans to come through…………..”au revoir!”
#BhagirathiRiver-viewHomestay#KrishnaPratyush Restaurant#TehriDam#TehriRetreat#TattvCafeRishikesh#Neemrana’sGlasshouseOnTheGanges#
Site Title 