Churdhar Peak - Have you been there??

Introduction:

I was looking for a weekend getaway with a hiking adventure that takes you above 3000 m from sea level. I googled a lot and found ‘Churdhar’, just 400 km from Delhi and having very little info throughout the WorldWideWeb.

Lord Shiva's seat at 1200 feet - The Churdhar Peak

About the place:

Churdhar Peak is the highest peak in Sirmour district and is also the highest peak in the outer Himalayas. Churdhar is a holy place related with Shri Shirgul Maharaj (Chureshwar Maharaj), a deity widely worshipped in Sirmour and Chaupal. The peak can be approached by lots of routes but the main routes are from Nohradhar, Sirmour of 14 km and Sarahan, Chaupal of 8 km. It is from this peak that Sir George Everest made many astronomical readings and sightings of the Himalaya mountains around 1834. He was the Surveyor General of India and did the initial survey of the full length of India as well as some very accurate measurements of the earth's curvature.

Altitude from sea level: 3647 meters!

How to reach:

There are very few options for public transport to Churdhar. Hence it is advisable to have your own vehicle (any two or four wheeler will do). Preferred route to avoid the everlasting Shimla traffic jam is Delhi-Nahan-Sirmor-Chaupal.

Best time to Visit: Mid August-December or April–June and October–November

Brief Itinerary:

Day 1:   Saturday, 5 September, 2015 Leave at 6:30 pm
Day 2:   Sunday, 6 September, 2015 Reach Chopal at 11 am, Chopal to Sarahan at 12:30 pm
             Trek from Sarahan to Shirgul Maharaj Temple (8 km), overnight stay at temple hall.
Day 3:   Trek from Shirgul Maharaj Temple to Churdhar Peak (3 km), Trek downhill to Sarahan and back                 to Delhi.

Expenses:           INR 1200.00 each traveler

                            Accommodation INR 20.00 each traveler

                            Meals INR 500.00 per traveler

Total:     INR 1800.00 per traveler

Back to travelogue:

On every weekend I have this craving or more accurately itching to drive in the hills and trek to somewhere that takes me nowhere. This time I felt it was too late, I could not make my mind till Saturday evening and fortunately came to know that Monday, September 7,2015 is a US holiday 'Labor Day'. Hence, still it was a weekend shifted till Monday. As mentioned in the introduction, I found Churdhar Peak that takes you to a respectable above 3000m of altitude to have a magnificent view of The Himalayas. I rang few of my friends phones and as usual, Sanjay Kumar Kashyap who never says no, provided he be free of any time constraint, agreed to experience the unheard trek. Getting an okay from Malkeet Singh was a surprise as he always complaints of being short of time. And, by then, we were three, sorry four that counts the traveler that made us travel to last roadhead, Honda City GXI. We left at 6:30 pm Saturday, September 5,2015 and had a 'CNG' break at Singhu Border.   

Over the last 5-7 years, it seem to have become mandatory and a custom for us, Delhiites, to stop at either Sukhdev or Haveli at Murthal for a platter just after Delhi-Haryana border. This time, we thought to travel back in time and have dinner the age old way, i.e., at a traditional Dhaba with meal served on a plank placed on a 'Charpai' and it really felt awesome!

This really reminds us the days of school days when we were heading towards a remote destination, say Haridwar, on highway and these Dhabas were the only resort. I feel, every one must give it a try.


We reached Sarahan at around 12:30 and found the village to be as beautiful as heaven on earth.

a picturesque school, sorry, Sanskrit University at Sarahan

Add caption

Strange custom of embedding coins into trees by locals at Churdhar wildlife sanctuary, Sarahan, Sirmour, Himachal Pradesh, probably to ingraft the goddess Laxmi with and within the growth of these.

We began to trek at 12:30 pm and thought to reach the Shirgul Maharaj temple at around 6:30 pm. But the trek is not an easy one and at times, does takes efforts to move ahead. This lead us fall behind the schedule and we ended up walking in the jungle at 8 pm. It was pitch black dark and the only source of light was flashlights of mobile phones we had. We kept moving ahead and to our relief, at around 8:30 pm, heard few voices. We asked for help like hell and kept flashing the flashlights to signal them. We were now delighted to have them respond on our call. They were three 'INDIAN ARMY' personnel!  "Gods have arrived at the land of Gods". If any one remembered my post on Uttarakhand floods should have known these words, that came true to me this time. They told us that we were heading the entirely wrong direction and would might have been lost in the jungle. The 'Gods' took us, yes, literally, by then we had lost all hopes were afraid to move even a single move, to the God's abode, Shri Shirgul Maharjaj Temple.

The moment we reached the temple hall, the only policeman posted at this altitude offered us tea and suggested to have blankets from the temple committee. Accommodation and Meal is free here and blankets can be hired for Rs.5.00 per blanket. One would need 4-5 to counter the chill. Tired we, went to sleep.


Next morning, we woke up at 7 were off to Churdhar Peak. The trek was no less than heaven.

From here....

To Here....

the almighty Lord Shiva at Churdhar Peak

view from Churdhar Peak

a Cast Away apple on an apple tree

the Fourth traveler, ready to takes us back to Delhi

Churdhar is a trek for travelers looking for an entirely different experience of hiking and is must visit peak suggested at mustvisithimalayas. 

Keep Travelling! :) 

Chakrata 2.0 Devban, Budher and Tiger Fall

Introduction: Chakrata is just 350 km from Delhi and can easily be termed as a place for weekend trip but it isn’t. We have Tiger Fall, Devban, Budher, Kanasar, Lakhmandal and more and each of these places demands its own share of time. Hence Chakrata is a weekend destination but for more than once or even twice.

God's Master stroke by his golden brush.

About the place:

Chakrata is a cantonment town in Dehradun district in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is situated between the Tons and Yamuna rivers, at an elevation of 7000–7250 feet. The area is known as Jaunsar-Bawar, belonging to the Jaunsari tribe famous for their BlackMagic (kindly ignore). Chakrata is an access-restricted military cantonment, and foreigners face severe restrictions in visiting. Notably, it is the permanent garrison of the secretive and elite Special Frontier Force, also known as Establishment 22 ( called "Two-Two"), the only ethnic Tibetan unit of the Indian Army, which was raised after the Indo-China War of 1962. Various kinds of weapons and survival training is also imparted by R&AW and other intelligence services in Chakrata.

Below are major attractions:

Devban, perched at about 2900 mtrs offer panoramic view of Himalayas.

Budher, is a picturesque meadow located at an altitude of 2800 mtrs. The Karsts landscapes of Budher are home to a network of ancient limestone caves.

Tiger fall, one of the highest direct water fall in Uttarakhand.

Altitude from sea level: 2,118m

How to reach: Chakrata is around 380 km from Delhi via Ponta Sahib and can be reached from Dehradun via Mussoorie or Vikasnagar. Both routes pass through beautiful mountainous road. Traveling in the monsoon can be quite tricky as the area sees frequent road blockages due to landslides.

Best time to Visit: January – April, though, Chakrata’s easy accessibility makes it ideal to visit throughout the year!

Brief Itinerary:

Day 1: Saturday, 5th December,2015 Leave at 5:30 am, reach Chakrata at 6:45 pm, overnight stay at Chakrata.

Day 2: Sunday, 6th December,2015 Leave for Devban at 10:00 am, Devban to Budher Caves at 5:00 pm, Budher to Chakrata 8:30 pm, overnight stay at Chakrata.

Day 3: Monday, 7th December,2015 Chakrata to Tiger Fall at 12:30 pm, Tiger Fall to Kalsi, overnight stay at Kalsi.

Day 4: Tuesday, 8th December,2015 Kalsi to Delhi. Reach Delhi at 4:30 pm.

Expenses:              Fuel INR 1000.00 per traveler

                               Accomodation: INR 500.00 per traveler

                               Meals: INR 500.00 per traveler

                               Misc: INR 200.00

Total Cost per traveler: INR 2200.00

Back to travelogue:

I had been to Chakrata twice but could not make it to Devban and Budher due to time constraint and road condition to Devban not suitable for Car. Therefore I planned bike ride to chakrata this time and eventually ended up with 3 bikes and 6 travelers. One of my friend Lokesh Chauhan from NIIT Technologies had recently been a proud owner of Royal Enfield Classic350 and was keen for a weekend bike ride and agreed for the adventure. Harsh Kumar Chauhan, was back to India from his office tour to Europe and seem to be excited and craving for a bike ride in Himalayas. Sanjay Kumar Kashyap, Never says no for a trip to hills provided he be free of any time constraint. Manish Kumar Sukrawa randomly  commented on one of my post on FB about how we manage to keep the budget at lower end. I suggested him to experience for himself and he okayed for the ride with his friend Yogesh.  

To sum up, we were 6 travelers with 3 bikes.

We planned to wake up 4 am and meet at Dwarka sector 3 at 5:30 am. 

Lokesh Chauhan and Sanjay Kashyap (RE Classic 350cc), Manish Kumar Sukrawa and Yogesh (Pulsar 220cc)

Parvinder Mehra and Harsh Kumar Chauhan on Hero Splendor (125cc)

Excited we, fueled the machines and were off to Chakrata, on NH1.

The Men and The Machines: Lokesh Chauhan-RE Classic350, Harsh Chauhan-Hero Splendor 125 and Yogesh-Bajaj Pulsar220

Mystique Mist at somewhere Sonipat, NH1

As mentioned in my previous travelogue for Chakrata, we had a break at Sneham restaurant. 

A bridge over Yamuna river.

We reached Chakrata at 6:45 pm and found a lodge for INR 1500.00 only.

Next morning, as We were determined for Devban, we left at 10 am towards Devban some 30 kms from Chakrata. Out of 30, 15 km stretch is highly deteriorated and is suitable for bikes and SUVs with good ground clearance only. When we reached there, I found Devban is a meadow maintained specially for camping. The place is well fenced all over and there are 4-5 platforms to mount your tent, if you have one. 

Otherwise one has to take prior permission and booking for Devban guest house at Chakrata.

Vyas Shikhar is just a 500m trek from last motorable point and has a unique theodolitic rock that directs accurately the name and altitude of each peak you see from here in the Himalayas. I haven’t seen this anywhere during any of my travels. 

The theodolitic rock

the Theodolitic rock directing the name and altitude of visible himalayan peaks

We enjoyed the serenity of tranquil Devban Meadow for few hours and rode downhill to find the amusement at Budher.

Budher meadow is at 2.5 km easy trek from Forest rest house and  has a unique topography. We were amazed to see sand dunes like structures at this altitude.

There is an ancient Pari Mandir that seem to be livestock sacrifice ceremony place for locals. 

However, our objective to trek to Budher was to see the much read Budher Caves but unfortunately we could not find one L. There is a little picturesque lake as well. Having seen a unusual formations over a landscape we walked down and went back to Chakrata for next day visit to Tiger Fall.

I believe Tiger Fall doen’t need much of writing and hence let the clicks do further.

the first glimpse of stream we had

This how huge the fall is

True Wanderer Lokesh Chauhan

Harsh was curious to have a bird’s eye view of the point from where the Fall Falls. We tried to but the point is hardly accessible. We left for Delhi.

Annnd you thought the adventure is over, here is a little more:

Keep Traveling!!