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!!