Chaaval Jaruri hai;
Jaruri hai aata daal namak pudina;
Par Kyon na aisa ho ki aaj shaam;
Hum sidhe wahin pohoonchee;
Ekdam wahin, Jahan Chaaval;
Daana bananey se pehle;
Sugandh ki pida se chattpata raha ho
These lines written by Kedarnath Singh in his poem “Ek Chota sa Anurodh” were playing like a loop in our minds. For the longest we were waiting for the things to be a bit normal as we desperately wanted to travel to a place where we could be with nature and that too without disturbing its original form.
Best travel plans are always unplanned and therefore they turned out to be superb. Parbati Bhattacharya director of a travel company the Wanderers footprint recently visited a Homestay somewhere near Bhimtaal in Uttarakhand. She highly recommended the place so we thought to explore it as well and thanks to her, we were not disappointed.
The place is known as “The Silent Valley” in Alchona/Chanfi Village near Bhimtaal of Nainital district in the state of Uttrakhand of northern India. The homestay is located just above the river Kalsa which adds to the beauty and magic of this place. It is not a small homestay the property is around 1000 nalli in size (250000 yards approx). It has its own Organic Vegetable farm, Bee farm, Organic flower farm, Organic Milk produces, different varieties of flora and fauna, many varieties of birds and small animals. It has its own fountain of spring water too. Yess!! The place was exactly what we were looking for where the time stands still, life is lived like a life, beautiful, calm and peaceful. An opportunity to be with the nature in its pristine form.
The Journey
We decided to drive ourselves as it is hardly 300 kms from Delhi and there are 4-5 routes available as per one’s starting point. We started at 6:00 am from our house in Indirapuram to avoid the local traffic. We took NH 24 and drove Indirapuram—Hapur—Garh Mukteshwar—Mordabad. We didn’t go towards Rampur and took a sharp U turn at the end of Moradabad and turned towards Kashipur—Bajpur—Kala Dungi—Haldwani—Kathgodam—Bhimtaal—Khutani—Chanfi—The Silent Valley.
There was a bit of local traffic after the U Turn as it was almost 8 am when we reached there. The route is easily available on the GPS or best is to ask the locals, they are more than willing to help and trust me better than GPS in UP. We reached Kashipur while driving through the villages of western Uttar Pradesh and there we saw this beautiful pond of Lotuses. It was really mesmerizing.
We crossed Uttar Pradesh and entered Uttrakhand at the borders of Dist. Udham Singh Nagar. The rules were relaxed during Unlock 5 and we just had to show them our registration for the tour which we did on the Dehradun City website a day ago. The road conditions changed drastically as soon as we entered Uttarakhand, it was far better than the rural area roads of UP. We had to cross 3 railway lines before we reached Kala Dhungi. Kala Dhungi road is beautiful, it’s a drive through forest. The road condition is excellent and one should enjoy the journey here, though beware of monkeys or local animals who might cross the roads suddenly. Also take care of the local vehicles as they are not very religious towards the traffic rules. A sudden stop or a sudden turn in front of you is normal and please do not indulge in any verbal dual here.
There are two different routes from Kala Dunghi, one towards Nainitaal and the other towards Haldwani-kathgodam. We took the second route as the first is longer and many times it is closed due to heavy traffic. Once you cross Kathgodam drive till Ranibagh and then turn towards Bhimtaal, from there you need to drive to Khutani village, please do not take the Bhowali route and also trust the GPS here as locals in Uttrakhand have a different road sense, for them everything is just round the corner and please do not trust their hand gestures as they move it in a similar way for left and right. If you have to ask, please ask for the specific village or location and do not take any alternate route suggested by them. The U turn here is known as T point so once you reach Khutani take a U turn upwards and drive towards Chanfi. The route is available on GPS so don’t worry at all. After 2 km you will cross a big iron bridge and then take a right turn. After driving a km or so there is a small road which is going downwards to the Silent Valley homestay Village Alchauna. It is a small, steep and narrow road. You need to drive 2 Kms on this road to reach the destination. Please drive slow as there are vehicles from the village move up and down on the road. We reached around 1:00 pm and parked our car at a designated place. There is enough parking for 4-5 vehicles at this place.
The Homestay
At first I thought there is nothing spectacular in the infrastructure, but I was wrong!! the place is more than 200 years old and has been renovated as per the needs of today’s modern family. There are three sections for stay
- The Kumaoni House
- The Tree House
- The Bunglow
One can choose the stay options as per their budget and number of guests. For 3 of us Kumaoni House was more than enough. It was built in old Kumaoni style with the use of wood and limestone. Cozy room with 1 king sized bed, wooden Almira, big windows with neat and clean english toilets. Balconies with front and back Lawns and your personal area for Bon fire. Wow!!
The tree house is good for two families together. It has two floors and is built with the tree inside it. Yes you actually stay with a live tree. The rooms are beautifully customized with big bed, wardrobe, attached kitchen and toilets. Amazing wood work, big lawn at back and bottom of the tree house. An awesome balcony to sit and enjoy your evening cup of tea. Once again your personal space for bon fire and family time.
The Bunglow is even bigger. It is for a very big family as it has many interconnected rooms. It gives you the taste and flavour of old British-Kumaoni architecture. A rustic smell and a feeling of living inside an old Jungle or Daak Bunglow. It has a big courtyard, where the family used to play Badminton, now it has been turned into a big dinning space.
A dining table under a big mango tree.
The kitchen is right across the table, so you get to taste the local delicacies hot and fresh. It was a great feeling to enjoy your meal fresh and tasty in open with the nature. The food here is vegetarian. Though eggs are available as per your request. No chaos, no hussle bussle, smell of pine mixed with the fresh cool breeze and yes pure spring water. I ate more than I required all the time.
The vegetables, spices, local herbs all are organic and home grown. They have three cows so the milk and milk products are all homemade. Everything tasted so fresh, scrumptious and delicious that it reminded me the age’s old concept of “Pranik Value” of food which we have lost long ago in the urban areas.
The Valley and River
As the name suggest the valley is Silent. Not too many houses in the vicinity, no sound of traffic and no sound of our own egos as well. The sound of silence and silence for hours which gets break only by the whistles of trapped wind in the woods or by the chirping of birds. The property is huge. The whole hill is owned by our host “The Upreti Family.” One can sit and observe the valley from a point or can track where ever they wish and enjoy flora and fauna of the place. Roses, lillies, wild berries, wild flowers, pine trees, Shaal trees, Bichoo booti and many more.
It is a paradise for bird watchers, many birds can be seen in the valley, and many of them dine with you in the dining area as they also get served there. A beautiful example that this earth is for everyone and not just for Homo sapiens. It is difficult to describe the greenery, purity and calmness of this valley in words. One has to be here to experience this and live with it.
One of the greatest assets of this valley is its own segment of river Kalsa which passes through the property. It’s a 15-20 mins walk downward from the Dining area. The path is good for most of the part with 1-2 patches of narrow and steep passes. It is advisable to take someone from the homestay along with you and ensure that you should come back by 4:00 pm. We decided to do a picnic at the river front, so we packed our lunches and went for it. Our Host Amit Upreti and his son Amish also accompanied us. We crossed a small hanging bridge and reached the river.
It was beautiful. Neat and clean, human invasions of plastic and food wrappers has not reached this place yet. The water was clean and flowing at a normal speed. It was 12:00 pm yet the water was chilled. Then we did what was supposed to be done, fun, fun and more fun. We spent almost 3-4 hours at that place. Jump in the water, come out, eat and then jump back in the water once again. We did carry our garbage bags to bring the food garbage back to the homestay. We were not in the mood to be back so early however, the water level in the river started to rise up around 3:00 pm. So we decided to move back to our rooms. However, the return track was not as easy as it was while going down. Damn!! If I could do that Up and down the river track for 5 days I will definitely lose 3-4 kgs.
The touch and feel of soil and river by your hands and feet are few of the most original experiences of human beings with nature. It’s been years since I did that in fact it was my 10 years old daughter who enjoyed the most. She just loved her swimming in this tiny stream of river and made a promise to come back soon.
The Host
Our Host “The Upretis” are well known in this region. The owner is Sh. Lalit Mohan Upreti who is 75 years young and is a living University for Organic Farming and Bee farming. A pioneer in the project of Lab to farm by the government of India started in 1970. The lady of the house is Smt. Ganga Devi Upreti who is one of most beautiful and gracious lady I have ever met in my life.
The property is being managed by their two sons Amit and Ajay with the rock solid support of their hard working, dedicated and kind hearted wives.
The statement “Not everything is available in google” comes true when you spend time with Uncle and Auntie. They welcome you as a part of your family and treat you the same. So it becomes more important for us to behave like one and respect the nature, the way, they have been preserving it for centuries. It was great to spend time with them during our meals, as it used to be a family dinner, all together. It is a wonderful place for single kids or kids living in a nuclear family in urban areas. I am sure they will enjoy and understand what it really means to live in a big family with the love and affection of Grand Parents.
The Return Journey
After spending 4 amazing days we had to go back to the hussle and bussle of our city lives. We wished to spend few more days but then you have to go when you have to go…
We had a hearty breakfast with special herbal chutney. We received lots of love and some huge organic vegetables from our Hosts as a gift. We got our lunch packed for the road. We started our Journey back at 11:00 am. As suggested by my friend Vipul Singh we took a different route for our return journey
Chanfi—Khutani—Bhimtaal—Haldwani—Rudrapur—Bilaspur—Rampur—Moradabad Bypass—GarhMukteshwar—Hapur—Indirapuram
This is the simplest and shortest road. The road used to be bad between Bilaspur and Rampur. However, it is good now with very few bad patches for 2-3 km. It is advisable to avoid travelling during nights in the hills.
To Sum it up
The silent Valley is truly a home away from home, in fact better. I would suggest everyone who is missing their roots or wish their kids and family to experience few beautiful, unadulterated, stress free and mesmerizing days with nature to come and enjoy the Silent Valley.
It’s a humble request to everyone that people here are simple and live with very limited means. The means are enough for everyone’s need but not good enough for one man’s greed. So please don’t expect a 3-5 star treatment and lavish experience. The experience here is serene and pure.
Please keep your expectations at check, respect the surroundings, the nature and the Upreti family.
By Deepankar Sarkar
