MeraPahad Community Of Uttarakhand Lovers

Kausani: The 'Switzerland of India'
Sunday, 04.13.2008, 10:15pm (GMT-7)


Set at an altitude of over 6075 ft (1890 mt) above sea level, the hill resort of Kausani is surrounded by snow-capped mountains and imagination-stirring scenic beauty, which has earned it the moniker the 'Switzerland of India'. Besides being the birthplace of the famous poet Sumitra Nandan Pant, the place has also visited by Mahatma Gandhi who was enamored of its dazzling natural beauty. Originally known as Valna, the mesmerizing hill resort in the Kumaon Region of the state of Uttaranchal, offers the ultimate vacation full of romantic environment.

Sight Seeing: Well known for the beauty of its landscape and the warmth of its welcome, Kausani offers the mind-boggling panoramic view of the Kumaon Himalayas. One can view the changing moods of the high Himalayan peaks like Nanda Devi, Trishul and the Nandakot.

Kausani offers several vantage points from where one can have a mesmerizing view of the vistas and photogenic scenery of the landscape including the snow-capped peaks of the Himalayas.

Another major attraction of the hill resort is the Anashakti Ashram. The Ashram has the privilege of being associated with Mahatma Gandhi.

Today the Ashram serves as the resting place for tourists who experience great peace after a sightseeing tour. The Ashram offers some dazzling spectacle of the Himalayan peaks of the Kumayan region. The superb library of the Ashram is worth visiting too.

Excursion: Though Kausani is a superb travel destination in its own right, it also serves as a base from which you can make excursions to various other places of tourist importance. Other famous hill resorts of Nainital, Almora and Ranikhet make outstanding excursion options from Kausani which can be reached easily. These hill stations offer breathtaking views of the Himalayas and serve as the romantic gateways.

Then there are the famous temple towns of Baijnath and Bageshwar which attract a large number of devotes Kausani

Kausani offers the attraction of a bird sanctuary to the wildlife enthusiasts at Binsar, which is close to the hill resort. Binsar offers wonderful view of the Himalayan peaks like Nanda Devi.

Adventure Sports: Kausani combines beautiful landscapes with a number of adventure sports. The hill resort offers the adventure seekers fine treks like the Bageshwar Sundardhunga Trek, Adi Kailash Trek and the Base Kausani Trek.

Best time to visit: Kausani experiences snowfall during the winter months of December and January. The best time to visit is April to November.

Getting there: There are different ways to reach Kausani.

By Air: There is no direct route to reach Kausani by Air. The nearest airport is at Pantnagar, at a distance180 km. From Pantnagar one can reach Kausani by car or by some vehicle.

By Rail: The nearest railhead to Kausani is the railway station at Kathgodam at a distance of 142 km and caters to the rail transport to Kausani.

By Road: Bus services connect Kausani with the other hill resorts including Ranikhet, Almora, Gwaldam, Pittoragarh and Nainital.

Accommodation: The hill resorts of Kausani offers various accommodation options ranging from deluxe hotels, standard hotels and budget hotels catering to requirements of the travelers visiting this beautiful hill station. Other options like the Tourist Rest houses are also available.

Eating crow, part two

Mitali Saran / New Delhi November 21, 2009, 0:22 IST
 
Source : http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/eating-crow-part-two/377087/

 
I have a soft spot for Kumaon that I cannot really explain; these are not the highest or even the most breathtaking hills to be had in this large and lovely country, but they are far and away my favourites. It has something to do, I think, with scale — Kumaon is hardly gentle hillocks, but the Himalaya bares its really serious teeth at a comfortable distance.
 
 
Still, some bits are lovelier than others. I’ve always thought of Bhimtal as the dregs of Kumaon, a murky lake surrounded by construction, lying at the bottom of a hill-sided bowl. I’m not saying it’s completely hideous, but my favourite way to experience it has been as a blur on the right as the car drives past at high speed towards higher, prettier places. Nonetheless, this week I’m taking the opportunity to beg pardon of Bhimtal, much as I ate humble pie about Shimla this summer, and admit that it can be quite nice.

Part of why it was nice is that just getting out of Delhi is always such a relief. (There’s nothing quite like that first glimpse of the great blue shadow of the ranges above the plains; I always expect the pleasure and excitement to wear off but it never does.) But it was largely because we were staying with Bunti Bakshi and Bindu Sethi at their Fishermen’s Lodge hotel right on the lake. Frankly, when you’re sitting by a crackling fire with a nice warming beverage, good conversation and Mark Knopfler on the music system, and excellent food and drink on the large, European-style deck overlooking the lake, which is quite blue and pretty after all, it’s hard to be grumpy.

Plus, they drove us around so that we got to see a little bit of the region around Bhimtal, which I’ve never stopped to see before. Sattal is one such place — a series of seven pretty mountain lakes that reflect green trees and blue sky deep in forested hills. You can walk between the lakes through the forest, or go boating in the water that connects six of them. Much of it is on land owned by the Christian Ashram; you can walk to the ashram complex which is crowned by a strange little circular church furnished with nothing but mattresses to sit on.

We sat for a while by the edge of Panna Tal, the emerald shine that is the only self-contained water body among the seven. It’s the site of the tiniest and by far the most beautiful open-air church I’ve ever seen: a series of curved benches by the lakeshore, with a small circular platform and a tiny pulpit (submerged when we were there); the forest behind the congregation and the lake spreading in front, with a small white cross standing on the green hill across the water. There’s nothing but birdsong, breeze, and the smell of leaves and flowers. If you can’t summon up any religious enthusiasm, a cold beer and/or a book works just as well.

We also drove up behind Bhimtal to Jungalia Gaon, en route getting a bird’s eye view of pretty nine-cornered Naukuchiatal lake. From Jungalia Gaon you can fly back down the mountain road on a bicycle, assuming you’re not me. If you’re me, you roll along the downhill bits competently enough, but when the road inclines upwards by a hair, you get off the bike and push it, pretending that that was the plan all along, and that the huffing and puffing echoing through the valley is really just the breeze. Either way, it’s a particularly delicious way to get back down a mountain.

So there you are, I was wrong again. Go see for yourself.

(mitali.saran@gmail.com)