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| Road to Chaukori |
I met Gopal and Rani at Shikhar Restaurant during breakfast time at Almorah, a district town in Kumaon in the state of Uttarakhand. Both wanted to see a truly peaceful place with an excellent Himalayan view. I was proceeding to my three final off beat somnolent hamlets- Chaukori, Binsar and Sitlakhet (near Ranikhet). I invited them to join me to which they readily agreed after viewing some photos of Chaukori.
To their good luck, I could confirm their reservation at KMVN Rest House, CHOUKORI through a friend of mine at PITHORAGARH
Next day was a real cold winter morning in Almorah. We started on our incredible journey at 8 AM as it was about to take 8 to 10 hours to cover a distance of 108 Kms and we wanted to reach before dark.
It was a descend into a beautiful valley! Luxuriant landscape-rivulets and green fields. What a sight! We took our lunch at a
Pahari Bhaba (a small road side eating joint) and then started immediately on a two hour final ascend to our paradise. A typical thrilling sensation creeping in of what lies ahead!
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| KMVN Rest House, Chaukori |
We reached KMVN Rest House Chaukori and as usual, they had the best location with beautiful cottages and rooms with reasonable amenities.
We had an early dinner as we were anxiously awaiting the next dawn.
I got up early next morning to see the sunrise and I was rewarded well! What a sight...golden snow peaks and a clear blue sky, it was an awesome scene! Gopal and Rani joined me with an open mouth!... the peaks were so close!
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| View of Himalayan range from KMVN rest house, Chakori |
My goodness! We found Chaukori to be quite unlike any other hill station we had seen. We trekked around Chaukori, reveling in the silence the awe-inspiring presence of magnificent Himalayan vistas. We climbed up after trekking for about 6 Kms the sight was incredible from the top
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Panchachuli group of peaks from Chaukori
source: Lalit Talwar |
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Chaukori was a quaint little hill resort and the benign peaks of Nanda Devi, Nanda Kot and the five Panchauli peaks surrounded that unusual hill-station.In the afternoon, we walked to the village about 2 kms from our guest house, a one horse road free from maddening crowed, shops, vendors and travel guides pestering you to buy their products. We ventured into treks in the nearby forests, thick with pine,oak and rhododendron trees and further through tea garden, fruit orchards and corn fields. Unbelievable!
Chaukori is one place where you can see nothing but Nature!
Musk Deer Park, Chaukori
The second day we visited Musk deer Park. It was located about 2 KMs from Chaukori towards Bageshwar aside the first village that comes on that road. A steep climb of about one hour. It was really difficult for me.
There were about 13 Musk Deer in that breeding farm, and scientists/researchers take care of the production of musk which is then supplied to different parts of India. Guess, it is only the second place in India where you can spot Musk Deer. The only disappointment was that they were held in cages and photography was strictly prohibited over there. We had a long chat about the life in Winters, how they live up there, what they do with these deer, etc.. with one of the scientists and then decided to move down. The hike down was easy and we really enjoyed it.
I don't want to write anything about our departure. Sad to leave such a peaceful heaven
Route map from Almorah to Chaukori
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