Synonym of Greenery - Almora - Binsar - Jageshwar

Almost a year....yes you read it correctly I went on vacation exactly after one year. No harsh feelings, it was few personal commitment that kept me toooooo busy to think of vacations. My love for mountains ended on one more destination - Almora.

Almora - beautiful, green, eternal peace...you name it and you will get it all! A picturesque Himalayan city of Uttarakhand. Before I go ahead on this blog...

CAUTION: The beautiful city just has beauty...don't you dare think of scrumptious food. So if you are planning to visit Almora, carry lots n lots of Cuppa Noodles, because we also just survived on our beloved MAGGIIIIII.

Saviour - Nestle should pay me for surrogate advertising ;)

We started on 2nd Oct night at around 11:00 PM, we hired an Innova, as none of us were willing to drive and let me introduce you WE here - Anurag Gupta (My loving Hubby), Nikhil & Akarsh (Two little brother cum friends) and Anu (Sister from another mother..ha ha ha ha).

As calculated by me the expected journey was around 300 kms, but our driver bhaiya was too smart he took us from a long route (They always do that to make that extra penny...grrrrrrrr). Anyways till he drives wisely I don't mind paying him that extra penny (Aaaahhhh...My heart pains). The entire trip was all charged up with lively Punjabi Numbers played from Nikhil's PSP (Deadly collection chiks!) and of course thanks to Anu & Akarsh for making hell lot of noise...poor driver he might had been super irritated.

We took our first break at a roadside dhaba, nice, clean and quick service. We just had tea that too in small mud cups (We call it Hunda in our local language). Once we were refreshed, we hopped on and soon we could feel the swirls of mountains. We reached our hotel at around 7:00 AM - Ayush Guest House, Almora. 

Weather Check: Cool breeze and pleasant.

Now I would like to give bit detail on how I got this amazing guesthouse. While we were planning for Almora, I came across this website www.stayzilla.com, I was impressed with what they say about themselves "If you call us cheap, we'll take it as a compliment.".....ha ha ha ha ha! But I must say my first experience with them was awesome. I booked 2 rooms for 3 nights and they called me to say that I don't have to pay any advance....Like seriously!!...It was a deal of 700 rs per room per night... and if I don't turn up..I had nothing to loose...bang on! and I was sold!. So this is how I booked Ayush Guest House. 

Although the name does not sound like a five star, the services, the location could have beaten any 5 star property. To reach the hotel we have to do 15 minutes trekking and somewhere in the middle of the mountain we could see our tiny guesthouse.

Ayush Guest House

Post check-in we had Tea, Maggi and Toast (Only this much and trust me this was our biggest mistake, as we starved for rest rest of the day!). We checked with our hotel owner about the local sight seeing options, he guided us to cover the two sides of Almora, first stretch covers famous local temples ends at famous Jageshwar Temple and second stretch, which we decided to cover the next day was Binsar Wild Life Sanctuary.

We quickly got ready and moved towards our first destination - "Golu Devta ka Mandir". What makes this temple different than any other temple is the process of sending your request to God. We human being believe is direct connection with God, so here at Golu Devta temple the concept is that you write your request on a Stamp Paper, its not a joke...I m serious....People write their request / wishes on a stamp paper and tied it at temple premises. We tried reading few, but then we realized it would be wrong reading someone's request. 

 

Arziyaan!

Outside this temple there was a local food joint, we had some Pakoras with yummy chutney, Noodles which was not even close to what we generally eat. The waiter told us about the special Raita / Yoghurt, which we order but none of us had courage to finish it. We were still hungry and we tried ordering Parathas (Staple food of Delhites), but the guy refused to serve it, without any reason.

From there we drove 50 Kms ahead of Almora, and we reached Jageshwar. We stopped at first sight of temple and clicked many pictures. But then Panditji told us that that was just one temple, drive few KMs and there you will find group of temples (Its was like....yeh toh sirf trailer hai...picture abhi baaki hai mere dost). 

  

Jageshwar - Group of Temples

 Jageshwar temple belongs to our history and has beautiful structures made up of just stones, we felt we reached Flintstones era. But now these temples come under Archeological Department of India, who take care of all temples. On close observation we can see ancient scriptures on temple walls.

Within 1/2 Km drive we reached group of Temples at Jageshwar, there were approx 10-20 small temples, along with a main Lord Shiva Temple, which is one of the Jyotirlinga. (And I was gald that I completed by 3rd Jyotirlinga).

By this time we were dead tired and hungry, we went to KMVN Jageshwar Resthouse to check for some food, but he refused to give anything and said they make everything on order. We again went to some local food joint and had Maggi and few Parathas.

We had to reach hotel before it gets dark, as we have to do 15 minutes trekking to reach our Guesthouse and by the time we reached it was dense dark. Thank god to our smartphones, we reached Guesthouse safely. We had amazing dinner and we all dozed off!

The food at Ayush Guesthouse was average, we can't expect them to give us three course meal, but the owner managed to give a good mix of Veg and Non-Veg dishes along with curd, pickle, rice. The best part was the hot phulkas made by the owner himself. The food was heaven!

 Next day we all were charged, as we had to cover Binsar Wild Life Sanctuary. Our destination was 20 Kms away from Almora, or if I be precise 18 KMs, rest 2 Kms is a trek till Zero Point. You are being stopped way before Sanctuary gate, we got our entry tickets 150 rs per head and 250 rs for Car. The roads inside the sanctuary are very narrow but our driver bhaiya was an expert. The point from where we have to start our trek is close to KMVN stay houses, which generally get an advance booking of 3-4 months, so even if you are planning to stay here you really need to have good jack!

Entry Gate of Binsar Wild Life Sanctuary

Before we could start our trekking, we all were hungry again and by now you can understand what we had...Exactly what you are thinking - MAGGI and tea. We started 2 Kms trek and it seemed a never ending job for me...but once we reached Zero point, we realized how beautiful mother nature is...we could hardly see Himalayas because of dense clouds. We clicked few pictures and trekked down to where our car was parked.

While coming back from Binsar, we came across an amazing Cafe called - Manoj Cafe. Good ambiance, the hotel balcony has a background of beautiful Himalayas. At first look the hotel guy said a "BIG NO" (I think  they don't understand the concept of Snacking Or Munching), then god knows what happened, he took our order. He served us amazing coffee, with Pasta & Pizza.

The day ended with yummy dinner served by our own Raju Bhaiya (Ayush Guesthouse Owner-Cook-Supervisor-Waiter)

The very next day we are all were ready to hit the road to reach Delhi. We bought some famous Bal Mithai and Chocolate Barfi from local market and it was a happy ending :)

I believe I have covered my entire trip!

Keep reading! Stay Blessed!