A Beautiful Detour

The cool breeze caressing your face. As far as you can see; Whiteness! Snow clad mountains, way bigger than your existence, staring back into your eyes, rendering you speechless. Welcome to Dainkund!

This new year, instead of bars and booze, we chose to let loose in the arms of nature. On the cold and foggy evening of 29th of December, we left Delhi and we reached Dalhousie on the night of 30th.

The views from the hotel

Every place has its must visits and Dalhousie had Khajjiar. So the very next morning, we hired a cab to Khajjiar. All excited, we put our warm clothes on and stuffed our bags with all the edibles we could lay our hands on and we were all set to go. The mountains were waiting for us but so was the traffic!

People enjoying snow on the way as there was traffic upfront

As it was New Year's Eve, everyone had a similar plan in their minds. And after waiting and whining for almost two hours, we still had five kilometres of traffic jam in front of us. So we started looking for the next best place to go; and we took a detour and in the next one hour, we were at our destination.

🏂 DAINKUND 🏂

We could see the heavenly white mountains but they were a little far away. 

Anyhow, we had a beautiful afternoon in front of us and we were all set for the day! So we started our short, 2.5 km trek towards the Phulani Devi Temple which is atop the Dainkund peak. Paths covered with snow were kicking our heels and each step, more enthralling and exhilarating than the other. On our way to the temple, we stopped at a tea stall and on that windy, cold afternoon that cup of tea was pure bliss! 

The blanket of snow.

As we continued; the path narrowed and our excitement broadened. We walked further for another half an hour and from a distance, we could see the famous Phulani Devi temple. 

Trekking all the way up.

When the going gets tough, the tough gets going.

Information is important. Text: Phulani Temple 700 metres ahead.

Excited, we brisked towards the temple. That serene little place had a cosy charm about it. We had a quick lunch at the cafe near the temple. That feeling of breathing fresh air, having good food with your best friends alongside and a view which is a treat to the soul; that’s something which cannot be precisely described.

 Valley view from the temple.

Phulani Devi Temple

And now as the sun seemed to set, it was time for us to tread down. And just then we noticed that someone was keeping a watch on us from the top of the hill; An idol of Maa Kali was making her presence felt in the solitude of that little hill. There were no trekking routes up to that hill, the only way was to go through the snow and climb it up and we didn't give it a second thought! 

No evil escapes from the eyes of Maa Kali who's watching everything from the top.

Breathing, panting, hands numb, bodies aching we made it up to the top.

With the majestic Himalayas to our right, the valley on our left, the setting sun in front of us and tears of joy in our eyes, we wrapped up 2017.

Mahadev's Weapon.

The Majestic Himalayas

That's how we bid adieu to 2017.