Photo Credit: karnrawat , Wikimedia.
Kulsari is my favorite destinations from all the places I have visited so far. I went to Kulsari with my Family in 2012 during the winters. We chose to go there in the winters because I wanted to see snowfall desperately. I kept my fingers crossed while planning the holiday, in the hope to see snowfall while holidaying in Kulsari. And this was so important for me, because I had never seen snow ever before.
Due to time constraints we chose to fly to Dehradun from Delhi and henceforth hire a Volvo to Gauchar. We were in for a wonderful surprise in Gauchar, as we flew (Helicopter) amidst snow capped mountain peaks. At one point we actually flew in between two peaks and I felt we were going to crash. It all seemed like a dream and before we even landed I was so excited about the trip. The best part about the Copter was the landing. It felt like we were gliding on the Pinder (pronounced as Pindari) River and for a moment me and my family thought that the flight was going to touch the tree near to the Field (A field where people of Gauchar used to roam with their animals).
From the Ground (where our helicopter landed) we hired a taxi for Kulsari and reached Kulsari in 1 Hour 30 Minutes. There was no snowfall when we reached Kulsari and I kept asking the driver if there was a possibility of snow in the next couple of days. He said, there might be and all I could do was hope for it to snow. We chose to stay at a lodge because it had great views of the mountains. The lodge served only vegetarian food, but we were ok with it because for some reason, we preferred eating vegetarian food while holidaying in the mountains.
River Crossing at the Pinder River: After checking into the Lodge and freshening up we took a walk to the Pinder River. The water was extremely cold but we just sat by the river and enjoyed watching the river flow and the mighty mountains that surrounded us. Panku tried the river crossing sport and he had fun. I didn’t, cause I am a chicken ;P. After that we just surveyed the local market and headed back to the Lodge.
The next morning at around 5 a.m, Panku calls up our room and tells me, “If you want to see snow fall you should come down because it is snowing”. I was in my sleep but still I immediately got out of bed, changed and rushed outside. I was so excited to see the snowfall and I stood there staring at the sky with a huge grin and thanking God, that he let my wish come true. It was still dark and all I could see was the snowflakes falling down. After a while, I went back to my room and slept. When we woke up in the morning and looked outside the window, everything was covered with fresh, soft snow that was in its purest and cleanest form. I can’t tell you how happy we were. Hang on i remember the date as well (11 Dec 2012) .
After breakfast, we headed to Gwaldam Valley. Because of all the snow, it was not easy reaching the place. The vehicle we hired could only take us till one point and after that we had to either walk or take a horse ride to Bhatiyana Village. During summers, it isn’t a problem to reach there by vehicle.The horse ride took us 2 hours to reach Bhatiyana Village. It was a lovely ride and the views were breathtaking and it resembled a picture that you would probably see on a postcard. Alas, I couldn’t capture any of it in camera cause because I was freezing. By the time we reached Aalkot and Jhinjoli Village, both Panku and me were freezing to death and felt we couldn’t move and we needed heat desperately. Luckily there was a “Gaushala”(place where they put there animals) with a fire lit in it. We went there and warmed ourselves till we felt normal again. We got out and played in the snow for a while and when we started to feel cold again, we decided to head back to the Lodge.
The next day we went sightseeing and visited several temples(kali Temple Kulsari, Bhagwati Temple NandKesari, Mahadev Temple Dewal) and hot water springs.
All in all, the trip was amazing and I will cherish the memories for a lifetime. The only thing I missed to see was the Apples hanging on the trees. I guess I will visit the place again in the summers, to get a green view instead of a white landscape.
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