The Less explored FRH in Chakrata: Deovan, Budher

At the height of about 2118m, Chakrata has abundance of conifers, rhododendrons. However, if you are looking for the ‘feel’ of tourists markets like Mussoorie and Shimla then this place will disappoint you. There is a small market which serves the needs of local population. This was the reason, that we skipped our booking in the Army guest house in Chakrata Cantonment and moved ahead towards Deovan Forest.

About 8 km from Chakrata, there is an unpaved road that goes towards the Forest Rest House. One can even trek to the place, which is about 9 km. The road is motorable, but needs some expert skills as in some stretches it is narrow and has loose pebbles.

Most of the Forest Rest Houses in Uttarakhand are located away from hustle-bustle of human activity, in the interior of forests. They offer rich natural and cultural heritage by giving the glimpse into local culture and wild flora-fauna. Many of them were set up by the British who used them for their retreat and adventure activities. For serious nature enthusiasts, the remote location is a bonus point as it gives them solitude.

After two hours of bumpy but scenic ride snaking through the dense forest of Deodar, we reached the Rest House by evening. It was a beautiful wood cottage at the top of a meadow. There were well-furnished guestrooms, with attached toilet facility. The room charges are 750INR plus 250INR. For that one needs to do pre-booking at Kalsi Or online booking.

As we had arrived without any pre-booking, we were happy when the caretaker, Raju, readily offered the vacant guestrooms. But, we didn’t want to miss the thrill of camping in the lush green meadow. One can pitch their tent for a nominal fee of 200-400 INR depending upon the size of the tent. There is a well-cemented camping ground marked for pitching the tents. The Rest House doesn’t provide tents; it can be rented from Kanasar.

We were the only occupants on the property, which was surprising as it was a peak tourist season. The reason, as we learnt from the caretaker, was the water issue as there is no pipeline and it has to be brought from the town in vehicles. So it is wise to check before you book.

Raju was a great host, he was absolutely delighted to have the guests give him company in night. He lives in the nearby village and doubles as the caretaker cum cook for the Rest House.

While we were enjoying hot steaming Maggie, two young boys joined us and readily helped with unloading the Bike. The boys were from Van Gujjar tribe and lived down the slope in a cluster of huts. The Van Gujjar are the nomadic herders who live in Shivaliks. They live in very close association to the mountains, seasonally migrating from one altitude to another. History had once done injustice to them when British exploitation of timber wealth of India made them an outcaste within their territory. And the injustice has continued in some form or another. They generally Islam. These people have a rich knowledge of Himalayan herbs. During our travels, we have often enjoyed their rare cuisine consisting of wild grass and shoots.

The younger one of the two, Azaad, offered to collect ‘Pathar Chatta’ a kind of wild grass that grows in the cracks of the stone, for making Pakoras. But before that volunteered to take us to the nearby Vyas Shikhar, where Rishi Vyas, according to the legend, composed Hindu Epic Mahabharata. The twenty minutes of easy walk through the Deodar forest took us to the spot. Luckily, the weather was clear, so they could see many Himalayan ranges. This region falls under Reserve Forest. It is home to a variety of plants and animal species, such as white collared blackbirds, Himalayan woodpecker, and also Migratory birds in winter season.

Back from this small trek, we sat down for the second round of Tea with the boys. With the setting of the Sun, the chill was gradually setting in. As we changed into warmer clothing, a group of local women from nearby village arrived at Raju’s shop. The happy and cheerful chirpiness of these young women brought life to the place as they settled down next to their tent with packets of wafers. After some time, they put on a popular Bollywood song on the mobile and the group began a local ‘Naati’ dance. A young girl pulled me to dance with them, who tried so hard to break loose my city stiffness to melt into gentle rhythms of this local dance. The women began sharing their stories.

‘We are here on a visit to our parents during the summer vacation,’ the woman with red shawl said.

‘So, no worries, no set routines for some days,’ another one chirped.

‘Only dancing, singing and eating whole day and night,’ they giggled like young girls.

Wondering how the definition of ‘escape’ differs for everyone, I bade them goodbye.

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By 7pm it was pitch dark except for a solar light in Raju’s kitchen. Since there is not electricity in remote reaches, solar powered lights are the only source. Same is the case with mobile connectivity. In most of the remote reaches in India, BSNL has better connectivity compared to other privately owned companies. But if you are looking for a true nature retreat, these things will be an asset for a richer experience.

Malang made arrangements for a bonfire in a safezone. (Campers need to be utmost careful about lighting fire and extinguishing it in forests as it often leads to disastrous forest fires.) Sensing the mood of his guests, Raju offered to cook Pahadi murga with rice. For snacks he prepared Pakoras from Pathar Chatta and gram flour.

After watching the blanket of stars on the clear sky and a one-sided game where my husband loves to play the quiz of Constellations and check my knowledge, we retired to the tent. We slept peacefully through the night, oblivious to the fact that we were all alone in the tiny tent in the middle of this dense forest. Raju had left in night, leaving the responsibility of the Rest House to his unsuspecting guests.

Even for a family outing for a day and two away for city life, this place offers so much by nature trails, treks, pristine mountain air. Like us, who made a resolution to be back here one day with our little girl and live here at least for a week when we would train the child in the ways of the mountains, and pen down beautiful thoughts in our journal as a reminder of our good old days.

The excited chatter of Azaad and his friends woke us in the morning. The boys were dressed in newly washed clothes and smelled of lux soap. Their hair were neatly oiled and eyes smeared in kohl.

‘It is Eid today, my mother has made Sewiyan. Will you come to our hut?’ Azaad sheepishly told me. He was wearing the aviator sunglasses that I had given him yesterday. His smiled broadened when I told him that now he actually looks like Salmaan Khan in these Aviators. Excitedly, he hooked the glasses on his back collars. He told us that people from all the nearby villages will today gather on the meadow to offer Namaaz and celebrate Eid.

We gave some money to the boys to buy some candies for Eid, and left for our next itinerary.

Next destination was Tiger waterfall, but before that we wanted to check out Budher Rest House in vicinity.

For Budher (at 2826m height), there is a diversion from Laukhandi. This 3.5 km stretch is an unpaved road. One can trek down as well from here. From Budher rest house there is further 2.5 km trek to Budher caves. The rest house is located amidst dense pine trees. It was established by the British in 1826 AD as summer retreats. The arrangements and ambience at this rest house is like Deovan; however, the meadows are more scenic at Deovan.

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Tiger waterfall is about 20 km from Chakrata town. The route is a pleasant ride, with lovely bends and curves. There are many homestays and adventure camps located near the waterfall. The weather changed from pleasantly chilly to warm as we descended towards Tiger Waterfall. Half-heartedly we had added this waterfall to our list as we knew that the summer vacation crowd we were trying to escape will be flooding this famous waterfall. And true to our instinct, the cars were making a beeline way before the destination. Zip zapping our motorbike through the traffic, we left our camping gear loaded bike in the care of the parking guy.

At the height of 312 feet, Tiger Fall is among the highest waterfalls in India. Falling from this height, the impact of water has created a natural jacuzzi. If you are game for some natural hydro massage, then try standing under the waterfall. The changing room and toilet facility are available at the spot. Also, to keep a check on miscreants, policemen monitor the crowd. It is sad to see, some people exploiting these natural gems, like the group of picnickers who started soaping themselves right in the middle of the pool as if it was their personal bathtub. Equally abhorrent was the heaps of disposable food packings, diapers and beer bottles left by such mindless people.

And the Accident

After an hour, we headed back for Dehradun. Despite all the misgivings, the soothing water of the Tiger Fall had lifted our spirit….so much that the smooth road and its tempting bends on the down-slope brought Malang into kind of a ‘hero’ trance and he tilted the bike to a dangerous angel. Trust me when I say, ‘Half of the men while riding bike feel that they are Johnny Blaze from Ghost Rider and in next instant their machine is going to fly over the hills.’ And this is exactly what happened next:

Whooooooooooooooooop!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Scrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeech!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thuddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The footrest of the bike touched the road and the riders went skidding along with the heavy Royal Enfield for about ten meters. We were fortunate that we fell on the hill side of the road and not the valley. We were also fortunate that there was no traffic behind us. Most importantly we were very fortunate that we invested wisely in the bike protection gear, thus our leg guards, helmets, gloves and riding jackets took the brunt of the fall, and we didn’t get even a scratch on our body, except the sore muscles. Good thing was that inspite of smashed headlight, twisted brake lever and handlebar, the RE still roared back to life. But the biggest worry was to face the old folks at home who were already critical and nervous about the wild gene of their children. So, the first priority was to get the bike in shape. Driving carefully below 30kmph on the hill slopes and maneuvering the shaky handle bar, we somehow managed to reach the motor workshop. A good thing about Royal Enfield is that its spare parts are cheap and readily available with mechanics. This is one of the reasons that despite the temptation to be a Harley owner, Royal Enfield has remained our true companion for such off-roading and remote explorations. It costed only about 1500 INR for their ride to look into its original shape again.

A very valuable tip for Motorists: Invest in a good Helmet and safety Gears.

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To read more of our travel stories, you can check out my blog: Travels of Mast Malang

You can watch our video journey here: