Caught between the agony of working in nights (I work in a BPO) and not being able to satiate the wanderlust I left to the magical valleys of Uttarakhand on an extremely hot day in May 2015. My agenda was to travel to Rishikesh, which is one of my favourite spots in the foothills and relax for the weekend but, as soon as I reached Rishikesh I felt trapped again amidst the noise made by numerous vehicles and the maddening rush (since it was the summer holidays in the plains, a fact which I overlooked before leaving for Rishikesh). I wanted to get out of Rishikesh as soon as I could and then something really great happened. I was told by one of the travellers I met in a nondescript caf%C3%A9 in the city of the saints (read Rishikesh) that the tiny hamlet of Chakrata in the Jaunsar region would still be quite and peaceful with absolutely no tourist inflow and the next thing I did was pack my bags and leave for Chakrata.
Since I was already in Rishikesh I took the route which passes through Mussoorie and what a great decision that was. The beauty of the road was beyond words. Once I left mussoorie I don't remember crossing any other vehicles. I had the road to myself which was kind of reassuring because no vehicles meant no tourists and that meant absolute bliss was just around the corner.
I reached chakrata in the dead of the night and since its a small hamlet, finding a place to crash was a very genuine worry. I was lucky enough though as I found a room with the help of the local watchman.
Next day, I woke up to a breathtaking view of a cliff which my hotel was perched upon. There's something about mountains that keeps calling me back. After a light breakfast of paranthas I headed straight to Tiger Falls which was the major attraction of the place. It is around 30 KM from Chakrata Town and the road is quite brilliant providing a panoramic view of the Jaunsar Region with its greenish brown hills with very little to no human settlements. I reached the starting point to the Tiger Falls trek in an hour.
Be sure to grab a walking stick which you can find scattered all over the trek starting point. It is a 2 KM downhill trek. The trek runs through green fields (see pic), riverines and numerous twists and turns until the Tiger falls finally start to reveal themselves. All through the trek the falls aren't visible as it's hidden behind canyons but, as soon it becomes visible you can hear a roar like sound of the water gushing through the top of the cliff, like the roar of a Tiger. That is probably how the falls got their name. The view, the sound and the breeze was to die for. The water was really cold and the place was not at all crowded. I was mesmerized by the sheer craftsmanship of the Almighty. There was just a small shop serving tea and maggi and nothing else, unlike most of the touristy places up in the mountains. I sat there for 3 hours straight gazing through the surrounding greenery and canyon like structures. Sheer bliss it was.
In the end I would like to say that Uttarakhand is indeed The Land Of the Gods because it is the only place which can match the requirements of the gods. I am sure God would've also loved this place which is scenic, serene and sublime all at once.
