Went to Ramnagar – a small town near Jim corbett Park. Actually we didn’t go to that park … but went to visit two temples: Garjiya temple – dedicated to Goddess Durga and “Binsar Mahadev” (it on the way to Ranikhet) it’s not the Almora – Binsar.

On 15th Feb. 2012 – we left home at 9. i guess the excitment of going out of Delhi kept us happy and patience – otherwise the traffic condition was terrible till Hapur and worse in Gaziabad. I don’t understand why people live there – it’s so barren and industrialised. We had lunch at a daba near Moradabad. The road to Kashipur was terrible … we’re in UP – it can be guessed by seeing the road condition. As we entered Uttarkhand the roads were visiblely better and that was the first thing i noticed. By sunset we reached Ramnagar.

One the first day we went to Garjiya Mata Mandir. The shrine is located on top of a small hill in the Kosi river – it’s a huge river. In monsoon it would swell and become a giant river … i’m sure it would look quite fearful. It’s amazing how the shrine never got washed away by the river’s strong tides. After offering our worship to the Goddness – i took few photos. Have to say the air and water around Ramnagar or any other hill stations are very different! One can feel the lightness and freshness of the air – the cleaniness and pureness of the water. Jethu (my uncle from Assam) had few sip from the holy river “Kosi”.

On the way back  we stopped at an old barrage – which was built by the Britishers. Took few more photos.

Next day went to Binsar Mahadev  – it’s actually an ashram enroute Ranikhet. It was a wonderful journey accompanied by a beautiful bright sun. We enjoyed the landscape and its beautiful wanding road – but started to feel sick about half way through or i guess we’re more than half way through. I remember my uncle said that the “Mahadev” temple isn’t very far –another few kilometres. I said,”…. then let us walk to that place – i just don’t want to get in that car anymore”.

We stopped at many places – somewhere to enjoy the view – at other place to have a tea break – and at another time to click few photos with the ice covered mountain  … which off course were far- far away – yet we enjoyed seeing it too. We also stopped at places because i was feeling sick but thankfully i didn’t throw up and that was the best part about the whole thing.

On reaching Mahadev Ashram – it was pretty cold and they offered us tea. I was afraid to drink it as sweet  would made me more sick but they (there were few more devotees who reached there just before us) told me that it would make me feel better and believe it or not – really did ! We also had our lunch there … it was nice of them to offer us lunch otherwise we didn’t know where to have our food that day. The food was simple yet it was very tasty. We came to a conclusion that because they made it with their whole heart and mind (because it would be a offering to “Mahadev” ie. Lord Shiva) and then served to normal people. So that can be a reason for its taste being so good.

After lunch we roamed around the oak trees with perfectly blue sky covering the top of shiny green oak leaves. It was quiet  and peaceful. It’s true no one would like to come back from the place. Returning journey from Mahadev Binsar was eventless as the lively sun had turned lifeless. Mountains were covered in a haze … couldn’t enjoy the view as much as we did on getting to the ashram.

Next day we visited few people – from there brought back few succulent plant and green chilly seeds. These chilly is super hot with a beautiful flavour. I’m not so good at planting chilly plant as they get infected by bugs easily and getting them off is very difficult. In the evening we went for a walk to Ramnagar barrage. It’s very much like a dam – from there channel are made to supply water to the surrounding villages for irrigation. There were still exotic seasonal birds enjoying the cool weather of Ramnagar. They’ll fly away when the temperature start to rise.

We also bought a sweetmeat which is a especiality of Ramnagar – it’s called “Kurchan”. It’s made of hard milk cream and very little “khoya”(condense milk) … so the sweetmeat isn’t very sweet to eat – yet it was quite juicy and off course very delicious!

Coming back to Delhi was a mix feeling of sad and shock – after seeing such a beautiful place and then seeing Gaziabad and its traffic …. one would definitely feel shocked. So actually Delhi itself isn’t bad – in fact it’s a beautiful city with greenery and magnificent monuments … that is the part i adore the most about Delhi. Getting to Delhi is really a pain  especially from Gaziabad side  – from  Faridabad it doesn’t seem that bad.

Altogether …. Ramnagar trip was special with beautiful memories and some nice photos. I’ll cherish them forever! I would definitely love to go to many more places around Ramnagar … let’s see what happens or say when it happens.