By Manish Badwal
One of the benefits of living in Dehradun is that old friends turn up here every now and then on their way to Mussoorie or other tourist places nearby. It was a mildly hot April afternoon when I received a call from an old friend from college, saying that he would be in Mussoorie in a couple of days along with his wife and daughter. We quickly firmed up a plan to meet at my rented apartment near Sahastradhara helipad as it would be on their way to Mussoorie and not require a long detour. It is always nice when plans can be made without inconveniencing too much any of the parties involved. Especially, when some of them are going to Mussoorie and have quite a bit of inconvenience in store for them.
On the appointed day, my wife and I had a lovely time over lunch with my friend and his family. I am cursed, and in some way blessed, to have a poor memory. So, my wife makes it a point to extract as many stories related to me as she can when we meet any of my friends. My friend regaled us with our college stories, many of which I was able to recollect at the time but have since promptly forgotten. My wife would remember them though. It’s good that at least one of us can say “The North Remembers”.
Overall, the recollecting, gossiping and general good mood that comes with great company, we agreed to join my friend’s family at Mussoorie in a few days on a day hike. As his daughter was 10 years old, it had to be an easy hike. That suited me just fine. Minimisation of inconvenience is my birthright. And I shall have it.
While the Greater Himalayas command respect and need to be tackled with a certain amount of seriousness even for routine journeys, the Lesser Himalayas are much more forgiving and offer many easy escapes into nature while demanding no more effort than what an averagely fit (or unfit) Indian can put in. And so it was that we headed towards Benog Tibba on the west of Mussoorie.
As far as day hikes go, Benog Tibba is as easy as they get, while also being long enough to give a sense of satisfaction on a hike well done. It is also located conveniently close to Dehradun and Mussoorie, being hardly a half an hour’s drive from Mussoorie Library. While it is true that the Kipling Trail is much closer to Dehradun, starting as it does right next to Shahanshashi Ashram near Rajpur village, its initial ascent can be quite daunting and rightly deserves the epithet “the great ramp to Mussoorie” given by Rudyard Kipling in his novel “Kim”.
Coming back to Benog Tibba, the trail started near Cloud’s End and began indulgently with a gentle descent. Softly enveloping the novice hiker within a comfortable cocoon of trees providing much needed respite from the hot sun. Shortly after beginning the hike, we reached the Forest Department gate where a cheerful guard bid us through after payment of entry fees and recording our details in the quintessential register that one finds in all government establishments in India. For all the flak that the Uttarakhand Government rightly receives for failing to protect the native ecology of Doon Valley, Benog Tibba is one of the few bright spots where the government, and especially the Forest Department deserve high praise for protecting our forests. When we visited, the trail was immaculately clean and completely devoid of any litter, especially those awful plastic bottles and gutka packets. I would be surprised if any cleaning of the trail is done by the Forest Department, however it does seem that the entry fees charged and complete ban on any commercial activity within the forest area by the Forest Department has deterred enough of the littering crowd, who cannot imagine an outing without Maggie points and free access to “scenic” points for evening drinks and merry making sessions.
Once past the Forest Department gate, the trail started ascending as gently as the initial descent. Soon we were amongst the Buransh (Rhododendron) trees, the state tree of Uttarakhand. While March is the peak season for blooming of Buransh, there were still a few flowers on the trees and many strewn on the ground providing us a red carpet welcome even in April. These and other trees mostly stayed towards the mountain side, giving us a clear view of the valley.
We broke out of the tree cover for a little while during which we beheld beautiful views of the Shivalik Hills with George Everest House on the left and Yamuna valley on the right. The trees soon joined us again and provided us with cool shade right until the final quarter of the hike where the tree cover ended, bidding us goodbye and good luck for the final ascent.
Soft grasslands greeted us after the trees had left. The entire trail was free from any hard stones or broken ground, making walking very comfortable. After a short while, we caught sight of the Jwala Devi Temple on the summit. The devotees had tied red chunnis of the Devi at key points throughout the trail to make it even easier to follow the straightforward trail path. At the summit we were greeted by panoramic views of mountains all around us. Doon valley to the south, Yamuna valley to the west, Jaunsar to the north, and Mussoorie to the east. As it was hazy, we could not glimpse the snowy peaks of the Greater Himalayas. Next time maybe.
All in all, it took us less than two hours to reach the summit while walking at a leisurely pace and taking frequent breaks given that we had a 10- year-old with us who ultimately managed her first hike like a true champion with a cheerful smile and without any problem.
Having paid our respects to the Devi, we relaxed on the soft grass at the summit for a picnic lunch. Just then a group of Himalayan Griffons glided majestically near where we were sitting. While the word “vulture” conjures up images of something macabre or filthy, these Himalayan Griffons were things of pure elegance and beauty. May they keep flying as long as the sun and the moon keep shining.
Due to the gentle gradient of the trail, the return descent was easy on the legs, and we did not feel any pain in the knees that usually accompanies descending during hikes with steep sections. During our descent, the weather suddenly turned cool and windy. We saw far away clouds unload rains from them like tornadoes making landfall. Nature seemed to be in a hurry to shower all her beauty – even for those like me who minimise inconvenience.
(Manish Singh Badwal from Garhwal is an erstwhile IT Consultant who retired early to Dehradun to do a whole lot of nothing.)
