Our bags were packed, driver arrived on time and we departed @ 05:00 AM from Delhi for Kanatal.
Some info on Kanatal
Kanatal is situated at 8,400 fts near Mussoorie at the distance of 310 Kms / 8hrs from Delhi, tucked away in the midst of deep forests of oaks. Set in the heart of the Indian Himalayas and surrounded by dense Pine, long wooded slopes of Deodar, Pine, Oak and Rhododendron forests, Kanatal (Thangdhar), the camp offers tranquillity seems to be straight out of some romantic classic. The beautiful and picturesque 180 degree view of the snow clad Himalayas will fill you with a romantic charm. Beautiful and captivating environment and camp life will make you feel like the love and pleasure of lying in Mother Nature's lap. At Camp Kanatal, we offer Student camping with all new experience of leisure filled with adventure and sport activities. If you get bored from well-planned holidays and planned & packaged tours, we provide an ideal nature camping promoting “back to nature” and “eco-tourism.” Camp life, beautiful and captivating environment makes you feel like lying in nature's lap. The experience helps you in rejuvenating yourself.
Picked up A friend enroute
En route we picked our colleague Gaurav from Meerut and drove towards Kanatal via Dehradun & Dhanaulti.
We reached Dehradun around 03:30 PM and had our lunch there at Maggie Point near Mansi Deer Park, Dehradun, now from here journey to hills started & roads are wide and smooth till Dhanaulti cut .After that narrow roads adventures curves started which added a little more thrill to our trip and we gradually reached altitude of 8600 fts.
At 06:30 PM we reached at our campsite and checked in. Generally journey to Kanatal from Delhi takes 8 to 9 hrs but as we were in no hurry and we halted a lot on way so we completed the whole journey in long 13 hrs. Later camp manager briefed us about the campsite and requested us not to waste water as this is high altitude campsite and all things are transported from Chamba which is 15 kms from here & meanwhile pandit ji (worker of campsite) arranged bonfire outside our camp .A guitarist friend of ours helped us to relax playing few of his old melodies and making the evening more serene and peaceful. We had our dinner @ 9:30, the arrangement and taste was awesome and its a buffet dinner with chapati, rice, dry veg, dal, paneer & my favourite ,chicken.
Trek To Sarkunda Devi Temple:
Next Morning we woke up @ 06:30 am & get ready for nearby Temple Trek Sarkunda Devi, its a 5 kms trek from Campsite. Started from back Devdar forest and took 3 hrs to reach at temple and 2 hrs to back. Trek route is awesome. When we reached at Sarkunda Devi Temple. We got amazed magical 360° view of himalaya, after a tired trek got blessed by Mata Sarkunda Devi.
Story Behind Sarkunda Devi Temple:
One of the most persistent mythologies concerning the origin of worship at the site is associated with the myth of Sati, who was the wife of the ascetic god Shiva and daughter of the Puranic god-king Daksha. Daksha was unhappy with his daughter's choice of husband, and when he performed a grand Vedic sacrifice for all the deities, he did not invite Shiva or Sati. In a rage, Sati threw herself onto the fire, knowing that this would make the sacrifice impure. Because she was the all-powerful mother goddess, Sati left her body in that moment to be reborn as the goddess Parvati. Meanwhile, Shiva was stricken with grief and rage at the loss of his wife. He put Sati's body over his shoulder and began his tandava (dance of cosmic destruction) throughout the heavens, and vowed not to stop until the body was completely rotted away. The other Gods, afraid of their annihilation, implored Vishnu to pacify Shiva. Thus, wherever Shiva wandered while dancing, Vishnu followed. He sent his discus Sudarshana to destroy the corpse of Sati. Pieces of her body fell until Shiva was left without a body to carry. Seeing this, Shiva sat down to do Mahatapasya (great penance). Despite the similarity in name, scholars do not generally believe that this legend gave rise to the practice of sati, or widow burning. According to various myths and traditions, there are 51 pieces of Sati's body scattered across the Indian subcontinent. These places are called shakti peethas and are dedicated to various powerful goddesses. the body was separated part by part. Shiva passed through this place on his way back to Kailash with the dead body of Sati whose head fell at the spot where the modern temple of Surkhanda Devi stands.due to fall of head part of sati its name became sirkhanda which in the passage of time called surkanda.
Later we came back to our campsite and were served buffet breakfast (Boiled Egg, Bread, Butter, Allo-Puri, Curd & Achar).
Later at 11:45 our activity guide Mr. Vijay highly, a Professional activity Trainer and guide, briefed us about the activities and do & don't s while having activity sessions.
Vijay - Activity Guy
RAPPELING: In simple terms - Rappelling is the opposite of Rock Climbing. Also known as Abseiling, in this adventure sport, you descend from a cliff or a rock face using kernmantle ropes and other safety gear. Campsites organizes Rappelling within its campus over high retaining walls and few have locations nearby campsites
ROCK CLIMBING as the name suggests is a sport of climbing up or traversing natural rock formation or even artificial rock walls. Rock climbing is done as a recreational or competitive sport. The aim of this sport is to climb up a rock surface and reaching the top or in some cases the farthest on an ever challenging rock surface. The sport is very demanding physically as well as mentally. It often tests the climbers endurance, agility, strength, balance and mental control. Hence thorough practice and preparation is advised before actively taking up this sport. Bouldering is a style of rock climbing which is undertaken without ropes or equipments and practice on small rock faces, boulders or gym walls. The climbing height is less as more emphasis is paid to technique sharpening of skills
VALLEY CROSSING is the technique of traversing across two high points by means of a rope stretched between them. This is an extreme activity which is ideally suited for a novice in adventure sports. This activity has a relatively low degree of risk and high amount of thrill. The participant is seated well in an harness, usually parallel to the ground and attached to pulley that slides on the horizontal rope line.
AN OBSTACLE COURSES are a series of challenging physical obstacles an individual or team must navigate usually while being timed. Obstacle courses can include running, climbing, jumping, crawling and balancing elements with the aim of testing endurance
After enjoying these activities, we decided not to indulge in any other activity as our bodies were totally exhausted and we moved back to our camps and order tea and snacks. next few hours we were lying there doing nothing. the pure air has cleansed our respiratory system and although we were tired but alongside there was a kind of energy soothing out
Sunset:
Later we came back to our campsite and were served buffet breakfast (Boiled Egg, Bread, Butter, Allo-Puri, Curd & Achar).
Vijay - Activity Guy
RAPPELING: In simple terms - Rappelling is the opposite of Rock Climbing. Also known as Abseiling, in this adventure sport, you descend from a cliff or a rock face using kernmantle ropes and other safety gear. Campsites organizes Rappelling within its campus over high retaining walls and few have locations nearby campsites
ROCK CLIMBING as the name suggests is a sport of climbing up or traversing natural rock formation or even artificial rock walls. Rock climbing is done as a recreational or competitive sport. The aim of this sport is to climb up a rock surface and reaching the top or in some cases the farthest on an ever challenging rock surface. The sport is very demanding physically as well as mentally. It often tests the climbers endurance, agility, strength, balance and mental control. Hence thorough practice and preparation is advised before actively taking up this sport. Bouldering is a style of rock climbing which is undertaken without ropes or equipments and practice on small rock faces, boulders or gym walls. The climbing height is less as more emphasis is paid to technique sharpening of skills
VALLEY CROSSING is the technique of traversing across two high points by means of a rope stretched between them. This is an extreme activity which is ideally suited for a novice in adventure sports. This activity has a relatively low degree of risk and high amount of thrill. The participant is seated well in an harness, usually parallel to the ground and attached to pulley that slides on the horizontal rope line.
AN OBSTACLE COURSES are a series of challenging physical obstacles an individual or team must navigate usually while being timed. Obstacle courses can include running, climbing, jumping, crawling and balancing elements with the aim of testing endurance
After enjoying these activities, we decided not to indulge in any other activity as our bodies were totally exhausted and we moved back to our camps and order tea and snacks. next few hours we were lying there doing nothing. the pure air has cleansed our respiratory system and although we were tired but alongside there was a kind of energy soothing out
Sunset:
Bonfire:
Value of a bonfire could only be understood once you experience same in extreme temperatures .
Next Morning Time to depart from Kanatal with sweet memories.....
Thanks you www.campadda.com team to put their 100% in our service
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