Just as always is my google search, "peaceful getaway near Delhi" ! Not much to my pleasure, im very familiar with what google throws up to me. None of those places are to my satisfaction. All these months i longed to go into the himalayas to a place which resembled a trip i had taken as a child to a small valley on the Kashmir border called Sundarbani. It was quiet, unbelievably beautiful with fields and river flowing outside the ashram we stayed at. There was nothing much to do except explore the valley, run across the field to cross the shallow river, look for hot water springs and eat home cooked food. Sigh !
Much to my relief, i finally found Gushaini. A quaint little valley just short of kullu with the most amazingly hospitable Raju's Guest House to stay at. I read rave reviews about the guest house on tripadvisor which i always always trust. We booked ourselves a cottage for 3 nights, but never expected to be so happy to get there. At first, you need to park yourself in a small trolley on a rope-way over the river to get to the cottage (there isn't another way). This very first step kicks off the excitement and gives you a reassurance that you chose well.
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| The Valley |
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| The cottages surrounded by the great Himalayas |
Once there, you are greeted by a small establishment of cottages along with a common living/dining room where you could read, meet other travelers and eat. The cottage per say is not for people expecting luxury, its built for comfort. It has a clean bed with very clean bed-sheets, ample storage, some magazines and books which travelers before you have been happy to leave behind. There is hot running water in the bath, what else does a city parched soul want !
We reached Gushaini early morning by the overnight Himachal Tourism volvo from Delhi. It was a very comfortable journey which i slept through. Once at Raju's cottage, while i had only started to admire my choice of place, that i was greeted with hot fresh homemade paranthas.........yummmmm ...... sitting on the bench, looking at beautiful green mountains covered with cherry trees around me, with that hot aloo parantha in my mouth..... my entire being was in heaven no less !
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| My ME time ! spent reading in the shade admiring my multi-colored toe nails |
The special thing about the food at Raju's guest house is that it never makes you feel bloated or heavy no matter how much you stuff yourself. And trust me, it is so deliciously cooked by Mr. Raju's wife herself that you will eat till you can not put another morsel in your mouth. It was a belief shared by all the fellow travelers at the cottage, everyone swore by Mrs. Raju's cooking and some even lived from one meal to the next.
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| The living/dining area |
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| The absolutely yummy home made jams and pickles from local produce (masterchef effect) |
We spent the first day enjoying the property and the food. There is a small yard in front of the cottages which is mostly manned by Mr. Raju's 3 well fed and super intelligent dogs : Yeti (the big old boss), Sheru (my brownie) and Kaalu (the eager companion). Across the yard on one side is a trail that leads uphill to the level 2 cottages which are higher up. The trail is lined with cherry laden trees from which you could pluck and pop some in your mouth on the way. Its on the hammocks under these trees that i spent my mornings reading in the morning sun post breakfast.
On the other side of the yard are steps which go downhill to the river which can inspire you with its fresh gushing white himalyan waters. On the next morning of our arrival, as the sun rose up to the banks of the river, i quit my reading and walked to the steps going down to the river. The second i stepped out of the yard on the stairs, i had Kaalu by my side, leading the way to the river. Kaalu makes for the most desirable companion on walks through the trail you don't know so well. Infact, on one of the days i decided to go hiking uphill to be able to get a view of the snow-peaked himalayas. There was no way that M was going to accompany me for something so "strenuous" lest his heart might beat faster with all the exercise :/ No sooner had i left the yard and there they were, Kaalu and Sheru leading my way on the trail. They were much faster than me ofcourse, so they were courteous enough to wait for me till i could catch up, then we moved further along on our little hiking trip. I have to admit, this is more courtesy than you can expect from the city men these days. Lord bless the chivalrous !
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| Yeti |
One of M's favorite things to do while in Ghushaini was fishing. He spent hours and hours perfecting his fishing skills. He got very good at it by the end of the trip. He was very happy to let me pull in a catch of his, which he could not believe i managed to lose in the water. Well i'm not quite for fishing and neither do i like the idea of hurting the fish with the hook. I must admit to my hypocrisy though, as i do like to eat fish once in a while, but to my defense, they are quite dead by then.
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| Kaalu was very attentive to give me company to the river each time |
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| Kaalu and Sheru leading the trail on my hike |
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| Evening campfires to enjoy good company and a good drink |
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| M was at it all day ! I reckon he loves fishing |
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| The snow-capped peaks as view from the trail uphill |
If you are the not-so-social kind like M, Gushaini is the place for you as no one would ever disturb you if you don't wish it. You could spend all your day not being spoken to even once, except for the meal announcements. However, if you are the people person like myself, you should certainly spend your time getting to know other residents on the property and why ofcourse Mr. Raju's family !
To my absolutely pleasure there was a variety of people staying the cottage from various parts of India and the world and doing different things. Thankfully, not one was a software engineer. No offense to software engineers, i used to be one but i don't want to meet one more. I met students from Australia, designers from Goa, script writers from London, media couple from Bombay, it was a playground for me. Me who wants to talk to everyone, who wants to know what they do, what they like, what happens in their country, what are they doing in India, where all have they traveled :)
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| Field on the hike to the waterfall nearby.There are alot of hiking trails to be enjoyed. Infact, alot of travellers hike to the Rajaji National Park gate and back. Its a half day's hiking trip from the cottage. You could also camp in the Notional Park, but please consult Varun regarding the required permissions. |
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Oh won't you just like to jump into this pond of fresh water? M did
very much !!!! |
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| We see it ! The waterfal !! |
As for Mr. Raju's family, the place is largely run by Mr. Raju's son Varun, an absolutely polite and well brought up young man. Varun helped us with just about everything under the sun. He taught us fishing, he told us about the place, about the plum and the cherry trees, the dogs, arranged bikes for us to go cycling and came to fetch us when our bike got punctured. Most importantly, Varun convinced Mr. Raju to drive like maniac because I had got the timings of our bus back to Delhi completely wrong. As i leisurely walked around the yard, with my backpack ready and assuming the still had 30 min before i had to leave, i decided to check the tickets. Much to my horror, we should have left the place half an hour back. I raised the alarm and Varun quickly called Mr. Raju who wasn't very happy at the prospect of making the 1 hour's journey in 30 min. However, sweet and considerate as he was to us, he exercised all his skill on the way. The bus ofcourse had already the pickup point already and we were still 20 min away. Luckily i had got myself the bus conductor's phone number, i called him every 5 min to narrate the favorite Indian phrase, "Bhaiya bas paanch minute mein aa rahe hain" :) We did make it, thanks to Mr. Raju, Varun and the conductor bhaiya who was kind enough to hold off a Himachal Pradesh tourism bus for 15min !!
