From Munsyari We reached Thal by bus around 12 O’clock and enquired for the way to Choukori. In the meantime, we bought a few fruits to work as breakfast. As advised by people there, we crossed the river and hired a jeep going to Choukori at a cost of Rs. 300/- The drive was through beautiful and quiet jungle path and after an hour we reached our guest house. Choukori situated at a height of 2010 m One can view the snow clad peaks of Chaukhamba, Trishul, Nanda Devi, Nanda Kot and Panchchuli in their pristine glory. The most wonderful thing we noticed was that from the point where the Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN) guest house is located there were no higher mountain in all the four sides thus the view of the Himalayan range was quite clear. After occupying our room, we refreshed ourselves and wanted to have badly a cup of tea. In front of the guest house there were few chairs kept for the guests to sit and enjoy the scenic beauty of the place. Tea was ordered and I sat on one of the chairs kept there. There was a family from Kolkata, Mr. Guha who was already seated there.
I introduced myself to him and he came and sat beside me. The talk continued till all the members of both the families joined and without our knowing we became friends. After having lunch together, we retired to our respective room for a siesta. Around 4 p.m. there was heavy clouds over casting the sky and very soon it started raining. Rains in the hill is very heavy unlike we experience in Delhi. It was already cold before rain and after rain it became colder and it remained cloudy. The evening was windy and chilly, raining now and then, sitting outside for long time was not possible. However with the help of a German made Binacular which was brought by Mr.Guha’s daughter we could see icy ranges at close quarter. Taking advantage of a brief lull in the rain, I took a walk, while others preferred to be in the guest house, around and saw a few shops but there were no customers. Choukori having a wonderful climate and a beautiful location, I could not understand why many tourists do not come to this place.
Of course we enjoyed immensely the secluded location and it’s beautiful weather and the company of Mr.Guha’s family. After dinner with Mr. Guha’s family I looked at the sky in case it was clear. But the sky was still clouded and only few twinkling stars could be seen. Mr. Guha and his family were slated to leave next morning and consequently they had to leave our company for packing their luggage for the morning trip. We too went to our room and I got busy writing account while Shivani picked up her story book and Krishna thought it to be wise to have rest.
I got up very early in the morning the next day to see the snowy mountains just before the sun rises. Here the sun rises from behind the mountain ranges, it does not have the spectacular view like the Kanchanjangha. but nonetheless, it is quite worth watching. After my tea I took a walk up to the tea garden with a guest and when I came back Mr. Guha, his wife and daughter were ready to leave. I felt sad to leave their company and they too felt the same way. But time does not stop for relationship to build up when the destiny is otherwise. After finishing our bath & breakfast, we sat in the sun enjoying the warmth of it while Shivani played around watching birds, plants and other interesting things of nature. After some time we decided to go to a nearby abandoned tea estate as it looked very inviting to pay a visit. On the way we found there were a number of goats grazing and Shivani wanted to catch the little ones. It was a good play for her. After reaching the estate we found a big tea manufacturing unit but in a dilapidated condition where the goats had their residence. The place was so desolate and away from human habitation that it looked like an ideal home for beings of other world. At the backyard of the building there was residential area. I presumed that was used as residence for the people who were administering the tea estate and the manufacturing unit. The views of the mountains from here were fabulous. We sat there for sometime watching the forest area and wondered why such a beautiful place remained abandoned for so long!
On the way back we took a different path which led us to our guest house from the rear side. After a long time we felt so close to nature walking along the winding muddy path and touching the bushes and smelling jungle flowers, it was back to nature in all it’s rustic dimension. When we reached our guest house we were hungry and straightway went to the dinning hall for lunch. Of course, we washed our hands properly before we took our food. After lunch we again sat outside watching the mountain range and sometimes the tea estate we just visited. In the meantime clouds were gathering once again and it again rained for an hour after we had gone to our room to have cat’s nap.
Around 8.30 p.m. we went to the Dinning hall for our dinner. I was anxious to see the night sky in Choukori as I read Choukori’s night sky offers millions of stars for visitors those who care to look at it. As soon as our dinner was over, I went out to see the condition of the sky. There were few patches of light clouds in the sky but very soon they vanished leaving the whole sky free. I informed Shivani and Krishna that it was a wonderful sight to see. We went out in the dark and lo ! what a wonderful sight it was. The sky was full of stars, a million? Perhaps, there was more than that. It was so fabulous that we stood still for a while seeing the awesome view. There were many clusters of stars like a banquet of flowers and the milky way was so clear that we could see the galaxies illuminating it’s surrounding areas.
As Choukori is at a height of 2010 meter the Berinag is down below we could see the lighting of that area looking like a sky below with stars. The chill wind kept on hammering us and before long we had to come away to our room to take shelter from the cold wind. Before going to bed, I set the alarm at 5.00 a.m. next day early morning. Very soon we were in the lap of sleep while the chill wind continued to blow with a shrill whistling sound the whole night.
Next moring we left for Almora.