IN UTTARAkhANDcfo-connect.com/images/article/ah-abbott-mount-march12.pdfVihar-Kathgodam Express train from Anand Vihar railway station (one of Delhi’s smaller railway stations) to

IN UTTARAkhAND

the good news is there are still some places that one can visit to enjoy their beauty and quietude. The better news is that it takes a little effort to get

there, which is why they remain un-touched!

Abbott Mount in Uttarakhand is one such destination. It is a 10-hour drive from Delhi, to the Mount, which was once a tea estate. Located at an el-evation of 6500 ft, and dotted by a doz-en bungalows on its flanks, the estate was started in the 1900s by one Rev Bose. Its tea did not make the grade set by Assam and Darjeeling, and so it ceased commercial operations. Rev Bose sold the entire estate in 1914, to the Abbotts of Jhansi, who intended to create a hill station at the site and invited several other English families to take up summer residences there. Most of its cottages and bungalows were constructed during this period, upto 1930. The Mount’s slopes are now home to oak, rhododendron, and ce-dar trees, and a scattering of untended tea bushes. Northwards, one can see a 100-degree sweep of the Himalayas, dominated by the Nanda Devi, and Panchachuli peaks. Eastward, about 10 km as the crow flies and 40 km by road, lies Pancheshwar, a mahseer angler’s paradise on the Kali River, which forms the India-Nepal bor-der. Mahseer is a world renowned sporting fish, now found only in India. On the south and west are views of valleys with ridges of lower mountains stretching away into the distance.

nature lovers’ paradiseOur group of three friends - Adit,

Arjun, and me - visited Mount Abbott in November 2011, in Adit’s jeep. The purpose was angling for the mahseer, and to roam the surrounding hills for some bird-watching and photography. Adit is a well regarded economist and, besides being the designated driver of his SUV, he is also the photographer in the group – and a dash good one, though this meant stopping the car frequently to take photographs. Arjun, an exporter by profession, is the birder and naturalist in our group. He can identify any creature or plant, once

he has spotted it, mostly through his binoculars these days due to his failing eyesight. I am the logistics-in-charge for our trips, since I was a tour organ-iser in my professional life. I ensure that the filter coffee and single malt do not run out; plan the meals well as all three of us are foodies; and arrange for us to have a decent place to stay at night. As nature lovers, we three had informally banded together and now have undertaken many journeys, when we are not out either golfing, or occasionally, working.

Getting thereWe set off from Delhi at 5 am, and

headed down National Highway 24 towards Moradabad and Rampur. Taking a left off the highway there, we made our way to Rudrapur, reaching it in four hours. The 235 km route was smooth, and thankfully, there was no traffic jam at Garh Mukteshwar, which is the bridge over the River Ganga, where pilgrims flock for a ritual bath-ing ceremony on every full moon night. Stopping for a hearty breakfast at Hotel Sonia, which is a landmark itself, we proceeded another 100 km to Khatima and Tanakpur, completing it in two hours. A little short of Tanakpur is Banbasa, the border crossing for Nepal across the Sarda River, the name given to Kali River after it reaches the plains. From Tanakpur begins the hill section, a 90 km route to Lohaghat, which takes three hours to complete on a wide road. Lohaghat is the nearest market town to Abbott Mount, which is 8 km further off Pithoragarh road. The other option is to take the over-night train to Kathgodam, from Delhi, and then go by car or bus on a six-hour winding hill drive via Devidhura to Lohaghat (which is worthwhile from February-April when the rhododen-drons are in bloom). The return train to Delhi, leaves at night. A better rail and road option is to take the 6 am Anand Vihar-Kathgodam Express train from Anand Vihar railway station (one of Delhi’s smaller railway stations) to Rudrapur, getting there by 10 am, and then driving a further five hours. However, this is only a thrice-weekly train (running on Sundays, Wednes-days, and Fridays).

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Places to stayAbbott Mount offers two cot-

tages, Himanjali and Tarush Mountain Lodge, both have four rooms each and are adjacent to each other. They attract many anglers and birders from the United Kingdom; their Indian guests are mostly regulars. A few home-stays are also available - though these are only occasionally taken by the rare local traveler from Pithoragarh or nearby towns, as the quality of food and cleanliness is a bit suspect. Lohaghat, 8 km away, has a couple of small hotels and a government-run Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN) rest house. However, these are last resorts. Himanjali and Tarush Mountain Lodge charge Rs 4-5000 for a double room with meals, depending on the season.

We were booked at the Tarush Mountain Lodge, the oldest bunga-low in Abbott Mount, built around 1900 by Rev Bose. This is where Jim Corbett stayed when he came to hunt man-eating tigers in the region. An old photo of the legendary hunter hangs in the lounge. Its slate roof and three-foot thick walls seem to have weathered time and seasons surprisingly well. As a tour organiser, I would book bunga-lows and cottages such as these during different seasons for my clients, and this lodge has stayed a favourite. I had refurbished it, fitting it with essential modern amenities; and even hired a gardener to tend the large vegetable garden. We could look forward to some fresh spinach and salads on this trip, I thought as we drove up on the last leg of the journey here. We finally drove in at 3 pm to a welcoming cup of tea and hot pakoras. Though we had stopped for lunch at a roadside dhaba soon after climbing up from Tanakpur, the mountain air had whet

our appetites quickly again!

atop the MountWe wandered around the property,

chomping on some snacks. Looking northwards we caught a faint glimpse of Nanda Devi rising above the clouds, and hoped we would get a better view the following day. Deciding to stretch our legs a bit, we went for a walk around the hill, on Thandi Sarak (cool, shaded road), past Bhot (Tibet) House, Burma House, and the Abbey, and then up to the church, ending up on the cricket field at the top of the Mount. On the way, we dropped in at Sunny Villa, to meet Tilak, an old angling buddy, who fortunately hap-pened to be at Abbot Mount at the same time. In the winter, he usually migrates to Bareilly, but I had per-suaded him to stay on till our visit. Tilak, as you might have guessed, was part of our fishing party the next day.

The sun set by 5.30 pm and the wind turned chilly, so we hurried back to the lodge. We were tired and decided to light the fire early. Settling down around the fireplace with our drinks in hand, we watched the news on satellite TV. An early dinner is the norm on our trips, and soon we were enjoying fresh tomato soup and a hot Indian curry with rice, ending our meal with the local chocolate for des-sert. After a hot cup of green tea, we got into our warm beds, with hot water bottles for company! We had been promised fine weather the next day, and were looking forward to some good fishing, or at the least, a good day on the river, and we slept soundly!

On Day 2Adit and Arjun were up at 6 am,

walking outside in the early morning chill, checking out the birds and the

mountains. They woke me up at 7.30 am, and we waited for the sun to warm up a patch of lawn near the outside kitchen, on which we sat feasting on muesli, toast, and fried eggs, accom-panied with marmalade and filtered black coffee. I instructed Anu, the handy-man at the lodge who was go-ing with us, to load our fishing tackle, some chairs and a folding table, along with our picnic lunch into the jeep. Not to forget the ice-box, in case the fishing was good, or for that matter bad!

As golfers we adhere to tee times to a fault and at 10 am we had set off for our promised fishing expedition. All four of us (Tilak included) were dressed in our fishing jackets, and our hats were piled inside the Prado. The staff of three had already been sent in Tilak's Gypsy, with all the parapherna-lia required to set up camp and await our arrival. We drove through a few kilometer of forested area, scaring a couple of kaleej pheasants on the way. Soon we were at Khimtoli, the point from where we began our 30 km de-scent to the river - a lazy biker’s dream. Catching a glimpse of the water a little way down, we were greatly enthused by its just right, greenish-clear tinge and we hurried on our way, passing just two local taxis down to the river.

Angling for masheer Pancheshwar River is at the conflu-

ence of the Saryu and Kali rivers. The Saryu emerges from the Nanda Devi biosphere and is mainly rain-fed in its large catchment area. The Kali begins from the glaciers in Tibet, south of the Kailash-Mansarovar, and is a snow-fed river. An ancient Shiva temple at the sangam is filled with bells of all sizes, which is a common feature at

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India to Kumaon. Some temples bear the same erotic sculptures as those in Khajuraho, though Aurangzeb’s armies had destroyed many and the pillars have been placed upside down or sideways, making the erotic poses even more complicated.

Champawat is also known for the man-eating tiger, slain by Jim Corbett in 1907, at a site 10 km from the town. We could not visit it as the road was under repair so we headed back to the lodge for lunch and at night we set up our new telescope for some star-gazing. The sky was studded and the telescope was initiated on Jupiter and the moon. Arjun's i-phone had a star-gazing application which gives the name of the heavenly body that the phone was pointing towards.

On Day 4We were all up at 5.30 am, and after

drinking tea by the morning fire, we slipped away in the early light. The Himalayas were doused in a suffused glow, and all of us silently promised ourselves that this is where we will return, to Tarush Mountain Lodge at Abbott Mount, to walk, meditate, catch fish, or just gaze at the stars.

Ten hours’ later, at 4.30 pm, we were back in Delhi. We said goodbye as we fixed tee time for the next day and agreed to discuss future plans at the 19th hole. Now, a trip to Corbett

Park is overdue!

Kumaon. Its ancient Shivling in the sanctum sanctorum is said to have been worshipped by the Pandavs! Two kilometer downstream is the site earmarked for a dam to be built on the Kali. The project has got delayed by about 25 years already, and you are sure to find it unsubmerged for some more time to come. Rafting down the Kali to the plains at Tanakpur, is a good option too. It is a three-day, 80-odd km expedition, and float-trip; camping on virgin beaches, though with all the possible comforts. I had once done this in two weeks, as the fish were biting and the Scotsmen with me had plenty of time. Crazy anglers!

By the time we arrived, the boys had put up our day-camp at our favourite spot near a big, flat rock, softened by a couple of mattresses. The picnic tables and chairs made a comfortable picture, just the sort of adventure we prefer; the less rough edges the better! We met Jeremy from England, who had been camping there for two weeks. He said he had been fishing for the last few days, but had released them all, thereafter. One, he said was as big as 25 lb. After a quick fresh lime each to slake our thirst, we were on the river at noon, with beats assigned, and our lines zinging into the water.

At 1.30 pm, we had still not caught any fish, and we decided to try our luck in the ice box instead. Tilak de-clared that our bad luck was because Jeremy the Englishman had scared all the fish away. A good fisherman needs a good excuse, and Tilak is one of the best. Post-lunch, Adit sat down with his book to read, leaving Arjun and me to cast and reel, up and down the river bank to no avail. Fortunately, we were getting room service from the boys, with coffee and smokes to keep us going - along with an occasional quick massage to ease our back and shoulder muscles. We were young at heart, but the body needed a bit of help occasionally, to keep up.

Nearing dusk I switched lures for the nth time, this time it was a small plug, not exactly the right-sized bait for the large fish prowling here. I cast it into the fast current and before I had turned the reel-handle twice, I felt a jolt as if something big had hit my line, and it went taut and still. For a mo-ment I thought the hook may have got

caught between a rock, or in a log, but then the line started pulling slowly, and suddenly, the fish took off with the current and I could barely hold on to the rod. I began yelling, “Fish On! Fish On!” It took us 45 minutes to finally bring the Mahseer in, floating belly-up. Gently placing him in the weighing bag, we recorded him as a 38 lber. After taking a quick photograph, we revived him by holding him in the oxygen-rich white water for a while. 10 minutes later, with a swish of his tail-fin, he was gone, back into the Saryu.

A little later, Tilak and Adit had both caught and released a fish each, albeit of smaller sizes, and using smaller bait. At 7 pm, we called it quits. It had turned out to be a pretty fine day and though Arjun was fishless, we were nevertheless a happy bunch heading home; especially Arjun and I, sitting in the back seat with a hip-flask between us.

On Day 3After breakfast as usual on the

lawn, we decided to tour the area, visiting the Swami Vivekanand Ash-ram, 20 km away at a place called Mayawati. The hospital attached to the ashram conducts clinics by visiting specialists from the plains and also dispenses free treatment to the poor. There is also a meditation centre for renouncers which we were not ready for yet. We bought some plants and moved on to Champawat, the district headquarters. It is known for its an-cient temples built by the Chand Rajas, whose sway extended from Central

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