Chaukori – The health prone nature zone

This article is about the drive to Chaukori from Munsiyari, the learnings about the cloudbursts and its impact; Our stay at prized KMVN Chaukori and moving from there to Ojaswi resort and finally the ramblings in Chaukori.

Planning Travel on our own: Why its an achievement for us, the pitfalls, the learning and the unlearning

Life is hectic. Time is preciously scarce with two young kids, a demanding job, high amour-propre, and with immense interest in never ending supplies of good books and movies.

We still dare to plan vacations on our own with pitfalls of certain ideas dying prematurely, or missing timely train reservation or booking of the preferred accommodation.

It happens even though the decision about our next travel destination is always well in advance and we are quick in doing the initial survey. However, after survey we slack as if the job is done and we simply need to pack our bags and leave for the destination on the scheduled date.

The reasons for the slack are always trivial like we could not spare few minutes to discuss and decide. After every such debacle, these incidents are labeled as lessons learnt.

The cycle goes on and most of the time we are at the same spot when we decide to travel the next time. But such are the ways of life; you forget the lesson as soon as the exams are over.

Why Chaukori is a must in Kumaon itinerary

It was the same with Chaukori. Jaishree had finalized the stay there well in advance. She felt that if we would miss the Himalayan peaks at Munsyari; probably it is the best place to catch them in its complete glory.

Booking cottages in KMVN chaukori appeared an achievement

We slept on this decision for days and finally we woke up only when we realized that the most talked about accommodation in Chaukori, KMVN Chaukori, has only one slot available of two cottages for two consecutive days.

We had to readjust our plans to schedule our stay at Chaukori in that slot and I rushed to book the accommodation. Finally, when I could do so it was a big relief and appeared like an achievement.

Drive from Munsiyari to Nachni

Coming back to the journey, we started from Munsyari in the morning around 10:00 am with a halt at Birthi. The route till Berinag was the same that we took while driving onwards.

This time near Nachni, we noticed a portion of road was under construction and there we heard about the horrendous damage caused by the furious nature on August 7, 2009. On that fateful day this region of Kumaon was shaken and around 38 people were killed in a landslide resulting from a cloudburst.

The Cloudburst in hills

Cloudburst is not uncommon on hills. It is caused by rapid condensation of clouds that result in water descending on to a small area with a catastrophic force. The might of this gushing destruction is so strong that it sweeps away roads, kutcha-pukka houses, human beings, and livestock, almost everything that comes in its way. It is nothing less than the death being down poured from sky.

“The rain commenced to fall steadily and without cessation,
Through the dripping rain came the sound of cracking trees,
A boulder or two descended and a shout of
Run for your lives was heard ringing up from hotel.”
– An eye witness’ account of landslide in Nainital in 1889.

It was in Yuksom, Sikkim, that we first witnessed the fury of nature. Just a little while from Tashigang hotel, was laying boulders brought down by a massive landslide. At that time I wondered, how a landslide can move those big rocks.

An eyewitness account of cloudbursts and landslides

My doubts are cleared by this account of an eyewitness who survived landslide in Nainital, in 1889 and shared a vivid account of how it starts.

“Initially it stuck in the form of rain gales, followed by inevitable landslide. The whole hill side was one mass of semi-fluid matter and required little to set in motion. A large portion of the hill behind the hotel disunited and descended with enormous velocity and violence. The trees shook and withered, the hill side burst and the whole mass fell in headlong avalanche.”

In the village around Nachni, almost a year after the disaster, the only structures that could be seen were of a few concrete buildings half broken and completely covered in debris.

Narrow Escape while moving from Thal to Chaukori

While moving from Thal to Chaukori we were stuck in a traffic jam due to the ongoing maintenance of the road. Big machines were on the work. At one time, a driver of the roller moved ahead looking on his sides. He didn’t realize that our vehicle was right in front of the roller.

In spite of our driver shouting full throttle, he realized his mistake only when it was at hair’s distance from our vehicle. Our vehicle appeared miniscule and fragile in front of that demon. It was a narrow escape. Soon we were given sides on that road and we zoomed ahead.

Arrival at KMVN Chaukori

It was almost dark by the time we reached Chaukori, and it was raining heavily. The supportive KMVN staff helped us to settle down in our cottages. Even after the long-exhausting journey, mitti ki saundhi khushboo pulled us out to enjoy the romantic rains of the hills.

The First impressions of KMVN, Chaukori

A few words about the KMVN, Chaukori: As I wrote earlier, booking this property appeared like an achievement.

My first impression was good. Even in the rains, staff was prompt in helping us to settle down. Rooms were decent, nevertheless the cleanliness in the bathrooms disappointed.

On request, housekeeping washed and cleaned bathroom again, but the problem was of general upkeep that cannot be improved by cleaning it several times.

Chain of events leading to several room changes

My brother-in-law was disappointed by the room allotted to them and got it changed.

After dinner we all gathered in my Brother-in-Law’s new room and while we were chatting and playing cards, the bed caved in. It was a clear warning signal for my six feet Brother-in-law to keep his weight under control, but he misunderstood it as a sign of sub-standard furniture. The manager immediately sent housekeeping to repair the bed and shifted them to much bigger and cleaner room.

Nevertheless, their hard luck did not end there. Next day morning, there was no water in bathrooms. When the supply was restored, geysers did not work. After some arguments they were shifted to another room, which was yet to be cleaned.

Ants of Chaukori decided to explore me

Among all this hulla-bulla, I escaped to porch to enjoy the morning. Time for my hard luck, the wandering “Ant Army” immediately took notice of the unknown territory and rushed to explore it. I had to give up my immobility.

House swifts didn’t like my curiosity and considered it an intrusion

A nest of “House Swift” in the porch captured my attention. I continued closing in to have a better look and better photos.

I sensed the increased activity of the inmates. Initially, I contributed it to the restless nature of the Swift.

However, it was flying so close to my head that finally it dawned on me that it was an encroachment of their territory. To make it easy for both the parties I moved away.

Breakfast at KMVN Chaukori

Finally, after waiting for water, waiting for hot water, followed by shifting the room, when all of us reached cafeteria, breakfast disappointed everyone. Our taste buds revolted and refused to eat that. We all then decided to explore the nearby Ojaswi Resort.

Why that inevitable nod, still mattered

Ojaswi Resort is newly built and is tastefully decorated. The size of the room, decorative lights, fascinatingly beautiful curtains, the king size bed, the high quality furniture and the bathroom (yes, they do have a palatial bathroom), threw up the obvious question, “Should we continue in KMVN or forfeit our advance and shift to Ojaswi?”

For everyone else the decision was clear and so all the eyes were on me. Everyone was so keen that there was no way that I could say, “NO”. Everyone jumped on a small nod of my head. After all, it made the choice look unanimous.

Ojaswi – The best among all

In our trip of Kumaon, we could easily rate Ojaswi as the best place where we stayed. The cost of one night of stay was Rs 1600/-. I would say the excellent value for money (even if you forfeit your money at KMVN) . Kids liked it so much that they sang for a long time, “Ojaswi is the Best”.

Adjoining the property was a jungle/green belt and as soon as we settled we decided to make for the lost time and left the rooms for trekking. It was refreshing. However, even in the green belt we could see construction work ongoing. It left me puzzled, “Is Chaukori going the Almora way?”

The rambling in Chaukori

After a cup of evening tea, Jaishree, I and all the kids were again ready to ramble.

Ojaswi’s owner suggested us a trail and told that we could have beautiful views of Himalayan range from there. It was one of the most pleasant walks. There were valleys with beautiful views of the Himalayas.

The only eye-sores were the hotels and cottages under construction. Some of them had the guests even when they were not fully finished. This is the ugly truth about the tourism. The increased pressure of tourism kills the beauty of these remote destinations by senseless constructions. My suggestion is to visit Chaukori before it becomes another Almora.

Luckily, as we walked a little, it was all very quiet. The pleasant evening breeze, mellifluous calls of the birds, enthusiastic kids eagerly participating in spotting the birds and the wooded pathway increased the pleasure manifolds.

Even the youngest among all, Tanmay, was also on foot without any fuss, throwing stones in the puddles on the way. If it was not for the setting Sun, perhaps we would have gone farther. For us the real pleasure is always in walking to explore.

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