Long weekend break in Bhimtal ( Uttarakhand, India) ~ Losing myself in nature

“Life is so simple& fulfilling” – These words echoed many times inside my head & heart during my stay at Bhimtal in Uttarakhand(India). Located at an altitude of 1370 meters, this small hill town is lesser known but far more prettier cousin of the popular hill station of North India – Nainital. I opted to visit Bhimtal on a long weekend break out of Delhi Last month, because I wanted to lose the crowds (especially the Delhi crowd which goes all over the popular hill stations in Uttarakhand during such long weekends).

Bhimtal turned out to a good decision as I relaxed & rejuvenated among green hills, blue skies, clouds, thunder and rains – all within 3 days!!

We chose to stay at a small village called Jungaliyagaon, in the interiors of Bhimtal in a homestay. It was my first time choosing a homestay as an accommodation option and Emerald Trail cottage turned out to be pretty & homely experience!!

The cottage was an old colonial one, with lots of open area, growing their own vegetables and having their own cows!! I fell in love instantly with the cottage and clicked a lot of pics on arrival.

I fell in love with the rustic swing and tried it out many times during the stay.

Since, it was a long & stressful drive from Delhi to Bhimtal, we slept off after a heavy & delicious lunch. We woke up after sunset and spent rest of the evening having wine & chatting about life on the porch. The star studded sky & view of the blinking lights of the town was perfect accompaniment.

The next day, we decided to go for a walk in the surrounding forest and the manager of the cottage kindly offered to accompany us (which we took up promptly!!). The walk was awesome, we passed through a pine forest, remote fields & huts, ridges and dense silver oak forest. There were lot of wow moments and we completely lost the track of time

Thankfully, we completed the walk by noon and came back to the cottage to a wonderfully delicious home cooked lunch. Since the husband was dead tired with all that walk, he slept off immediately after lunch. Me and the brother relaxed on the porch and then we heard rumble; clouds were gathering and soon it was all grey sky. Feeling tired and chilly, we slept off the rest of the afternoon.

It was raining & chilly when we woke up; feeling thrilled at the change of weather (after all it was HOT back in Delhi), we sat down in the porch again enjoying another round of wine before dinner. As the thunder & rains continued, we all felt cozy& warm tucked inside the blanket with a book. Day 2 had been real good!!!

The next day, we had to drive back to Delhi, in the afternoon. We decided to visit Bhimtal Lake on our way back to Delhi and started off after a late breakfast. Driving from Jungaliyagaon to the Lake, one gets a fine view of another lake in the district– Naukutchiyatal.

view of Naukutchiyatal

Driving down the hilly roads, I was already missing Emerald Trail and that awesome childhood memories invoking swing!! Anyways, we got down to Bhimtallake, it is big, but not crowded. A sense of peace pervades the lake and it was nice time clicking shots, though we skipped the boat ride.

After our time at Bhimtal Lake, it was again back to the hectic drive back home Delhi.

The time I spent in Bhimtal taught me the importance of losing one self from crowds & urban environment at regular intervals!! After all, I am hopelessly in love with Travel & off the Map traveller for life J