From my travel diary- Abbot Mount

One of my interesting journeys which I did in Nov 2008, was to Abbot Mount, when I was accompanying two of my friends to this lesser known hill resort in Kumaon. We started after an early lunch from Pangot, but our progress was slow as we were stopping more often to shoot videos and take pictures. Mr.Rajeev Sah of Himalayan  lodges accompanied us and he was also our host for Abbot Mount Cottage (AMC), where we planned to reach by the evening and stay for the next 2-3 days. The road up till Khutani was ok, nothing new, as I had been on this route for umpteen number of times. Further from Khutani we climbed up to Dhanachuli bend and drove further towards Devidhura.  There was very little traffic and the sceneries on the way were awesome. We stopped for tea at a small village tea shop and reached Devidhura by 4.30. Devidhura is a small town perched on a ridge, and world famous for its Bagwaal (stone pelting  fight) and Goddess Barahi Temple. Also popular is a sweet called as  Khechuaa! – A Rabdi like sweet, which we relished with some hot tea. It was dusk by the time we started from Devidhura and all we saw was the road. We reached Lohaghat by 7.30 and stopped at the town market to pick some supplies. Abbot Mount is another 8 kms from Lohaghat, towards Ghat/Pithoragarh, diverting east from Marod Khan. We checked into the Abbot Mount Cottage- a beautiful British time villa, run by Himalayan lodges. Hot food was waiting for us after we settled for the night. The next morning we were greeted with magnificent view of the Himalayan ranges, with the first rays of sun falling on the summits. Rajeev Ji offered to take us for a walk around Abott Mount which we happily agreed to. Abbbot Mount was a small British Retreat, developed by Mr. J H Abbot in early 20^th century. It has about 13 old Bungalows spread around the hill top and all connected by a dirt track. After breakfast ewe were all set to drive to Karan- Karayat to visit Banasur Fort. We drove back towards Devidhura, and parked the car close to the huge gate leading to Banasur fort. We walked about 1.5 kms uphill on the cemented path to reach the hill top where Basnasur fort is located. The present fort belongs to 16^th Century AD, and was constructed on a hill top, over the ruins of an old fort of early medieval period by the Chand Kings of Kumaon.  Spanned in the area of 90 X 20 meters it consists of 5 residential rooms, built in water tank, guard room and tywo entrances. A suknas porion of an early medieval temple having this image of seated lion is also lying in the fort. As per the legend a battle between Lord Krishna and Banasur was fought here as Pradumn, the grandson of Lord Krishna was secretly kept here by Banasur’s daughter Usha.  This fort is a rare example in Kumaon region.

 The fort commands an excellent view of the Himalayan ranges and the Karan-Karayat valley.

Then we retraced our path up to  Lohaghat, and then drove another 10-12 kms to visit Mayawati Ashram, which was established in 1899 under the inspiration of Swami Vivekanand who came and stayed here in 1901.  Sanctified by his stay and meditation, the Ashram has since become a place of pilgrimage, and has gained historical importance. We were back by late afternoon to enjoy the leisure evening at AMC.

 Next day we drove to Pancheshwar – confluence of two major rivers of Kumaon Himalayas The mighty Kali and the Saryu. It is actually  5 major rivers (Saryu –Gomti- Ramganga East and Gori-Kali) hence the name Pancheshwar.  Kali also defines the boundary of India and Nepal across its path from the Garbyang valley to Tanakpur. It was a strange feeling to see the other side of the river as a different country though nothing was different – it’s just us humans who have made these boundaries! The place is gr8 for angling and Rafting. We cooked our lunch at the riverbed only while Anurag was busy taking pictures. We started driving back around 4, to settle for the day in the warm hospitality of AMC.