Trip to Kempty Falls

Woodstock School's Quarter Break began Thursday afternoon. On Friday we took the scooter to Kempty Falls. This landmark tourist spot is about 15 kilometers to the west of Mussoorie, and several thousand feet below. The place was developed as a tourist destination by John Mekinan, sometime after 1835. The name Kempty is derived from 'Camp-tea', as the Britishers would organise their tea parties here.

We visited Kempty Falls a number of times when we lived here in the 60s and 70s. It was quite idyllic at that time, a lovely picnic spot. Things have changed with the explosion of tourism in this area.

The road down is actually two lanes with markings all the way. Other than the occasional cow or vehicle standing in the road, it felt quite safe.


A sample of the hairpin turns on the road.


Often the turns have tea stalls or other miscellaneous structures along the way. This turn had some retaining wall construction going on.


Once at the entrance to the falls, there was a huge traffic jam.


The top of the path heading down to the falls. Shops line the sides most of the way down.


I'm always tempted to photograph the snack shops!


You can see the steps are quite pukka.


The falls had more water than we expected at this time of year.


Looking down on the center of activity, including the lower terminus for the ropeway.


Plenty of swimmers were in the pool at the bottom of the falls. I can't imagine how cold that mountain stream water must have been!

Houses

On our drive west of Library bazaar on Sunday we saw lots of interesting buildings. The first is quite a fancy newly built (or rebuilt) house.


Not sure if this is a house or a water/electric facility, but it was right at the top of the hill.


Another older house on the top.


The facade of a maharajah's hillside home. Years ago we looked into the windows from the garden with our friends the Powells. Alfred remembered going to dances here when he was young; he commented that the ballroom had a double floor to keep the dancers' feet from tiring.


Along the New Road, the Lind Cottage. Couldn't resist!


Landour Bazaar from below; notice the Clock Tower with the scaffolding on the left side. For those who have never been here, these buildings are quite amazing. Only about the top two stories are visible from the street in the bazaar; the others are below, clinging to the hillside.


More hillside buildings.


And the last, a view of Midlands and Alter Ridge from the New Road.

Last year I wrote about our favorite Sunday lunch place -- Aggarwal's Vegetarian Restaurant in Kulri. They serve a great poori khana -- two enormous fresh hot pooris, potato curry, pumpkin curry, and onions and pickle (for Dan). We were pleased this year to find that they've done some renovations during the winter. It looks quite spiffy now.


This view is looking down the stairs from the upper floor where we prefer to sit. The walls have been tiled.

A short distance away from Aggarwal's is the Banaras House, one of the older shops where the finest silk saris could be found. It hasn't been opened since we've come and looks like it won't be coming back.


Next door to Banaras is the wave of the future of retailing here -- a fancy new Benetton store. Shopping in Mussoorie is definitely different than when we lived here!

Sunday Drive

Sunday afternoon we went exploring on the motor scooter. We headed to the west end of town, Library Bazaar. From there we took the road to the southwest, rather than the northwest that we do more often. (Northwest lies the Company Garden, Happy Valley, and Kempty Falls.)

We ended up going all the way around the hill and back to the north side, where it got narrower and steeper. We got off and walked up to the top of a hill. We could see in all directions, but it was too hazy to get good photos. The snows were peeking through the haze to the north. This picture taken from the road we walked up gives a little bit of the feeling of the steepness. A few times I wasn't sure we would make it, but Dan is an excellent driver and maintains good control (and the brakes are strong!).

On the way up we saw signs pointing to "Mussoorie's Highest Hotel," so we decided to find it. I don't know where they got the name "Dunsvirk," but that's what it is.

The lobby inside the entrance is quite elegant, with Tudor-style decoration.


A view of the hotel from the back side where the nice, large garden is located. The hotel rooms were nice and you had a choice of Doon or mountain views. The tariff ranged from about $60 per room per night to about $90 with meals included. Good discounts are available off season. I don't think anyone was staying there right now, but it will soon be very full.


Lilies blooming in the garden just in time for Easter.


From the garden we could see this elegant-looking electrical substation. (Rocks on roofs, as on the shed in the foreground, are quite common. I presume they keep the tin from blowing away in a storm.


From the front of the hotel we could see Mussoorie Modern School. Waverly Convent was also visible to the left of this photo.


And to the north side, we could see the Tibetan settlement in Happy Valley. We were there last October and climbed Flag Hill, the tiny peak to the left of center on this photo. The Dunsvirk is a lot higher.

Lunch at Char Dukaan

On Saturday we decided to walk from Oakville to Char Dukaan for lunch. The path is relatively level, going across the top of our ridge from east to west. At intervals along the road there are rest shelters, called hawa ghars (wind houses). This one has been rebuilt with very nice stone work, a hallmark of Sanjay Narang's building style.


We passed Kellogg Church on the right. On the left is Ellengowan, followed by an old house with
these lovely wisteria flowers growing up the side. I don't know its name; its face onto the road is pretty stark.





Once at Char Dukaan, we had our bun omelets at Tip Top. Anil's is the other chai shop, but it was very busy.


On the way home, we stopped in to see the renovated Saint Paul's Church. The windows are beautiful and it was decorated with palms for Palm Sunday, the next day.

Walking to School

Uploads of photos were impossibly slow yesterday, so I'm posting on Saturday to make it up. Because most people walk to most places around here, the paths and roads we use are of primary importance. There are many mountain trails criss-crossing the hillside. But today I am focusing on the more finished ones.

Above Oakville the road has been paved with cement, partly with the common horizontally grooved type and partly with cement paving stones. The ones there are reused from somewhere; some of them have paint markings still showing on them. All of these are one narrow lane in width.

Walking down to Tehri Road from Oakville the path has been widened and partially paved to be passable by a jeep or motorcycle. It’s pretty steep in places, and some of the switchbacks are too sharp to make a full turn, but it is passable. This dog is often in the area; I'm not sure who he belongs to, but he is friendly.

Switchback; path to right leads to Suncliff, where some Woodstock staff live.

At the bottom of the path, Tehri Road comes into view. Straight ahead goes to the Hanifl Center and on east to Tehri. I take a very sharp right and head on to school.

Tehri Road has been paved with asphalt/macadam. It is mostly very good now, about one-and-a-half lanes wide, with yellow edge strips where they haven’t worn off. Notice the pukka railings along the side. It's a very long drop down in many places.

At some of the sharp curves near the school, mirrors have been posted so drivers can see if there is another vehicle approaching the curve from the other side. A toot on the horn is expected by both drivers.

It was Wednesday night and time for us to head into the bazaar for our dinner. We usually have soup and cheese sandwiches at home, but like to head out occasionally, too.

I think I mentioned before that we are glad to have a motor scooter available. It is a long walk into the bazaar from Oakville, more than I am willing to do in the evening.

This time we ate at Golden Restaurant, right by the Clock Tower in Landour. The Clock Tower is being renovated and is surrounded by scaffolding. While we were eating, men were carrying in sections of corrugated metal, about 3x8 feet. I’m not sure if they were for the roof or for something else inside.

Ram Chander’s general store has moved across the street from its long-time location. It has been renovated and is clean and bright. The manager told us the old location will soon be the Nainital Bank.

Golden is a decent Indian restaurant. We started with paneer pakoras (a favorite appetizer). Dan had Dry Mutton Curry, a specialty he remembers fondly from the old Kwality Restaurant in Dehra Dun. This was nearly as good. We also had Gobhi Mutter (cauliflower and peas) and tandoori roti. Very delicious!