Jamta Sirmaur- Himachal Pradesh

I did not have any fancy hopes from this place- all I wanted was a weekend break. We booked our resort at Jamta just one day prior to our visit and packed our bags with a ‘it couldn’t be that bad’ attitude and started at noon from Gurgaon. Already very late and our tummies full, we decided not to halt unnecessarily before our destination. Psychological hunger pangs started hitting us as soon as we reached Murthal. “It wouldn’t take much time to gulp down a parantha at Sukhdev “; we said to each other almost at the same time and indulged in butter laden paranths. Now we were terribly late.

The sun had dimmed by the time we started from Murthal. We had never commuted on that route earlier so we were relying completely on GPS for directions. It was dark by the time we hit the Haryana- Himachal border area and the fun began now. The navigator lady sounded so confident about the numerous twists and turns she asked us to make that we blindly followed her…and soon we were driving through the narrow never-ending sugarcane fields in the pitch-black night.

It was the gloomiest night I had seen in years!  I must confess, I have never been as petrified on a drive as I was on that particular night. Nasty scenes from all the thriller movies started haunting me. I prayed for the fields to end soon and get out of there safely. Now the thing about fear is it makes us do silly things. I remember taking out my tiny artificial earrings and shoving them in the glovebox. I didn’t want my imaginary robbers to think of them as real! “It wouldn’t really help you know “, my partner said to me and a minute later we burst into a fit of laughter, puffing off those horrid thoughts.

To our relief, the fields ended soon after and we stopped by a police interceptor vehicle to ask for directions. The first thing they asked us was what possessed us to drive through those fields at that time of hour! The complete conversation between us and those kind policemen would make a nice post someday I think. Soon we were driving through the majestic Himalayas and we reached Jamta around midnight- Thanks to our GPS adventure!

We woke up to a beautiful morning in ‘The Sirmour Retreat Resort’ . As we sipped our morning tea overlooking the Himalayas from our balcony, we were pleased about our decision to be there. It was so peaceful just to sit there without any plans and simply admire nature .The cool breeze washed away all the stress. As always, it was a great experience to stroll around in the village and communicate with the local folks. The most beautiful part of the day however was the evening. It was an absolute bliss to just lie back and watch the sun disappear into the clouds.                                                

Places I visited:

Jaitak Fort: We reached this place after a short but stern trek in hopes of finding an actual fort , however, only ruins of the fort remain now. The battle between the British and the Gurkhas was fought at this fort. Two warrior statues on either side of the (must have been) entrance seem to guard the fort. The panoramic view from here made up for the hope I had from this place- The view was amazingly refreshing, a perfect picnic spot. There is nothing much to it otherwise.

Renuka Lake: It is a perfect one day outing place. A lake, a cute tiny zoo, temples and local shops – something for everyone! Kids would not want to come back from here, this is a family fun place. Renuka Lake is a charming lake with the biggest fish I have ever seen. A boat ride on the lake was super-duper entertaining and exhausting as we had to paddle the boat for good 40 minutes. We also went for the so called jungle safari and it was a pity to see poor animals in cage. All the animals specially the lions looked severely malnourished. We were lucky to be there at the time of the famous annual fair. The village market was flooded with people and the aura was very vibrant.

Suketi Fossil Park: A pathetic road of around 5ish km from the main road took us to the village where this park is located. I felt bad for the villagers. The museum displays many fossils found in the Shivalik range. There was no guide, this was a downer. More than the museum I enjoyed strolling in the jungle that envelopes the park, beautiful flora and fauna.

My Two Cents:

-          This is a general tip- Do NOT rely completely on the GPS for directions. The very minute you feel the route is tacky, revert to the desi navigation method- Roll down those windows and ask the next neat-looking bhaisaab for directions.

-          (Especially) if you are with kids, pack some food and water along when you visit the Jaitak Fort and enjoy a lovely picnic. There are no food options there.