Now you will agree with me that "Robber's Cave" sounds more adventurous than 'Gucchupani', won't you? Despite giving him the day's itinerary right in front of the front desk people when we left the hotel in the morning, our driver got confused when I told him that our next stop should be Robber's Cave. By then the name 'Gucchupani' had slipped out of my mind completely. So we called the front desk guys again who told the driver to set course for 'Gucchupani'. At warp speed :-)
When we reached there, we saw a couple of confused tourists who seemed very unsure of how far to go. That set us wondering till we saw, on our right, a board showing the way to an ancient Shiva temple. Without a second's delay we started walking in that direction. The path was easy enough in the beginning and required only a slightly tough ascent towards the end - totally negotiable if you have 1-2 young people to lend a hand. The temple was closed, no surprises there!
After Darshan, we saw another path leading up from the temple and started walking. At a fork in the road, we turned to the right - though I believe the left road would have been equally enchanting. Be careful on this road if there is moss because that can make it slippery. A slight ascent later we were reward with a panoramic view of the hillside. Totally worth the hike and more!
As we continued ahead, we virtually ended up in people's backyards. There were neat villas on both sides of the road but not a soul in sight. They have probably got used to the awesome view. :-( Two small dogs in a house started barking their heads off when they saw us though we were strictly keeping to the road. A small child came out to investigate but when he saw us, he turned on his heels and went back inside.
I wasn't too thrilled about descending the same moss-laden way back. At the top we saw another path going down to our right. While we were debating whether to take it or not, another dog started barking and luckily for us his owner stepped out of the house. He opened the gate when he saw the question marks on our faces. We asked him if the path to the right led to the parking lot. He said that it will lead us more than a kilometer away so he advised us to retrace our steps instead. And so we did, but not without going green - almost the same shade as the moss below our feet - with envy :-)
We came back to the board which had led us to the temple and saw a ticket window at a distance. We bought tickets at Rs. 25 each. I guess that's a steep price to pay considering there is little ahead except flowing water and an entrance to a cave. Maybe there is more if you dared to walk into the cave. We didn't. I took photos and we had tea in a nearby hotel. Some of the eating joints have set up tables in the water - an interesting concept - but I have no idea what was on the menu.
So, to sum it all, the temple and the hike beyond turned what could have been a lousy experience into some of the most cherished moments of this trip. Finally, that's what these outings boil down to - a treasure trove of memories that you can relive again and again, even without photos or videos, isn't it? In that sense, we found our treasure trove at Dehradun's Robber's Cave - it paid off handsomely!
When we reached there, we saw a couple of confused tourists who seemed very unsure of how far to go. That set us wondering till we saw, on our right, a board showing the way to an ancient Shiva temple. Without a second's delay we started walking in that direction. The path was easy enough in the beginning and required only a slightly tough ascent towards the end - totally negotiable if you have 1-2 young people to lend a hand. The temple was closed, no surprises there!
After Darshan, we saw another path leading up from the temple and started walking. At a fork in the road, we turned to the right - though I believe the left road would have been equally enchanting. Be careful on this road if there is moss because that can make it slippery. A slight ascent later we were reward with a panoramic view of the hillside. Totally worth the hike and more!
As we continued ahead, we virtually ended up in people's backyards. There were neat villas on both sides of the road but not a soul in sight. They have probably got used to the awesome view. :-( Two small dogs in a house started barking their heads off when they saw us though we were strictly keeping to the road. A small child came out to investigate but when he saw us, he turned on his heels and went back inside.
I wasn't too thrilled about descending the same moss-laden way back. At the top we saw another path going down to our right. While we were debating whether to take it or not, another dog started barking and luckily for us his owner stepped out of the house. He opened the gate when he saw the question marks on our faces. We asked him if the path to the right led to the parking lot. He said that it will lead us more than a kilometer away so he advised us to retrace our steps instead. And so we did, but not without going green - almost the same shade as the moss below our feet - with envy :-)
We came back to the board which had led us to the temple and saw a ticket window at a distance. We bought tickets at Rs. 25 each. I guess that's a steep price to pay considering there is little ahead except flowing water and an entrance to a cave. Maybe there is more if you dared to walk into the cave. We didn't. I took photos and we had tea in a nearby hotel. Some of the eating joints have set up tables in the water - an interesting concept - but I have no idea what was on the menu.
So, to sum it all, the temple and the hike beyond turned what could have been a lousy experience into some of the most cherished moments of this trip. Finally, that's what these outings boil down to - a treasure trove of memories that you can relive again and again, even without photos or videos, isn't it? In that sense, we found our treasure trove at Dehradun's Robber's Cave - it paid off handsomely!
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