The 'clouds end' but the magic doesn't ...

The trip to Clouds End, Mussoorie was a long awaited one for me and the Mrs. We hadn't been on a getaway for sometime and the long weekend was too hard to resist.
Sharing some of our bitter-sweet experiences from the trip.

The hard facts:

- How far is it? - Mussoorie is roughly 280 kms from Delhi. And clouds end is around 10 kms from Mussoorie.
- How to get there from Delhi? - The route we took is Delhi - Modi Nagar - Meerut - Muzzafarnagar - Rorkee - Dehradun - Mussoorie.
- Where did we stay? - Clouds End forest resort.

The sweetness of it:

The Snowies

The property - The best part about Clouds End forest resort is its location. Its located on a 400 acre forested area which is around 10 kms from the (Mussoorie) city center. The property is a refurbished villa from the colonial era and is ideally located with a clear view of the snow capped himalayan peaks.

Sunrise

The views & sounds - The views from almost any place were breathtaking the best being the views of the snow capped peaks, the Sunrise and Sunset. One of the interesting facts that we learnt on the trip is that the South facing side of a mountain is always more barren than the North facing one. The reason for this phenomenon is that the south facing side tends to get more direct sun hence less hummidity (and less germination) hence less growth. Whereas the North facing side gets less SunThe peace and quiet of the hills with the distant (and not so distant) calls of various animals is something that still brings a easy calm to yours truly.

View of the barren & the lush green

The People - In my experience the people you interact with on the hills (locals not outsiders) are mild mannered and willing to go that extra mile to help you. I just love that about them and hope that we city dwellers don't (also) pollute this aspect of life at the hills.
The trek - There is a wonderful trek from the resort to the adjoining hill (with a temple on its peak) which gives a closer and awesomer view of the snow capped beauties. Although the view in the end is the best the fun is in the journey to the top especially since we took a slightly offbeat path to the peak which went through the less traveled paths with amazing views on the way. The wife had a field day clicking snaps and ran the darn camera out of battery.
The adorable puppies - There were these adorable puppies at the resort (around 8 weeks old) and being a dog lover I was thrilled. I've always wanted to own a pet but it'd be criminal considering that we spend most of the day at work and live in a apartment (with no open spaces).

The Naughty One

What was unique about this particular breed was their aggressive behavior with each other and also how their mother handled them. I have seen quite a few interactions between these animals but have never seen them play with such an aggressive intent. It was interesting to experience this trait which seems unique to this breed.

The bitterness:

The roads - The roads in our country are bound to feature in this section and the road to Mussorie is no exception. The only stretch that is worth anything is the one between Meerut and Muzzafarnagar, which provides a much needed breather. So if you are travelling make sure that you start early so that you are not pressed for time.
The jumping jack - The only other minor sore point were the kids of a couple residing in the room directly above ours. They seemed to be practicing for the 100 mtr dash at the Olympics while simultaneously practicing for the long jump event.

Side attractions:

This was my first real visit to Dehradun (the earlier visits were too far back) and I was amazed at the numerous schools and colleges that throng the relatively small town and the  vibrancy the young crowd brings to the equation. Also, given the population of youngsters it wasn't really surprising to find the large bouquet of brands (clothing, accessories, financial institutions, automobiles etc) lining up the congested lanes that criss-cross the city.

Thats all for now....more to follow soon....