The Hilly Solitude - Day 9

Jabarkhet Nature reserve echoed with a musical duet performance by a barbet and a cuckoo as I stepped into ‘The Hut’ that served as the main point of entrance to this private forest reserve. It's a little hut made of stones. Vipul Bhai and Rajinder Bhai (who walks 10 KM each way on this hilly terrain every day from his home to work here!!) take care of this place along with a few of their friends; they serve tea and other refreshments to the visitors and also guide them to the forest trails that diverge from this hut.

Entering JNR - Jabarkhet Nature Reserve...

There were many paths to choose from - Leopard trail, Ridge trail, Rhododendron trail, Mushroom trail, Wildflower trail. Mushroom trail immediately captured my attention. I love mushrooms in any form! But too bad, it's best viewed in monsoons. I followed the steps of my guide, Rohit (who agreed to bear with me again this weekend after our last weekend’s Top Tibba trek) and we leisurely started with the Leopard trail.

Starting with the Leopard Trail...

The long trees give a thrilling vibe to the forest. There was a cluster of variety all around - long, coarse oaks, stylish rhododendrons, furry pines, barberry shrubs, reddish boxwoods, gnarly Layonia and so many others!

A classic Rhododendron amidst a cluster of Oaks!

We cut across the Leopard trail and moved to the Ridge trail at one point. The path twisted and turned, softly and steadily moving up to the top most point of this reserve - The Flag Hill top. From this point, the Himalayan snow wall which has been my friend every day of this trip now, was once again, clearly visible. Thanks to Rohit, we even had a binocular today. Through the lenses, I took a longer and clearer peek at my favorite Bandarpunch, Swargarohini along with Srikanta and Yamonatri and several others.

At Flag Hill Top

After pottering around a bit, foraging for some fungi (which I mistook for mushrooms), feeling the thorns and the softness of the barberry shrubs, we made our way to ‘The Lone Oak’.

Fungi and Lichen coated Oak!

A single big Oak tree stood at the top of one corner of this hill, as if cast away from his community around. Maybe, he is the big Oak - the one the rest of the Oak community looks up to and hence has his own special place in the forest.

The Lone Oak!

Just round the lone big Oak, the Rhododendrons show up. The big red bright flowers never cease to delight me. As I stood watching one particular tree full of these beauties, I spotted a number of tiny birds with bright hues on them! One had a bright yellow breast with a blue neckline and another one was bluish in colour. I found out later that these were sunbirds! They are the sweetest, brightest birds I have ever seen!

Overpour of Rhododendrons!

One of the other birds I noticed (and I have noticed them very frequently all around Mussoorie now) is the Streaked laughingthrush. They are very common. Whilst the sunbirds preferred being in the cosy cocoon of the big flowery trees, the streaked laughingthrush pottered around randomly at every nook and corner of the forest. I walked around the trail, watching the birds and the flowers, every time trying to get a bit nearer to them than the last. The rhododendrons always seem to be growing in precarious bends of the slopes or are just too high up in the trees, totally out of my reach. Nonetheless, they are beautiful and I get mesmerized by every single one of them! The birds just make it even more interesting; Not to forget the little fungi and lichen that adorns the barks and shoots here and there!

On a lookout for more birds & flowers!

Following the Rhododendron trail and again cutting into the Leopard trail, we gradually looped our way back to ‘The Hut’. There were a few other localities at the hut now. Most of them were working as guides or nature/bird experts in the area. They told me all about the birds I had spotted and gave me a lot more info about the reserve in general. A shout out to all my fellow readers - if you want to help with this natural preservation project, please drop a note to info@jabarkhet.com and help out to your best, if you want.

The Helpful friends who work at JNR to preserve the Nature

It was a 2-4 hours walk and it was over by the afternoon. Rohit dropped me off on his scooty at the mall road and I strolled down to my cottage thinking of what to do next. Kaamini aunty suggested - why not walk up to the Dalai Hill if you still have the energy. Did I have the energy? I dunno, but I sure did have the enthu.

At the Shedup Choephelling Temple

So, I set off on a walk to the Dalai hill. The path goes by the beautiful institutes which are part of lbsnaa and then it swoops up and down the Happy Valley (as it’s known) to make its way to the top of Dalai Hill. A buddhist temple had its serene presence there and a big Buddha statue adorned the very top of the hill.

Buddha Statue at the top of Dalai Hill

From this hill top, as I looked out to the valley, the top of George Everest Hill smirked at me from across the mountains, from the other end of the valley. That’s where I had been sitting just yesterday. I felt my heart smile at this beautiful harmony of the hills. My knees feel quite sore now, having walked quite a lot of distance in these two days but I feel a swell of happiness inside. I stay still for a while thinking of nothing and thinking of everything and then I walk back to the cottage thinking of the beautiful birds at sunrise and the calming Buddha smile at sunset…

And the day comes to an end with these fluttering flags :)