For almost all my life, I've craved the blue of the ocean more than anything. Perhaps it was the depravity to the coastal getaways that kept me desiring the unfetched. And when I did finally witness the beauty of the blue water, that was all I wanted, kind of like falling in love for the first time, you just never want the haze of the romance to end.
But with time, you realise.. perhaps that's not all there is to life and happiness. There's so much more beauty to the world around you that sticking to the blues of the water isn't gonna cut it for the adventurer in you.
There's green too...!
And boy did I see green...!
Nestled at the altitude of 2708 mts above sea level is the beautiful town of Narkanda, an oasis in Himachal still untouched in parts and with much more to offer than you can gather in a single visit.
My visit was rather unplanned, considering I was asked last minute to tag along by my best friend for a short weekend getaway. So I packed my new dress, a few pairs of denims and a couple of warm tops.
There was very little I knew about the prime resort property in Narkanda, Tethys. One quick look on the internet suggested it was more of a winter wonderland and so I had my reservations about this place. How good would it be in summers? Will there be snow? It only took a 5-hour drive from Chandigarh to have that question answered.
The three of us, me, my bestie and now our common friend, Monica, arrived at around 5 in the evening to an overcast weather, greeted by the warm and welcoming staff at Tethys HImalayan Resort.
One of the only 4 adventure resorts in India, Tethys boasts two beautiful establishments sprawled over the lush green gardens and offers astonishing views of the valley from the cliffside. While our newly constructed building had all the rooms named after the mountain peaks, we heard the other one had all 15 rooms named after rivers.
Weary from the car ride, we were shown our room by the hotel staff who proactively offered us welcome drinks and took care of our luggage before we could even ask.
The views from our room were so beautiful, the only apt description I can find is that even if we hadn't left our room all weekend, we would have been treated to awe-inspiring star gazing, lovely mountain breeze, Masala tea and sumptuous food from a wide selection of delicacies that the resort offers, rendering us motionless to even bother exploring the rest of the property.
We were so mesmerized by the view of the mountains, valleys, cherry plantations and beautiful narrow roads all visible in a single view of the eyes that the next one hour was spent clicking pics and posing for the camera. The evening twilight had turned the sky sapphire blue and the atmosphere truly spellbinding. These are the kind of views that inspire great romance novels, in my opinion.
But the explorers that we are, we hardly wasted any time in getting ready for the dinner at the restaurant that could easily host over 50 patrons in one go. My broiler-loving friends ordered HImalayan specialty Himachali Chicken with naan and I ordered Paneer Lababdar. Needless to say the smile on our faces was well read by the chef who paid the guests a visit asking if they liked the food. This is the kind of service that makes you want to come back to such warm, welcoming places.
While I retired to an early night, my bestie chose the hour of the wolf to enjoy what she later recalled as 'a sky full of stars.' Our love for astronomy and physics often brings us under the open sky but this was something else, she said.
"I'd never seen so many stars in my life'', she beamed, to my dismay frankly. Why wasn't I up for this experience?
Anyway, what you miss during the hour of the wolf, you make up for at the hour of the owl. Is it me or my passion for Game of Thrones that's seeping into my writing so much.. Trust me, there are more references later, and visual no less, to our favorite fantasy series.
So I woke up around 5:30 in the morning and quietly moved to the balcony with a cup of tea and a cozy blanket. A little while later, bestie joined me for an experience we will never forget. The acoustics of the place alone are reason enough. We could hear the chirps of every bird around, the slow mountain winds rustling through our hair and the piping hot cup of tea, what a delight.
Bestie and I have a sort of a verbal gratitude journal that we exchange over such enigmatically splendid moments in nature. We were so thankful for such an amazing time we were having in the Himalayas.
A little later, we had our breakfast, from a wide selection of buffet, along with fresh fruits and beautiful vistas from the restaurant.
The property is spread over a huge chunk of land so walking from one corner to the other also takes a bit of time; time that we used clicking photos of the lovely cherry blossoms, apple plantations, viewpoint swings and gorgeous flowers blooming in every nook and cranny.
The staff at the resort is extremely helpful, when we asked them about places of interest nearby, they volunteered to accompany us to hiking trails almost adjacent to the resort. The views get even more gorgeous as you make your way up. The flat grounds above make for perfect camping sights and we were told had been used for school trips for stargazing and astronomy lessons.
Almost every spot in this area is instagrammable. The beautiful trees, the viewpoints, valleys, lush green grass and beautiful patches overlooking the entire property & valley, urging you to dig into your handbag and take out the phone for a click.
Just as we realised we hadn't packed our picnic, the kind staff member had a runner sent to bring us some refreshment. What more do you want than to have all your wishes fulfilled before you even take the time to conceive them in your mind.
By the time we hiked back to the resort, it was lunch time and heeding an excellent recommendation from the staff, we decided to order a nice pizza and burger from the multi-cuisine Cafe within the resort premises called Waadi.
The smiling host Shitali took our food order and in no time, we were gorging on the delectable, cheezy pizza and crunchy burgers. The lunch spot we chose was overlooking the valley on one side and the tree-laden hills on another.
By evening, the weather had turned and instead of a trek to the nearby Hatu peak, we decided to walk down the valley next to the resort. Offering beautiful, up close views of the cherry plantations, these narrow walkways took us to the base of the hill Tethys is perched on.
Just as we were about to go further down, rain played a bit of a spoil sport, yanking us back to the resort. But the pics I clicked on this little hike depict some of my fondest memories of this short trip to Narkanda.
Every night, the hotel arranges a bonfire with snacks on order and the night seemed like a perfect opportunity to cozy up by the fire and enjoy searing hot paneer tikkas and Tandoori chicken over a cold drink.
The space they've created for the bonfire is so beautiful that it immediately takes you back to the scenes of Dragonstone and Winterfell. The textured floor and bougainvillea embellishments on the side set up such an awesome mood that we didn't even mind the embarrassing attempts at singing from the nearby group of lads enjoying their acoustics over drinks and good food. In fact, they kept asking if we were OK with them drinking in their presence.
I believe the resort attracts the right kind of crowd and the three of us felt perfectly safe in the vicinity of this 5-star property.
As the day drew to a close, so did our trip to this amazing place in the Himachal.
The next morning, after breakfast, as we were about to leave for Chandigarh, in a serendipitous encounter, we met the owner and visionary behind this magnificent establishment, Mr Sanjeev Dogra.
Born and raised in Narkanda, Sanjeev envisioned a place for adventure, a place for luxury and a place for inspiring solitude, all wrapped in one in Tethys, the now flagship chain of resorts and the place has never ceased to amaze its guests for 18 years now.
On our way back, ruffling through the thousands of memories me and my friends created in a space of two days, I kept wondering how important it is to give yourself a Himalayan break and find time to be in the lap of nature. This visit to Narkanda and my stay in the luxurious Tethys will go down as one of the fondest travel experiences of my life.
Till I embark on my next adventure, stay tuned...!
