Dehradun.... tucked away in the Doon valley.... had always intrigued me.....during my school days a mention about hill stations was never complete without Dehradun, once I moved to Delhi, every other person I met had gone at least once to Dehradun ... Set in the backdrop of the Garhwal ranges of the Himalayas, its magic was enhanced with each book that I eagerly devoured of Ruskin Bond. So, last Diwali when we made the decision to visit this hill station, my excitement knew no bounds. I was a happy, happy tourist I would say.
But, the decision to travel a day before Diwali was the worst one ever. A trip that should have taken us six hours took us nine!!!!! We were completely exhausted by the time we reached our destination.
We had booked our stay at Mango Tree Courtyard, which was situated in the main market road of Dehradun. When our car took the turn from the main road to the market road where the home stay was located I almost fainted. I looked at hubby dear and said.... may be the reviews were all wrong or may be this is not the correct address... how can it be? The road had whole line of shops ... a typical market scene any where in India. How can a hotel so serene and clam be situated here?
But, the moment we entered the compound of Mango Tree Courtyard, we were instantly transported to another land. A land of calm, a home away from home, I sighed in relief.... you see the booking hotels and home stays for our trips comes under my jurisdiction and I take this task very very seriously. It was only once I saw the clean, elegant and charming home stay and met the warm hostess and the incredible staff, that I felt relaxed. They offered us dinner, and made tea for my tea lover hubby, at two in the morning!!!
I just loved the home stay so much that I was ready to spent the whole time there.... I just didn't want to venture out. The mango tree in the courtyard (from which the home stay gets it's name) is home to so many squirrels and birds, and the alfresco dining they have set up in the courtyard all things cozy. The dining area, the lounge and the kitchen all had a contemporary touch adding to the quaintness and the charm. The hostess was amazing and so were the staff... simple home cooked meals and corners where you could just sink in with a book and forget that a world existed outside. There was nothing more I could ask for.
But of-course, when you have hubby and sonny with you; reading a book, sitting and watching the world go by .... all these are next to impossible.
So we the next day, we went out to complete the touristy duties. There were a lot of places to see, but as we were not on tourist mode, we decided to go by sonny dear's list of places to see. And, I was secretly happy that the list only had three to four places.
We made it to The Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussorie, as this was one of the places that sonny boy had on his list!!! Also visited Kempty falls. Though we did not take the rope way here, we did enjoy a good time trekking down the falls.
Next destination we went to was, Lal Tibba, there is a lone cafe at the top of the hill, where you can get a glimpse of the Himalayas from the observation deck, thru the telescope for a nominal charge. On our way back to Dehradun, we had our lunch at Dolmas Inn. If you are a fan of momo and Indo-Chinese cuisine please do visit this cafe.
We returned early to the home stay as it was Diwali night and did not want to get caught in the midst of firecrackers and festivities. As it was early enough and the market was still abuzz, we decided to do some shopping around. If you are a baker or a kitchen enthusiast this market in Jhanda Bazar,Tilak Nagar, Dehradun is the place to go. The baking stuff you can lay your hands on here is just awesome.
After an early and sumptuous dinner, we spent the evening watching the sky light up with firecrackers and spectacular lights which adorned almost all of the shops and houses. Also, I got the much wished for reading time and I was a happy soul :)
The following day we were returning to Delhi, but sonny dear had one more place to tick off his list. Robbers cave. This is a river cave formation of the Himalayas and is about half a kilo meter long.
The cave is a narrow gorge, and you have to walk thru the dark limestone gorge as the river, or more a stream, rushes through the center, the echo of water gushing thru is all you hear.
A word of advice, the rocks are extremely sharp and slippery and broken glass bottles are strewn here and there on the river bed, so if you plan to trek up and down the cave thru the water, please, please do wear a good footwear, else rent one from the gate, but wear one. Though this trek did leave me completely tired, I did thank sonny dear for the awesome experience.
Once back at the home stay we said goodbyes to our hostess and staff. We still have not seen everything we wanted to see and experience. We are sure we will be back and we will definitely be staying at the Mango Tree Courtyard.... and if possible I will try and sneak in a relax day along with all the sightseeing so that I can enjoy the home stay ;)
Happy Musings
Tina .
Please note--- this post is not sponsored by The Mango Tree Courtyard..... just a happy client who loved the place so much that I wanted to share it with each one of you.
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