Devprayag, one of the places we three had in our travel bucket list for the longest time. Devprayag, is the town where River Alaknanda meets with River Bhagirathi and flows ahead as Ganges. Once you cross the towns and villages of Uttarakhand and step into periphery of Devprayag you feel the aura, the Godly presence.
Our stay was at Banyan By the Ganges, situated in the sleepy village of Vysyaghat, around half hour drive down stream from Devprayag. As the name suggests, there is a huge banyan tree by the Ganges standing tall and proud in the resort and can be viewed from all the tents. The restaurant and the other seating areas are also designed around the banyan. The only sound that echos here is the sound of the river gushing and flowing down stream.
We had the resort to ourselves for the first night that we were here. A journey of around seven hours left us completely exhausted. Refreshing lime water awaited us at the reception. After checking into the tent, we had a sumptuous lunch, and an afternoon siesta. By the time we woke up it was almost sunset. The evening went by reading and lounging by the river.
In the moonlight, with the soft drizzle, the place turned surreal before us. The thunder and lightning and the heavy downpour which followed added to the charm of the night. The river was gushing down in full force..... and it was a sight to behold.
The ringing of the temple bells woke us in the morning. The day was reserved for fishing and kayaking. After an early breakfast, we walked down the stone laden path down stream to the banks of the Ganges. Fishing here is fun, and the practice is to "Catch and Release". Kayaking was a fun experience for our budding teenager!!!
In the afternoon we drove up hill to Devprayag. The aura of Devprayag is very different from any place we ever visited. As in the name, you can feel godly presence here. The meeting of the muddy Alaknanda and the blue Bhagirathi rivers, is a wonder to the eyes. We had masala chai from a way side tea stall, and had a chat with locals. The place was dusty, thanks to the road work going on in the area.
We headed back early so that we could reach the resort before sunset as the road back to the resort is remote. We did not stay to see the evening aarti, but did hear from the locals that it is a beautiful experience.
The next day we checked out and headed to Rishikesh. Compared to Devprayag and Vysyaghat; Rishikesh is more touristy and crowded, till late in the night you can hear the vehicles passing by and horns blaring. We reached around lunch time and checked into our hotel, the Hill Top Swiss Cottage, situated at a ten minute walk from Lakshman Jhula.
We wanted to experience the Ganga Aarti, and headed towards the ghats by evening. The Ganga Aarti is a divine experience.
After the Aarti we headed towards Lakshman Jula, it is a hanging bridge over the Ganges. On the way to Lakshman Jula, you have many a shops on either side of the steps selling Rudraksh, sandalwood and other handicrafts. We had an early dinner as we were heading home early the next day.
Now we are planning to go further up stream, the next stop we have in mind is Rudraprayag; till then we will miss the sound of the river gushing down stream, the chanting of the slokas and the temple bells waking us up in the mornings.
Happy Musings
Tina.
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