Uttarakhand, famously known as Devbhumi (Land of the Gods) stands true to its name with the breathtaking green landscape outlined by the renowned snowcapped peaks and the Hindu pilgrimage sites. It has always been one of the most popular choices for a quick getaway from the heat of the summer and dwell in the heart of the mountains for few days, cooling it off while enjoying the beauty of nature. However, my experience was entirely different this May-June - fire, heat and smoke all around – a Burning Uttarakhand. The entire eastern stretch from Nainital to Pithoragarh, which was a part of my trip this time, was literally burning - the damaged flora & fauna taking away our hopes to enjoy the green landscape and the smoke & debris making it difficult to even breathe properly.

The trip started with us visiting the Jim Corbett National Park on 26th of May. We had made early reservations for safari in the famous Bijrani zone (there are four zones – Dhikala, Bijrani, Jhirna, Lohachaur). But to our dismay, we could not get sight of a single tiger.  And with this, we were off to a bad start to the trip but we were certain that the beauty of the mountains which we were to visit next, will balance out this experience. Without wasting much time, we quickly came back and boarded the car, setting our destination to Gwaldam. On the way, our first stop was Anashakti Ashram – famous for Gandhiji’s stay in 1929. Though it is highly suggested to watch the sunset from this point, we had to take off early for Baijnath temple in order to reach Gwaldam by the evening. We experienced the sunset at Baijnath temple and in the next two hours, reached Gwaldam.

27th early morning, from our very balcony, we could see the white mountain range – Trishul, Nanda Devi, Nanda Ghanti, Chaukhamba. However, it was time to for our next destination – Patal Bhubaneswar. It was on the way, when we first caught sight of the fire, which was just getting started. A small area on our way was burning with not so huge flame. We thought it was just a strategy to clean up the area before growing new crops. Not paying much attention to the fire, we enjoyed our travel to Bageshwar where we visited the temples at the Shore of Sarju River and started our journey to Patal Bhubaneswar. In the night, when we went to the hotel roof to enjoy the calm atmosphere, we could see a necklace of fire on the mountain just before us and trust me, it was scary - as if the entire Lord of the Rings was about to become real.

28th morning, we went down the steep cave of Patal Bhubaneswar. This was unlike any other cave I have visited in India. It was tough – it was a bit scary but in the end, if you have faith in yourself or the 33crore God who reside in the cave, you will be able to make it. Not wasting much time after the experience in the cave, we started out journey for Munsiyari in hopes to experience the ecstatic scenic beauty on way. Instead, what we experienced made us sad but it was an experience of a lifetime, nevertheless. Enroute Munsiyari, everywhere we looked, it was fire and fire. Starting from the fields in the valleys to the trees, everything was burning. In addition, the smoke and the haze made it difficult to even the see the next mountain. However, the only solace was Birthi Falls, which we visited on the way. Soon, we reached our hotel where we had a booking for two days because staying in Munsiyari is itself an experience with breathtaking beauty all around you. But this time on the contrary, it was hot, smoky and nothing much to see. All we could do was visit the Mandadevi Temple and Tribal Museum the next day – 29th.

On 30th, we had plans to visit Binsar but by this time, it was already in news that most of the areas in Uttarakhand was made out of limits for safety. Still, we took our chances but the roads to Binsar was closed and we had no other options but to go straight to Almora and stay for the day.

On 31st, gathering all our hopes, we journeyed for Nainital. With the heat and smoke making it hard to breathe, it was sad to see that Uttarakhand was no more green – the green mountains have all burnt down to black standstills, covered in debris. On the way, we visited the lakes of Nainital – Sattal, Bhimtal, Naukuchiyatal but it was hard to enjoy, as it was immensely hot.

With our stay until half day of 1st June, our trip came to an end. All I could see around were sad faces of the tourists. But what was more difficult, was to forget the fire that we saw all around and the destruction it has done to the ecosystem. Prayers for Uttarakhand.