I had been hearing about Shitlakhet for almost ten years now, ever since I started visiting the Almora region more frequently. I even made some flying visits to the village, and had some incredibly tasty maggi. But never got an opportunity to stay overnight and explore the place until last month when I was there as the part of the Bloggers Bus of Uttarakhand Tourism. Although a one night stay is just not enough to do any justice to this place, but we tried to extract as much experience as possible.
Shitlakhet is certainly not a happening place. But I can bet, it is unimaginably beautiful. It is just a small village at the end of the mountain ridge. But it is full of adventure and it is certainly a photographers paradise. Hence, I though that it is better to talk about this place with some photographs.
We stayed at Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN) tourist rest house which is at the base of the hill on whose top Syahi or Siyahi Devi temple is located. She is a local deity and most revered here in the region. Most enjoyable activity at Shitlakhet is a morning trek to top of the hill. It might be around a four kilometre trek to the top, but it is worth every bit. On the way you experience the vividness of the nature here.
Besides its amazing 200 degree Himalayan views, Sitlakhet is also famous for its orchards, landscapes, herbs, medicinal plants, as well as birds. The day we reached here was done away in planting some saplings to celebrate Harela festival. Since we had to leave the next morning after breakfast, only time we had in our hands was the early morning and we decided to have a short trek to explore the area. A small hike to the middle of the hill and all of a sudden, we got to see what we had been missing – the Himalayan views. And actually, we were lucky to have these views during the peak of monsoon. It was a small window when the sky got cleared and we were able to have a glimpse of majestic Garhwal and Kumaon Himalayas. (Click on the thumbnails to have bigger look of the panorama.
The prominent peaks that we could see were Chaukhamba on the Garhwal side and Trishul, Nanda Devi and Panchachuli massif on the Kumaon side.
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The trail to the temple takes you through dense pine forests. Morning hike is also best to have some good views of birds and some wild life as well. Best time also to have some good light for photography. Perfect for some nature walks. You can find scattered houses, orchards, camping sites and resorts spread out.
Most of the area is largely unexplored, and you hardly get to see any tourists here. It is quite rich in flora and fauna. Shitlakhet is said to have more than 115 species of birds. As is with hills in general, you can find here lots and lots of flowers- small and big.
Same flower in a different colour-
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Its a fertile area, with favourable climate and very less amount of disturbance. Hence locals have been doing lots of experiments in livelihood including farming and small scale productions.
With this place so serene, peaceful and away from the main course, it has got some exclusive places for stay. As, we mentioned that KMVN TRH and Forest rest house as well as some small hotels are there for budget stay close to village and the road head. But up on the hill, some camping sites and high-end resorts are also available.
I had also often heard about an adventure camp run by Discovery here for many years. It is actually a Pine wood Cliff campus by Youreka.
There are lot many treks, that can be done here. You also enjoy mountain biking and lot of other activities. This place has been popular for team building corporate activities.
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How to reach
Beauty of this place is that although it is very close to tourist towns of Ranikhet and Almora, it is free of tourists. Ranikhet is 30 kms and Almora is 36 kms from here. You can reach here directly from Kathgodam via Ranikhet and Kathpudia. Or you can go to Almora and come here via Kosi bridge.
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When to go
September to March would be best time to go here. But one more thing, I still feel it is lot underrated as winter destination. It is breathtaking during winter snow. It could take away sheen of many of its famed neighbours for sure. I am going to write about it more in coming season.
Have you been to Shitlakhet? Pleas share your experiences in the comments section below.
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