Pilibhit Junction to Tanakpur was a 50 km. Metre Gauge Rail journey through the Terai Forests. After the overnite stay at Lucknow. From Tanakpur, we 3 hit the 110 km road to Mayavati Ramkrishna Advaita Ashram.This is the same route that Swami Vivekananda used to traverse
by foot. Above pic shows the Terai Jungles with Sal, Palash, eucalyptus trees near Tanakpur. Elephants frequently come across these jungle stretches onto the roads.And the obligatory leopards,kraits,cobras,hyenas and geckos at night. Extremely well-preserved ecology. One can see the blue outlines of the beckoning Kumaon foot hills.
Next pic shows me and Dipankar chilling out at about 2000 feet with the Sarda or Kali Ganga River Valley in the background. Other side of the river is Nepal, and below is the Terai Region surrounding Tanakpur. March time..and the biodiversity change was amazing. It was relatively dense forest. We could smell the fresh mountain air.
Stopped at Shyamlatal Vivekananda Ashram. 5000 feet. This used to be a historic stop for Swamiji. In the photo - On the left are some banana (we were surprised), middle - some poplars or firs(?), and on the right an old banyan tree(surprise).
Near Shyamlatal Lake are the authentic ruins of some original Panch Pandava resort. Thank God I came to know of this after the 2002 visit. Nahole Saikat 'ke oikhanei fele rekhe astam..business korto ;-)
