When was the last time you traveled to a place where you could experience a complete vacuum? If you are living in a metro city, leading a corporate lifestyle, don’t you feel that someday you should take a break and go to a random place and stay there for a while? Yes, I know that you have several promises and deadlines to keep, but still once in a month, one can take some time and travel to such a place where you will be just you only and nothing else. I spent some of the most beautiful moments of solitude in Shangarh. When I visited there for the first time, I knew I had to come back and spend some more time without worrying much about other stuff of routine life.
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Taking a trip like this requires a lot of effort. Budget planning, office work, and whatnot! Let me tell you. It was a weekend trip to Shangarh when I visited here for the first time. I could only spend a day (Saturday) and left the next day (Sunday) for Delhi so that I could attend the office on Monday without any delay. However this time, I spent almost a week, doing nothing but just sitting in solitude, roaming into the woods, and just connecting with nature. This place has vibes that resonate with me. There is something that you won’t get at every place. It’s a small village yet a world in itself and I didn’t feel the need for anything. I was away from my laptop as long as I was here (6 days). I couldn’t keep up with emails from the clients, failed to reply to every mail on time but I was taking this chance; of just being with the calmness of nature.
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Eternal Solitude in Shangarh and Memories Treasured Forever
You know the best thing about my one week of solitude in Shangarh? It was the soothing effect of nature on my mind. It wasn’t a pin-drop silence. You could hear crickets in the night, you could hear birds singing, and you could hear small water cascades, gushing through the woods at a distance. That’s all you will get to hear. That’s all you will have to live with as long as you are here. I am not saying this because I visited Shangarh twice but because I visited Shangarh the second time since I didn’t get to experience it truly during my first visit. The village experiences snow during winter and everything turns white.
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During the evening, the silhouetted hue spreads all over the mountains and the vibrant colors paint the like an artist has painted his canvas with fine strokes of red, blue, yellow, vermilion, and other such colors. As the vibrance of the sun starts to fade away, the views of the sky are the most breathtaking ones. The night brings the most enchanting vibes that will surround you like you are surrounded by an aura of nothingness. Just a dark, open night sky full of stars, shining in their full intensity. When you sit by your window and look up to the sky, all you will want is to just keep staring at them and wish the time to take a break from its mundane.
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I had no laptop, no TV for the next six days of life. It was like every moment was dipped in the solitude of Shangarh. Though now the village has started to gain a little attention in the travelers, backpackers’ community, a result of which is the rise of several homestays, hostels, and cafes in the village. Imagine when I visited Shangarh for the first time, there was only one café (Mountain View Café). I did even see two more but looking at their conditions, it didn’t look like they opened in a long time. Thus, that café was the only go-to place. Whether I needed a hot bowl of Maggi noodles or whether I had to read a book sitting there, sipping coffee. There is no market, nothing to shop. There is no bus stand so no chaos of traffic and people.
A massive landmass covered with grass welcomes you. The meadow has mythological significance to the village along with Shangchul Mahadev Temple. The temple is built of wood entirely and can be seen easily from the meadows. If you plan to enter the temple, make sure that you do no harm to the sentiments and surroundings. While you take a short walk to the temple, chances are you will meet an old uncle sitting there somewhere who will ask you to click him. Then he will ask you to sit with him and then he will narrate stories. I met him the last time but couldn’t this time. The golden hours are the best hours to enjoy the evening stroll if you are visiting post-monsoon.
My days of solitude in Shangarh were all about connecting myself to nature. Mountains and mountains, clouds, giant trees; as far as I could see. Nothing else! It was like I came to a land that existed in fairytales only. But then this was not the imagination but a real experience I lived. Totally isolated and cut off from a lot. It was therapeutic and spiritual solitude in Shangarh that I treasured. Memories that I framed for forever… The visuals of those moments are still hanging in my mind, like fresh dewdrops. The smell of wood and the mountainous landscape of this village is a picture-perfect scene that you can only capture with your heart; the camera fails to justify the beauty.
Now that you have multiple stay options, you won’t find it that difficult to stay here. Homestays in Shangarh always welcome you to come and explore this exotic beauty. Cafes are open for you. All you have to do is to pack your bag and leave. Someday I will surely visit this village again because I am in love with this place.
