A ride to the hills- Morni Hills

     

       Ever since my escapades into the lush green Western Ghats, weekends has been more than just relaxing at home after a week of boring work and preparing for the Morning Blues.

    But it's hard here, in the sense that it's hard to find a weekend getaway which is doable in 2 days time. A number of places popped into Google's Search page and we got fixated on Morni Hills primarily because the Hills looked gorgeous without attracting a lot of visitors and secondary we were enchanted by the name itself. It just felt right that it be my first trip after moving to Delhi. I had always imagined Haryana to be the land of  tough looking guys with their acres and acres of Farm Lands. I never thought I would be among the hills on my first visit to the state of Haryana. But what do I know!!!

    Ready for the Long Haul:

    We, the two of us, I and my friend Nitin, started very early at 4 A.M on a rented Royal Enfield for our trip as we wanted to explore the Hills as much as possible in the limited time we had; what we didn't realize that we will be met with a sight of thousands of raised tents bravely protecting its inhabitants from the morning chills on the borders of Delhi. Witnessing this ridiculous state of affairs, it makes one wonder shouldn't the majority of democracy have more receptive ears??? Storms of dust and the never ending diversions on the border were a headache to the eyes in the dim light of winter dawn. After that, the highway was smooth and we sailed fast as we crossed the borders of Punjab and back into Haryana. Pakoras and a cup of coffee at a roadside Dhaba (not so much) put our stomach at ease for a while.

    Will it be good, I didn't know it yet:

    Riding that  beautiful 30 kms stretch off the main road before reaching Morni Hills will be etched in my memory for a long time. We barely saw anyone on those meandering curves except for those squeaking monkey families and that one big blue Haryana transport bus which would have sent us to Heaven (I hope so), had I been not persistent with honking at corners. Cool breeze blowing through the hairs and mountain views reminded me why I loved going to such places. Although how I wished at that time to see the Hills in all its glory in the rainy seasons. A man can dream!!!

    An eerie Serenity:

    The small town of Morni Hills make up for it by presenting its visitors, beautiful places to stay overlooking the valley. After right amount of negotiation, we got a room in a beautiful isolated hotel with a view of Tikkar Tal from our balcony. At times, our whole stay at Morni Hills seemed eerily calm, but maybe that is how it should be and we just don't know it yet. A short nap in the afternoon is all our bums needed after 8-hr ride.

    Morni Fort/Tikkar Tal:

    Expect to be blown away by the calmness of the very few sites that Morni Hills has to offer. Morni Fort, situated at just the starting point as you draw near to your destination, is a fort housing a museum that incubates the culture of living in symbiosis. Even in the these troubled times of Coronavirus, I was amazed to see diligence shown by the caretaker to keep the place spotless.

    It was almost time for the Sun to say good-bye when we started on our way down the hill towards the Tikkar Tal. We spent nearly 15 mins waiting for the Sun to hide behind the hills and another half an hour staring at the bulbs come to life from the distant houses perched sparingly on these hills. I almost wanted to sleep under the stars then and there.

    We reached our stay at around 8 P.M. and ate a surprisingly delicious dinner. I will be telling a lie if I say that I fell asleep pretty soon out of tiredness. Ladies and Gentleman, make sure you have a BSNL connection when you visit the mountains. JAI HIND.

    Down the hill to Delhi:

    It was fun turning off the engine and riding down the hill, letting the Gravity do its magic. Riding 600 kms in a span of 1 and 1/2 days makes you want to scream at the motorcycle companies. The stops were more frequent and the cursing louder. Adding insult to the injury, our tyres failed us twice. But as soon as entered urbanisation, we were already missing the eerie silence of Morni Hills.