Wanderlust & Woes: A Family’s Wild Ride Through Uttarakhand.- Part-6

MADATvista July 16, 2025

 


Pangot – Nature’s Whisper and the Last Ember of the Bonfire

If every journey has a silent crescendo before the curtain falls, Pangot was ours.

After days of winding roads, temples, snowfields, monkeys, tantrums, and divine thukpa, we drove out from Abbott Mount in the early hours of Day 10. A quiet chill hovered in the air, and the mist seemed reluctant to let us go. Ritu sat with her usual flask of chai, staring out the window. Even Chintu was silent—rare, but not unwelcome.

We arrived at Pangot by mid-afternoon, weaving through thick oak and pine forests that flanked the hills like an old tale guarding its secrets. Only 15 km from Nainital, Pangot felt worlds away from the commercial buzz—a sleepy village known more to bird watchers and soul seekers.

 

The Nest Cottages, Pangot

As we reached The Nest Cottages, the wooden cabins peeked through the tall cedar trees like shy elves. The air smelled of pine and damp earth. A young manager named Anmol greeted us with a smile that looked genuinely glad to see humans arrive in the middle of this forested wonderland.

“Welcome to silence,” he said with a wink as he handed over our keys.

The kids were delighted. The rooms were cozy—walls panelled with wood, windows opening into the forest, and beds that screamed curl-up-now. Even Tia declared it “Instagrammably aesthetic”, which is, I believe, teenage code for perfect.

 

Birdsong and a Guide Named Lakhan

At around 4 PM, we met Lakhan, a local birder with binoculars that looked like night-vision goggles and a knowledge of birds that would put Discovery Channel to shame. He wore an old cap with “Birdman of Pangot” embroidered on it.

“Over 580 species migrate here, sir,” he told me proudly. “But the ones that stay? They’re the real showstoppers.”

We walked gently through forest trails where the only sounds were rustling leaves and calls of barbets, woodpeckers, and the occasional Himalayan griffon above. Even Tia forgot her phone for nearly an hour. Nearly.

Chintu was more interested in chasing shadows and collecting leaves. He proudly declared he had “discovered a new plant”—which turned out to be stinging nettle. The ensuing drama involved tears, laughter, and Lakhan rubbing the antidote leaf with the calm of a monk.

 

Dinner: Bonfire Tales & Biryani

By 7 PM, we were gathered around a bonfire, crackling under a star-lit sky. Dinner was a humble but soul-hugging menu—vegetable biryani, raita, and roti made from locally milled flour. Ritu, who had now become a connoisseur of hill food, rated it “top 3 of the trip.”

A staff member named Deepa, who helped in the kitchen, sat with us for a while. She shared stories of how she spots leopards from her window during winter and how school kids here trek over an hour each way through the forest.

Her words melted into the firelight as we sat quietly, each of us absorbing the final night. Even Chintu, wrapped in his jacket, whispered, “Can we live here?”

 

The Final Night: Silence, Stars, and Sleepless Hearts

That night, as the wind rustled through the trees and the wooden cottage creaked like it was telling its own bedtime tale, I lay awake. Not with worries. But with a strange sadness that comes from knowing something beautiful is ending.

Ritu was asleep, one hand clutching Chintu’s jacket. Tia, earbuds still glowing faintly in the dark, had scribbled “Pangot = Peace” on a notepad she usually reserved for doodling snarky memes.

And I? I whispered a silent thank-you to these hills. For the chaos, the calm, the cracked tires, the cable cars, and the chai stalls.

 

Return & Reflections

We left Pangot the next morning before 7 AM, the black Scorpio that had been both our beast of burden and trusted steed now loaded one last time.

The road to Ghaziabad was long. But not heavy. Just quiet.

Chintu slept most of the way. Tia shared one earbud with her mom, playing her “Mountain Memories” playlist (a mix of Kailash Kher and Arctic Monkeys, naturally).

By the time we passed Kathgodam, it felt like we had crossed some invisible threshold between the timelessness of the hills and the ticking of the world again.

Planning a Trip:

Where to Stay:
The Nest Cottages, Pangot—cozy, quiet, and a birdwatcher’s dream.

What to Eat:
Ask for their homemade biryani, pahadi dal, or aloo gutka. All made fresh with local produce.

What to Do:

  • Guided birding tours (ideal in winter and spring)
  • Forest walks (early mornings or late afternoons)
  • Visit Nainital for a day, then escape back here!

What to Pack:

  • Binoculars, light woolens, extra socks (yes, really)
  • Offline maps—Jio and Airtel both vanish often
  • Cash for local shops and guides (no ATMs in Pangot!)

And so, our 10-day rollercoaster through Uttarakhand ended not with a dramatic twist but with a whisper in the woods—just the way it should’ve. Between the laughter and logistics, temples and tantrums, snowflakes and soul-searching, we’d woven a story not just about travel… but about being a family again.

I, Bunty—driver, husband, father, shawarma-in-electric-blanket—can now say this:

Don’t just visit Uttarakhand. Let it change you even if it begins with a steel water bottle falling on your foot.


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