Kipling Trail
Kipling Trail | |
---|---|
Length | 5.5 miles (8.9 km) |
Location | Uttarakhand |
Trailheads | Shahanshahi Ashram, Rajpur, Dehradun |
Use | Hiking |
Highest point | Mussoorie, 2,005 m (6,578 ft) |
Difficulty | Moderate to Strenuous |
Season | All year |
Sights | Doon Valley, diverse bird species, woodland flowers, Bougainvillea, Quercus leucotrichophora oaks |
Hazards | Steep in places with forty-degree incline |
Kipling Trail (also known as Kipling Road) is the old walking route that connects
History
In the 1880s, novelist Rudyard Kipling is believed to have trekked this trail and the walk described in his novel Kim is thought to have been through this route.[1] With the construction of an asphalt road in the early 20th-century, going right up to Mussoorie, the heritage walking route gradually fell out of favour. Today, the path is being revived as it is increasingly being used by hikers and nature or history enthusiasts, who prefer walking up to the hill station over driving.[3] In his book The Kipling Road, author Ruskin Bond explores the many stories of people who walked the old route from Rajpur to Mussoorie.[4]
Route
The 9 km-trail takes between 2 and 3 hours to complete, and begins at Shahanshai Ashram in Rajpur village, Dehradun. It winds its way up through five steep inclines that are locally called paanch kainchi,
References
- ^ a b "Kipling Road to Mussoorie: Nature lovers revive trail, much to Ruskin Bond's joy". Hindustan Times. 12 August 2017.
- ^ a b "Uttarakhand: Walking the Doon Valley".
- ^ a b "Hike up the Kipling trail, slow food demo and more on 2nd day of Rajpur Nature Festival | Dehradun News - Times of India". The Times of India.
- ^ "The Kipling Road | Rupa Publications".
- ^ "Ruskin Bond on retracing the footsteps of Rudyard Kipling in the hills of India". www.dailyo.in.
- ^ a b Vohra, Akshita (18 December 2017). "'With construction and road repair work, the Jharipani trek has lost its charm'". The Times of India. Retrieved 4 January 2023.