OFF-ROADING TO KARGIL VIEW POINT ( KAMALPUR ) AT BIRUBARI HILLS, GUWAHATI

Photo Travelogue :
Read first part - Here!


Whenever I'm in my native house I see this hill everday. Its covered in trees and looks like some huge elongated 'brocollis' all clubbed together. The hill runs from east to west ( 3-4 kms ) in the middle of the city ( towards south ), splitting it into two. These days during evenings I see flickering lights from it, suggesting that there have been many encroachments...which is sad as this is literally the lungs of the city. I hate it when trees are cut to make way for illegal human settlements. And its a common sight here. However, I decided to go up close and explore what lies inside before the tress disappear altogether. Lets see what still remains of it. With that in mind I set forth to explore the hills of Birubari right in middle of Guwahati city. There are multiple ways to access and I chose the GMCH route for this particular adventure. Early morning, I rode uptil GMCH and went past it. One has to go the road that goes towards Kahilipara. Its a slope ...but midway, there is small path that one has to take. The landmark to keep in mind is the 'Maha Mritunjoy' temple that lies in corner of a fork.


take the right road from the fork...
and almost immediately we are climbing up...





trees touching the skies... felt so tiny...
We are greeted by the large leafy trees. Although it was a sunny day, The trees almost didn't let the sun rays in. So..it was sort of dark and so much cooler. riding up..stopping here and there. There's said to be a leopards area in this hill, so, kept looking back anxiously not wanting to become its lunch.


these forests are army area...oh..why do they always have the best places?




practicing some tree-pointings...


the ride continues for a while...



stopping the scooty every now and then to take in the magnificent views...
Was bit disappointing to see the human settlements at the top, yes there exists a place called 'kamalpur/kamalnagar' and lots of people live there. A little town in itself For now the trees are covering them, but, for how long I wonder. It'll be sad if the forest vanishes. there are already several muddy off-road patches suggesting many trees have been already butchered to satiate men's nefarious greed. With a sigh, we take the directions that says 'view point' and move on...


until we reach a clearing at the top...
and the city of guwahati is smiling at us from below...




WOW! The views are simply breathtaking...can you spot the river brahmaputra?




trying to touch it...somewhere down below is my home...yes, yes...I see it..



Alas, the trip comes to an end, but, not the memories :-)

'beware of leopards' sign in the area...




Very doable, this place is a hidden gem and one must go there just to see the city views below once. Its so worth it. I enjoyed my trip. Hope the forests are not destroyed further. Do not go after dark as leopards prowl in the entire area. Not sure why its called 'kargil' though :s

Address : Kargil View Point, Kamalnagar, Birubari Hills, near TV Tower, Guwahati, Assam
Read next part - Here! Stay tuned for all my road, rail, flight, cruise & walk trips.
( Images - ©Mine. All rights reserved. )
Our Rating Scale is : 1 to 5 = ◕◕◕◕◕ - It was Awesome!

---