Photo Travelogue :
I've been to the Basistha temple ( named after one of the Saptarishis - Sage Vasistha who meditated in the region ) in Basistha Ashram previously; however, that time my visit was restricted within the temple vicinity and the stream near by. This time, I decided to explore the surroundings further, especially, since it was engulfed by the Garbhanga Forest from all the sides. I had previously accessed the massive forest from the south west end via Lokhra and also, Rani; so this time I decided to explore it from south east end which started at Basistha Ashram. The forest itself is huge and is part of the greater Meghalaya jungles. I love forest trekking and this is an ideal place for such adventure and thrills. I look the bus that goes right up to the temple. Once the bus leaves the city, it enters an army area which is typical of a green, well manicured 151 base hospital; afterwhich the forested region greets you with tall thickly canopied trees on both sides of the road. At the stop, there are plenty of souvenir and food stalls. Near the temple, there are two stair cases adjacent to each other. One that goes into the temple and another ( on right ) that goes behind straight to the stream. There is also a road at the end that leads further up. I took that road. There are few settlements one has to cross before the road becomes an off-road track and disappears into the jungles. When I was asking for directions at the base, some locals told me not to go alone ( as I was a female :o ). But, am I one to get scared? Hell no! I ignored their warnings and marched on. I had my protections ready, just in case ;-) . The stream runs parralel to this track the entire way from the temple until a crossing. I followed that route and came across the water crossing- which is essentially crossing the basitha river and hopping on to the other side which is the forested region. I came upon the hills covered by jungles and walked further in. Here's my entire outing in pictures :-)
the dome of the famous basistha temple, I was more interested in the jungles that lay beyond...
there are couple of other temples too near the main temple; behind, a roaring stream rushes down the huge rocks...
its quite popular with tourists that love spashing these cool waters that meanders amongst the big boulders with force...
couple of metres away is an interesting ganesh temple with a giant elephant statue that looks towards the jungles...
its all peace and green around the temple premises, except, some naughty monkeys you might encounter :-)
lots of these red triangles, I was told people did 'chat puja' in these...I walked upstrweam and see more of these reds...
and, the jungles beckoned...I cannot resist jungles and so I set forth...
deep and dense, I follow a narrow trail...that supposedly goes to a hidden waterfall...
today, discovering the waterfall was not my agenda; rather walking in the jungles, was...
I kept walking mindful not to lose sight of the thin trail; a day surrounded by green nature - so worth it...
spotted wild ducks in a pond; and crossed a creaking bamboo bridge twice, that was narrower than narrow...
Basistha temple, located in the south-east corner of Guwahati city, Assam, India, is a Shiva mandir. The history of the Basistha Ashram where the temple is located dates back to the Vedic age. According to legend the ashram was founded by the great saint Basistha. The Bsistha ashram is located on the outskirts of Garbhanga reserve forest which has a population of elephants. This forest is also a proposed butterfly reserve ( wiki ). Address : Temple, Basistha, Guwahati, Assam 781029 Garbhanga Forest
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