All for a view to kill - Jalna, a window to the Himalayas

The founding of Jalna, nestled amid Almora, Mukteshwar and Binsar, goes back to the mid-19th century. And it has a Cawnpore (now Kanpur) connection. Cawnpore had always been an important garrison town for the British. It was of this garrison that Major General Hugh Wheeler - a veteran of the the First Anglo-Afghan War and the First and Second Anglo-Sikh Wars - was appointed commander. Unfortunately for him, it was a year before the Revolt of 1857.

Though Wheeler and hundreds of others lost their lives at the Siege of Cawnpore, there were many British who could escape. One of them was Robert Wheeler, the commander's fifth son. It was Robert, also a Major General like his father, who discovered the sleepy hamlet of Jalna.

The Himalayas are visible from Jalna on a clear day.

While on an official tour of Almora, General Wheeler chanced upon the view of the Himalayas from the Jalna ridge (30 km from Almora and at a height of 1,675 m) and decided to settle down there. Over the years, he developed tea gardens and orchards along the ridge, produce of which were later sent to other cities in the country, and to the UK. He also built three bungalows - two for his family and one for the guests. One of his houses is now in ruins, the other is occupied by his descendants while the guest house, if locals are to be believed, is frequented by ghosts.

It is this guest house that one passes by while entering Jalna. It is a quiet place - home to about a hundred people - and is yet to be fully engulfed by commercialisation as in the case of the more famous towns nearby. Nevertheless, it has all that a tourist needs and expects of a hilly destination, including phone and Internet connectivity. Accommodation can be found at the Elphinstone Himalayan Resort and the Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam, which will be opened shortly. Trekking opportunities are in abundance and can lead one to the ruins of Wheeler's house or to various orchards. And of course, there is the panoramic view of the Himalayas.

One of Major General Wheeler's houses is now in ruins.

Although I had been greeted to the sight of the mighty Trisul peaks a few times before, it was only on my third and most recent visit to the hamlet that I was able to fully appreciate them. The fact that I had a better camera and vantage point this time around might have had something to do with it.

I was staying at one of the eight privatelyowned cottages on the ridge, and was reading a book inside when the clouds suddenly cleared. It had been raining, and even before the showers, the Himalayan ranges far away had been under the cover of dense fog. But post-showers, the ranges came into view. It was a sight to behold.

While on the left were the magnificent snow-clad Himalayas, the right side of my vision was greeted to the formation of a double rainbow. The sunlight was playing with the shadows in the valley below, the air was cool, and I was trying my best to capture them all in a panoramic shot on my phone.

A view of the valley below from a private cottage.

Nature, however, isn't the only excuse to bring out the camera. Close to Jalna are two ancient temple complexes - the ninth century Banari Devi temple and the Jageshwar temple city comprising 124 stone temples that date back to the ninth to 13th centuries.

It's primarily the Himalayas that draw the weary traveller to this quaint hamlet. One cannot help but be mesmerised by the magnificence of the sight. The same way the son of the besieged commander of Cawnpore fell for the place more than 150 years ago.