Narendra Nagar, Uttarkashi Memories- Uttarakhand’s Garhwal Travel Part -2

The trip to Narendra Nagar was all about reliving childhood memories. It was a quick stop, and being there felt like a nice, refreshing breeze, especially on the way to Gangotri. The town is super calm, and the market is so bright blue it looks like a toy.
Itinerary
This itinerary was planned with my friend for a pleasure journey to only one Dham, Gangotri.
We followed this route and added some overnight stays to off-the-beaten-path spots like Chamba, New Tehri, Maneri, Raithal and Harsil.
Where to stay
The big question is where to stay in these places. I personally always prefer to stay in GVMN (Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam) guest houses, which can be booked online. Staff is good, though not all GMVNs are maintained so well, but their surroundings and campus are beautiful everywhere. I blindly book state-run hotels everywhere. I recommend it for average and budget hotels.

Travel expenses
We rented a taxi in Haridwar for a week at Rs. 2500 a day. We wrapped up our trip in seven days. We covered the driver’s meal costs, even though it wasn’t part of the deal. Overall, the taxi cost us Rs. 18000, hotels were Rs. 13500, food came to Rs. 12000, and other random expenses added up to Rs. 5000. In total, we spent Rs. 48,500 for two people.

As we set off for Gangotri, we chose Narendra Nagar for breakfast, a quaint and charming little town just fifteen kilometers from Rishikesh, unknown perhaps, but quietly unforgettable.
I had a special fascination, love, and long-awaited desire to see the town again after six decades. I got this rare chance today and so thought, why not pause for a moment in this boundless calm, where, in the lap of the Himalayas, little child, I played—

Today in this tiny town, I walked on the same path where I used to walk thousands of times. On these paths, spotless and serene, surrounded by whispering pine trees, untouched hills, and smiling valleys dressed in morning light, I found a child in me, a lost child, lost from my body decades back, and now today I see him playing here.

I saw my mother, my father, and my siblings here, giggling in the golden light, playing hide and seek among memories, climbing the old stairs, up and down, lost in a dance of childhood days. Yes.

They shared a joy unmeasured, untouched by sorrow, free from the weight of the world—a boundless, innocent bliss that time could never steal. Where else could I find such a place? Where else could I find them? So I came to Narendra Nagar—not just to remember, but to return.
This was the Raja Tehri Palace, very near to our house, where my mom took embroidery classes, and she would leave some bread soaked in milk for me in a room for lunch after school. This palace now It is also the residence of Raja Tehri’s offspring. It is known as “Hotel Anand in Himalayas” and offers traditional Indian practices of yoga, meditation, ayurveda, and vedanta; Ayurvedic spa treatments; Tibetan treatments; and international therapies such as massage, body wraps, and facials. The people who stayed here are Bill Gates, Ricky Martin, Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall to name a few.

There once was a market, small as a whisper in memory—its true shape now faded, forgotten by time.

And yet today, I see it— not as it was, but as a dream, a tiny market glinting like a blue toy, delicate, distant, as if imagined by the child I once was.

I was really let down by Uttarkashi on this visit. I couldn’t find a single spot from my past. It’s all covered in chaotic and cramped development. The markets are super narrow and packed with shops in a haphazard manner.

I spent the best years of my childhood here from 1966-69—from ages seven to ten, in a place that felt as real as the ground beneath me, yet now seems dreamlike, shrouded in the gentle haze of time. Life was simple but fulfilling—school days unfolded under a tattered tent, from second to fourth grade, where we sat cross-legged with slates, scratching chalk as we recited multiplication tables from two to twenty. I can still taste the powdered milk, a rare treat that brought us joy, along with the occasional snack that lit up our faces.

Let me today remember the names of my dear friends Preetan Singh, Ranjeet Singh, Mast Ram, Darshan Lal, and Shammi. Oh! They still linger in my memories.
We would walk home together, picking pomegranates and pears, as if the trees shared in our happiness. My sisters, full of laughter, loved the tangy ‘Kaagzi nimbu.’ We played gilli danda under the open sky—our one game, yet it felt endless in its fun. Our pinewood home stood by the Bhagirathi River, with a field in front that felt like both earth and a universe, where dreams ran wild beneath our bare feet. On holidays, I would sneak away to the riverbank, alone but never lonely, sitting on a big stone, watching the

water dance, sparkle, and clatter—its bubbling voice a lullaby for my soul. I would hop from stone to stone, fearless, until I came across charred wood—remnants of someone’s last journey—sending a chill of fear through me.

There is a famous historical temple in Uttarkashi that is small yet holds a complex history of a series of destruction and reconstruction since one millennium. In 1194, the temple was destroyed by Qutb-ud-Din Aibak’s army and then reconstructed by Maharani Ahilyabai Holkar in the 1780.

Epilogue
As said, Narendra Nagar, though not a popular tourist spot, yet has a world-famous 5-star hotel run by the Oberoi Group. Apart from that, these are some untouched and one of the most serene hills. The roads are good, and people going to Gangotri have to pass through this town.
Uttarkashi can be a night stopover, and we can visit 2-3 spots like Maneri, Kutati Devi, and Kashi Vishwanath Temple. Bhagirathi Ghat and Ganga Aarti. You can utilize some time here for taking permission from the SDM office for Nelong Valley, which is on the way to Gangotri. You have to have an Aadhar card and a driving license. It takes about two hours to get a pass in your hand.

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