Nestled in the upper Garhwal Himalayas with virgin pine and deodar trees dotting the scenery and pristine and beautiful River Supin flowing nearby, the quaint and idyllic village of Kalap located in the upper Garhwal Himalayas at an altitude of 7500 ft looks no less than the god’s heaven. This place is virtually untouched and nature lovers would fall in love at first sight with this quixotic helmet. The stunning surroundings and the calmness in the air give deep satisfaction to the heart and soul.
A Self Sustainable Village:-
One feature that is very rare to find with increasing urbanization is self-sustainable towns and villages. The sustainable lifestyle of this village is endowed due to its remote location but it makes this place unique. Organic farming, cooking using firewood, and many such visions that is rare to find today. You can find many dwellers are involved in sheep rearing and hand looming. One characteristic that makes them stand apart is no synthetic dyes are used to color yarn but natural colors do the job.
Local Stories About The Quaint Helmet:-
The existence of this village is deeply connected to the epic of Mahabharata. The dwellers of this village believe themselves to be descendants of Kauravas and Pandavas. The warrior character, Karna who fought alongside the Kauravas in Mahabharata, is the chief deity of this village and the region. There is a tradition when the idol of the Karna is made around the villages with a gap of 10 years. The arrival of an idol is celebrated as Karna Maharaj Utsav and is celebrated with great fervor.
Best Time To Make A Trip To Kalap:-
Summer is the perfect time to visit the place. The weather becomes pleasant here, the ultimate paradise. It is the great escape from the scourge of summer in Indian cities. If you are planning to visit this place along with the Golden Triangle tour from Delhi then you must know the monument's timing like taj mahal time and go in the early morning in summers or in winters to catch the majestic view in the taj mahal sunrise tour. You would be well-advised to avoid taking a trip to Kalap in monsoon and winter. Hilly regions become vulnerable to natural calamities in monsoons. Winters are harsh. Snowfall is knee-deep. The helmet gets covered with a thick cover of fog. It also makes the trek that leads to the helmet inaccessible.
How To Reach?
The nearest airport and railway station is situated in Dehradun. You can easily get a flight and train to from New Delhi to reach Dehradun. If you are taking the flight then you must go for the Golden Triangle Tour for 4 days in which you can see Agra, Jaipur and Delhi all the monuments and other sightseeing places. After reaching here, you can take a bus or car ride which takes around 12 hours or 6 hours respectively to reach Netwar, which is the nearest place to Kalap. After reaching here, you have to take a trek to reach Kalap. There are two treks depending on the season. Summer trek is nearly 8 km long which would take nearly 6 hrs to walk down and winter is 6 km long which takes somewhere near 4 hours.
