The other day I went on a walk to the nearest post office in the town of Mukteshwar. It's approximately a 3 hour walk up a steep hill through a lovely oak, rhododendron, and fir forest. As you climb up out of the forest, Mukteshwar is perched on top of a small ridge, looking over the valleys below and the peaks of the Himalayas in the distance. At the very top of the town is a temple to Shiva. The ancient temple was apparently plastered over some time ago, and the present structure is less than remarkable, but the collection of bells strung up all about certainly makes up for it.
Just below the temple is a rock outcropping called Chauli ki Jali. The rocks thrust out at an angle from the ground, hanging over the valley thousands of feet below. Visitors have carved their names in the rocks in Hindi and English and who knows what other languages. The view is the definition of panoramic.
Legend has it that women who have been having trouble having children will be blessed if they are able to crawl through a hole in the rock ledge that hangs out over the valley. The locals told us there's a ceremony held here every year in which women come from all around the region to try their luck at squeezing through the precarious hole. I just took a picture.
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