Eco Park Nurpur Travel Guide | Forest Trails, Silence & Memories

Through the same lane by which I had earlier entered the city from the main road on one side and reached the fort, I now came out onto the main road on the other side of Nurpur city. On this side is the Nurpur bus stand. Here I asked for directions to Nurpur’s Eco Park. A local shopkeeper told me to ask the bus conductor—if the bus dropped me near the Eco Park, that would be fine; otherwise, it wasn’t very far on foot either.

I decided to walk. A little ahead, after turning onto the Kangra road, the gate of the Eco Park appears. Near the gate, there is also a signboard of Khushinagar village. After buying a ticket for 10 rupees, I went inside. The park has been developed by the Forest Department of the Himachal Pradesh government. The entry gate of Eco Park is quite beautifully made, but the first glimpse inside is somewhat disappointing, as the lack of regular maintenance is evident.

I begin walking along the park’s pathways and soon find myself in a small forest filled with tall trees and dense bushes. It is a place worth visiting for nature lovers. Inside, there is complete silence. Perhaps it is because of this very silence that more couples come here than nature enthusiasts. I take a few photographs of trees and flowers and continue moving forward along the winding paths.

In some families in Rajasthan, when senior male members of the household (such as the father-in-law or elder brother-in-law) pass by, the daughter-in-law stands facing the wall. A couple was talking nearby. Hearing the sound of my footsteps, the girl turned her face to the other side, and as I walked past, she kept her back towards me, as if

she did not want any stranger to see her face. For a moment, I felt as though I had entered the place as a lone “elder brother-in-law.”

After taking a brief round of the Eco Park, I returned to the road. I signaled to a bus coming from Kangra, and it stopped. When I asked the conductor, he told me the bus was going to Jasur. I bought a ticket for Jasur. As soon as I got down at Jasur, I easily found a bus going towards Talwara.

On the way, memories of my student days came back to me, because students from several villages were returning home by bus after school. The number of girls was more than that of boys. They were buying tickets worth five rupees each. In our days, there used to be no separate student

ticket. All those conductors and drivers also came to mind, in whose buses we had once traveled during our years of study.

On the way, the bus takes a break of about ten minutes at Fatehpur. Soon after, the bus reaches Talwara. The sun has already set. I start walking towards my home.

And here my journey to Nurpur comes to an end. We will meet again soon with a new journey.

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