Travelogues

Nainital

2007-04-04T03:53:00.000-07:00

Delhi - Ghaziabad - Hapur - Moradabad - Rampur - Haldwani - Kathgodam -Nainital - Sattal - Bhimtal - Naukuchiyal Tal - Bhimtal - Kathgodam - Haldwani - Rampur - Moradabad - Hapur - Ghaziabad - Delhi

I made this trip along with 15 of my colleagues back in June-2006. We had just successfully released a project and everybody wanted to party hard.

We decided to go to Nainital by Ranikhet Express which leaves Old Delhi station at 10:55 PM and reaches Kathgodam at 5:30 AM the next day. So we booked tickets for us and booked rooms in Hotel Himalaya.

All of reached the Old Delhi Station by 10:30 PM on 09-June; and boarded the train. The route is not yet electrified, and the train is not a super-fast one, so were ready for a long haul. The journey was start-stop, this train seems to be giving way to every other train. We reached Moradabad by 3:00 AM; here half of the coaches are detached from the train and go to Ramnagar (entrance to Jim Corbett Park).

We reached Haldwani at 7:45 AM (more than 2 hours late); but the view from the train compensated for all the frustration.

Train reached Kathogodam at 8:00 AM. From here we hired two Tata Sumo Taxis @ Rs. 500 per taxi. We stopped at a dhaba on the way to have some breakfast. Reached Nainital at 10:00 AM, and faced a traffic jam bang on the entry point of Nainital. This being the tourist reason, traffic was a big mess.

Check-in to the hotel; Hotel Himalaya is in Talli Tal, just near the bus-stand and our rooms were lake facing. The view from our balcony was awesome -

After freshening up and having lunch we went for a stroll on the Mall Road. Nainital's Mall Road is too over-crowded and you can't walk for 5 mins without somebody asking you "Sahab boating kara dein", "Sahab horse-riding kara dein"; the place is too much commercialized.

After that we went to flatts, it comprises of Capitol Cinema, a Gurudwara, Naina Devi's mandir and a cricket stadium. In the stadium a match was in progress. I wonder how these guys dive on that stony surface.

Then we went on a trek on the other side of the lake towards Raj Bhawan, Sherwood College etc. The view of the lake from this trek was wonderful.

Next day we went on a trek to Cheena Peak; this peak is the highest spot in Nainital at a height of 8622 feet (2611 meters). The trek was about 5 KMs and pretty tough for us city-dwellers. But the view from top, of the town and lake more than made up for all the hard-work. It was just awesome.

I saw this amazing tree at the cheena peak; it reminded me of life's complexities and twists n turns ;-)

By the time we returned back to hotel; all of us were too tired to do anything. We drank, danced, played antakshari and slept. I clicked a photo of the lake in night.

Next day (12th June), we had to catch a train at 9:00 PM from Kathgodam; so we decided to leave Nainital early and go to Kathogodam via Sattal, Bheemtal and Naukuchiyatal. So next day we hired two taxis (Toyota Qualis and Chevrolet Tavera this time) from Nainital. The taxis charged us Rs. 1500 per taxi for the above mentioned route. We had breakfast early and left Nainital by 11:00 AM.

Reached Sattal by 11:30; as the name indicates Sattal cimprises of seven lakes, out of which the 4 main ones comprises the mail water body. There are many dhabas here, which serve OK food. Also the boating guys were too many and didn't let us have a moment in comfort.

So we left Sattal early and went to Naukuchiyatal, it is Kumaon's biggest lake and is very peaceful and beautiful. On the way back to Bhimtal from Satal, the taxi drivers took a short-cut and drove through some apple orchards.

Naukuchiyatal derives it's name due to it's 9 corners. I liked this much more than Nainital's over-hyped, over-crowded and dirty lake.

We stayed in Naukuchiyatal will 7:00 PM, then it's begun to get dark so we left for Kathgodam; reached the station in 45 minutes. Had dinner there and left for Delhi.

All-in-all it was a hectic but satisfying trip. Enjoyed a lot.

Almora

2007-04-04T02:58:00.000-07:00

Delhi to Almora, Uttaranchal
The Kumaon Region { Himalayas }
Distance 328 Kms
Time Taken: 9-10 hrs by road one way.
Height Approx 5400 feet above sea level

We left Delhi at 6:45 AM for Almora. "Josh Ju" as Mr Joshi is called by "Pahadis" is our driver and "Indica" is the car we set off on.

The first 25 minutes are an eye opener for me, being a Delhiite myself I had never seen the city at this hour on a drive. A gorgeous red sun in the sky, freshly swept highways and a mix of modern high-rises with classical styles of temples, forts and what not. Funny, it never seemed like this when I was here!. We buy the paper at a traffic stop light and the earthquake in India & Pakistan stares us in the face. What can I say? ... this year has overtaken any number of catastrophes in past years. I am told by family that it was felt at our destination too.

We had a hectic few days in Delhi before we set off, so we did not have to try to doze off once we were in the car. In between dozing I caught glances of miles and miles of green fields of the winter crops. The drive was timing well up till Moradabad, UP, at about 130 Kms/hr, actually the speed was making me a bit nervous with trucks coming headlong at us and drivers deciding to take the lanes as a matter of will at the last split second. I decided not to look ahead!

When we woke up at about 11:30 AM we were closing on to Rampur, UP, Josh Ju informed us that the drive had slowed down considerably in UP due to roads that had gotten bad after the rains. He was surprised we had not felt it, we were pleased on the other hand. Josh Ju now thought that we might get to Almora at 7 instead of 4:30!

Rampur, hmmm!, I only associated 2 things with the place, "Rampuria", referring to the knives made in Rampur and "Rampur Gharana" which is an important style and school for Indian Classical music. That is exactly what this little town is most famous for, other than being a busy stop for trucks & carriers transporting goods between the hills and the plains of Uttaranchal & UP. If one watches closely at the start, Rampur has these really old beautiful Mughal & Colonial styled bungalows, that have now been converted to public offices. It is also a town that saw very severe Hindu â€“ Muslim riots during the partition. The area has since always been wrought with communal tension.

Later I gathered that Rampur has a famous museum with very ancient manuscripts & original exhibits of miniature paintings that were the property of the then Princely State of Rampur. Rampur is today a District in the Indian state of UP.

About 45 mnts from Rampur we enter the long heavily forested drive into the Kumaon region in the Himalayan state of Uttaranchal.. Interestingly the roads become smoother, the state border is lined with Utaranchal police and Kumaon Regiment army personnel to collect octroi & road taxes. Well, atleast one can see it being put to better use here than in UP!

Just before Udham Singh Nagar we stop at "Punjab Dhaba" for parathas and lassi. Stuffed for few hours, we drive into Udham Singh Nagar. This place has a bit of history, named after Udham Singh, who was the only one who ever did something about the brutal Jallianwala Bagh Massacre by killing General Dyer .

We next drive into Kathgodam after driving through Haldwani. Kathgodam is the last terminus of the North East Railways connecting Nainital with Delhi,Dehradun & Howarah. From Kathgodam, the train backs up, and anywhere into kumaon from here has to be by road. This place is also the place for many a base camps and river rafting activity. One can tell one is in the Himalayan Region as one starts seeing densely forested hills and far away, on a clear day, some snow-capped mountains.

Winding roads start here and one passes an army base camp. The car starts winding its way up and we shut off the AC and roll down our windows, camera out, face sticking out of the window, I start shooting. The green here is absolutely fantastic, so far away from the dry summer in the plains, there is smell of pine in the air, it's clean. River rafting has been introduced in stretches of Kaliganga and Saryu/Ramganga rivers. On Kaliganga, the average grade of the river is class III while on Saryu the average grade is class II with a few class II rapids, ideal for beginners and leisure rafters. On both stretches, the rivers and rafts flow past a landscape of terraced hills and villages. The drive to Almora from here is about 4 hrs, we are doing good time and at this rate we will reach by our previously calculated time of 4:30 PM.

The drive is so beautiful that we stop for a cup of tea. On the drive all the way up, the climb is steep and winding, an interesting temple catches our eye. There are huge idols of Hanuman, Ravana and Ganesha, that almost seem to rise from within the mountain, quite a traffic stopper. Hanuman seems to be the most popularly worshipped God here. In some parts I suspect it is the same but called "Gollu Devta". On many cars and vans you will see the slogan on the windshield stickers, reading "Jaya Gollu Deva", as opposed to the "Jaya Mata Di" that is more popular in the plains. We drive by a road that forks in 2 directions. One that steeply moves in a hairpin bend towards Nainital, and the other heads towards Almora. I have visited Nainital on many occasions, but the travelogue fever had not caught up with me by then. So.... it will have to do till my next visit.

At around 3:00pm we drive to this interesting Ashram called "Kanchi Ashram". My father in law later explains the name to have come from the term "kaenchi" that means scissor, this Ashram is near a double "8" bend in the road that is very sharp, in local term this is referred to as the scissor bend, hence the name sticks till day. Although, it is a convenient name also for the people in the ashram (who came into the picture much later) who revere the great saint of Kanchi Math. We also drive by the little village of "Garam Paani", the name means "Hot water", and we take a guess that there maybe hot water springs around.

About this time we are driving through huge pine forests, and it is absolutely lovely, we drift in and out of sleep. On the way we see, huge boulders and damaged roads because of landslides due to heavy rains during the monsoons, some boulders are as big as cars! Also along the way one notices huge number of monkeys sitting by the roads. As we stopped the car for a shot, one started towards us, as if to ask us where we were off to. Pashu quickly rolled up the window and we packed up. On the way back we caught a black faced Lemur on camera.

About 2 kms from Almora, pashu points the "Bright End Corner" , famous for its beautiful sunrise and sunset views of Almora.On another day later we visited an aunt of Pashu, who lives near about. The unusual calm and peace here is rarely felt on any other hill station offering a similar view. The Circuit house is very close to this point & is an added attraction. Nearby is the Vivekanand library in Ramkrishna Kutir. This place is dedicated to Swami Vivekanand. It was at this place Vivekanand spend few days while his stay in Himalayas. Parts of it have been converted into a rest house for travelers.

The glamour and glitter which is seen in Ranikhet & Nanital is totally absent in Almora. Almora is still a virgin hill-station and is full of scenic beauty. I would say it has a lot of tourist potential that is underdeveloped but it is never late to improve. It appears that nature has spread and blessed this place with a lot of love. In the lap of nature this region has small houses built on the slopes. Just besides the city flows the Koshi & Suyal rivers.

In the 9th century Almora was ruled by Katyur dynasty. By 16th century this place was ruled by rulers from Chandravansh. This town was established by King Balo Kalyan Chand in 1563. This place was the then capital city of Kumaon region. The forts, monuments and palaces built by the rulers of Chandravansh and Katyur dynasty are till date evidence of the splendor this place had in the past. In 1790 Almora passed into the hands of Nepali Gorkhas. The Britishers gained control of this place from Gorkhas in 1815.

Unlike most hill stations Almora wasn't an empty hillside 'discovered' by the British. It was already an established town with a long history. The Kashaya Hill on which Almora is built is mentioned in the Hindu scripture, the Skanda Purana. It is believed that the great god Vishnu dwelt here. The area has been inhabited since the earliest historical times.

Almora is situated on a hillock which is in the shape of a Horse shoe and is surrounded by dense forests of fur and pine trees. In the backdrop are the lovely snow-capped peaks of Himalayas. Almora has been able to retain the tradition and ancient culture even when other places are being influenced by modern trends. Right in the middle of the town is the Nanda Devi temple and Narsingha temple, evidence of the great faith of people in God.

I found a lot of similarity in the temple architecture here and the ones I have seen in Bhaktapur, in Nepal. They date around the same time and are believed to have been built by the same kind of people to a large extent.

We pull up into our hotel, called Shikhar Hotel. It was not fancy, but it had a great view into the valley and the rooms were large and clean, with all the basics that are required. The plus point was that it was walking distance to Pashu's Uncle's home which was right in the middle of the bazaar. From the hotel, in the morning we could see the Himalayas, snow capped peaks, winking back at us, behind the forested hills. I believe the ones we saw were the Nanda Devi and the Trishul Peak. Called Trishul, as in the "trident"¦.. locally known as Chaukhamba.
Apparently what we see is Trisuli West standing at 7035 mts.

Trishul 1-7120 mts
Trishul 2-6680 mts
Trishul 3-6315 mts
Nanda Devi 7,817 mts

Except for some peaks in Kashmir, it is the highest point in India. Hindus believe that the goddess Nanda, wife of Shiva, lives there. Nanda Kot, at an elevation of 22,538 ft (6,870 m), is said to be Nanda's "couch". The peak was scaled in 1936 by an Anglo-American expedition.

One of the peaks we could see was flat topped and reminded me very specifically of the one I saw in my mountain flight to the Everest in Nepal called the Chamlang at 7319 mts. It is easily recognizable as the flat topped mountain. I still have not confirmed this but am researching some material on it.

" To see the greatness of a mountain, one must keep one's distance; to understand its form, one must move around it; to experience its moods, one must see it at sunrise and sunset, at noon and at midnight, in sun and in rain all other seasons. He who can see the mountain like this comes near to the life of the mountain, a life that is as intense and varied as that of a human being."
-Lama Anagrika Govinda

Here is a link where you can read more about the various peaks: http://www.ardhkumbh2004.com/en/Haridwar/Uttaranchal/TouristDestinations/FamousMountainpeaksofUttaranchal?UTCPostGUID=%7B538703F1-6C20-4C5A-B290-D0785DA83D8E%7D

In case one is interested there are numerous stories associated with the peaks in Uttaranchal. Some can be read at the link above.

There is a post office and the clock tower of interest in Almora: The post office, built in 1905, is still very British but the main clock tower opposite the tourist office, erected in 1886 by an Indian but constructed by a British engineer, shows a strange confusion of styles. My Father in law recollects, that a few days before India's independence, and it seemed just like yesterday, he had stood there and heard the announcement of independence being made on the loudspeaker, he also tells me that in those days there were not many buildings here and that they used to read the daily news here over the speakers. He tells me that it was also here that he heard the news of Mahatma Gandhi's assassination on 30th Jan 1948 and he, alongwith a million other Indians, listened on in horror.

On our second day we woke up to a lovely vista spread out infront of us from the hotel balcony. The city of Almora was full of clouds in the shape of a tea cup, it was quite unreal, the sight. We had breakfast and headed out with family to the famous Jageshwar Temple Complex, that dates back to the 12 C. Around the same time as we saw the Pashupatinath Temples in Kathmandu, I later found huge similarities in styles of both the temples. But then This was part of Nepal at a point of time and ruled by the Gorkhas.

The drive was beautiful, lined by pine forests and quaint little mountain towns. My MIL tells us about the protected Deodar Forests. Local tale has it that these areas were marshaled by tigers to protect people from harming the Deodars. Till dates you see the huge , tall and majestic forests, untouched apparently. We continue towards the temples. All in stone the group appears out of no where almost. We buy a Puja Thali, adorned with the usual coconout and beautiful, size defying Dahlias in red !, and proceed with our offerings.

The first thing that grabs me is the cold, the floor is stone, and even in this time of the year, freezing. The temples are empty of most idols, as they now find a place in the newly erected Jageshwar museum in the little town. A trek to this is recommended. You can see some fantastic carving and archeological exhibits.
Flanked by stately deodars, Jageshwar is one of the serene spiritual destinations in the Kumaon region. Not being one of the more popular tourist destinations, it lies in repose in the beautiful Jat Ganga Valley. Believed to house one of the 12 jyotirlings of significance to the Hindus, Jageshwar is a complex of about 164 temples constructed over a period of time by the Katyur and Chand dynasties of Kumaon.

The main temple in the complex is dedicated to Bal Jageshwar, or Shiva the child. There is another one dedicated to Vriddha Jageshwar, situated on the higher slopes. The story goes that as Lord Shiva sat meditating at this spot, the village women left their household chores and other duties and walked to watch him, as if in a trance. When the men of the village came to know about the fickle behaviour of the womenfolk, they vowed to kill them and marched towards the spot. Shiva, who realised the danger he had inadvertently put these women to, immediately transformed himself into a child, thus absolving them of any misdemeanour. Since that day, Shiva is worshipped in the form of a child in this temple.

Locals believe that the temples are blessed with mystical powers and a dip in the Jat Ganga or the Brahmkund within the temple complex is said to absolve one of a hundred sins, including matricide.

At the neighbouring Mahamrityunjaya (Conqueror of Death) Temple one can perform a Mahamrityunjaya Jaap for a price. In this case, a group of 718 pundits essentially recite the Mahamritunjaya Mantra, by rotation, one lakh and one times. And this is said to have the power of warding off death!

A big draw here are the two annual fairs one during Shivratri in February and another one in Shravan, the rainy season. A dip in the waters on those occasions is of great religious significance to the Hindus.

Irrespective of whether one believes in the myths surrounding the temples of this town, a visitor to Jageshwar is bound to find the atmosphere refreshing.

Do stop by and feed the old dog if you come across him outside the temple ïŠ.

By this time we were hungry and we headed to picnic in some clearing in the Deodar forests, on the way back. We hogged Puris and Aloo, and fooled around in the river flowing by. Someone very considerate had even left some detergent by the tap , so we discovered when we went to wash up before the meal. Bobpsy and I decided to try a different way back to the car, and jumped a little wall, only to find that there was no way back other than wading in the freezing stream!, so much for bright ideas! Pinky Mama and I cooled some drinks in the stream in a plastic bag, while Bobpsy took my suggestion to wade through but forgot to take off his shoes, well you figure the rest!

One can also visit the Goldevta Temple at Chitai, which is also a unique seat of justice for the locals. People actually file their complaints at a designated spot and attach photocopies of the judicial papers and beg for divine intervention and mercy. Upon redressal of their cause, most people offer a sacrifice to thank the lord. It is believed that most land disputes in the area have been peacefully resolved through this way, without having to visit the High Court in Allahabad.5

We headed back towards Almora. We stopped by At this stone age exhibit which is a natural stone formation almost as large as a ledge sticking out from one of the hills. This surprisingly is not mentioned in any guide book as yet! I later researched this area to be Lakhudiyar, which has several rock shelters. Members of our species once lived in these rock shelters. They date back to the time when there were no dates, to what is called the Stone Age. The rudimentary drawings on the stone surfaces are humankindâ€™s earliest expressions of creativity. They have miraculously survived thousands of years!

We've come very far from those humble beginnings; there is still a long way to go. If curious visit this link http://ignca.nic.in/asp/showbig.asp?projid=rock and look for Lakhu-Udyar , District Almora.

Factfile: Lakhu-Udyar Is 16 km from Almora town. It literally means `one lakh caves'. It is noted for pre-historic wall paintings. A hood-like rocky shelter is the chief specimen. The paintings here date back to the mesolithic-chacolithic period.

All possible information about Almora can be found at:
http://almora.nic.in/

We had reached Almora on the Dusshera Day, The festival of Dussehra is celebrated with great pomp and show all over here. Various Ramlilas are enacted depicting the story of Lord Rama's victory over the demon King Ravana. The Almora Dussehra procession is unique with huge effigies of gods, heroes and demons paraded through the streets. Effigies are made by local groups from various localities here, and are paraded through the main streets and eventually burnt at dusk. They donâ€™t use any explosives with these effiegies anymore as there had been incidents of fire before. The entire feel of festivities were in the air as one walked to see where the main burning was to take place.

Very soon and it was so hectic but it was time to go back, after endless yap sessions with family, chai and dahi jalebis, we left Almora, surely to go back very soon.

On the way back in the car we got fantastic glimpses of the Himalyas,Pashu by this time is a bit travel sick. Funny! he is the mountain goat and he feels ill on winding roads!, I am feeling neither cold nor sick.. good for me I suppose. We stopped here and there for stuff to eat and were back in Delhi after a 9 hr drive. We slept through most of it!

This travelogue was originally written by Papia Hajra. The link to the original article is http://papiahajra.blogspot.com/2005/11/travelogue-almora-uttaranchal-2005.html.

Binsar

2007-04-04T02:35:00.000-07:00

Touched by the Gods, untouched by man

Uttaranchal is perhaps one of the most unexplored of tourist destinations. I had heard of its unspoilt beauty and chose to go there. After a comfortable train journey from Delhi to Kathgodam, I commenced the extremely pleasant drive up the Kumaoni mountains with pine trees lining the road all the way to my final destination, the Club Mahindra Valley Resort. Located at a height of 5000 feet, with views of the snow-capped Nandadevi peak. I enjoyed an exhilarating drive up a steep road to Manipur Villa, the extension of the resort situated 600 ft above the main resort.

Manipur Villa used to be an English-style villa. It now has five exquisitely appointed rooms and a cosy common area complete with a fireplace and mantelpiece. The Villa is an ideal getaway for a group of 10-12 people for corporate training or the like. Honeymooners would also find serenity and exclusivity up there.
My room at the resort was very comfortable and equipped with all the amenities I might need during my stay. The rooms at the resort have been designed by Sonia and Kalapa, two Mumbai-based designers, using an architectural style and décor of the 14th century Gupta dynasty.

At the resort I met up with the resort manager, Mr. Kripal Negi and learned of several important aspects of the adjoining Bhainsori village. It has the rare distinction of sending one person from each family to serve the Indian armed forces.

I soon realized that most of the tourist attractions in Binsar were not very far off. My first tour was to the Binsar sanctuary 23 km away. It is home to hundreds of migratory birds, barking deer and leopards. It also has dense oak and rhododendron forests. The juice of the rhododendron flower, a visually appealing, rose-like flower, is believed to contain Ayurvedic medicinal value and is said to be good for people suffering from high blood pressure and as a preventive for heart ailments.

Within the Binsar sanctuary is Khali Estate, a former British mansion that later became Gandhiji’s ashram from 1929 to 1935. Zero Point is the highest point in the Binsar area where a 30 foot tower provides you with a 180 degree view of the Himalayan range comprising peaks like Gangotri, Shivling, Kedarnath, Badrinath, Nandadevi etc.

Another very interesting spot is the Patal Bhuvaneshwar underground cave complex. The Pandavas are said to taken shelter inside the cave during their period of isolation. The cave, which takes you down 30 feet, is a natural formation and has been created out of a single rock. The rock face of the inner walls has depictions of characters from Hindu mythology, such as Kamadhenu, Sheshnag, Airavath as well as other characters from the Mahabharata.

The three most well-known temples around Binsar are the Jageshwar, Chitaidevi and Bageshwar temples, all within a radius of 75 km. Jageshwar is dedicated to Lord Shiva and is regarded as one of the most sacred ‘tirthas’ in the Kumaon region, with a linga considered to represent one of the 12 jyotirlingas. The temple complex comprises 124 temples of which 5 are major ones. Of the numerous temples in the Jageshwar group of temples, the Mrityunjaya temple seems to be the oldest dating back to the 8th century. The Chitaidevi temple, close to Almora, is steeped in legend. Here devotees tie a bell, make a wish and even write letters seeking divine intervention in legal issues to Chitai, who is regarded as the God of Justice.

The third most well-known temple is the Baijnath temple at Bageshwar which is one of the few temples where both Lord Shiva and Parvati are worshipped. The temple complex holds a pond where you can see a variety of fish. It also holds a particular stone which can only be lifted by nine male little fingers. Bageshwar represents the meeting of the Srayu and Gomati rivers. This is where lakhs of devotees bathe on the auspicious day of Makar Sankranti to wash away their sins. The occasion is celebrated by holding the annual Uttreni Mela.

I could not help notice that the Kumaoni people are simple, honest and hardworking. The ladies do most of the household work such as collecting firewood, cooking and grazing the cattle.

The cuisine at the resort comprises local Kumaoni, North and South Indian, Chinese and Gujarati dishes made at the request of guests.

As Chef Prakash Chand explained to me the nuances of Kumaoni cuisine I realised that all the main ingredients used in Kumaoni dishes are procured locally, are unique to the region and have some medicinal value. Like the herb called gandhraini found only in the Kumaon region is known to be good for people with pain in their joints. Gandhraini is used frequently in both vegetarian and non-vegetarian cooking.
Mustard is a regularly used ingredient in Kumaoni cuisine. Kumaoni raita uses mustard powder and mustard oil and is made four hours before serving for the flavours to mature. Another dish called bhatt ki chatni uses black beans (bhatt) that is only grown in the region. Gehat ki dal uses a local dal which is said to provide enough heat and energy to the body to last almost the whole day.

The desserts are also very unique, the two most unique being bal mithai and singodi. Bal mithai is made from khoya and maida and is coated with little sugar balls. Singodi is made from khoya and sugar and is rolled in a mou leaf which is only found in the region. The leaf retains the freshness of the mithai as the leaf itself stays fresh for around 15 days.

Every evening at the resort is time for good family fun with Subhasish Guha enthralling every single resident at the resort with his creative games and group activity. It’s amazing the way he involves people of all ages. You can depend on Subhasish to coordinate other activities at the resort like trekking, rock climbing, rappelling, glass painting, etc. You can also play cards, table tennis, video games as well as participate in hobby classes such as clay modelling, glass painting, diya painting, candle making, etc.

Almora is the main shopping destination around Binsar. I could not resist the shawls, brass artefacts like diyas and bells and the scented candles from Nainital. Do visit the Women’s Weaving Association if you wish to shop for shawls and other artefacts. One can also shop for good honey and murabbas made from apples, apricots and plums.

As I prepared to leave Binsar I was overwhelmed with the divine presence of Lord Shiva which can be felt all around Binsar and I came away with a feeling of purity, serenity and peacefulness. Binsar was truly created by the Gods and thankfully is yet untouched by man.

Danish Villa's garden and the property are well maintained and our feeling is that the establishment will improve further with time. However, it is our suggestion that the present tenor should not be changed. The villa is a beacon of rest and solitude to people of Wordsworthian temperament and we shall come back to it again and again, now that we have found it. We recommend the Ooty villa strongly to people who want to relax and completely unwind. We are residing currently in the United States and we have talked about Danish Villa at Sheddon, Ooty to our friends and proudly shown them some of the pictures we had taken of this charming place. At this villa one can experience a "momentary stay against confusion" as poet Robert Frost envisioned in another context.

This travelogue was originally published in www.BharatHeritage.in. The link to original article is http://www.bharatheritage.in/articles/article3.htm

Ladakh

2007-04-03T22:56:00.000-07:00

Beyond the clouds….Ladakh is changing

The urge to live mighty Himalayas finally paved way for a journey to Ladakh and an intense reading assured that the first journey was destined to be Manali-Leh by surface. Me, being a Wildlifer hobbyist for many years during previous India visits and immense confidence in Gypsy was prime reason to select GypsyKing.

Preparation

A few thoughtful months and driving ambitions generated issues like Checklist, GPS mappings, health hazards, Photo/Video gear and Gypsy.

I bought GypsyKingHT (my third Gypsy) MPFI 1,3 Litre. Imported Goodyear Wrangler M+S RT/S tubeless (courtesy Rudra’s suggestion), underbelly paint, Hella Rallye3000 Blue H1 (with relay) on Rooftop, external GPS antenna (Garmin GA27C), 220volt adapter, Philips 100Watt (without relays) Headlamp bulbs and no engine or body mod. After first run-in, we started this trip with Odometer at 02625kms.

Although, Manali-Leh route is fixed, GPS (Garmin GPSMAP60CS) gives the possibility to Sync Camera Date/Time to later refer Photos to exact location. Also to charter speeds, locations and elevation along the route for later reference.

The last touch-ups on phones/mails with Rudra, finally summed-up the preparation for this journey and upon his arrival on 28th July in Delhi, the scene was set for this trip.

The journey

Delhi-Mandi (29.07.06)

Start 06.50hrs. Finish 17.30hrs. Distance 444km. Time 10h40m. Average 42kmph
Heights 250-1100mtrs

Left Delhi at 06.50hrs and GPS started logging. 246km Delhi-Chandigarh route logged 4h42m averaging 52kmph (top speed 106km after Karnal). Besides two of us, 200kg baggage included Photo/Video gear, personal luggage, empty army Jerrycans, emergency tools etc. in plastic containers stacked on each other for stability and easy handling. Gypsy hugged the road nicely. Rudra’s advise to go via Ropar instead of Nalagarh was right as Nalagarh route is under repairs.

Bilaspur-Mandi drive along Beas river gives first glimpses of mountains. The road nicely curves through lower hills (500-1000mtrs). Before Mandi, we overnighted at Hotel Valley View on highway. AC rooms (INR2200) and non-veg meals, though a bit over-priced, offered us just the needed overnight.

Mandi-Manali (30.07.06)

Start 08.40hrs. Finish 12.55hrs. Distance 117km. Time 4h15m. Average 28kmh
Height 780-1860mtrs

Overnight at Mandi was essential as we reached fresh in Manali using the day for final checks before leaving civilized world behind us.

Mandi-Manali journey is a pleasure winding through curves, driving alongside valley after Pandoh and going through newly built tunnels. As we drove through this route, the lush green valleys washed out in recent rains were a treat to eyes.

Our overnight at Nirmalas Guesthouse run by Danial, a Swiss married to a Manali woman gave us the final checks. Talks with Daniel (an expert on Ladakh treks) and his pleasant wife Nirmala summed up the evening after a round of Rudra’s famous evening drinks. For your reference: Daniel Liebendorfer (E-Mail: himalpin@hotmail.com).

We were now mentally, physically and technically prepared for this Photographic exposure.

Manali-Keylong (31.07.06)

Manali-Rohtang

Start 08.10hrs. Finish 10.30hrs. Distance 44km. Time 2h23m. Average 18kmh
Heights 1850-3973mtrs

Fuel consumption Delhi-Manali 13.8kms per Litre….Wow..New Engine !!
We filled tank and noted the reading to calculate fuel consumption later.

The road to Rohtang Pass is reasonably good except for few patches. Some bends are quite sharp and at one place we even used Low x4. Recent rains and trucks had made nice cocktail of sharp stones and slushy mud. It wasn’t an issue but initially when you start the first climb, carelessness could cost heavy. As a rule, on uphill and downhill curves, must goto lower gear before attempting the curve to have enough torque or engine breaking for any eventualities. The weather held and with a fully loaded Gypsy, we reached Rohtang Pass around 10.30hrs.

The drive to Rohtang Pass is more interesting compared to the flat and dirty Rohtang Pass. Thanks to day visitors.

Rohtang-Keylong
Start 10.40hrs. Finish 15.20hrs. Distance 60km. Time 4h40m. Average 13kmh
Heights 3973-3100mtrs

Downhill to Koksar (3200mtrs) with 16km in 1hr, the road condition went bad and we crawled down. Funnily, we forgot to shoot Rohtang Pass realizing this only in Delhi at the end. On the other hand, there was hardly anything to shoot at Rohtang Pass.

Koksar is a small shaggy collection of tents popping-up during summer months. After a sugary Mango juice, we drove further. Sissu, a few kms away, has even a tree plantation project. The road along the river has lovely valley on left and little hutments on right, hustled together looking at Rohtang Pass. The drive is beautiful except for roads. Settled in GypsyKing seats, surprisingly much comfortable to its previous models. I even laughed when Rudra mentioned that…knowing he has an Optra. The road is broken from Koksar to Keylong. It looked like an endless task for those BRO guys to bring it back to shape.

We filled tanks in Tandi (the last patrol bunk before Leh) now having 38Litres in Gypsy and 40litres in two Jerrycans. The Gypsy fuel consumption stood at 13.8kms per Litre all through Rohtang, fully-loaded till brink.

Hotel Snowland, Keylong, is basic for INR2000 non-AC rooms. We made preliminary Camera checks. The whiskies and night slowly crept on us as we crept into our beds !!

Keylong-Sarchu (01-04.08.06)

Start 08.20hrs. Finish 16.00hrs. Distance 90km. Time 7h45m. Average 11kmh
Heights 3050-4919mtrs

The Keylong-Jispa (20kms) drive before Baralacha Pass is like leaning back and telling yourself that this is what you paid for. On these lower heights, the vegetation, villages, valleys, mountain colors, clean fresh air, river-side road and flora and fauna, all make together unforgettable memories…lower mountain beauty, in all respects. As we approached the Pass, the vegetation, villages and flora and fauna slowly vanished, except the bumpy surface known as roads.

Jispa, has a very nice small river rafting hotel, which we would have preferred instead of Keylong. 10kms ahead lies Darcha, another small settlement, after which the road winds-up towards Baralacha Pass. This road was being newly made by BRO (Border Road Org.) in extreme conditions. The Pass approach gave us first full glimpse of the mighty Himalayas. The mountain unfolds endlessly at each turn. You want to stop everywhere or ask yourselves when it would finally end.

Trucks, Qualis, Scorpio, Mahindra, Tata Sumo were the main vehicles sighted. The Gypsy boiled when we reached the top….almost (4892 meters) ! The radiator spilled coolant. Hell ! …we said, and wished Gypsy would hold till Leh. So we filled plain water in the overflow tank and waited for it to cool down. The coolant was quite diluted with water !! The after-market AC coil board blocked the thin air reaching the radiator-fan. Revving the engine in lower gear to draw more air worked. Without any further problems, watching the temperature gauge, we drove further.

Downhill, before Sarchu, came our first glimpse of washed out road, with only sharp-edged rocks forming a make-shift path. Sharp edged stones during land-slide are far more dangerous than normal mountain streams with rounded pebbled stones. Not the ground-clearance but side-walls of tubeless tyres were a problem. The Gypsy mastered it with no issues and we reached Sarchu.

Sarchu, on flat plains has few camping tents and mountains as back-drop. The deep lying river is on left-hand-side.

The Raspian Camping Ground tents, booked through Daniel (full-board INR1400 with attached toilet and sink) awaited us. Generator electricity 19.30-22.30hrs. No electric sockets to charge batteries. The 220V adapter in Gypsy helped us. Early dinner 19.30- 21.00hrs. When they saw our photo-gear with a promise to shoot their property, they were even more flexible. Cheers….!!!

The nights in these areas are cold and windy. The Camp provides thick blankets and hot water on demand.

Baralacha Pass and Sarchu (4400mtrs), gave me a bit of headache. Next morning Rudra had blocked nose. First symptoms of height related health problems which we decided to watch a bit.

We took the next day easy. In the evening it rained, first slowly, then with thunder and lightening. It didn’t disturb us in bed but it rained all night.

Next morning came the first road-block news. The land-slide had washed the road. We were also concerned of road conditions further on the route. Weighing options, we extended another night at Sarchu. Later when we visited the site, a British group leaving for Leh inspite of warnings was still there knee-deep in stone and mud fighting to take out their stuck vehicle. The driver tried to rev wheels and consequently both back tyres burst, cut by sharp stones below the harmless mud.

Sarchu-Leh (04-09.08.06)
Start 06.20hrs. Finish 21.00hrs. Distance 247km. Time 14h30m. Average 17kmh
Heights 3225-5320mtrs.

The rough road of Rohtang was luxurious compared to the road after Sarchu. Roads were partly washed out or filled with stone and water. The seemingly harmless roads were jagged enough to reduce speed to 5-10kmph. The bumps were more bumpy. It had never rained in Ladakh like this for many years, catching all by surprise.

Slowly but surely our Photography trip turned to an Adventure trip. At places, we kept away from road on soft mud looking down at tracks of the heavy trucks (few still stuck like sitting warnings).

Then the famous Gata Loops (21 in all), an upward sharp curving road towards Nakeela Pass (4930mtrs 53kms from Sarchu camps). One does not notice this Pass as the road all around is on high altitude. This is followed by a slight downhill drive and the next ascent to Lachulung Pass (5063mtrs 9kms from Nakeela Pass).

From Lachulung Pass, it took us 1h50m downhill drive (20kms) to reach Pang.

Like other places, Pang is also a few Ladakhi tents with bits of activities. A small dormitory overnighting with large army presence nearby.

A small break and a 300-350mtrs climb brought us to More Plains (a vast flat plains road 45kms at 4600-4800meters) with reasonably good road conditions. But you cannot drive more than 45kmph on this bumpy road.

On this stretch, a part was being repaired and traffic diverted to soft surface beside the road, a mixture of mud and small pebbles. The rains made this surface like a sinking ground. A false move would sink our vehicle in the soft terrain and then all we could do was to wait for someone. Also here a tourist bus was stuck and waited for any rescue.

After these 45kms we started climbing for Taglang Pass (5320mtrs) for 15kms in 1hr reaching the Pass at 14.30hrs. From Sarchu, it took us 142kms in 8h10m averaging 17kmph.

And the next 104kms took another 6h20m although it’s down all the way from 5300meters to 3400meters. The downhill road was in a mess with chocolate colored mountain-mud water flowing on the road. At a village, the water was knee deep and just 20 meters away fallen rocks and boulders cut the road. Slowly with villager’s help, the road was cleared. And next turn after 100 meters, we saw an army jeep fully into mud in another land-slide. Even huge army truck couldn’t go through. Another wait for 2 hours till a make-shift road for us to cross.

As we drove alongwith other vehicles, it slowly turned dark. Seeing clear road, local drivers started speeding. We too increased speed to keep-up with convoy switching-on Hella lights. The powerful beams lighted the next 400mtrs like daylight. We drove at maybe 70kmph with this convoy. Luckily, we tagged behind them as further down, the road was again washed away. The local drivers fortunately knew the terrain and we followed them through this slush to be back on road after few hundred meters. Loosing their sight in total darkness would have caused us great difficulty to find next link in the road. And then it started raining heavily !! Now on firm roads, we were not concerned. At that moment, our thoughts were to find a decent Hotel in Leh.

We hit Hotel Royal Palace at 21.00hrs (INR2970 with Full-Board). Small restaurant, generator electricity 19.30-22.30hrs and hot water 06.00-10.00hrs. Leh has acute electricity problem. A days discussions over a stiff drink followed by a nice Indian dinner made our day…what a day!! Talking of drinks, we never got drunk which at high alt. can be dangerous due to dehydration and over-exposure in the night. The drinks always relaxed us a bit….and maybe a little tiny bit more than that…what would you say Rudra..???

5 nights in Leh ready with Innerline permits (courtesy Naveen Dhyani from TeamBHP forum) for Nubra Valley, Pangong and Tso Moriri lake…great !!. Ha..ha..!! all roads out of Leh were badly damaged and closed. Our worry was rather if we could drive back at all.

Reluctantly, we gave up these excursion ideas and concentrated on shooting Leh and its surrounding Monasteries.

Although we never faced any heat-up problem with Gypsy except for the first one at Baralacha Pass, in Leh, we still emptied the Radiator, had it washed and filled-in new Coolant without any mix. After 4 days with other roads still closed, we decided to drive back.

All along Manali-Leh route, mobile phones are a sure uncertainty. STD is available in Keylong, near Jispa and then only in Upshi or near Leh. Airtel is active but not all region. If you have BSNL, maybe you are lucky….maybe !!

The back journey

On 9th August, at 07.30hrs, we headed back. The only way was to go ahead and live mother nature first-hand. Which we did. The return journey was even worse. After our arrival in Leh, the Manali-Leh route experienced further rains and bad roads became an understatement.

On bad patches, BRO usually puts cobbled stones and tops it up with plain mud…in most areas prone to water. The mud was washed away leaving only stones on the road. The mountain streams were in full swing. 100kms from Leh, we crossed a big wide stream with 40cms fast water. A Qualis had tough time, a Scorpio had water above its exhaust and sat like a Duck trying desperately to fly-off, finally making it…and perhaps ruining its back-tail !! In Low x4, the Gypsy crossed without problems.

After an overnight in Sarchu, we headed the next day towards Manali. At Rohtang Pass, we decided not to fill-in extra fuel as we felt that this Gypsy would make it to Manali. And it did…on a single full tank from Leh to Manali through all ups and downs and one hell of a road. 465kms in 33 litre (5 Litres still in tank) averaging 14km per litre.

With 2 overnights at Holiday Inn (INR3500 on half-board per night) in Manali and 1 in Mandi, we reached Delhi on 14th August late evening, after massive traffic jam outside Delhi due to security-checks for 15th August. Luckily, we were not stopped as we would have tough time to open and close all photo gears.

The Goodyear Tyres did not require any checks and till Delhi we never felt the need to check the pressure although we carried a manual air-pump. Not even single scratch on Gypsy. On way back the sweet engine hum was like music to us.

Thinking back, we both felt that although we had such bad weather but then seeing the positive side, we consider ourselves lucky enough to have experienced these conditions which others probably will not. And what a drive it was….suspense waiting at every bend throughout….memories !!

For everybody here who wants to visit Ladakh in future: Ladakh is changing. Probably one of the very first examples of global warming (or global warning, whichever you prefer). Twelve days of continuous rain was the first time there. Or so the locals said. We hardly saw clean blue sky. There was hardly any road on our way back. Is it possible for army and BRO to make a clean good road right through? Maybe yes, if right technological know how can be applied in right time and in right way. Maybe not, if we realise what destructive power can mother nature bring in.

Photographs

Photos are all on Canon gear with various lenses. From over 1000 pics in RAW, selection criteria being more importantly distribution of pics along the route.

This Thread is limited to 20 pics in the Travelogue. In the given links below, you will find many more pics. The Google picture of the route in the Photo Album shows the actual GPS track as we travelled.

There are more Photographs on:
http://profile.imageshack.us/user/ajaynarayan/

The same photographs are also available at :
http://picasaweb.google.com/ilovezurich

From Picasa you can also download the Album and see all pics at leisure.

GPS remarks

Pictures on Manali-Leh route are stamped with Date/Time. You can refer to GPS log (textfile) for Lat/Long at that time and see the location of these pictures on Google Earth.
See log (text file) for speeds alongwith road elevations and vehicle behaviour. Also attached is Garmin original log-file and Lowrance file (for other models) for your usage. The average speed includes the minor stops we made in between. Please check logfile for actual moving average.

GPS Logfile in zip is available at:
http://www.freewebtown.com/ajaynarayan/mywebsite/Ladakh_GPS_Logfile.zip

This travelogue was originally posted by Ajay Narayan on his blog. The URL is http://www.freewebtown.com/ajaynarayan/mywebsite/Travelogue/Beyond%20the%20clouds%20to%20Ladakh.htm

Wayanad - Kerala

2007-04-03T05:30:00.000-07:00

Trip to GOD’s own Country

Bangalore –Mysore – Nanjangud – Gundulpet – Sultan Battery – Kalpetta – Bangalore

Vehicle: Alto LXi and Chevrolet Tavera

After the Hogenakkal trip, I thought of taking a break and spend July weekends in Bangalore but the thought went for a toss when all of a sudden, on a Wednesday afternoon some team members in office gathered that uncanny josh to go for a trip. They made me the scape-goat (read as trip coordinator). Finally they made it official too so hopefully we can get the reimbursements too. Initially we thought of taking 2 cars but the big boss said no-no. Hire a cab. Oh no!! I was really upset as I cannot drive to Kerala for the first time and I cannot drop the idea I am the coordinator. Anyway, may be drive next time. Still on Friday, I checked the car and kept it to tank full. On Friday evening, we went to Bangalore central to buy the stuffs like liquors, snacks, soft-drinks etc.

8th July, 2006: As planned, we were supposed to meet at ITC Park at 5AM. So we get up at 3:45AM packed the regular stuffs, took a nice bath and I was about to start my car for office, I get a call from Satarupa that I need to take my car too as 7 people plus luggage can be cramped. I did a big punch in the air, YaaHooo, Finally I am driving to the God’s own country. Immediately I ran upstairs took the file containing car papers and the extra spanners and ran in the car. That was like a dream come true. At office we all meet up and the guys load my car with their luggages and took away the bag containing the beer cans. Finally we start our journey at 5:50AM.

Mysore road was almost deserted and I was in the lead as the cab went for a fill. Once after Kengeri, speed increased and I was doing a nice 110-120kmph. Within no time we were in Kamat Lokaruchi after Ramanagaram for Chai, breakfast at about 7AM. Soon the cab followed and the guys were really excited to have food here as they heard a lot through my travelogue but never experienced it. All relished the ambience and ofcourse the banana-leaf wrapped idlis, dosas, chais, vadas.

We left Kamat at around 8 AM. Roads were as usual deserted in the morning and we did enter Mysore by 9:15AM. Instead of taking the ring road we decided to go through Mysore as it might not be that crowded on a Saturday morning. It did turn out as we expected. In another 30min we were out of town and on NH212 to Nanjangud. As we went past Mysore the roads became better-n-better and so was the speed. I kept the speed between 60-80kmph as this was the first time I am driving on this road. We also enjoyed the scenic beauty of the surrounding especially the sunflower trees spread in huge area was simply awesome.

Road and surroundings before Gundulpet

We reached Gundulpet in an hour’s time and there is a right turn immediately after that which goes to Calicut. After driving another 10km we broke for some snacks. All had chocolates, cakes, soft drinks, snacks. I drank lots of water and took a bar of munch.

At around 10:30AM we started the last leg of the journey. This was an awesome drive mostly through the jungles, first through bandipur and then through Muthanga (although the jungle is same but name is different in different state). Roads were great but inside the jungles there were sudden unmarked humps (set of three), even though I knew about this and was careful but still missed one of them and went over it thud-thud-thud at 80kmph. Maan, I felt really upset that my baby (car) had to undergo that torture. Anyway, I didn’t miss any after that and also during return. We also had slight drizzle and this deciduous forest looked dense green and awesome.

Pics inside Forest

Soon we reached the Kerala border and the checkpost. We reached Sultan battery by 11:15AM and Kalpetta by noon. We had already booked an ecotel named Hotel Harithagiri there. Nice hotel and a great ambience at a reasonable price. We freshen up in another 30min and head towards the restaurant for lunch. All of us hogged almost whatever we thought of from Mutton biriyanis, chicken65, fish curry to egg omlette, burjis to kerala parathas to dal frys. Even some of us didn’t spare the Fosters and the 8PMs too.

After the sumptuous lunch we decided to go to Pookot (Pookod or Phookode) Lake about 13 km from hotel. We all decided to go in the Tavera for sightseeing. The ride from Kalpetta to Vythri, Lakkidi was another worth mentioning. I am short of words describing it with occassional slight drizzle, winding roads, huge hills with full of greenery, tea plantations etc etc.

Pics inside Pookot Lake

It is a natural fresh water lake, brimmed with ever green mountains. The weather here is salacious; the scenic beauty, hypnotising and the nature, unspoiled. I was also told that one of the main tributaries of Kabini River (Panamaram rivulet) takes its origin from Pookot Lake. Thick bushes and tall trees along the path round the lake gave a cam spritual atmosphere. We decided to go for boating and jumped into 2 four seaters. The 4 guys jumped on one. I decided to balance the ladies as they paddled in the front seats. I was seated in the centre. It was great experience boating in a lake surrounded by huge hills.

After boating it was time for tea and with that starts the great discussions centered on the bosses of our company. It all started with Swarup’s experience (rather encounters) with one of his favourite GUI (without the U). We had 2 rounds of tea and loads of laughter. The team was really at the top of the world. We were in the lake cafeteria for about an hour and then decided to leave.

At around 5:30PM we moved towards the ghat pass at Lakkidi another 5km from lake. We stopped by at one of the point on the ghat section and did some photoshoot and relished the nature. The lofty mountain peaks, the gurging stream, luxuriant vegetation and the bird's eye view of the deep valley on the south, with its winding roads, were breath taking.

Pics of Valley from Ghats:

All of us returned to hotel at about 6:30PM (except me and wife) and people retired to bed for sometime but me and wife decided to get down at Kalpetta town for some shopping. We strolled back to hotel after shopping at about 7PM.

Now comes the moment for which some of the guys like Melvin, Joseph were here for. They knew one word ‘intoxication’ and maan didn’t they intoxicate themselves. The party started in swarup’s room. I too shared the fun with a peg of Bacardi on lime cordial (hehehe, coz my wife was sleeping since 8pm and I didn’t wake her up). Maan, the full Bacardi bottle emptied in no time and the old monk opened up. We ordered Kerala Paratha, egg-burji and dal fry for dinner. I and Satarupa decided to hog the food whereas others decided to get more intoxicated before eating. The food was damn tasty. At about 10:30PM, I left the intoxication centre and retired to bed.

9th July, 2006: We wake up at about 6AM and stood by the hotel window to experience the beautiful Mountain View from there. Then we decided to go for a stroll in the next STD booth to wish my sister as the day was her birthday. We also had the bed tea not in bed but adjacent to the pool.

At 8AM, I decided to call on the intoxicating guys and woke them up. Satarupa was ready by then. All were up, freshened up in next 30min and back to restaurant for nice buffet breakfast. We had everything from bread-butter-jam, omlette to upma, dosa, idli, chutney and sambar and ofcourse the nice tea-coffee.

At around 10AM we jumped into Tavera again and this time our destination was Soochipara Falls about 28km from hotel. It was another breathtaking drive through dense vegetation, tea plantations, jackfruit plantation etc. The surrounding was awesome. We reached there by 10:30 but we need to walk down through dense equatorial forest for 1.5km or so from the parking to reach the foot of the falls. It was a steep decent and then a set of stairs. Although it was tiring but the reaching the falls we felt it was worth the effort. We did some photography. Trekking back was tiring but great. We did some shopping at the parking shop and had 2 rounds lime juice.

Pics of Falls & plantations:

We reached hotel from falls at 1PM. Things were packed only that we need to checkout but the guys had other ideas. They didn’t want to disregard that half filled old monk bottle by carrying it back to Bangalore. So Joseph opened the monk in a flash and made 4 pegs for four of them so that the bottle can now rest in peace in Kalpetta itself. It took 30min for them to hog those pegs and back we were in restaurant for lunch. This time people took a realistic / sensible lunch with kerala-fish thali and icecreams except me who preferred egg-fried rice.

Finally we checked out at 3:30PM and started the return journey. This time my speed was touching 90-100kmph as I was more familiar and we were covering the distances very fast. While I was approaching Mysore, I decided to take the ring road as it was about 6PM and Mysore can get crowded. It worked out really well. In another 15-20min I was entering Srirangapatnam.

Once in Mysore Road, It was 120-130kmph all the way. Thankfully traffic was not so much as you expect on this road (Atleast I experienced heavy traffic during this time in my previous trips). It was getting dark by the time we reached Channapatna. By 7:25PM my car was parked in Kamat Lokaruchi. I did a nonstop 239km in 4 hours. WOW, that was fast considering the kind of roads we were in.

It was hogging time again. I preferred a North Karnataka Meal which was simply awesome. I don’t mind going there from Bangalore for dinner to that place. People ordered everything like 3-4 varieties of dosas, idlis, besan laddoos etc.

It was a nice rest and also there was nice breeze blowing across. Now it was bye-bye time as I will move straight to home and will only meet them in office the next day. We started the final leg of the journey at 9PM when there was less traffic and within an hour I was in the Shell pump in VM road.

The car drank 29.42 litres for a distance of 586 km which was cool (with AC on for 50% of the distance). Now ‘Lets Go’ to home ofcourse. We reached home at 10:30PM after a very satisfactory trip to Kerala and lots of memories to cherish in my maiden step in God’s own country.

This travelogue was originally posted by Abhijit Kumar Roy on www.Team-BHP.com. The URL is http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travelogues/14969-weekend-travelogue-wayanad-my-first-step-gods-own-country.html

Lansdowne

2007-04-02T22:58:00.001-07:00

Ghaziabad – Meerut – Bijnore – Kotdwar – Dugadda – Lansdowne – Dugadda - Kotdwar - Bijnore - Meerut - Ghaziabad

Last month had been very busy for me; 3 of my projects were nearing completion and it made life hell for me. I was regularly reaching home at early morning; I would have hardly talked to my daughter for 1 hour in March. I needed and deserved a break.

I had planned to drive to Lansdowne earlier but due to non-availability of accommodation it never materialized. This time luckily I got acco so decided to leave on 31st March morning to Lansdowne for a week-end trip. Wifey said that next Friday being Good Friday we'll get 3 days; but I was too fed-up to postpone.

So we left for Lansdowne on Saturday morning from our home in Ghaziabad, in my 2005 model Getz GLS at 6:30 AM.

The road we took from Ghaziabad is NH-58; even at that time the traffic in Ghaziabad was bad, it took us about 30 minutes to cross Ghaziabad. The road from Ghaziabad to Meerut is 4-lane; but is in bad condition and traffic is horrible. One can see all kind of vehicles ranging from bullock-carts, tractors, combines to jugaads on this road.

We reached Meerut in one hour; 12 KMs before Meerut at Partapur by-pass, one has to take a right turn from NH-58 to go inside Meerut. After driving 12 KMs in Meerut, we reached Begam Pul crossing, took a right-turn from there to take the Bijnore road. The road from Meerut onwards although single-lane is in excellent condition with very little traffic. I was able to drive at 100-120 kmph for long stretches.

One word of caution - there are very dhabas on this road, so preferably have your breakfast before Meerut. We found a decent one after Mavana, just before the turn to Hastinapur.

We reached Najibabad by 10:00 AM. I tell you people here have suicidal tendencies, the just jump on the road without giving a damn to the oncoming traffic. The road here from Jalalabad to Najibabd is in terrible condition (abt 4 KMs), traffic is BAD and you find 3 railway crossings in 4 KMs. Luckily all 3 were open.
From here we took a left turn to Kotdwar; the road further narrows down but is in excellent condition. Here is a pic of the road with my car.

We reached Lansdowne at 12:00 PM; checked in our hotel - the Fairydale Resorts. It's a raj-era bungalow with lotsa old-world charm.

After feshening-up, we drove to town and had lunch there; then drove up to St. Mary's church and Tiffin Top. The church is very well-maintained and looks fab.

The view of Lansdowne from Tiffin Top -

Lansdowne is home of Garhwal Rifles and is maintained by the cantonment board. This means cleanliness, orderliness and efficient administration. All construction has to be approved by cantt board; that's the reason the town has only 3 hotels and is not a typical tourist hill-station. A nice place for those who enjoy solitude. Perfect for long walks alone or with your companion.

The place has many raj-era bungalows; all occupied by army people and administrators. The most beautiful of these bungalows -

The resort has beautiful lawns, overlooking pine forests. Sitting in these lawns, I re-fuelled myself ;-)

We left Lansdowne at 11:00 AM next morning. The breakfast at Hotel Mayur was out-of-this-world. Reached Meerut at 2:00 PM. The traffic was horrible and it took us 1 hour to cross Meerut. After that 1 hour drive to Ghaziabad. And I was home re-freshened and re-charged.

Distances

Ghaziabad - Meerut (60 KMs)
Meerut - Bijnore (80 KMs)
Bijnore - Najibabad (30 KMs)
Najibabad - Kotdwar (26 KMs)
Kotdwar - Dugadda (15 KMs)
Dugadda - Lansdowne (26 KMs)