I had been suppressing the urge to connect with the inner philosophical self, for quite sometime now. It was only in November 2006 that I went for a 7 day ride which can actually be called a roadtrip (2885 km trip to Rajasthan – See Here ). A few short rides on and off could not really feed the wanderlust anymore. And so I knew, it was time for another roadtrip. The heart’s deep rooted urge to find the Land’s End one day might be a hallucination of the imaginative mind…But then this is something I wanna live for…
I had set my plans for a ride in the Kumaon and Garhwal valleys in Uttaranchal this time and definitely wanted to visit Ranikhet and Lansdowne. So my initial plan was to cover Nainital, which definitely had to be in the route-chart to reach Ranikhet; then visit Jim Corbett National Park and then finally going to Lansdowne. However, only 24 hours before take-off, I called up at the Jim Corbett to find out a few things and concluded that a 4 hour jeep safari wouldn’t be worth the money and specially time i.e. one whole day, which I would have to spend. Visiting Jim Corbett is really cool if you stay there for 2-3 days within the jungle in the camps and its then that you can actually sight something worth calling wildlife…In 4 hours you would not even sight a deer!!
So I didn’t know what exactly the route must be like… And hence I thought lets do something unplanned…I was sure of the first 2 days plan but what happens on the 3rd and 4th day was only known to God..!!
Prelude
Day 5
Day 5 - Lansdowne - Dugadda - Kotdwara - Meerut - Ghaziabad - Delhi - Gurgaon
When I got up that morning, I could hardly believe that this was going to end very soon... But hey... Does this really end... This only leaves us with sweet memories...with tired butts to rest...with so much to think about...with a new thirst for more...And after a little rest...after a little retrospection...after a little philosophical analysis...after a little planning...
We would pack our bags once again... and shoot for the never-ending road... in search of ourselves... in search of the truth... in search of the nature... And maybe again... In search of the Land's End....!!
Ending Trip Meter: 1180 km
Day 4
Day 4 - Excursions and treks to Tip 'n' Top- Bhulla Lake - St. Mary's Church - St. George's Church - Kaali Mandir - The Cemetery
Since I had the whole day to explore Lansdowne extensively, I was all excited and charged up. And the excitement was worth it. Lansdowne is so quite and relaxing that you can virtually sit anywhere and get detatched from the world... Its serene and peaceful... Its lovely and mystic... And specifically because it has so many off-roading tracks and so many trekking trails that you just dont feel like coming out of the exploring activity. The first place that I visited was the Tip 'n'Top which is kind of a 'view point'...It had some good views and off-roading fun involved...Ventured into a jungle trail and came back as a satisfied trekker...nice flora...nice trails...
Then rode towards the Bhulla Lake and relaxed there for quite sometime...listening to music and reading 'The Prophet' by Khalil Gibran, that made the philosophical mind go wild. Next was the St. Mary's church where they show you a 20-minute movie on the Bravery of Garhwal Rifles... The Army Museum was somehow closed that day, so came back to the hotel after clicking a few shots of the War Memorial. After lunch it was time for some real trekking-stuff. First was the English Cemetery... Its located at one corner of the town... After the road ends you got to take a foot-road to reach the place...I somehow got confused as there were 3 different tracks... One said Army shooting range, so i thought it was better to give it a miss. I took another track and actually forced the bike on it...It turned out to be a little too risky and dangerous as i reached a place where i could not turn the bike and I was on a 4-foot track with valley on one side. Luckily saw an Army man and called him to help...After a real difficult 'U-Turn', the Army man told me to take the shooting range trail to the cemetery...This place is called Bhoot Bangla as it has abandoned Army Barracks and schools... One thing that I learned...Trekking can be so difficult and confusing without a map, a direction magnet and a partener... I again took a wrong trek and kept descending till the trees started becoming dense and i felt i was entering a jungle...! So I climbed back on to the starting point and took the 3rd and the final trail which took me to the Cemetery...woof...finally...!! But you know... You ejoy all these things so much... Because this is what called you in here....
I was tired by this time, so before taking another trekking-trail to the Kaali Mandir, relaxed for sometime in the St. George's Church... And then after praying to goddess Kaali... became a heavenly lucky spectator to a heavenly beautiful sunset at a place which might virtually be called Land's End....
Trip Meter: 815 km
Day 3
Day 3 – Ranikhet – Betaalghat – Mohaan – Dhumakot – Nainidaanda – Haldukhan – Dugadda – Lansdowne
I had not imagined that the day’s ride would throw all the thrills of an adventurous roadtrip. Got ready and left the hotel for Ramnagar road at 0830 hrs. I missed the turn towards Ramnagar and continued towards Haldwani. After a little while I got suspicious that I was not on the right track...so asked for directions and came to know that I’ll have to take a deserted road through Betaalghat to reach the Ranikhet-Ramnagar road. This, however, turned out to be good. The road was bumpy but it was a very enjoyable ride, totally cut-off from the main road traffic. Although this route made me lose around 2 important hours but I was just happy to ride on such a road. Finally reached the Ranikhet-Ramnagar road junction and rode towards Mohaan.
Mohaan is the intersection from where one road goes towards Ramnagar and Jim Corbett and the other towards Pauri. It is here that the steep ascent starts and the region ahead becomes remote. While on my way to the next major village i.e. Dhumakot, I stopped for a photography break and it was here that the things, the ride and the plan for the whole day changed. Two gentlemen stopped their scooter on sighting a lone-rider… ‘Me’ … and started chatting about my ride plans etc. They told me that in no way I could reach Pauri on the same day as the roads would be steeper ahead and it was close to impossible. I was convinced by this as I had merely covered a small part of the journey and it was already 1o’clock. So I told them that I could reach Baijron and then go to Lansdowne the next day. This, according to them, would be useless as the next day was an election day in Pauri and wherever I go, I would be stuck there for the next day as traffic is not allowed to move on election days. This increased my confusion and I thought I would reach Baijron, take the turn towards Lansdowne and reach there by night. This, according to them was again close to impossible as it would take more than 6 hours to reach Baijron and then there is a 160 km ride towards Lansdowne. So finally, they offered me a plan which needed some real guts. They told me to take a diversion from Dhumakot towards Nainidaanda, continue towards Haldukhan, crossing a forest road,
reach Dugadda and then Lansdowne.
This was the only possible thing to do and though they warned me about the bad roads; the unavailability of petrol, food & help; the risky ride and the dense forest, I gave them a piece of thanks and said goodbye deciding to take the ‘dreaded route’.
I think it was around 1500 hrs that I took the diversion towards Nainidaanda and the terrain suddenly changed. There was no sign of tar and the road was completely stone-patched. I think I rode for about 1 and a half hour without a sign of the human specie. Finally reached Nainidaanda and continued towards Haldukhan. People were amazed as usual but I didn’t really understand the gravity of their astonishment at that time. This road shows you all kind of terrains…sometimes its dry and arid… while sometimes its moist and lively… sometimes there are small and lovely waterfalls… while sometimes there are bad water crossings… sometimes the road is all-stone…while sometimes its slippery clay… sometimes its beautiful and enjoyable… while sometimes its scary and spooky… I say scary and spooky because after Haldukhan I had to ride through the dense forest...Bhaidavan...for about 3 hours, almost in dark, before I could reach Dugadda, and I barely saw anyone on the whole track. It was getting dark and the road was too bad to move over 40kmph. Dugadda, which is a small intersection of roads to Lansdowne and towards Delhi, was still too far. The photographs of the forest road do not show even 10% of what you actually see from your naked eyes. Trust me, it sent chills down the spine in the real goddamn way…!!
Anyone who wishes to take an adventurous track and be a witness to nature's different colours...this one is surely for them...Trust me...if u happen to be in this region, just follow the route taken by me...and you'll never forget this ride in your lifetime...!!
Coming back to the point, I finally reached Dugadda at 1930 hrs and then Lansdowne at 2015 hrs... I was damn tired and the butts were cursing me to hell... Had nothing else in the mind but a few shots of 'The anti-fatigue syrup'...ya got it...??....a little food and zzzzzzz.....!
Trip Meter: 785 km
Day 2
Day 2 – Nainital – Ranikhet
Got up a little late as usual and was ready to hit the road by 0900 hours. The road towards the snow view point was quite steep but I managed to reach there in just 15 minutes. The view was ultimate though without a trace of snow. Enjoyed the views for sometime, came back to the town and had breakfast and at 1100 hrs, took the road towards Ranikhet.
Now this was just beautiful…It was an ultimate smooth and curvy ride along some very beautiful views…Since it was only a 65 km ride from Nainital, I managed to reach Ranikhet at 1300 hrs…Checked in at Hotel Meghdoot on the Mall Road which turned out to be very nice and so affordable…Staying here was better because it was away from the crowd in the main market area…
After a freshening-up session, it was time for excursions towards the Haira Khan Temple, The Golf Course and the Chaubatia.
Chaubatia is an apple orchid which blooms up in the season but was totally dry at this point in time…It didn’t matter though as the ride was just lovely…Road towards the Haira Khan temple was simply superb with pine and deodar trees all over and the red ground beneath…There was nothing much at the temple dedicated to King Haira Khan said to be a carnation of Lord Shiva, and on the way back I decided to off-road on seeing a lovely track which took me in the middle of hundreds of pine trees…Took a lot of photographs here and there and just enjoyed all the rides…
Finally crossed the Golf Course area and in no time saw the sun calling it a day…The day ended on a very good note…In fact I was so immersed in the beauty and silence of the place that I didn’t even realize that it was already time for sunset… The weather became chilly and ultra-cold suddenly after the sunset...
I conclude that Ranikhet, in Almora region of the Kumaon Valley, would now be among the top-slot touring destinations in my list for ever… As there’s nothing else I can say about the place other than…BEAUTIFUL…!!
Trip Meter: 505km
I was a little confused now, as I had not planned anything for the rest of the 2 days that I had…After a good look for 20 minutes at a detailed Uttaranchal map that I found in the hotel, I decided that I would go to the district of Pauri-Garhwal and then on the next day descent to Lansdowne. Pauri was about 280 km from Ranikhet which meant it would take the whole day or in fact I might not even reach there the same day as it’s a very steep ascent. Also the locals in Ranikhet said it might rain heavily in Pauri, by the look of the clouds. So I thought that I should try to reach Baijron (a place in Pauri district) which is about a 100 km from Pauri-Garhwal and also has a diversion towards Lansdowne. I didn’t know that this would turn out to be one hell of an adventurous ride…!!
Day 1
Day 1 – Gurgaon – Delhi – Ghaziabad – Moradabad – Haldwani – Nainital
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| From Uttaranchal -... |
I had estimated that Nainital is about 320 km from Delhi but it turned out to be different. I started off early, at least according to me ha-ha, at 0600 hours and ripped till Ghaziabad without a problem. But traffic started picking up volumes very soon and to add to the horror there was a massive jam. The 6 lane highway towards Moradabad was all dug up and trucks were jammed in opposite directions. Nobody knew what to do and merely watched as helpless spectators. There was a whole lot of dust and I was just pissed off. After trying to move in the same jam for around 2 hours, I could no longer bear it. Took a few suggestions from some truckies and got to know that there is an internal road along a canal that would leave me somewhere ahead of the jam. Took that road and in a matter of minutes saw heavy traffic there too as everyone had diverted to the same road.
Anyway I finally got back on the main road...had lunch at the Reliance A-one Plaza somewhere before Moradabad... roads were just BAD and full of traffic till Haldwani and then at last there was a smooth ride with a few smooth views..!!
Reached Nainital at 1730 hours…The views on the way were just ok but nothing to die for and the Naini lake was all commercial…Checked in a cheap hotel and strolled around the town, in the chilly weather, for sometime before hitting the bed…All in all this was not a very good day of the tour, neither in terms of roads, nor in terms of the serenity that shows from the aura of a place…
Trip Meter: 390 km
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| From Uttaranchal -... |
