Travel Blog

Kumaon, Uttarakhand

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A view of Panchachuli, Himalayan Peak from Munsiyari, last village and motorable road of Kumaon region, Uttarakhand.

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Kalamani Top, Munsiyari

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Birthi Falls, Munsiyari

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Mesmerising scenic view of Himalayas from Chaukori.

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Ancient Baijnath Temple

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View from Kausani, Uttarakhand

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On the Way to Kausani, Uttarakhand

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Kalika Golf Course, On the way to Kausani from Ranikhet

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Naini Lake, Nainital

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Kumaon Range (Lower Himalaya)

Part - 3

Birthi Falls - On the way to Munsiyari take a stopover at Birthi Falls. It is 35 Kms away from Munsiyari and can be easily approached by a short trek.

Kalamani Top – Before taking halt at Munsiyari visit Kalamani Top. If you are visiting at March or November, you will enjoy the snow covered land.

Munsiyari – This is the last village of Kumaon range and also the last motor able road. The Himalayan peaks covered with snow are just 8 Kms away from the village. Most of the population are tribal. One can enjoy the change in colours of the mountain with sunset.

Binsar – While returning from Munsiyari, take a halt at Binsar. If one start from Munsiyari in the morning around 8am, will reach destination by evening. Two nights stay is required. This place is known for wildlife sanctuary of Kumaon region.

Almora – Almora is around 25-30 Kms from Binsar and is famous for its alluring beauty, panoramic view of the Himalayas, rich cultural heritage, unique handicrafts, and delicious cuisines. It is famous for its temples like Chetai & Nanda Devi, Deer Park, Public Museum, Simtola, magnificent snowy peaks of the Himalayas, quaint cottages, and the abundance flora and fauna. Take a stopover for sightseeing.

Haldwani – Return to plains and take halt at Haldwani, if you want to visit Jim Corbett National Park along with this trip. It is only 60 Kms away from base and takes hardly 90 minutes to reach the park.

Jim Corbett National Park – Park timings are divided into two time slots of 3 hours each. Dhikala and Bijrani zones are best for tiger sightings, though it is depending on luck. *You can also stay in Dhikala Old Forest Rest House. It is located inside the forest. You'll get full charm of the forest from there.

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Kumaon Range (Lower Himalaya)

Part - 2

One may follow the below itenary to cover the Kumaon range making Nainital as base (Starting Point):

Ranikhet – It is 56 Kms away from Nainital. Mostly, it is a commercial town famous for Gandhi Kuti and the temple of Golu Devta. Lord Hanuman is also known as Golu Devta. On the way to Kausani take a stopover for lunch.

Kalika Golf Course – On the way to Kausani take a stopover for Kalika Golf Course after lunch. The serene beauty of the Golf Course will attract tourist. Many Bollywood films were shot here.

Kausani – It is very famous for sunrise view. If weather is clear then, Panchachuli peak named after Pandavas is visible from here. Also, the only tea estate of Kumaon range “Giriya Tea” comes under this region. Take halt for 1 day / 2 nights to enjoy the beauty.

Baijnath & Bageshwar Temples – These are the old historic Hindu temples. Pay your visit to these temples while on the way to Chaukori.

Chaukori – The Charming and picturesque hill station in the Pithoragarh district set among the lofty peaks of the western Himalayan Range is famous for the spectacular Sunrise & Sunset view. It is a dream surrounded by towering Himalayan peaks and dense forests. Stay for 2 nights is prerequisite to enjoy the pristine heaven.

Patal Bhuveshwar – This is an underground cave, around 50Kms away from Chaukori. Take a half day trip to visit the cave from Chaukori. The entry of the cave is very small but it is quite large from inside. There is a belief that the Pandavas played gambling with Lord Shiva while they were on exile. The exit points of the cave are interconnected with the mountains but those exits were now closed due to lack of oxygen.

To be Continued...

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Kumaon Range (Lower Himalaya)

Part - 1

One can cover the entire Kumaon range by making Nainital as base. The entire Kumaon range can be covered within 14 days of time. It is always advisable to hire a car for the entire trip. It will give flexibility to the tourist to cover the entire destination in his / her own terms. However, State Bus is available but it will not give the flexibility of stopping your vehicle and enjoying the journey because in the Himalayan range journey is more desirable than the destination. Hiring a car for the entire trip is going to be a bit expensive compared to travelling through state bus but it is worth spending the extra money considering the comfort and convenience of travelling. It would be wiser if one directly contacts with the vehicle owner / driver instead of contacting any travel agent. In my case, I hired a sedan car from Kathgodam Railway Station to Nainital for my hotel stay. On the way, I discussed my travel plan with the driver and hired him @ Rs. 12,000/- for my entire trip whereas the actual rate for sedan car was Rs. 1300/- per day in March’ 2011 in accordance Uttarakhand Govt. rate chart at that time. Had I hired the car from a travel agent, the rate would be on the higher side.

To be Continued...

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Nainital

I have covered the Kumaon range twice but have not yet visited the Garhwal range. Let’s discuss about Kumaon range. Nainital is the first hill station of Kumaon range. Nainital is located at the Kumaon foothills of outer Himalaya and a very famous place for its tourist attractions. The hill station is surrounded by mountains from 3 sides. The nearest railway station to Nainital is Kathgodam. One can hire a taxi from Kathgodam railway station to Nainital. It will take around 2 hours to reach destination. If someone is travelling from New Delhi, then He / She can avail luxury bus from Connaught Place, New Delhi and can directly reach Nainital. One can also avail train (Ranikhet Express) which departs from Old Delhi railway station in the night and reaches Kathgodam in the early morning, if bus journey is uncomfortable.

It is also one of the 51 Shakti Peeths as per Hindu mythology. The city is named after Goddess Naina Devi, symbol of Shakti and an eye shaped lake. The temple of Goddess Naina Devi is situated at the northern edge of the lake. Naina means EYES and tal means LAKE, thus the name “Nainital” is derived. It is also interesting to see the shape of this lake which looks like that of a mango when viewed from hilltop. Hotels, Restaurants and shops are located on the bank of the lake. Tourist can also do boating on the lake.

Apart from Naini Lake there are many other tourist attractions such as Snow View, Naina Peak, Hanuman Garhi, Bhowali, Ghorakhal, SatTal, Bhimtal, Naukuchia Tal, Kainchi Dham, Mukteshwar, UpatKalika, Chaubatiya Garden which can be covered under local sight seeing. Atleast 2 days are required to enjoy the scenic beauty.

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Preface

Over the years I have travelled different parts of India and gathered knowledge on their demography, places of interest for tourists, foods and many other things.

I will begin with my experience on travelling to Uttarakhand. The state is situated in the northern part of India and formerly known as Uttaranchal. It is divided into two regions – Lower Himalaya and Upper Himalaya. Lower Himalaya is known as “Kumaon” and the Upper Himalaya is known as “Garhwal”.

Kumaon range consists of popular hill stations Nainital, Ranikhet, Kausani, Chaukori and Munsiyari. The range also covers forests (Wildlife Sanctuary) of Binsar. Ancient Baijnath & Bageshwar temples and Patal Bhuvneshwar cave also comes under kumaon range.

Garhwal range covers hill stations Dehradun, Mussourie, Rudraprayag & Karnaprayag, Guptakashi, Uttarkashi, Auli, Hardwar, Rishikesh, 4 Dham (Gangotri, Yamunotri, Kedarnath & Badrinath Dham), Joshimath and Hanumanchatti. People used to go for trekking at Guptakashi, Uttarkashi, Auli, Rudraprayag & Karnaprayag.

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Introduction

Hello Friends...

I am Biswajit Das, your friend and host.

Welcome to my blog.

I want to share my experiences on travel and interests with you through my blogs. I hope you will find it interesting and informative as well.

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