Uttaranchal Road Guide

[ramkya1]

Originally Posted by ramkya1

Agree with you on the prices.. ........

cheaper and a more "raped" destination than Naini, ........

--Ramky

oops......... plese read as

"cheaper and a less "raped" destination than Naini,"

Tnx.

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by zenx

I thot we could see the temples at Bageshwar from Almora. Same option from Binsar ? 4.5 hrs to Joshimath sounds cool. Of course, its a hired Indica so could take a little more.

Bageshwar and Baijnath temples are on the route between Almora/Binsar to Gwaldam/Karnaprayag/Joshimath/Auli

[gd1418]

Have been to Rajaji or Chilla as it is locally called, twice. I loved the forest and its pristine beauty. Could not sight the Big cat though it was in the vicinity and had made a kill the previous day. Also didn't spot any tuskers, but did see spotted deers, angry primate etc.. A couple of photographs:

Originally Posted by hvkumar

Sameer,

havenever been to Rajaji, but Corbett (which I have visited) is a grea place - with definitive sightings of elephants and other sundry wildlife, although tiger may be elusive).

[zenx]

Reservations done too! Staying at Kaladhungi instead of Ramnagar, sounds like an interesting place. The guy at the Lansdowne hotel said it'll take us 8+ hours from Auli to there, and we could break journey on the 26th. Where, is the question. Are Devprayag etc likely to be very warm, and worth a stopover ? Other options ?

[hvkumar]

Rudraprayag - Monal Resort - is an excellent place for an overnight halt, between Auli and Landsdowne - Auli/Joshimath/Pipalkoti/Chamoli/Nandaprayag/Karnaprayag/Rudraprayag.

Kaladhungi has the Jim Corbett Bungalow which is now a museum.

[zenx]

@gd1418 - thanks for those pics! My parents are moving to Meerut this year, so there should be more trips into UK and Himachal/Spiti in the next couple of years.

@hvkumar - thanks - will check out Rudraprayag. Someone suggested Khirsu - a place 20kms off Pauri - checking that out too.

[zenx]

What route does one take from Meerut to Rampur ? The maps seem pretty confusing - Hapur - Gajraula - Moradabad - Kashipur - Ramnagar the right one ?

[hvkumar]

You are right till Moradabad, but you take the Moradabad bypass and continue on NH 24 to Rampur.

Distances as follows:
Meerut-Hapur 30 kms-Garhmukteswar 30-Gajraula 20-Moradabad bypass 47-bypass road 20-Rampur 25

[setuniket]

@zenx:- Are you heading to rampur or ramnagar...

If ramnagar then Meerut-Hapur(NH24)-Garhmukteswar-Gajraula-Moradabad bypass-turn towards the city after the end of bypass-right turn after approx 5 kms towards Kashipur-Ramnagar.

If heading to rampur then follow as already described by hvkumar.

[zenx]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

You are right till Moradabad, but you take the Moradabad bypass and continue on NH 24 to Rampur.

Distances as follows:
Meerut-Hapur 30 kms-Garhmukteswar 30-Gajraula 20-Moradabad bypass 47-bypass road 20-Rampur 25

Oops - meant to ask about Ramnagar, typed Rampur. Thanks Kumar.

[hvkumar]

For Ramanagar (Corbett WLS town), your route is right. Remember that you proceed on NH24 on the Moradabad bypass (don't make the mistake of going into the city). The bypass is 20 kms long, at the end of which, turn left towards Moradabd town. Go 2 kms in tha road, and you will see a road to the right - please turn right and proceed to Ramanag via Jashpur 42 kms-Kashipur 10-Ramnagar 20 kms

[iraghava]

Originally Posted by zenx

What route does one take from Meerut to Rampur ? The maps seem pretty confusing - Hapur - Gajraula - Moradabad - Kashipur - Ramnagar the right one ?

Originally Posted by hvkumar

Distances as follows:
Meerut-Hapur 30 kms-Garhmukteswar 30-Gajraula 20-Moradabad bypass 47-bypass road 20-Rampur 25

Originally Posted by setuniket

If ramnagar then Meerut-Hapur(NH24)-Garhmukteswar-Gajraula-Moradabad bypass-turn towards the city after the end of bypass-right turn after approx 5 kms towards Kashipur-Ramnagar.

I'm sorry guys but this is an incorrect & longer route. There is a shorter way:

Meerut-Garhmukteshwar (No need to go to Hapur)-Moradabad-Thakurdwara-Kashipur-Ramnagar

Going the Meerut-Hapur-Garhmukteshwar route will mean at least an extra distance of 50 kms if not more. And the Meerut-Garhmukteshwar road has recently been resurfaced so it's a fantastic option to take.

Zenx - Simply take the Garh road out of Meerut (Anyone will guide you to this road) & continue in "your naak ke seedh" till Garhmukteshwar!! After that take the usual NH24 till the end of the Moradabad bypass & then turn left towards the city. A little down the road take the right towards Thakurdwara/Kashipur & you're on the right way to Ramnagar.

And if you need any help/assistance when you're around these parts feel free to call me.

[zenx]

Thanks all! Back from a lovely trip across Uttarakhand. All the help provided is hugely appreciated - and a special thanks to hvkumar!

Will post a log over the weekend, here's the snaps for now:

Picasa Web Albums - Sameer - Uttarakhand T...
Picasa Web Albums - Sameer - Uttarakhand T...

Quick takes:

* We had a really old 04 V2 Indica which had been bought at 80k, undergone only some suspension work, done another 80k. Performed pretty well, and was reasonably comfortable.

* The driver suggested Meerut-Bijnor-(internal roads via Dhampur-Jaspur)-Kashipur-Ramnagar - the road was quick, no traffic and for the most part in good shape.

* Coming from Rudraprayag, you need not go upto Srinagar/Pauri to get to Khirsu - a very - missable left turn before a bridge about a km before Khankra takes you up the mountain on a beautiful road towards Khirsu. There's hardly any traffic on this stretch, and the roads partly unpaved, but decent.

* Auli without the skiing stuff is still terrific - got to trek upto Gorsain Meadows while the kids and wife took the ponies. Its just pretty, pretty, pretty

* A lot of the roads are along the river, lower down and often at an altitude less than that of Bangalore! Result - it did get a little stuffy down in the valleys.

* Got terrific weather on the way - including Delhi/Meerut - and it was absolutely chilly at Nainital. No tourists either - so we pretty much had the place all to ourselves.

* Am dying to do a longer bike trip in those parts

* oh - and the whole Corbett NP "afterthought" worked out well - got to see 5 hers of elephants (3 nearly together in a long straight line near the reservoir close to Dhikala), a tiger taking a dip, crocs, a gharial, wild boar, infinite deer, sambar, a peacock, pretty pretty birds and enchanting deep forests aflame with numerous hues of greens, browns and orange. All of this is 6 short hours on what the Gypsy guys called a "noisy diesel Canter".