Team-BHP - Delhi - Nainital : Route Queries

Quote:

Originally Posted by metropolis (Post 4648272)

I'm planning to drive on Delhi - Bhimtal stretch in the coming month; please suggest the appropriate route.

Avoid Moradabad - Rudrapur - Haldwani stretch. Its really bad. From Moradabad Go to Kaladungi then to Kathgodam and onwards.

Just experienced the route during 15th August weekend.

Just came back from Bhimtal/Nainital from Delhi.

The route taken - Delhi, Gajroula, Moradabad Bypass, Bazpur, Kaladungi, Kathgodam, Bhimtal.

Till Moradabad its an expressway, after that its a 2 way single road, the condition of the road is good, though at some parts, it is not great. Took around 7 hours with 2 stops.

The stretch at Kaladungi is scenic.

Quote:

Originally Posted by joybhowmik (Post 4767658)

I am planning a trip to Rudrapur, UA/UK. Is the stretch between Delhi to Moradabad finished with construction woes?
Inputs welcome , to help me plan the time of departure from Delhi

Route till Hapur is under construction, and had worsened in January when I did this stretch. Beyond Hapur, it progressively gets better.

If early morning, then plan your timing so that you cross Ghaziabad before 4 AM if you want to avoid 2 wheeler traffic on the highway.

Did this stretch on 2nd October 2020. Started from Dwarka at 9:50AM and was able to cross Delhi in 40 minutes via Barapulla flyover. The easy fun drive gets interrupted as soon as you cross Ghaziabad, is still bearable until Hapur but a mess after that. Reckless driving by people ranging from state buses, cabs and private cars cause absolute chaos on the road. The tolls until Haldwani set you back by approximately 300 bucks but not worth the money spent. I don't understand what is the toll being charged for since these roads seem to be "under construction" forever and since ages. You should not be made to pay toll for shabby potholes ridden roads. We pay road tax for usual use of the roads. The distance which on any other highway in South India would have taken around 3 hours or a little over 3 hours took exactly 6 hours and 40 minutes with just one break of 15 minutes for lunch inside the car itself. The toll gates are where actual crowd gathers and most people do not have a Fastag and no one bothers asking them for the same. Having driven from Hyderabad and crossed so many states only 4 days ago, this stretch was a nightmare and looked like a different world compared to my drive last week. Everyone seems to be in a hurry to hit the hills and as such driving is reckless. The saving grace is that the roads improve a great measure as soon you enter Uttaranchal. Narrower roads that UP roads but a lot better in condition and landscape.

Overall...not a pleasurable drive at all.

I'm planning on taking a self-drive from Delhi and want to plan something for ~6 days. Was thinking of staying at Taj Corbett for 3D/2N and then exploring some hill stations in the vicinity, preferably something with less tourists. Any suggestions? I'd prefer places where there are small walking trails and good homestays/cafes.

Quote:

Originally Posted by prateekm (Post 4911899)

After Corbett you can head to a place called Mukteshwar near Almora. It is a great peaceful place and you can easily spend 2-3 days there. You can get some really nice cottages on Airbnb. The place where we stayed was an airbnb called "Abode in heaven" - you can find it on Google maps too.
We had stayed there last year and enjoyed quite a lot. Most airbnbs are away from the main city and quite peaceful.
If you want, you can stay close to the city if you prefer.

Another good place (next to a river) is "Soulitude by the Riverside" near Bhimtal though it is on the expensive side.

Both of these locations are around 3-4 hours away from Corbett.

Quote:

Originally Posted by prateekm (Post 4911899)

Was thinking of staying at Taj Corbett for 3D/2N

OKish resort. Tata is running the property. And the place where this hotel is more like a Mall Road, a stretch of road of about 5-6 Km with at-least 30 hotels. There are better places in Uttrakhand as suggested by Behemoth.

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Originally Posted by Behemoth (Post 4911910)

Thanks, will check this out too.

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Originally Posted by Turbanator (Post 4911977)

I was looking at that Taj property since I have a few nights of stay via Amex points (some of it expires in Dec and I don't have any other trips in the pipeline). Any idea how is their Theog property and which peaceful hill stations I can add to the mix if I go in that direction?

Quote:

Originally Posted by prateekm (Post 4911987)

how is their Theog property and which peaceful hill stations I can add to the mix if I go in that direction?

It's a new property and some persons from our biking group went recently. I will definitely recommend this over the Jim. You can do Day trips from Theog to Kufri (Try at least one meal or High-Tea at Wildflower) , Narkanda, and perhaps head to Jalori Pass.

https://www.banjaracamps.com/camps-r...1/default.aspx

You can come back or stay at this property and then head back via Mandi or even go ahead to Manali.

If you don't want to travel too much, around Narkanda, there are a lot of resorts away from everything on the Thanedar Road. I would have easily recommended you a Thanedar property, but they are closed so you can look at properties around Narkanda or post on the specific thread.