[Nilesh5417]

Hello Folks,
Am planning a road trip from Delhi in the Kumaon hills with family (2 kids) from 7th to 14th May. I've a broad itinerary in mind but need some help to cover a few things that are on our minds. We wanted to plan a trip keeping the below in mind:
1. Daily travel of 5hrs max. in the hills leaving time to stop and admire nature on the way or reach early and relax at the destination.
2. Would like to plan at least 1 night at a place by a river where my kids could step into the waters and enjoy fishing / angling.
3. Would like to get a view of the Himalayan peaks without having to go too far up in the mountains (e.g. like to Munsiyari).
4. Don't want to be in a new hotel every single day.
5. Fruit orchards in Ramgarh?
6. Ok to skip religious places - trip is to get kids to experience nature.
7. Daughter is 6 so can't do long treks but smallish trails / forest walks / picnics / camping are something she looks forward to.


I was thinking of the following itinerary:
7/5 Day1 --> Arrive at Delhi on 7th afternoon and drive straight to Rampur UP for an overnight halt.
8/5 Day2 --> Rampur to Nainital via Bazpur-Kaladhungi. Spend the afternoon, evening around Naini Lake / Mall road.
9/5 Day3 --> Around nainital (mallital ropeway), Ramgarh orchards?
10/5 Day4 --> Bhimtal, Sattal, Naukuchiatal and back or stay somewhere there?
11/5 Day5 --> This is where i'm kinda lost. Should i go to Binsar or Kausani or is in and around Almora / Mukteshwar good enough?
12/5 Day 6 --> ???
13/5 Day 7 --> Back to Rampur or Haldwani?
14/5 Day 8 --> Need to be back at airport by 2pm for a 5pm flight back.

Questions / Suggestions:
1. How is the local transport in Nainital? Should i stay near mall road or stay a bit far and take local transport (auto).
2. How is the scene with parking in these hills? Do all resorts have good / safe parking? Will be driving a relatives car from Delhi so want it to be returned safely.
3. Do we get decent resorts / hotels everywhere now? Don't need luxury but not too keep on homestays with limited food / facilities. Suggestions for places to stay are most welcome!
4. Is finding good / safe food enroute easy? We usually always pack stuff from the hotel as a backup but not always possible when you start your journey like at 7am.
5. Is fuel an issue in the hills?
6. Is it probably better to flip the trip around i.e. come to nainital on the way back since it would be weekday?
7. If not Kumaon, where? I was googling and found that Dehradun / Mussoorie circuit has higher temperatures than Nainital.

This is my first trip with kids up north by road so i want the kids to enjoy and look forward to going back again. Don't want it to be too taxing or totally remote cut off from people (they are city kids after all).

Appreciate the help! My tickets are already booked.
Cheers.

[pratyaksh]

I might be able to help here. Or at least I can try.
A. You can stay at Mall road or places like Naini Retreat (read near high court) if you're happy to take a 10 mins extra trip everytime you visit Mall road. These hotels also provide free rides to mall roads... You can walk down too. They're not that far. Other good options are shervani, Earl's court, Vikram depending on budget.
B. All resorts after mall road provide parking, basically cannot park on Mall road. Any hotel there would require you to park at the end of mall road at the flats 1/2-1km away.
C. Nainital doesn't have Autos. You can walk everywhere no matter where you stay. Or take cycle ricks if the kids get tired. Can hire bicycle for kids and adults alike for roaming in and around the lake too.
D. Yes. Decent resorts everywhere. Food is not a problem. Pahadi people are really warm. You can also easily get Maggi, chai, etc on road sides everywhere. Do try it. And you have some fancy places that serve pastas et al as well. Places like Mud House cafe, Pots and Stones (Haldwani) have good clean fancy food if you so desire.
E. Fuel is no issue up till Mukteshwar, Kausani.
F. Since you're planning in May, Nainital is going to be HOT. You need to go much higher up to find cooler climes.
G. Kausani is absolutely gorgeous for the Himalayan views and so is Mukteshwar, and just 3-4 hrs from Nainital with good roads all around.

As for your itinerary, seems good. Day 1 you can go straight to Haldwani if you still have day light as you'll love that you've the view of the hills already. Day 3 you can go horse riding, ropeway etc. in Nainital only.
Sattal and Naukichiatal for their serenity and some adventure sports around Sattal. Can do paragliding, Kayaking etc around these places. Bhimtal if you want something similar to Nainital.
You can easily drive back straight to Delhi from Nainital. Maybe stay further down like Bhimtal on way back and drive back to Delhi the next day from there. Easily do-able I feel. Depending on how kids feel on the twisties .
The roads are pretty safe and good at most places enroute.
Parking and driving around these hills is quite safe and easy. You wouldn't have any problems taking your car anywhere.

[Nilesh5417]

Originally Posted by pratyaksh

I might be able to help here. Or at least I can try.
A. You can stay at Mall road or places like Naini Retreat (read near high court) if you're happy to take a 10 mins extra trip everytime you visit Mall road. These hotels also provide free rides to mall roads... You can walk down too. They're not that far. Other good options are shervani, Earl's court, Vikram depending on budget.
B. All resorts after mall road provide parking, basically cannot park on Mall road. Any hotel there would require you to park at the end of mall road at the flats 1/2-1km away.
C. Nainital doesn't have Autos. You can walk everywhere no matter where you stay. Or take cycle ricks if the kids get tired. Can hire bicycle for kids and adults alike for roaming in and around the lake too.
D. Yes. Decent resorts everywhere. Food is not a problem. Pahadi people are really warm. You can also easily get Maggi, chai, etc on road sides everywhere. Do try it. And you have some fancy places that serve pastas et al as well. Places like Mud House cafe, Pots and Stones (Haldwani) have good clean fancy food if you so desire.
E. Fuel is no issue up till Mukteshwar, Kausani.
F. Since you're planning in May, Nainital is going to be HOT. You need to go much higher up to find cooler climes.
G. Kausani is absolutely gorgeous for the Himalayan views and so is Mukteshwar, and just 3-4 hrs from Nainital with good roads all around.

As for your itinerary, seems good. Day 1 you can go straight to Haldwani if you still have day light as you'll love that you've the view of the hills already. Day 3 you can go horse riding, ropeway etc. in Nainital only.
Sattal and Naukichiatal for their serenity and some adventure sports around Sattal. Can do paragliding, Kayaking etc around these places. Bhimtal if you want something similar to Nainital.
You can easily drive back straight to Delhi from Nainital. Maybe stay further down like Bhimtal on way back and drive back to Delhi the next day from there. Easily do-able I feel. Depending on how kids feel on the twisties .
The roads are pretty safe and good at most places enroute.
Parking and driving around these hills is quite safe and easy. You wouldn't have any problems taking your car anywhere.

Thanks Pratyaksh - I didn't want to drive post sun-down so thought Rampur was a decent stop as Haldwani is another 75kms away at least. But let me see how it goes once we land. I don't intend to make hotel bookings for Saturday until I actually land in Delhi.

You said Nainital is HOT in may - I didn't expect that at all. I'm counting on the fact that it is going to be way less hot that Pune or Delhi and hopefully the max temperature doesn't go beyond mid-30s.

If i do Nainital, will i miss anything if I skip sattal / bhimtal / naukuchiatal? Maybe i can like you said, just pass through Bhimtal on the return leg and not dedicate an entire day to covering these 3 lakes.

Any suggestions between Binsar and Kausani?

[dgoyle]

Two questions:
1. How proficient are you in hill driving?
2. What time do you plan to depart from Delhi.

Drive conditions: Drive from Delhi to Rampur via Ghaziabad, Hapur, and Moradabad is a breeze (3 hrs). Rampur to Haldwani via Rudrapur is not too bad (1 hr). Haldwani to Nainital can be bad, 7th May being Saturday can mean a whole lot of uphill traffic, compounded by road construction work. All roads post-Nainital are great.

Drive time: Nanital to Binsar via Almora - 2.5 hrs; Binsar to Kausani - 2 hrs

Places to see/stay:
Recommended (not in any order) (1) Binsar and drive in the Jungles around Binsar. Kids will love the candlelight evening of Binsar. (2) Kausani, Cool, nature walks, family time. (3) On the way down, stay at Ramnagar and visit Jim Corbett National Park. Visit the Museum on the way. (4) Drive and stay at Mukhteshwar. (5) Bhimtal: onwards towards Jangalia gaon you can try hang gliding if you have the stomach. Kids would love it, not sure if their mother would permit
If you must go to Nainital, do so. Visit Pangoot, the birder's paradise.

Your travel plans could be as follows
Day 1 (afternoon onwards): reach Bhimtal and have a lazy Day 2 departing for Nainital (1-1.5 hr smooth drive visiting Ramgarh and/or Mukhteshwar) reaching Nanital by evening.
On day 3 depart for Binsar via Almora and stay one night.
Day 4 depart Binsar for Kausani reaching by late afternoon and staying 1 night. Day 5 Enjoy Trishul sighting from the KMVN accommodation at Kausani and proceed to Ranikhet (2 hrs).
Day 6 Depart Ranikhet for late afternoon pre-booked safari at Jim Corbet (4 hrs drive). You can depart later in the evening for Delhi reaching Delhi by midnight for your outwards flight on Day 7. There is an extra day use it someplace to relax - either in the beginning or towards the end.

Do all your bookings with KMVN. Hasslefree can be modified and charges adjusted in case you want to avoid someplace and stay longer at another place. They talk and adjust amongst themselves. They have the best locations.

[pratyaksh]

Originally Posted by Nilesh5417

You said Nainital is HOT in may - I didn't expect that at all. I'm counting on the fact that it is going to be way less hot that Pune or Delhi and hopefully the max temperature doesn't go beyond mid-30s.
If i do Nainital, will i miss anything if I skip sattal / bhimtal / naukuchiatal? Maybe i can like you said, just pass through Bhimtal on the return leg and not dedicate an entire day to covering these 3 lakes.
Any suggestions between Binsar and Kausani?

-Evenings might get pleasant but the days are generally hot, averaging around 25-30 I think.
-You can skip the other Taaals.
-Yes do that on the return leg.
-I have personally not been to Binsar but I recently went to Kausani to a secluded resort, which was just fantastic for the views and serenity.

[CosmicWizard]

Nainital can be super crowded in summers. I remember in summer of 2019, there were several kilometer long lines to enter the city and people were stuck for hours in traffic jams. Not sure how it has been since then. I am myself from the hills and strongly believe that off season is the best time to visit these places. Last time I visited Nainital was in Feb and it was super.

[Nilesh5417]

Thank you for the feedback. After spending much time reading your feedback, then googling again and trying to fit in the top 2-3 things (Water, Mountain Views, Orchards), I finally have a draft that I wanted you guys to look at.
Questions:
1. Am assuming i will get a decent view of Mountains from Mukteshwar (as good as it can get in Summer mornings). Driving to Almora or Ranikhet (30-40kms upwards) isnt going to make a lot of difference so not worth it i guessed. Might as well use the time - is that right?
2. Is Peora worth the drive? There is one crazy picture on every single sight and at the top of the google search (see below) - if its any close to that (like Khajjiar), i find it worth a drive with kids. If thats a fake, i don't want that detour at all.
3. I skipped Ranikhet / Almora since it was getting too tight after Mukteshwar. Is it worth skipping Peora, Ramgarh and head to Almora / Ranikhet instead? Almora is right up Mukteshwar but i read it is pretty close to how Shimla is - crowded with traffic. Am anyways going to Nainital as the final stop in the trip.

Originally Posted by dgoyle

Two questions:
1. How proficient are you in hill driving?
2. What time do you plan to depart from Delhi.

Your travel plans could be as follows
Day 1 (afternoon onwards): reach Bhimtal and have a lazy Day 2 departing for Nainital (1-1.5 hr smooth drive visiting Ramgarh and/or Mukhteshwar) reaching Nanital by evening.
On day 3 depart for Binsar via Almora and stay one night.
Day 4 depart Binsar for Kausani reaching by late afternoon and staying 1 night. Day 5 Enjoy Trishul sighting from the KMVN accommodation at Kausani and proceed to Ranikhet (2 hrs).
Day 6 Depart Ranikhet for late afternoon pre-booked safari at Jim Corbet (4 hrs drive). You can depart later in the evening for Delhi reaching Delhi by midnight for your outwards flight on Day 7. There is an extra day use it someplace to relax - either in the beginning or towards the end.

Thank you - driving a car in the hills would be a first time. But many bike trips to the mountains (almost every year from 2005 to 2012) so I guess I should be ok as long as i follow basic mountain driving etiquettes (i.e. no need to overtake all the time!). But yeah, don't know how kids will hold up with the motion sickness. Sahayadri is nothing compared to the mountains up north!

Plan to depart from Delhi as soon as i land - around 3pm.

Originally Posted by pratyaksh

-Evenings might get pleasant but the days are generally hot, averaging around 25-30 I think.
-You can skip the other Taaals.
-Yes do that on the return leg.
-I have personally not been to Binsar but I recently went to Kausani to a secluded resort, which was just fantastic for the views and serenity.

Thanks - I'll start from Bhimtal and end the trip at Nainital. Should give time for the kids to relax before a day long straight drive to Delhi.

Originally Posted by CosmicWizard

Nainital can be super crowded in summers. I remember in summer of 2019, there were several kilometer long lines to enter the city and people were stuck for hours in traffic jams. Not sure how it has been since then. I am myself from the hills and strongly believe that off season is the best time to visit these places. Last time I visited Nainital was in Feb and it was super.

Ab jo hoga wo hoga Will be the case anywhere I go so will try and plan around it (which seems unlikely).

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by dgoyle

(1) Binsar and drive in the Jungles around Binsar. Kids will love the candlelight evening of Binsar.
...
(3) On the way down, stay at Ramnagar and visit Jim Corbett National Park.
...
Depart Ranikhet for late afternoon pre-booked safari at Jim Corbet (4 hrs drive).

Hope someone can help with the following query I posted on another thread:

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

Need a route update, if anyone can help. Planning to travel from Ramnagar (Corbett) to Almora / Binsar. Can see 4 options:

1. Via Kaladhungi >> Lohali >> Chhara (137 km; 4 hr 41 min) (https://goo.gl/maps/rfcyWcF4mbhs1ecd7);

2. Via Haldwani >> Lohali >> Chhara (147 km; 5 hr 08 min) (https://goo.gl/maps/XmfJsgmwpyTu5eqs7)

2. Via Garjiya >> Muhan >> Betalghat >> Chandula >> Chhara (133 km; 4 hr 57 min) (https://goo.gl/maps/2X8LkyvMmsQGfqM1A);

3. Via Garjiya >> Muhan >> Ranikhet (139 km; 5 hr 03 min) (https://goo.gl/maps/qsxq4wisgkuagMgTA).

Any suggestion about which is the better (smoother, scenic) route, an extra half an hour of time or a few extra km not being so much of a factor? I'd be driving a Ciaz.

[dgoyle]

From Ramnagar use the Ranikhet, Almora to Binsar route. It is
1. Scenic......., Green mountains after a short run (10 km or so) of dense Sal forest. Mmmmmmm!
2. Avoids the traffic of Kaladhungi to Haldwani to Kathgodam to Bhowali. (use this route at your own risk, don't say I did not warn you)
3. Maybe longer (I cant really say as I had so many stops on the way)
4. Ranikhet is wet and cold during this time, however, beautiful.
5. Few years back, Raniket to Almora was a bit bumpy and lonely ride. Use the Kairna Bridge route if you are getting late. It is more populated.
6. Ramnagar to Ranikhet is solid rocks (not as land slide prone as Nainital Route). Old observation.

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by dgoyle

From Ramnagar use the Ranikhet, Almora to Binsar route.
3. Maybe longer (I cant really say as I had so many stops on the way)
5. Use the Kairna Bridge route if you are getting late. It is more populated.
6. Ramnagar to Ranikhet is solid rocks (not as land slide prone as Nainital Route). Old observation.

Thank you so much for the quick & definitive response. The difference in distance is not even worth considering, as you can see from my post, and even if we do take a half or one hour more, it does not matter to us. We would be on holiday, and definitely not pressed for time.

[dgoyle]

Have a pleasant trip! Glad to be of help.

Try not to use the Ranikhet, Khairna Bridge (Garam pani) to Almora route as the road from Kharna bridge to halfway to Almora is very landslide-prone.

See if you can get Green Walnuts.

On your return take the route from Almora via Mukhteshwar to Bhowali, if you can. Acres and acres of Orchards. However, you may not get any fruits by then. I enjoyed myself this summer.

[adutta2k]

Dear Bhp-ians,

Planning a trip to Uttarakhand in first week of Feb'23. This is the tentative plan:
Delhi - Corbett - Bhimtal - Binsar - Munsiyari - Kausani - Haldwani (night halt) - Delhi Airport (total 11 days)

Will be staying for 2 days at each location except Haldwani, which will be just a night halt as it is a 10 hr drive back from Kausani (will be travelling with wife and 6yr son)

My google search showed that there are no luxury tourist buses plying on majority of this route except till Ramgar/Corbett. Hence I am planning to rent a car (with driver) from Delhi. I am considering Savaari rentals and they have given a quote of 30-35k for return trip. I dont have friends/relatives in Delhi so I am banking on Savaari cabs as they claim they have certified and verified drivers. Only thing I am worried is whether drivers from Delhi will be able to manage the hilly routes in Uttarakhand and if they will know all the sight seeing places.

Any inputs will be highly appreciated.

Regards
adutta