Uttaranchal Road Guide

[hillsnrains]

Bumping up old thread as I feel this is the right place for my query. I need your help to list out right places in Uttaranchal during our planned trip in last week of May

When: May 2015 between 24th -30th
Transport: Fly from Bangalore and Rent a Zoom car from Delhi/Gurgoan
Who are in: 6 (4 adults + 2 kids)
Requirement: Just unwind and have relaxed vacation away from crowds. Visiting temples is also ok, but natural beauty is what we are looking for and want to have peaceful vacation.

I hope I have put it right about my requirements. As of now we have decided to visit Corbett national park and Nainital. Rest of the places will be decided by BHPian's
Please suggest right places (preferably a round trip) with options for stay as well. Thanks in advance
Mods, please move my post if this is not the right place

[shady_lawyer]

[quote=hillsnrains;3652688]list out right places in Uttaranchal during our planned trip in last week of May

When: May 2015 between 24th -30th

Delhi-Pangot-Lansdowne-Chakrata-Hanol-[into himachal] -Narkanda-Sangla-Kalpa-Auli*-Dehradun-Rishikesh-Delhi

* please check the road condition from Hanol-Narkanda. From Kalpa as you descend towards Dehradun, Auli is a brach road from somewhere near Theog, check the condition there as well. apart from that roads till Hanol are great.

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by hillsnrains

When: May 2015 between 24th -30th
Transport: Fly from Bangalore and Rent a Zoom car from Delhi/Gurgoan
Who are in: 6 (4 adults + 2 kids)

As of now we have decided to visit Corbett national park and Nainital. Rest of the places will be decided by BHPian's
Please suggest right places (preferably a round trip) with options for stay as well.

https://goo.gl/maps/LaKDX

That should give you a feasible round trip route to follow through Uttarakhand in a week.

Take your pick on the places to stay in. They are all beautiful in their own way.

All places have Kumaon/Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN/GMVN) guest houses located at the best sites of the whole area (no match for private hotels, though private hotels are better appointed with better service). For Corbett you'll need to contact them (http://corbettonline.uk.gov.in/) and decide, or there are plenty of private resorts to opt from.

[coolbareilly]

Sorry for bumping into old thread.

I am planning to visit Gangotri in June. I will be travelling with Parents, Wife & 5 yr old Daughter in my Honda City. I am looking for help in route info and road conditions.

Thanks in advance.

[ontheroad]

Hi, We, 6 friends, are planning to do a 10 day trip of Uthranchal. One of the tour agency suggested the following itinerary. Kindly suggest if any places have to added. We can add one more day if needed. The tentative tour month is Oct

Day wise Itinerary:-

Day 01:- Delhi-Nainital* (300 Kms 9-10 Hours)

On arrival at Delhi Railway Station or Airport. Meet our representative there and catch cab and drive to Nainital. On the way you can take your lunch and Evening reach Nainital. Check in to the hotel. Dinner & Overnight stay.

Day 02:- Nainital Local Sightseeing

Today morning after breakfast, proceed for Local sightseeing visit Keo Garden, Nainital Lake view Point, Himalaya Darshan, Sarital, Lover Point, Zoo. After sightseeing return to hotel. Dinner & Overnight stay at hotel.

Day 03:- Nainital Lake Sightseeing

Today morning after breakfast, proceed for Lake sightseeing visit Nanda Devi Temple, and then arrive to Lake Tour: Bhimtal, Sattal, Naukuchiyatal, (Boating at Naukuchiyatal) take your lunch on the way (own). Evening Enjoy boating at Naini Lake .Dinner & Overnight stay at hotel.

Day 04:- Nainital – Ranikhet – Kausani

Today Morning After Breakfast check out from the hotel and* proceed to Ranikhet full day sightseeing visit Golf course, Ashiyana park. Tarikhet, Mankameswartemple . After sightseeing transfer to hotel . Dinner and Overnight stay Kausani.

Day 5: Sightseeing in Kausani

Today morning after breakfast proceed to Kausani sightseeing visit to the famous temple of Baijnath. Located in the Garuda Valley, the main attraction of this temple is the black stone idol of Parvati. Later, visit the sprawling tea plantations covering the entire area like a green blanket. The high-flavoured tea grown and produced here is exported to various countries. Dinner and overnight at hotel.

Day 6 :Kausani - Jim Corbett* (260 kms 7-8 Hours)

Today after breakfast check out from the hotel and proceed to Jim Corbett . Arrive in Jim corbett check into the hotel. Dinner and Overnight stay at hotel.

Day 7:- Corbett -Local Sightseeing – Mussoorie

Today morning go for Jungle Safari ride by own and the come back to hotel take your breakfast & check out from the hotel. Then go for local sightseeing visit Corbett Waterfall, Garjia Temple, Corbett Museum .Dinner & Overnight stay Mussoorie.

Day 8:- Mussoorie*Local Sightseeing

Today morning after breakfast, proceed for local sightseeing *toKempty falls ,*Mussoorie*Lake, LalBhadurShastri* Naitional Academy of* Administration . Evening visit Mall road .Dinner & Overnight stay at hotel.

Day 9:- Mussoorie*– Dhanaulti –*Mussoorie

After *breakfast proceed to*Mussoorie*Local sightseeing proceed to Dhanaulti and Mata Surkanda Devi Temple. Dhanaulti, a dreamy, misty mountain retreat in the Garhwal Hills, makes a wonderful holiday getaway. This all-weather favourite is just a couple of hours drive away from Dehradun and has a serene beauty that will bowl you over. Compared to the boisterous town of neighbouring*Mussoorie*and the throngs that mill around the Mall, Dhanaulti is blissfully secluded. Dinner and overnight stay at hotel in*Mussoorie.

Day 10:- Mussoorie – Delhi (300 kms 7-9 Hours

Today morning after breakfast check out from hotel and drive back to Delhi. Evening reach Delhi. Drop at Delhi Railway Station/Airport Further journey on your own basis.

[Shubhendra]

Thought to share route and road condition of Uttarakhand ride which I completed 10 days back. We were two REs and three people including my wife and I must say I never saw so many landslides in my life. In some places there were 9-10 landslides in a KM.

Day 1: Dehradun -> Mussourie -> Dhanaulti -> New Tehri
It was a relaxed ride, we started at 1 PM from Dehradun and after negotiating lot of local traffic, we bypassed Mussourie, had tea at Landour and then started for Dhanaulti. Road condition was good but there were lot of landslides and rash driving by many tourist especially from DL number plate vehicles.

Day 2: New Tehri -> Ghansali -> Mayali -> Agastmuni -> Ukhimath -> Dugalbitta
Road condition is average, specially once you cross New Tehri and it worsens when you reach Mayali. After that though road surface is bad but it wide till we again take detour for UkhiMath. From here road condition is very good where land slide has not taken toll, else you will come across few rivers, mud pits, slush, boulders etc which you need to negotiate

Day 3: Dugallbitta -> Chopta -> Tunganath trek -> Dugalbitta
It was nothing but 8 kms one way road to Chopta then 3.5 kms trek to Tunganath, you will come across mesmerizing views only if weather is clear.

Day 4: Dugalbitta -> Gopeshwar -> Chamoli -> Joshimath -> Badrinath -> Mana
One of the best roads in entire trip till Chamoli. Passes through dense jungle, we must have passed more than 100 streams which were flowing through road. This section had least landslides but there were few landslides which were more dangerous than other ones.
Once you cross Joshimath, the real road starts. I salute to BRO for keeping the roads open against all odds, one of the most dangerous in entire trip and worst road condition as well.

Day 5: Badrinath -> Joshimath -> Auli
Once you cross Joshimath roads are comparatively better and Joshimath to Auli is narrow road and if there are two big vehicles crossing each other, then expect a jam

Day 6: Auli -> Joshimath -> Tapoban -> Joshimath -> Pipalkoti -> Nandprayag -> Karnaprayag -> Rudraprayag -> Srinagar
Joshimath is crowded place with limited parking space, Joshimath to Tapoban is nice wide road and same is when you come back towards Rishikesh but with lot of potholes and landslides.

Day 7: Srinagar -> Devprayag -> Kaudiyala -> Shivpuri -> Rishikesh
Road condition is average but, traffic is higher and those local taxies own the road. We had to be very cautious as they drive fast/rash and don’t care who is coming from opposite turn.

Day 8: Rishikesh -> Dehradun
Nothing to write about, mad traffic, mad weather, zero driving discipline (though I felt like home as Poona has similar driving sense)
Overall it was a good trip, luck was on our side as except few places we didn’t come across heavy rains. Same with landslides, except two places we didn’t get stuck in landslides. No breakdown/puncture etc, almost all the places which we visited had sparse tourist traffic resulting into a peaceful and relaxed trip.
I want to specially mention about the guy from whom we had taken bile on rent from Dehradun, one of the best experience of the trip. We reached Dehradun at 10:00 PM and we wanted to start early next day, he obliged and gave us bike at around midnight, bike were properly serviced (he runs a garage as well), were 2015/16 model, clear documents and basic tool and spares were given with bare minimum documentation and deposit  one of the bike had a nasty fall while coming back which resulted into bent footrest, gear lever, handle etc. but he didn’t deduct a single penny saying ‘Chalo aap logon ko to kuch nahi hua na’ this was icing on the cake
We just had a route map finalized based on people’s feedback on places to visit, we didn’t have hotel booking or anything. Everything was flexible and that would have been another reason for this ride turning out a relaxed but adventurous one.

Regards,
Shubhendra Singh

[Tsixty1]

After many hours of reading different blogs and Team-BHP I could STOP myself not from asking the experts. Here is my rough plan with some booking already done. Please let me know if I need to cancel/modify the same. Is my plan with too much with too many places too little details ??

We are traveling from Bangalore to Delhi and back by flight and plan to rent a car from Delhi Airport. I have not driven in North India yet but drove enough in South. And quite confident as I do not plan to drive in night or rash. We are a family with a young boy of 9 yrs.


Thanks in advance.

1. Fri 28 April - reaching Delhi at 10. Take zoom car/Myles and head to Mussoorie. ; Approx 7 Hours 300KM. Hotel Booked at Mussoorie
2. Sat 29 April Mussoorie to Haridwar; 85 KM 3 Hrs Hotel Booked at Haridwar
3. Sunday 30 Haridwar to Ramanagara(Corbett); 225 KM 5 Hours; Plan to stay with KVMN
4. Mon 1 May Ramanagara Corbett ;
5. Tues 2 May Nainital ; Approx 75KM 2.5 Hours ; Hotel kind of booked
6. Wednesday 3 Nainital
7. Thursday 4 Binsar via Almora ; Explore Almora along the way; 90KM 3 Hrs
8. Friday 5 Binsar ; Explore Binsar wildlife and track to Zero point
9. Saturday 6 Kausani ; 60KM 2 Hrs
10. Sunday 7 Ranikhet ; 60KM 2 Hrs
11. Monday 8 back to Delhi or Stay around Nainital as it will be on the way ??
12. Tuesday 9 Explore Delhi or head back from Nainital straight to Airport and head back to Bangalore. Flight around 7 in the evening.

[mangespat]

Originally Posted by Tsixty1

1. Fri 28 April - reaching Delhi at 10. Take zoom car/Myles and head to Mussoorie. ; Approx 7 Hours 300KM. Hotel Booked at Mussoorie
   
   For car hire try Formula2ride. They have new cars are are far cheaper then Zoom/Myles. Consider 10 hours to Mussoorie if your reaching Delhi at 10am considering the traffic getting out and the breaks.
   
   
2. Sat 29 April Mussoorie to Haridwar; 85 KM 3 Hrs Hotel Booked at Haridwar
   
   In all probability you would reach Mussoorie after sunset on 28th April. Mussoorie to Haridwar can take 4-5 hours as these are ghat areas. Which would mean you would barely have 3-4 hours in mussoorie to go sight seeing if you leave early in the morning by 7-7:30. I would suggest you to drop Haridwar and stay the day in Mussoorie and proceed the next day early directly to Corbett/Ramanagar.
   
   
3. Sunday 30 Haridwar to Ramanagara(Corbett); 225 KM 5 Hours; Plan to stay with KVMN
   
   Try and get to Ramnagar before lunch. So that you can go for the Afternoon Safari as well. Corbett Safari's are full most times of the year. Ensure you book well in advance.
   
   
4. Mon 1 May Ramanagara Corbett ;
   
   Another 2 safari's on this day if budget permits and Move on to Nainital by Evening that would save you time the next day for sightseeing. This way you can also save a day as I personally felt 1 day at Nainital is good enough.
   
   
5. Tues 2 May Nainital ; Approx 75KM 2.5 Hours ; Hotel kind of booked
   
   Entire day of sightseeing.
   
   
6. Wednesday 3 Nainital
   
   Skip the plan for this day and move it to another place you would prefer to stay over or include this day for your Haridwar Stop over which was earlier skipped.
   
   
7. Thursday 4 Binsar via Almora ; Explore Almora along the way; 90KM 3 Hrs
   
   Leave early.
   
   
8. Friday 5 Binsar ; Explore Binsar wildlife and track to Zero point
   
   sounds good
   
   
9. Saturday 6 Kausani ; 60KM 2 Hrs
10. Sunday 7 Ranikhet ; 60KM 2 Hrs
    
    These 2 days will be really hectic and tiring. You also wont be able to really enjoy any of these places. I would suggest chose one and relax before you do the long journey back.
    
    
11. Monday 8 back to Delhi or Stay around Nainital as it will be on the way ??
    
    You can do direct Delhi from Kausani or Ranikhet if you leave early. I am a big fan of reaching my destination at least 24 hours before my flight.
    
    
12. Tuesday 9 Explore Delhi or head back from Nainital straight to Airport and head back to Bangalore. Flight around 7 in the evening.

This is india and things can go wrong on D day so I dont prefer travelling on the day of my flight. I would rather reach Delhi on 8th and Spend 9th Sightseeing or shopping and head to the airport by 4:00 pm. Good Luck on your Trip.

[Tsixty1]

Thanks a ton for your reply.

Modified my itinerary and here it is. Reduced location.

28-April- Night at Mussoorie - From Delhi 10 Hrs
29-April- Night at Haridwar - Full day Explore Mussoorie; Leave for Haridwar later
30-April-Night at Haridwar - Explore Haridwar
1-May-Night at Ramanagara Leave early to reach around noon 6+hrs drive
2-May-Night at Ramanagara
3-May-Night at Binsar - Via Nanital & Almora 5/6 hrs Drive
4-May-Night at Binsar - Binsar wildlife sanctuary and from there trekking till zero point. Next will be seeing the Jageshwar group of temples.
5-May-Night at Kausani
6-May-Night at Kausani
7-May-Night at Nanital - Dive to Nanital via Ranikhet
8-May-Night at Delhi Long drive 7/8 hours
9-May- Flight at late evening for Bangalore

[arun_josie]

Originally Posted by Tsixty1

Thanks a ton for your reply.

5-May-Night at Kausani
6-May-Night at Kausani
7-May-Night at Nanital - Dive to Nanital via Ranikhet

For Kausani - Nainital (Via Ranikhet) budget for 5-6 Hours. Normally the google timing for this route will be around 3 hours only.

I have done this route couple of years back and you check my update here,
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...ml#post3708851

[mangespat]

Originally Posted by Tsixty1

Thanks a ton for your reply.

Modified my itinerary and here it is. Reduced location.

28-April- Night at Mussoorie - From Delhi 10 Hrs
29-April- Night at Haridwar - Full day Explore Mussoorie; Leave for Haridwar later
30-April-Night at Haridwar - Explore Haridwar
1-May-Night at Ramanagara Leave early to reach around noon 6+hrs drive
2-May-Night at Ramanagara
3-May-Night at Binsar - Via Nanital & Almora 5/6 hrs Drive
4-May-Night at Binsar - Binsar wildlife sanctuary and from there trekking till zero point. Next will be seeing the Jageshwar group of temples.
5-May-Night at Kausani
6-May-Night at Kausani
7-May-Night at Nanital - Dive to Nanital via Ranikhet
8-May-Night at Delhi Long drive 7/8 hours
9-May- Flight at late evening for Bangalore

Looks good buddy. Have fun on your trip. Will wait for the pictures and the travelogue. Drive Safe.

[bhalu]

I will be traveling to Harsil and Gangotri from Ranikhet in last week of November.
Please update me on the road conditions beyond Uttarkashi. Will it be wise to travel in my 16 year old Wagon, tyres are about 8000 kms old and the engine is fine.