In 2001 I was on a solo 'reflection' trip through Kumaon, and was staying at Kausani KMVN for a couple of days.
View from a Chaukori hilltop (supposedly haunted, and also frequented by wild animals in the night), ~ 8.30 PM.
One rainy evening (it was late July) I was feeling bored, and wandered to the reception area. I glanced at the map of Eastern Kumaon, noticing that there were a couple of captivating photos of Munsiyari hanging on the wall. Munsiyari? A place tucked away in a corner of India, close to Tibet and Nepal as per the map. A couple of roads led to it. I decided to move towards that direction, and traveled on one of those roads till Chaukori on that trip. I couldn't make it till Munsiyari because of landslides. Told myself that someday I will come back ...
Crossing a river, Sitabani Reserve Forest
And I had been wanting to visit the forests where Corbett grew up ever since I read Jungle Lore 25 years back. Corbett was instrumental in me developing a love for nature and wildlife. Readers of Jungle Lore/Corbett will remember the Boar River, the Farm Yard, Pawalgarh, the glade where Corbett shot that huge leopard when out for a walk with Robin, Ramsey's canal, the road to Nainital...
A raptor flies overhead, Munsiyari-Thal Road. Almost fell down a cliff trying to follow it through my viewfinder.
After many false starts (e.g. I had plans to do this roadtrip last year in December), the stars got aligned this year: 1. Office leave 2. Family busy with Durga Puja in Kolkata (otherwise such a long guys’/solo trip wouldn’t be possible) 3. Munsiyari/Eastern Kumaon circuit coinciding with full moon period 4. A couple of friends agreed to join for the Nainital circuit.
Panchachuli peaks; taken while hiking in the hills above Munsiyari The itinerary:
• 3 days in Kaladhungi
• 2 days in Sitabani FRH
• 3 days in Pangot area
• 4 days in Eastern Kumaon (Munsiyari etc.)
Kaladhungi. A small dusty town in the foothills of the Himalayas. Just below Nainital. Many years back the main route to Nainital passed through Kaladhungi. After railhead came to Kathgodam, this route fell out of use. So why spend three days in this place when the whole of beautiful Kumaon was open for me? Only one reason: Edward James Corbett. Quoting from Wikipedia:
“In winters, the family used to move to the foothills, where they owned a cottage named 'Arundel' in Chhoti Haldwani or 'Corbett's Village' now known as Kaladhungi. After his father's death, when Jim was 4 years old, his eldest brother Tom took over as the postmaster of Nainital. From a very young age, Jim was fascinated by the forests and the wildlife around his home in Kaladhungi. At a young age he learned to identify most animals and birds by their calls - owing to his frequent excursions. Over time he became a good tracker and hunter.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Corbett_(hunter)
Apparently some of the forest cover still remained, with tiger, leopard and elephant roaming these forests. And it was possible to walk in these reserve forests without restrictions. That is, walk on the same paths and in the same patches of forest as Corbett did.
There was only decent option to stay in Kaladhungi: Camp Corbett. Read mixed reviews on the net, but in the end decided to opt for it since the owner promised to help with FRH booking (more on that later), and also had a place near Pangot (Mountain Quail Resort) where I could stay.
Evening drive around Vinayak Sitabani. A buffer forest zone just outside (but contiguous to) Corbett National Park. Has a temple dedicated to Sita - apparently this is where Sita brought up Luv and Kush. Corbett didn’t officially open till November 15th, and there was continuing uncertainty regarding whether safaris or forest rest house stays inside Corbett would be allowed. So I had to junk the idea of FRH stay within Corbett. After research figured out that Sitabani FRH would be a good alternate option for jungle FRH stay. In any case, Corbett National Park is best visited around Mar-May, and requires one to spend 4-5 days inside the park. Looked at the photos of Sitabani and the FRH, seemed like a very interesting place. Was a great decision- would like to go back someday and spend a week there.
Pangot region. Known for birds and beautiful forests frequented by leopards and bears. I stayed here in Sigri 6 years back, and wasn't sure whether to visit again. In the end I went back because I had a DSLR and a SUV this time.
Munsiyari. 7200 feet high, situated on the banks of Goriganga river in Pithoragarh District. With great views ofPanchachuli peaks. Driving there was supposed to be half the fun. I checked with KMVN (Kumaon Mandal Vikash Nigam), but they had no rooms available (expected, with the rush of Bengalis to those regions during the Durga Puja holidays). In the end I decided to keep accommodation options open, to be decided on the spot. Good decision on my part!
Butterflies in Kaladhungi The route:
I picked the brains of H.V.Kumar to finalize the route. Initially I had planned to go via Hyderabad – Nagpur – Allahabad – Bareilly, but then some work came up in Mumbai at the last moment. So I decided to drive down to Mumbai and then (based on HVK’s recommendation) take the Mumbai – Ahmedabad – Jaipur – Agra (to avoid Jaipur-Delhi stretch)- Noida via Yamuna Expressway – Moradabad –Kaladhungi route.
Return route was left open, since I wasn’t sure where I would end up, and whether I would feel like taking a new route back.
Sunrise...rays start touching the snow peaks Preparation
I got the 40000kms servicing done early, a couple of weeks before my trip started. Changed engine oil and oil filter. Brakes and tyres were fine. Tyre rotation was done. 1 day before the trip, tyre pressure was increased by 2 PSI to 32 PSI for high speed driving. Checked pressure of stepney, inaugurated the LIMI inflator, raised and lowered stepney chain for smooth operation; assembled, used and put back the jack; put extra engine oil, windscreen fluid and coolant – unopened bottles from my 2011 MP trip – in the boot. Extra newspapers, a small pipe and a funnel were already there from before. Otherwise no special preparation was done (one of the advantages of driving a newish – 2 year old – tough Toyota SUV).
A raptor in Pangot
I ended up overpacking, but didn’t sweat about it since I had enough and more space in the vehicle. Put my formal clothes (for 2 days of conference) in a separate bag – idea was to keep the large duffel bag – with trip stuff- in the boot when parking the vehicle in the hotel. And then dump the office bag in the boot after work got over, and forget about it for the rest of the trip.
I had a separate Kata bag for camera gear and office laptop. Also carried a sleeping bag, a 2-person tent, my new Manfrotto tripod and an extra bedsheet. The luxury of a large SUV!
Evening drive on a forest trail