[Subroto Bhowmik]

Originally Posted by MandarMax

That certainly seems to be the case, and not only in India. I know someone who recently returned from an African safari and he didn't spot any Lions. He told me that he met a co-traveller who'd been coming to Africa since last ten years but never spotted a Lion. Sounds like an extreme case. But you never know!

OMG, I am planning South Africa in near future so that I get to see the big cats,hope my luck is not as bad as that person who visited Africa since 10 years and still waiting....

[RM Motorsports]

Nice Travelogue. Reminded me of my trip to Auli about 5 years. I visited with friends in month of February. Everything was covered in snow at that time. I sole purpose of the trip was skiing. We were there for 7 days. However due to heavy snowfall in Auli, we were stuck for 2 days in Joshimath and there was no way we could go up. Even the cable was shut for maintenance. We had booked Clifftop Club through Mahindra Holidays but it was so bad that we shifted to GMVN. There was no power and water at Clifftop Club. Thoroughly enjoyed the stay in Auli. Beautiful place that we didn't feel like coming back. It was so peaceful with fresh air and mountains around.

The only bad part of trip was drive from Haridwar to Joshimath and back. It was almost 10-12 hour drive each way which was killing. Horrible roads and traffic.

[Kandisa]

Lovely narration and awesome snaps, capturing the snow covered peaks beautifully. Ranikhet is just another case of being an 'over' popular destination for the tourists. However there are few less crowded places in two-three hour driving time in the vicinity. Regarding the 'we just missed the tiger' thing, actually it is entirely a matter of luck. And there are more chances to be disappointed in case one is 'determined' to spot the big cat. Best philosophy is to enjoy the jungle and Corbett along with its surroundings is a good place for that. Spotting the wildlife, especially the elusive ones, is always a bonus.

[Paleo]

Does Auli get Snow in April?

[Amit_Kapoor4750]

Thanks MandarMax for this brilliant travelogue, Rating 5 Stars.
Your travelogue gives a very lovely presentation of the Himalayan region in winters. I must say that you guys got really lucky as this year there has been very little snowfall in the region. In my opinion, your visit to the Jim Corbett was not that fruitful as it should have been. As you had very little time to explore, a trip to Nainital would have been better.

[Amit_Kapoor4750]

Originally Posted by Paleo

Does Auli get Snow in April?

No Sir, Auli doesn't get fresh snowfall in the month of April.

[Aditya2703]

Beautiful pictures, every single one. These are the kind which makes you feel like packing the bags and heading there straight away.

[parth.jain]

An awesome travelogue with beautiful pictures!
I too went to Auli with my friends last summer and though it was not covered in snow, it was still quite beautiful! We also stayed in the GMVN resort but we found the service pretty terrible. After checking in at around 1 pm, we went to the restaurant had to wait for at least half an hour for them to even take our order. They were too busy entertaining some big group of people having lunch there.

However, Auli was so beautiful and it was a totally unplanned trip. We asked a guy at the hotel the next day about the tourist attractions there, and he suggested we should visit Sri Hemkund Gurudwara as it is covered in snow and beautiful. I believe that guy was having a stroke since he didn't tell us that we can't make it to Sri Hemkund Sahib the same day (it was around 11 am). So we checked out from there and continued our journey for Sri Hemkund Sahib.

We parked our car at some parking lot in Joshimath, took a taxi from there (our cars were not allowed) till the point from where the roads end. We hired horses from there (khachhar. When we were hiring horses the horse guy told us it was impossible to go to Sri Hemkund Sahib and come back the same day (it was around 1pm already) and we will have to make a stop at Ghagariya (a small town in the mid way). After some discussions among us, we decided to go for it! It was one hell of a spontaneous decisions.

Ghagariya is a small town which had the luxury of getting electricity only an year ago. It had no cell phone signals so we were there without any communication with our family and families for two days. We didn't pack anything as we left our luggage back in Joshimath in the car as we thought we will be coming back by night. We reached Ghagariya around 5 pm and found a hotel which charged only 800 rs for a room for one night and had a restaurant serving delicious food. I think that hotel was the most luxurious one there!
The next morining my friends woke me up at around 4 am and we went on the roof of the hotel to look at the stars and it was really something. I haven't seen so many bright stars ever in my life. It was truly amazing.
Then we got ready and hired horses for the remaining journey. ( We had to hire horses as we were really short of time and had to make it back to Joshimath the same day). We reached Shri Hemkund Sahib by 10 am, and was it amazing! The last 2 kms we had to walk as horses were not allowed there and it was very difficult. It was like climbing stairs for 2 kms at 15,000 ft. altitude but it was totally worth it. When we reached the top, everything was covered in snow. We could see white clouds below us, and we were on top of the mountains. It was truly amazing!

I didn't have the opportunity to write a travelogue but reading yours lovely narrated travelogue did bring back some memories!

Some pics I would like to share:
That's Shri Hemkund Sahib at top of the hill. They serve hot tea there and is fully functional at 15000 ft altitude!


The frozen lake at Shri Hemkund Sahib.


Some views while trekking













That was the view from our GMVN resort in the day:



Sorry for posting on your thread @MandarMax

[shashanka]

Great travelogue, MandarMax and the accompanying photos are a treat! It's really unfortunate that the GMVN cuisine was poor. Our home from home (for

the past 19 years or so) has been the various KMVN resorts around Naukuchiatal in the Kumaon region. Our reason for choosing KMVN was mainly

because of their pet-friendly policy (we traveled with our boxers during many of our trips). Subsequently we found that they also put very decent fare on

the dining table (or perhaps we are not very discriminating!) and the staff is warm and cordial.

Once again, thanks for a marvellous travelogue! We have been sold on Naukuchiatal for many years now & the love affair continues.

[coolmind]

Wonderful snaps Mr. Mandermax. Reminded me of the days I spent in Manali.
Will surely dedicate some time out of my next holidays to Auli. Thank you.

[MandarMax]

Originally Posted by Amit_Kapoor4750

Thanks MandarMax for this brilliant travelogue, Rating 5 Stars.
Your travelogue gives a very lovely presentation of the Himalayan region in winters. I must say that you guys got really lucky as this year there has been very little snowfall in the region. In my opinion, your visit to the Jim Corbett was not that fruitful as it should have been. As you had very little time to explore, a trip to Nainital would have been better.

Thanks, Amit. We didn't go because I have been to Nainital before. In fact, I did an 8-day trek from Nainital a few years ago. It was a lovely trek arranged by YHAI. Secondly, we didn't have much time. Jim Corbett seemed to be a better choice and even though we didn't spot a tiger, we enjoyed the experience fully.

Originally Posted by Aditya2703

Beautiful pictures, every single one. These are the kind which makes you feel like packing the bags and heading there straight away.

Originally Posted by shashanka

Great travelogue, MandarMax and the accompanying photos are a treat! It's really unfortunate that the GMVN cuisine was poor.

Originally Posted by coolmind

Wonderful snaps Mr. Mandermax. Reminded me of the days I spent in Manali.
Will surely dedicate some time out of my next holidays to Auli. Thank you.

Thanks gentlemen. I hope my pictures would help make Auli slightly more popular again.

Originally Posted by parth.jain

An awesome travelogue with beautiful pictures!
I too went to Auli with my friends last summer and though it was not covered in snow, it was still quite beautiful!

Sorry for posting on your thread @MandarMax

Those are some lovely pictures. Why don't you write your own travelogue?