[shashankjain16]

Although every trip is memorable, some have a lasting effect on us. Our trip to this small hill station in Uttarakhand was no different. I don't know why, but somewhere deep inside, I miss that place every day. Even as I write this, I feel so nostalgic that I want to pack my backs and leave for another trip to Munsiyari. My job and bank balance don't allow me though.

The Planning

After missing a couple of long weekends for some reason or the other, the travel bug was biting hard. Our new Duster, bored of city roads, too was eager to go on a long, long drive. With Delhi's temperatures crossing 45 degrees, mountains were the obvious choice. However, popular destinations, like, Nainital, Manali were out of the question. We did not want to join the mad rush in the already clogged hill stations.

A couple of months back, my wife mentioned this small place called Munsiyari, which is also called Mini Kashmir of India.

• 600kms - long drive - check
• Not popular - no overcrowding - check
• Adventurous Drive, lots to explore nearby - check

More than a perfect destination! It was on our cards since then.

In June, with Eid Holiday in between the first week, we finally planned a 6 day trip to Munsiyari.

[shashankjain16]

Day 1
Delhi to Almora

Our vlog for the road trip:

https://youtu.be/7R-_z4JBoQk

Munsiyari is about 600kms from Delhi, and around 300kms of that is in the mountains. So, it's difficult to complete it in a single day. So, we split our journey in 2 days.

• Day 1 - Delhi to Almora
• Day 2 - Almora to Munsiyari

We left at around 8 AM as planned. It was a working day for many, so traffic was seen in many places. It wasn't that bad though.

However, as we crossed the eastern peripheral expressway and entered NH9, things got worse. Jams everywhere. Construction activities were going on at many places, the highway was passing through towns without bypass, and driving of locals as if they own the highway. Man, crossing 100 km became a nightmare. Thankfully google got is a detour and saved us from 1.30-hour jam later on that highway!

Anyway, things got easy after we reached Rampur. Soon, we started to climb mountains on-route Nainital. I just love driving in the mountains.


Look at that orange beauty


Watching the sunset on way to Nainital

It wasn't a holiday for everyone, still, Nainital had a lot of tourists. Google Maps took us through Nainital city.

TIP: When near Nainital, follow signboards on-road or ask some street-side vendors for directions. There are bypasses for Nainital but Google Maps doesn't take them and you can be stuck in Nainital traffic real bad, especially on long weekends.

We crossed Nainital and reached Almora around 9 PM. It took us 13 hours.

TIP: We could have stayed in Nainital as well, but hotels are typically more expensive there. Moreover, we would have to drive about 60kms more on the second day.

Day 2
Almora to Munsiyari

Munsiyari is about 195 km from Almora and about 8 hours drive. We left at around 8 AM. Taking lessons from the previous day, we left early to avoid chances of driving at night on narrow roads near Munsiyari.

Driving in the mountains is so lovely. The fresh air, empty roads and the grandeur of Himalayas. I feel I can keep driving for hours and not feel bored or tired.



Add to that, how good Duster drives. When climbing I drove only in 3rd gear, and while downhill in 4th gear. Handling is amazing too. I am proud of my decision to buy Duster. I am in love with this car!

But, man it was really hot. At many places, it was nearly 40 degrees outside. It was quite unexpected. There were forest fires in many places. Don’t know if its normal or global warming is contributing.

When we crossed Thal, we found ourselves near the river RamGanga. Stopped there to get some photos clicked.




Previewing clips recorded for the vlog



From Thal, there is a gradual climb till Munsiyari. Elevation keeps increasing. Near Munsiyari, roads got quite narrow with deep tench on one side. It was scary to drive but also so much fun. And, the views were simply out of the world.


Enroute Munsiyari


Hide and seek of the sun was on!


Look at those roads!

As we approached Munsiyari the temperatures kept dropping and the weather became pleasant. And as soon as we reached, it started to rain. All in all, a great ending to an awesome journey.

We were staying at Hotel Pandey just for that night. Next day we had booked in Milam Inn which as the best views from the rooms in Munsiyari.

[shashankjain16]

Day 3
A day without a plan

https://youtu.be/B_enUBHClrU

Next day, we checked out of Hotel Pandey and checked into Milam Inn. Now, what to do? Lol! The weather wasn’t clear so we could not do Khaliya top trek.

After thinking a lot, we decided to do a short trek to Maheshwari Kund, which is a small lake in Munsiyari. Trek starts from the next curve near Hotel Milam Inn. The path is clearly laid out which can be done without any guide.

It was short, but an insanely beautiful trek. Right inside the jungle, surrounded by all the greenery. We could hear birds tweeting and clouds thundering. The air was fresh and cool. The rain was coming and going. It was so calm and peaceful, felt close to nature.



And how beautiful Maheshwari Kund was. We got the Lord of the Rings vibe of the marshlands Frodo and Sam go through while going to Mordor. We spent good 1 hour or so and got a lot of photos clicked.















Upon returning we had our lunch, and then the big question came again. Where to go now? There were some places in Munsiyari which we had planned to do on the last day. On google, we found our about this village called Madkot which is about 16kms from Munsiyari and there we can get close to Goriganga River. We decided to go there.

On our way, we found quite a few landslides. Had to wait about half an hour at one of them. The road was muddy and narrow at few places and Duster's ESP kicked in a few times. Ours is an AWD which I think helped a lot.

We thought the drive to Munsiyari was awesome. But, the road to Madkot was just another level. It was so grand! Hard to describe in words (see the video and you would understand).

The best part was driving beside the Gori Ganga river. The valley is so grand in itself and its so beautiful. Gori Ganga River's flow is so violent, it instantly makes you understand the power of nature. Even in the video, I found it hard to describe in words.






Just for the scale, that small black spot is me

After spending some time there, we returned to our hotel and the rain had started full-on. A perfect setting for chai and pakore. It was such a nice feeling, I still miss it.


Can you get a better view from a hotel room?



At night, clouds cleared a little and we saw the first glimpse of Panchchuli peaks. What a view! We also captured this lightning strike by the change which you can see at the end of the video.

[shashankjain16]

Day 4
Khaliya Top Trek

https://youtu.be/mJaW68f1r4g

By looking at the mood of weather last night, we had lost hope that we would be able to do Khaliya Top Trek at all. Hell, we were thinking if we would be able to do anything at all.

At about 4 AM I woke up and I glanced outside our room's window. The view that stood before my eyes made my sleep vanish in an instant. The weather had cleared and magnificent view on Panchchuli peaks was right in front of me. I woke my wife up. We arranged the chairs in our balcony and sat there for the next one and a half hour watching the most beautiful sunrise of our lives. It was equally beautifully captured in a timelapse (see the video).











The weather was perfect. So, we had our breakfast and went on to start Khaliya Top Trek.

Trek to Khaliya top is also quite clear. A guide is not required but we did anyway to be on the safe side. Trek is also not very difficult. It's a gradual climb.

After 2-3 hours, we reached the first checkpoint - KMVN TRC which is a tourist rest-house from Uttarakhand Government. Here you can stay overnight or even camp - although we didn't do any.











We rested for about 1.5 hours there and continued our trek. It became a little steep after that but was still not that difficult.

At last, we finally reached the top and, as always, the magnificence of the Himalayas left us speechless. I would let the pictures talk.



















Day 5
Birthi Falls

There is a waterfall that is 33 km before Munsiyari and we went there while returning on the last day. Even while leaving, the beauty of Munsiyari didn't stop to amaze us.







In the End

It was a memorable trip and made us fall in love with this place. So many memories that we cherish for our lifetimes. And yes - we will be returning to Munsiyari in future - probably in winters.

PS: We are going to the valley of flowers in August

[SmartCat]

Moving thread from Assembly Line to Travelogues. Thanks for sharing, Shashank.

[tarik.arora]

Very nice travelogue Shashank. Thanks for sharing.

This looks like a very nice and off-beat place away from the mad traffic of typical hill stations in the North. I am always in lookout for such places and this gets added to my to-do list. I did a similar vacation in June to Dalhousie and Bir Billing and the experience was equally good.

[subhojitb]

Very crisp writeup and excellent photos Shashank. Not to forget about the mind-boggling videos you took and superbly edited as well. Eagerly waiting for your Valley of Flowers episode when it happens.
Really curious to know which photo/video camera have you used and the brand and which editing software you used

[Rustom]

Your travelogue was very informative and to the point. The photos were beautiful as well. Hope you share many more adventures in your Duster.

[shashankjain16]

Originally Posted by tarik.arora

This looks like a very nice and off-beat place away from the mad traffic of typical hill stations in the North. I am always in lookout for such places and this gets added to my to-do list. I did a similar vacation in June to Dalhousie and Bir Billing and the experience was equally good.

Yes. Moreover, it requires some effort to reach there. Not everyone wants to travel for two days to reach a hill station.

Originally Posted by subhojitb

Very crisp writeup and excellent photos Shashank. Not to forget about the mind-boggling videos you took and superbly edited as well. Eagerly waiting for your Valley of Flowers episode when it happens.
Really curious to know which photo/video camera have you used and the brand and which editing software you used

Thank you! I used my Canon G7X which I also use for vlogging. It's a point and shoot camera basically but a very good and fast lens. Also, my wife clicks a lot of photos with her One Plus 6 on which we have installed Google Pixel's camera app which clicks amazing photos too.

Originally Posted by Rustom

Your travelogue was very informative and to the point. The photos were beautiful as well. Hope you share many more adventures in your Duster.

Indeed! Spiti valley in September end is planned already

[jithin23]

A Short and sweet travelogue with some amazing photos. This place is for sure in my bucket list when I intend to travel to the North.

The place looks terrific as well! Hope it remains unscathed by tourists.

[ampere]

Very refreshing indeed. That feeling of gazing at the hills while it rains and enjoying a cup of tea is a true "Ruskin Bond" feeling!

[prateekswarup]

Very nice travelogue Shashank! Very nice photos. The place looks very serene & the mountain range in full beauty is truly a spectacle to behold!

Munisiyari is now added to my wander-list.

Indeed the number of options around Delhi NCR have drastically reduced in the last couple of days due to the sheer number of travelers.

You can also lookup Binsar and Chakrata as some of the destinations to do in winter which are closer and not that commercialized.

All the best and keep driving to more such beautiful locations...

[shashankjain16]

Originally Posted by prateekswarup

Very nice travelogue Shashank! Very nice photos. The place looks very serene & the mountain range in full beauty is truly a spectacle to behold!

There's still a lot we didn't cover in Munsiyari. Dharchula, which a village at India-Nepal border, Driving on road to Milam Glacier (which not complete yet I think), Darkot, etc. That place is worth a week's stay at least.

[faithless_1984]

How did i miss this ! I need to be more active on the forum now.
Excellent TL Shashank, extra points for covering my native place.
It feels so good when people make an effort to see this amazing place and then fall in love with it. The Panchachuli view is in itself worth the drive/distance imho.
You can see some more pics/details in my thread. https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...hotologue.html (Surreal Munsiyari : A Photologue)

Hopefully when you go there again we will be able to host you in our own property. I am planning to go there again in Oct, fingers crossed.

[ARAY]

This is a very unique take on the location. Loved the crisp narration. Thanks for sharing the experience with us, keep traveling and penning down such great destinations.