[aayusht]

Background:
I had bought a Jeep Compass in November 2021 and was soon added to a ~500 member group of Delhi NCR Jeep owners. I had seen that the group regularly organized trails, off roading events and day trips. I had been keen to join these trips/trails but one or the other commitment stopped us from signing up for such trips. However, when one of my engineering college seniors (GG) tagged me encouraging me to join a trip being planned between 1st – 3rd April, I immediately agreed but added - ‘subject to terms and condition’. I spent a few days encouraging my better half to agree for the trip and with wifey’s consent secured, I made the payment for the trip before the decision could be reversed, that way I could claim – “money already deposited, so no turning back”.
As the date for the trip approached, I was keen to be part of the planning process and reached out to the moderators for the trip. I was roped in for the planning and partnered with fellow Bhpian AshwinRS from Noida to plan logistics and meals

Trip participants:

1. Target was for 25+ Jeep owners, but finally 20 signed up & made payments
2. But there were unforeseen challenges with a few and finally 17 Jeep owners with their families joined the trip (16 Compasses & 1 Meridian)
3. 15 Owners from Delhi NCR + 2 from Chandigarh
4. A total of 37 adults & 10 children

Day 1 Itinerary:

1. Gurgaon, Delhi and Noida Jeepers had 3 assembly points & we started in the wee hours of the morning
2. All Delhi NCR Jeepers were to assemble at flag off point at Haldiram, Sec 63, Noida. Flag off activities included pasting of stickers & decals on the Jeeps
3. We planned to leave for Tehri at 7 AM but actually left around 8 AM
4. Breakfast halt was planned at Om Mannat Dhaba 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM. (Location https://maps.app.goo.gl/386JzpzNeRiyPuh66?g_st=iw); we trickled in at the location & finally wrapped up breakfast after chit chats by around 11:30am heading towards Haridwar
5. Chandigarh Jeepers joined us close to Rishikesh & completed the formation of 17 Jeeps
6. Throughout the journey between the breakfast halt point and Rishikesh, Google maps played tricks and sent different groups on different roads which were finally meant to merge closer to Rishikesh. We also chose to take a detour around Rishikesh taking hilly roads which were longer but Google maps predicted less travel time. It was the more scenic route & glad that we took this option. However, please note – this detour also had a few spots with landslides, nothing too major, but we had to navigate through some tight spots (a few of us needed a little help keeping an eye on how close we were to the edge)
7. Lunch Halt planned at The Winterline Resort where buffet lunch was planned 1 PM - 2 PM (https://www.google.com/travel/hotels...ysfbt5YjMzx9); enroute to this location we encountered light rains and also spotted small pockets with fresh snow/hail
8. We finally reach the Hotel Le Roi, Koti around 7:00pm (many exhausted after close to 12 hours of travel)
9. Dinner Party with Live Music at the Hotel was from 7:30 PM onwards & that is when many of us truly started to mingle with others (Bhpian AshwinRS & Abhishek from Chandigarh were the singers who made the evening memorable)

Day 2 Itinerary:
Breakfast was wrapped up around 10am with most of us lazing around the hotel restaurant and admiring the natural beauty around the hotel
Many of us trickled to the venue for water sports and in smaller groups ended up taking up speed boating, Jet Skiing or Water sailing
Right after the water sports activities, some of us were keen to try the customary tea & Maggi from the hills. Somehow the tea and Maggi from the hills seem to have a different taste
We assembled back at hotel by 12:45pm
We drove to the Tehri Dam (10 minutes away from hotel) and realized that to get closer and enter the premises, we needed to get a few permissions sorted, which we had not planned for and hence could not proceed to inside the dam premises. We finally moved to an observation point closer to the Tehri Dam and returned to the hotel for lunch around 2pm
Post lunch, the group dispersed into smaller groups, with a few moving back to rooms to relax, a few of us going to the lake banks and another group that identified spots for off roading. Personally, the icing on the entire trip was the off roading. The photos and videos I have included don’t do justice to the fun we had
Post that a few Jeepers (AshwinRS among them) went on for a night trail to the Dobra Chanti bridge around 6:30pm – 8:30pm while a few other Jeepers (including me) spent time relaxing at hotel followed by an early start to the drinks.
We wrapped up the night after sumptuous meal, drinks and lots of fun

Day 3 Itinerary:

1. The group wrapped up breakfast between 8:30AM -9:30AM at the hotel
2. The group started to check out and head for Delhi between 10AM to Noon (all of us were offered to leave at our own discretion, but we ended up leaving the hotel in small groups)
3. We left around 10:30AM with 2 other Jeeps while couple of others had a more relaxed drive back with loads of drone photographs and prolonged entertainment
4. On our way back, we made one stop for a late lunch at Namaste Dwaar - The Gateway to Rural India NH-58 and reached NCR around 4pm only to reach home around 7pm (remember – Noida to Gurgaon in peak traffic takes more time than flying out from Delhi to Mumbai; sarcasm intended)

Key highlights of the trip:

1. While driving towards different checkpoints on Day 1, Jeeps were mostly in a convoy formation. Due to traffic, the convoy broke a number of times but the moderators were constantly on radio walkie and worked extensively to ensure the group stuck together
2. On Day 1, it was drizzling in some patches & the drive was enjoyable. When we were closer to our destination (after Banali on NH34), we could see patches with hail & something with semblance to snow.
3. The off roading on Day 2 was fun, first time I saw (in person) what a 4x4 can do and that a TrailHawk can really redefine how you see 4x4s. I could never dream of doing any of this in my Petrol Compass
4. When a few Jeepers got bored of off roading, they switched off traction control and made us realize - a Jeep can DRIFT
5. The area around New Tehri is truly beautiful, (despite the ecological impact that the dam reservoir was caused, something which Bhpian SS-Traveller & I discussed)
6. The food at Om Mannat was good & at The Winterline Resort & Restaurant was decent (it is among the better options on that patch, you won’t get fancy restaurants enroute, so plan a bit if you wish to halt on this patch)
7. At the start of the trip, the only person in the entire group I knew was my college senior. By the end of the trip, I was friends with most of the other Jeepers who joined this trip. The moderators were friendly and helpful (Mohit makes all the organizing seem too easy but honestly, its not). The entire group of 17 Jeepers & family turned out to be pretty welcoming and made the entire trip worthwhile.

Apologies for some of the photos, the quality may not be great since I downloaded them from WhatsApp.

Dear Mods, I am unable to upload videos. Please suggest if its possible.

[TheVegabond]

Teri dam area has been developed recently to make it tourist friendly. One can have a really adventurous yet relaxing weekend. The roads are also good and make it a great drive from Delhi-NCR.

Sharing a pic from my trip in February

[roadtriplover]

Hi aayusht

I own a Jeep Compass Model 3 (2022), and have been trying to get added to the Delhi NCR Whatsapp group. I am unable to contact the admins as I can't seem to figure out a way to DM the admins. Is there a way you can help me get added?

Thanks in advance