THRILLING UTTARAKHAND

Drive trips have always been very exciting with new spices and flavours being added with every trip. The year 2020 has been a dreaded year for the world but our memories of Uttarakhand in March were thrilling enough to sit back and recollect.
     Our drive trips are usually planned well in advance with designated and targetted stops and accommodations booked. This year we planned it differently. We thought of moving out without any bookings. So, on the 7th of March,2020 we started our epic trip without any decided destination.

07.03.2020. Started at 11:00am and decided to go to Giridih as our first stop. We had our lunch at Khalsa Vegis at Dhanbad on NH2 and proceeded towards Giridih. We tried to contact a resort at Giridih but they were unable to give us any accommodation and since we had reached early we decided to proceed to Simultala for a couple of days of rejuvenation in the lap of nature before proceeding forward.Anya Resort is the only resort at Simultala ,quite ambient and spacious. It was still quite cold outside and an A/C room was still not required. Food was excellent. Distance covered - 354 kms, time taken - 8hrs including food and photo stops.

08.03.2020. After breakfast we decided to go to Deoghar. Roads were really nice and we visited Trikoot Mountain ( the ropeway was not operating due to heavy winds )
Next up we went to Baidyanath Dham....followed by a late lunch at a local restaurant near the main market at Tower Chowk at Deoghar.It was a couple of days before Holi so the streets were jampacked with shoppers....corona did not seem to throw any impact on anyone around!!
Returned by late evening and the same winding roads were really thrilling.
Distance covered- 110kms.

09.03.2020. We were greeted by an excellent sunrise overlooking the local Lattu Pahad from our room. We had kept this day to explore Simultala. People used to come to Simultala from Kolkata and suburbs in the yester years for a change of place to enhance their health. As a result there are various mansions scattered all over Simultala, most of which are standing as ghost houses due to non maintenance. Also, there is  a local mountain called Lattu Pahad with a small temple atop it.
It is a leisurely climb up the mountain and its very picturesque from up there. The Lattu Pahad overlooked the delapidated palace of the Queen of Dhaka.
The rest of the day was spent well visiting the local Dharahara falls and savouring excellent and pure local cuisine.

10.03.2020. Our destination today was Kushinagar. Today was Holi and in northern India people usually do not venture out on the roads on this day. As a result we got really empty roads and it was a fun to drive. We have been to various places of buddhist interest but Kushinagar was left. It was quite a long distance but the empty roads made us reach by afternoon. We stayed over at Vindhyavasini Guest House,where we were the only guests and the hotel owner told us that in his 25years career as  a hotelier, were the first guests to have checked in on the day of Holi!!!!
Distance covered - 430kms, time taken - 6hrs.

11.03.2020. Today after breakfast we set out to explore Kushinagar, where it is believed that Lord Buddha attained Parinirvana after his death.
Other temples belonging to various countries like Myanmar,China,Cambodia,Thailand, Japan etc are present there. It was not very crowded as we had gone to visit in the early hours and by lunch time we had explored Kushinagar in detail. Spent the evening on a leisurely drive around Kushinagar.

12.03.2020. Today we decided to stop over at Sitapur before moving forward. The route passed by Lucknow and a venture into the city to taste the famous Tunday Kababi was always on the cards. Our target was to reach early to avoid any crowd and stay safe. So it was an early and voluptuous lunch for us, the taste was mind blowing.
Sitapur could not provide satisfactory accommodation and since it was around 3pm, we decided to proceed to Pilibhit. Hotel Silver Leaf at Pilibhit provided us with a decent accommodation but the restaurant was closed due to the Covid 19 pandemic.
We had food at a local restaurant and decided to move to the hills of Uttarakhand the next day....Destination...the offbeat Shitlakhet.
Distance covered - 585kms
Time taken - 12 hrs. ( including food stops )

13.03.2020. Since the restaurant was closed, we carried dry food supplies for the day's travel to Sitalakhet. The road was very picturesque with the Ramganga river travelling alongside us.
We had to take a diversion from the Bhowali-Almora road to the Mansar-Shitlakhet road from Kakrighat.Here the road narrowed out and the incline started. The road was dotted with apricot,cherry,apple and walnut trees and the flowers were in full bloom. We were not on a hurry as we had already ordered our lunch at KMVN TRH Shitlakhet.

The last 5 kms were totally broken, infact there was no road atop the mountsin as it was under construction and the skies had also started roaring. It took us 45mins to offroad the last 5 kms.
At last we braved the broken roads and reached Sitalakhet only to be greeted with a severe but welcoming hailstorm.
The weather was starting to become worse and the temperature was dropping drastically. The hot lunch that was served at the TRH was really soothing. Had to take early dinner too as they go to bed pretty early on the hills😀😀.
Distance covered : 170kms
Time taken : 6 hrs.

14.03.2020. After an awesome breakfast we decided to explore Ranikhet. The drive was like travelling through an unending canvas with changing colours. We saw the Jhula Devi Temple with its enormous bells big and small. This was followed by our visit to the Chaubatia Apple Garden after proving our identity at the army check posts. A stroll through the garden amongst the medicinal plants with the help of a licensed guide is a must to feel the diversity of nature. We bought a few local spices from a government shop, worth mentioning was the rhododendron ( Buransh in local language ) juice and jam.
We returned by sundown and the winding clean roads were a pleasure to drive.
Distance covered : 85kms.

15.03.2020. Today also we stayed at Shitlakhet and planned to visit the 9th Century Katarmal Sun Temple built by the Katyuri King Katarmalla and Almora. The temples, the sculptures and the awe inspiring backdrop of the mountains destressed us manifold.
Almora is  a very crowded business centre,but as it was a Sunday, we could lazily drive through the one way roads, had lunch at the famous Swastik Cafe opposite the Vivekananda Kutir where Swami Vivekananda had spent a few months after returning from Chicago.
Today also we returned just at dusk as the weather was not very favourable for the past two days and we had to face fog,rain,hailstorm.
Distance covered : 90kms.

16.03.2020. Today the clouds had cleared and the skies opened up to a beautiful sunrise and the whole Nandadevi range was a real feast to the eyes. We had decided to move on to Chaukori.
After breakfast we bid adieu to picturesque Shitlakhet and proceeded towards Chaukori. The winding roads through the picture postcard settings all around made us stop for photographs every now and then.
We had to drive through Kausani enroute Chaukori.
We took a shopping stop at the factory outlets selling verious local products before moving onto Chaukori. We stopped for a traditional Kumaoni lunch at a roadside eatery and the Bhat ki Churkhani and Gahat ke Dal was superb.

We reached Chaukori at around 3:00pm with enough time to treat our eyes with the sunset over the Himalayas.
Distance covered : 127kms.
Time taken : 5 hrs including food stops.

17.03.2020. The sunrise as viewed from our room at Chaukori kept us spellbound for a considerable amount of  time. Chaukori is a very small town overlooking the Nandadevi and Panchachuli ranges of the mighty Himalayas. The KMVN TRH by itself is a place of visit- the cottages,the big lawn and the mountains behind create a real treat to the eyes. As because we drive across India, we carry portable table chairs,tent etc in our vehicle. We erected the tent and table chairs  on the lawn and spent the whole day basking in the sun,only occasionally going to the restaurant for our meals.

18.03.2020. Today our destination was Munsiari. We had planned to stay there for 3 nights and then start our descent back home. We started at around 12:00pm and the skies were bright and clear. The road started becoming very narrow from here but the view was breathtaking. The gradient also started becoming steep at places. Streams passed the road at many places giving a heavenly ambience to the drive. We crossed various waterfalls and the weather was really pleasant. When we were around 20kms away from Munsiyari, at Ratapani, the skies suddenly started becoming dark and it started to drizzle. To our astonishment we noticed snow flakes on the windscreen. This was my first hand experience of driving in the snow and our excitement knew no bounds. There was snow all around from here and it was rightly garnished with the red and pink rhododendron which were in full bloom. Yes...we were driving through a thick foliage of brightly coloured rhododendron all around. We stopped and stopped for pictures. Reached Munsiari and checked into KMVN TRH Munsiari. The Panchachuli Mountains were so near from here that our eyes got stuck at the beauty of nature.
Distance covered : 95kms.
Time taken : 3hrs.

19.03.2020. We spent the two days relaxing in the lap of nature and treating our eyes with its astounding beauty. Not to mention the local food which is always a part of a good drive trip like Gandherni Chicken, Gahat ki dal, Bhat ki Churkhani. ( Gandherni is a dried aromatic bark which is available at 14ooofts. )The central government had announced the Janta Curfew and yes a sense of urgency was staring to crop up.

20.03.2020. We thought of starting our descent but changing our accommodation between two KMVN properties was very cumbersome so we decided to stay over for today and start our descent the next day as predecided.

21.03.2020. The whole KMVN property had become empty by now and we started our descent after breakfast. On the way we stopped at Birthi Falls and proceeded down. We decided to stop at KMVN TRH Lohaghat for 2 nights as 22nd was Janta Curfew and proceed onwards on 23rd. We had a talk with the TRH also before starting from Munsiari but when we reached Lohaghat we were told to get a medical checkup done before checking in. So we bought a few condiments from Champawat and proceeded towards Tanakpur with a motive to cover up the hilly roads and reach the plains. KMVN TRH Tanakpur also denied accommodation though we could see tourists seated in their rooms. It was around 7:30pm. I immediately called up Hotel Silver Leaf and they agreed to give us accommodation. We started off for Pilibhit, stopped to pack our dinner as the restaurant in the hotel was closed. We reached Pilibit at around 9:30pm only to be informed that the manager ( he assured me accommodation ) had left and there was the DM 's order to stop accommodating tourists. However, we managed to get accommodation at Hotel Grand Sharda nearby and went out to buy basic condiments to prepare in our room for the next day.
Distance covered : 370kms.
Time taken - 10hrs.

22.03.2020. Today was the Central Government declared Janta Curfew. We were confined at our room and our relatives were getting more tensed than me. At around 4:30pm we decided to start our journey back home. My profession also demanded my earliest return. The local police station assured to give me support on my way back. So at 5:30pm, we started our epic drive back home. We were stopped 5 times in UP for routine checks and I just fueled up and drove all night. Crossed Lucknow at around 9:00pm, Varanasi at around 3:00am.

23.03.2020. Entered Aurangabad ( Bihar ) at 5:00am and took a nap for an hour before moving ahead. Had to take a detour from Barhi towards Jamshedpur for a personal committment and reached home at around 8:00pm.
Distance covered : 1550kms
Time taken : 27hours ( Driving time - 22hrs )

Thus came an end to a really thrilling 4000kms drive trip, the memories of which will be very fresh in our minds for many years to come.
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