It was the epic summer of 2015 and I had come to Haldwani for the third time, trying to return to Jaipur. I had slow travelled to almost all parts of Kumaon over the last two months and predictably the heat of Haldwani had resulted in me turning back to cooler climes the first two…
Category: Uttarakhand
A Detailed Travel Guide for Chopta, Tungnath, Chandrashila Trek
While the internet is awash with travel blogs about popular trekking destinations, a careful perusal results in finding out that most of them are similar and may sometimes not have proper information. And I noticed the same for Chopta – Tungnath – Chandrashila trek. After the many thankful emails and comments that I have received…
Top Memories of Nainital
It sure must have been a good omen when I reached Kathgodam in the wee hours of the morning. After all I was aiming to spend a long summer exploring all parts of Kumaon. The station was spic and span and the green mountains in the distance seemed happy to receive me. As soon as I walked…
Aimless Wanderings in Almora
When I was in Kasar Devi & Binsar for leisure and pleasure, Almora was visited numerous times. It was a cold evening when the actual process of seeing the ‘cultural capital of Kumaon’ finally began to work itself out. I was in the middle of a fabulous summer that was progressing well in Kumaon Himalaya. Me and Bhishma (the…
A long weekend in Mussoorie – Explorations & Walks
The road looks like it has tried to recover from a deluge and given up. Dense fog covers the entirety of my view and fog lamps of cars are on at 8 in the morning. It is quite a welcome, and being a sucker for cloudy weather I am loving it. The one hour drive from Dehradun was akin to unravelling…
A lost treasure – The biggest home in Kumaon
I had been roaming pretty much everywhere in the higher reaches of Uttarakhand. It was sheer delight coming across pretty windows and doors embellished with intricate carvings in remote towns. Houses in the mountains have traditionally been constructed from mud and stone because of easy availability of the same. I kept asking people about traditional houses wherever…
Romancing the monsoon in Corbett
The air was heavy in anticipation of the much awaited monsoon that was supposed to be knocking on our doors. I was in the foothills of the Himalayas in the the quaint village of Dhikuli. We waited with bated breath for some respite from the balmy, almost unbearable weather. The mountains were shrouded in a cloak…
Do yourself a favour! Go to Landour
It felt like a wild goose chase; the bus to Dehradun was supposed to leave at 9 pm and I was unable to reach on time. Sometimes Indian Standard Time is a good thing, you realise when the bus driver is courteous enough to wait for you till 930 because you have pre-booked the ticket. We…
A forgotten valley – Trekking to Milam Glacier
My curiosity levels had been stoked after visiting the wonderful private museum of Mr. Pangti in Munsyari in the first week of May. There were a number of pictures of Milam village and Johar Valley, bifurcated before/after 1962. I was dumbfounded to hear stories of the rapid decline of one of the oldest and most important…
Lost and found in Munsyari
This is a story of serendipity working its magic for me to explore Munsyari without any specific plan for the same. I had woken up in dire circumstances in a dingy hotel room in the shabby town of Bageshwar. A trip to the loo drained me of any remaining energy. The shared taxi from Almora…
Binsar through my eyes
I had finally mustered enough courage to set out alone; after the fraças in Garhwal. Read My own episode of ‘Jailed Abroad’ in Garhwal Himalaya Although Uttarakhand hadn’t been particularly kind to me, this time I chose to explore Kumaon. A day in Dehradun and another in Nainital was spent getting used to the idea of…
All you need to know about Mukteshwar
Jim Corbett, the world renowned hunter and nature lover came to shoot a tiger here and fell in love with the natural beauty of Mukteshwar in Uttarakhand. He saved the local people and has described the incident in ‘The man-eaters of Kumaon.’ I didn’t kill a tiger, but was absolutely enchanted by this tranquil hill station….