[v&v]

Another impulsive trip. With kids exam finished , we had 5 days before school reopening. Quick search and locked Kanatal for 3 nights. Luckly we also got hotel confirmation for Club Mahindra.

So the plan was 3 nights at Kanatal and 1 night at Rishikesh.
Rishikesh stay was at GMVN Rishilok Tourist Rest House.

Date of travel : 30 March to 3rd April 2014

Route
Distance to Kanatal : 325 kms. (7 to 8 hrs drive)
Route : Delhi - Meerut - Muzaffarnagar - Roorkee - Haridwar - Rishikesh - Narendra Nagar - Chamba - Kanatal (On Chamba - Mussorie Road) - 16 kms.

USP Kanatal- At 8500 fts above sea level, secluded , Awesome view of Himalayas. Clear view of Trishul, Chaukhamba and Bandarpuch. Lot of trekking options in Kodia Jungle. Pine and Oak forest.

Places to See - Kodia Jungle, Tehri Dam, Dhanolti - Surkanda devi temple, ECO Park.

Road Condition
Road after Muzaffarnagar to Roorkee is bad. High traffic in Haridwar and Roorkee.

Midway Break
Nameste Midway has MCD,Haldiram,Costa is about 5 kms before Muzaffarnagar is ideal stop over. Of course Cheetal Grand is also another option which is 12 km before Midway.

We started by 5.30 Am. By 7.30 am we reached MCd. 10 Am at Haridwar and by 1 pm reached Kanatal. Rest enjoy the photographs...


Midway breakfast stop over.




Some where near Chamba


Mighty Himalayan ranges - first sight after crossing Chamba town

[v&v]

Day - 1
Check in was smooth and post lunch we lazed around for the day...
The resort is on the main Chamba - Dhanaulti road. Medium sized resort with about 35 rooms. All rooms are valley facing. Well appointed rooms with good insulation and room heating . Evenings and early morning are cold and some times windy too. The hotel is just infront of Kodia eco park. Food is pricey but members have discount and fun dining option. Monkey menace a problem.

Some resorts clicks




Lobby

[v&v]

Day-2 - We planned to trek Kodia Jungle. Morning trek was about 7 kms. As still early morning was very cold, we went by 7 am and were back by 11 am. Again post lunch went for another trek.Rest enjoy the photographs. Kodia jungle has many trek tracks overlooking the mighty Himalayas. Lots of birds. Chances to sight Himalayan Monal.



Great Tit


Entry to Eco Park

[v&v]

Clear view of Peaks : Chaukhamba, Trishul, Hathi-Ghoda-Palki, Nanada devi.








Trishul Peak


Attachment 1230229

Verditer Flycatcher


Russet Sparrow


Verditer Flycatcher


Grey Bushchat

[v&v]

Day - 3 , was planned for Surkanda Devi temple visit and Eco park, Dhanaulti.
The day started lazily. Started by 11.30 am.

The temple is at an altitude of 9800 fts. My watch was showing 10200 fts. its a tough 1.6 kms trek. We took 1 hrs and 20 min . The new temple has not yet opened. Work has been completed and will opened October

Now some more pics...

[v&v]

Eco park, Dhanaulti

Its a beautiful park for a day out. Ideal birding location. Lots of walking tracks.













Common Hawk Cookoo


Mistle Thrush


Eurasian Jay

[v&v]

Day - 4 , Checked out from CM Kanatal by 10 am. Our next destination was Rishikesh. We usually stay at GMVN Rashilok. Its very near to Ram Jhula. We reached by 11.30 am.

Plan for the day was to have lunch at Chotiwala, Walk around , Witness Ganga aarti.
I was surprised to see 2 CCD's one each at Ram and laxman Jhula and lots of German Cafe has come up near Luxman Jhula market. As usual Chotiwala's Thali was simbly awesome....

[v&v]

More pics


Aftermath of Himalayan Tsunami can still be seen


Laxman Jhula
















Day - 5, We left of Delhi early morning. 9.30 Am we were at Midway. By 1 Pm we were in Delhi. Total Distance Travelled : 700 kms. No fuel refilling required.

End of log...

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to Travelogues. Thanks for sharing!

[DragonRider]

Lovely Pics !! This looks like a good route to drive on a long/extended weekend for NCR folks. Are there any other good places for stay other than the Mahindra resort. Also, how was the road throughout, any instances where you found the road too narrow for the Safari?

[v&v]

Thanks DragonRider. Chamba has lots of option for stay. The Terraces and Classic hilltop were the other hotels i saw enroute to CM.

Road through is good expect 35 kms between Muzaffarnagar till Roorkee.

[joybhowmik]

Vinod sir
Lovely and amazing pics - especially of the peaks.
Your stop over at chotiwala brings back fond memories of my own lunch there. IIRC, there used to be a Brahmin with a choti standing outside ushering in hungry diners. Did you observe the same?

[Traveller Nayak]

Originally Posted by v&v

Route,Places to See, Road Condition

Crisp write up and lovely pictures. If you could also add about the camera and lens used it will be really helpful. Pictures of the snowed peaks and the birds are wonderful. Thanks for sharing.

[v&v]

Originally Posted by joybhowmik

Vinod sir
Lovely and amazing pics - especially of the peaks.
Your stop over at chotiwala brings back fond memories of my own lunch there. IIRC, there used to be a Brahmin with a choti standing outside ushering in hungry diners. Did you observe the same?

Thanks Joy, That Chotiwala Brahmin was there. I have been seeing him for at least 10 to 12 years for sure...

Originally Posted by Traveller Nayak

Crisp write up and lovely pictures. If you could also add about the camera and lens used it will be really helpful. Pictures of the snowed peaks and the birds are wonderful. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks Traveller. I am using a Canon 600D with stock 15-55, Tamron 150 - 600. I shoot with Fujifilm HS50EXR. Its a 1000mm bridge camera.

cheers

[arpit_95]

A big thank you v&v sir for your comprehensive travelogue. Wonderful pictures I must say.
It was your travelogue which actually helped me make up my mind for Kanatal as my holiday destination. Truly, Kanatal is a gem of a place for nature lovers.
Attaching a couple of shots of sunset which I managed to capture at Kanatal during my recent trip.





Sorry for digging up this thread, my membership just got approved recently.