[sudev]

A small video of the drive and roads. It had rained during the preceding evening and night.

http://youtu.be/tp5Jn0pcZMw

[mobix]

Excellent stuff Joy and absolutely love the photos.

Can you tell me how much time it took you to reach Kausani ?

[joybhowmik]

Originally Posted by mobix

Excellent stuff Joy and absolutely love the photos.

Can you tell me how much time it took you to reach Kausani ?

Thanks mobix
I started from Delhi at 6:30 AM, and reached Kausani at 6 PM. Of course this was with more than the fair share of rest stops..as we were not in a hurry. I would think, without the optional stops, we could have reached by 4:30 PM.

[SS-Traveller]

Nice, short and crisp travelogue, Joy. Enjoyed reading it, and the pics were nice.

It's been some years since I've not ventured into the deeper parts of Uttarakhand. Good to enjoy the scenery through your lens.

[issigonis]

>>>

Re. the route to ease one's way through the plains to reach the terai, after travelling on a few routes, I have settled on the following :

Rampur - (Ambedkar Park) - Suar-Bazpur-Kaladhungi-Kathgodam - onwards to Bimtal-Bhowali.

Although the stretch between Suar- Bazpur-Kaladhungi is not at all perfect and there is a particularly bad stretch of maybe 5-8 kms around Bazpur, I have found that there are longer and worse stretches in the Rampur-Bilaspur-Rudrapur route, apart from the latter's terrible traffic.

On that 5-8 km stretch I nurse my car at a cautious 10 kmph and pausing to check which 'piece of the road' should be taken, allowing Nanos, scooters, three wheeled spaceships, monstrous lorries, even cyclists to rush past. This way I am able to avoid scratching the underbody.

The GC of my car is just 152 mm.

The link to the route in Google Maps : https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Ambe...akhand,+India/

Regards

[joybhowmik]

Trisul

Trisul (Hindi: त्रिशूल) is a group of three Himalayan mountain peaks of western Kumaon, with the highest (Trisul I) reaching 7120m. The three peaks resemble a trident - in Hindi/Sanskrit, Trishula, trident, is the weapon of Shiva. The Trishul group forms the southwest corner of the ring of peaks enclosing the Nanda Devi Sanctuary, about 15 kilometres (9 mi) west-southwest of Nanda Devi itself.
Source Wikipedia

An eerie silence echoes through the first light of dawn. As the sleeping giant wakes up, in regal finery.
Is it real? One asks. A rhetorical question. Pat comes the reply. The left side of the brain can't quite grapple with the magnitude of the unfolding drama. The right side.. as always ever prosaic.

And yet, the magnanimity of the spectacle unfolding in its finery, leaves the right side spellbound too.

The sun rises in the distant horizon, bathing everything in its path in a white light. The hues in the shadows get recognition for the first time.

[dr. sen]

[quote=joybhowmik;3422523]No travelogue is complete without a review of the places we ate at and stayed, and the route we took.

Breakfast en-route to Kausani.
We chose to stop at McDonalds , Salarpur , U.P. (just after Gajraula). Coordinates: 28.840388,78.275857.
Review: As usual, nothing spectacular. Kids loved it -more for the consistency of a gastronomic experience rather than anything else. Bathrooms were clean. Service was a little delayed, no doubt overwhelmed by the holiday crowds.

Lunch stopover
We had discovered Lee's kitchen, Kathgodam . Coordinates 29.28034,79.54515. Contact - 9897021393, a kilometer up the road from Udupiwala. We stopped here for some wonderful Tangra style Chinese. Mouthwatering - chilly chicken, garlic chicken, schezwan prawn and much much more. And the prices were straight out of [i]Tangra

Dear Joy Babu,

Congrats for such a beautifully detailed with pictures, write up. On your recommendation i had taken my family there, last weekend for 5 days trip (delhi- bheemtaal, mukhteshwar- sheetalakhet - kausani - ranikhet - ramnagar route.) and the food was really good, as mentioned by you. Just for info, Mr. Lee had opened his own restaurant down the line,on way to kathgodam, a 1km or so. huge area, managed by his son.

Any suggestion on the route selection to bheemtal/ kathgodam from kolkata side. i am confident about till, allahabad, but after that, confused about the route. Want to touch lucknow (read your 48 hrs. lucknow trip) but want to avoid kanpur. By the way congrats on your new 4x4. Thats my daughters and wife's favourite colour. Ordered the same front view camera also..

Your advise is highly prized and valuable to me, please oblige. Moving on 17th oct morning from kolkata.

Regards

[joybhowmik]

Originally Posted by dr. sen

I just want to ask all who have visited lucknow, including Sir Sgiitk, where are famous biryani shops. You also have forgotten to visit them, though you did taste the same at the famous tunda's. Any advise, as i am visiting lucknow on 18th oct, from kolkata on my way to kasauni.

Biryani shops dot the entire city of Lucknow. Try spending a day at Chowk and Aminabad and go "Biryani-tasting" to get an eclectic experience. As ours had been a weekend trip we stuck to Tundays. You can also try Lulla Biryani in Chowk. Other names that I recall but never visited were Zeeshan Biryani (Lalbagh) and Wahid Biryani (Aminabad).

Originally Posted by dr. sen

Any suggestion on the route selection to bheemtal/ kathgodam from kolkata side. i am confident about till, allahabad, but after that, confused about the route. Want to touch lucknow (read your 48 hrs. lucknow trip) but want to avoid kanpur.

I would suggest avoiding the road from Allahabad to Lucknow via Rae Barelli, as recent reports indicated a state of disrepair. Post Allahabad Byepass continue on NH-2 till you come to Kanpur. Just remember not to take the exit to Lucknow from the flyover at Ramdevi Market. Continue on the flyover past the mayhem far below, and indeed leave the main city behind. Then follow the ten steps I have enlisted in post #2 on my Lucknow thread. Just remember that SAIL will be on the opposite side of the road, so you would need to take a U turn once you are past SAIL.
From thereon it's plain sailing. Just post the coordinates into your GPS ,and enjoy. You are probably going to be better off having your major meal before you hit this 10 step stretch because good restaurants imply negotiating the Kanpur "choke".
...
From Lucknow, take NH-24 to Bareilly - since it's a NH , you are probably going to expect butter smooth roads all the way - nothing could be further than the truth. Expect congestion and broken tarmac. At Bareilly do not enter the town - take the byepass, and exit to the road that goes to Haldwani. From Haldwani its a short hop to Bheemtal. Net net - expect good roads only starting in Uttarakhand. UP roads are generally in atrocious condition unless, Neta ji has an agenda. Which is rare.

All the best for your trip!

[Raaj*]

Heaven’s Tides, an indisputable title for this travelogue, Kausani!

Long back, when i read this travelogue, i was not a member! Though, the pictures & your descriptions made me to have this thread bookmarked in my “favorites” & to have the Heaven’s tides picture as my PC's desktop background for many days!

With a bunch of Thanks to moderators, i could now appreciate the way you have captured the scenes as they unfold which transports the magnetism of Mrigthuni & Trishul and the compelling beauty of Baijnath town under the umbrella of clouds
Until a few years ago I know little about Uttarakhand & its beauty (except “Dhoni’s paternal village is in Almora district“ )
After going through the travelogues including yours and arun_josie’s (Bangalore-Kausani-Kanyakumari-Banglore trip), have included Uttarakhand in my wish list!