[jimnylife]

Back with another Travelogue, this time no serious adventures though

The crew visited Sigri, Pangot & Kasar Devi, Almora. 2Nights, 3 days

Day 1: Ghaziabad to Sigri, Pangot (250kms)

Started at 4am from Ghaziabad. Took the Moradabad-Kaladhungi-Nainital route. The road near Tanda was broken after the rains but since now we were in a Jimmy we bypassed the slow moving traffic by going off the road. Super fun!
We had planned to trek to the Naina Peak but the rains and fog had other plans. It was so foggy couldn’t see the bonnet of the car properly. So we decided to skip the trek as anyway the view from the top would be blocked by the clouds. Pushed on further to our hotel - Himaaksh Cottages(+91 75791 31515) It’s around 15 minutes north of the Pangot market. This is the second time I’m staying here and I can’t recommend this place enough. Amazing views perched on top of a hill. Please note - a walk of 15 mins through narrow paths is needed to reach the cottage.
Some photos :










The evening was washed out by heavy rains and we had to stay indoors. Around 8pm the rains stopped and we had a nice party on the porch in the chilly weather.

Day 2 was a clear day. Some photos while checking out. The real USP of this place is when it’s clear you can see the whole Himalayan range at eye level.





Day 2: Pangot to Kasar Devi, Almora (4 hrs)

Started at around 9am from Sigri, had breakfast midway. Got stuck in a 1 Hr Jam at Neem Karoli Baba due to their illogical parking arrangements. Anyway, the irritating jam behind us, we pushed towards Almora and the roads got better for driving. Didn’t feel like we’re driving on hill roads.

We had plans to explore Dhokaney Waterfall on the way since the path was a complete off road and I wanted to tested the 4H and hill descent control features All types of cars can reach down though, I have been there earlier in my Celerio. Later got to know that a thief was in action there and broke one of cars glasses and stole stuff. Though we heard he has caught, it saddened me that such things have started even in the mountains. We were told that the person would be counselled by the village elders.

Photos from Dhokaney Falls: I liked the place you can sit, swim, have food and enjoy here. Unfortunately ended up water damaging my trusty iPhone 11 here and the screen died 2 days later.




The Jimmy was now low on fuel since we were climbing and we refilled at the Indian Oil pump on Almora Mall Road. Mileage came out to be 12.2 kmpl. Tasted delicious Kumaoni sweets from the famous Kheem Singh Mohan Singh Rautela sweet shop right beside the petrol pump. Reached our home stay - Debuli Homestay.(+91 82796 09329)We got room number 1 which has phenomenal view from the bed itself. Rested for a bit and then went to the Kasar Devi temple during sunset and spent some peaceful moments there.

Very beautiful view of the whole Almora city from the temple.



Spent the evening at one of the many cafés along the road there. Had a sumptuous Kumaoni dinner and retired at 11 pm.

Day 3- Kasar Devi- Jageshwar Dham- Ghaziabad.

Today was a long day, we started at 7am from Kasar Devi and visited Jageshwar Dham which is a group of ancient temples.



From Jageshwar, we started for home using a different route which took us through beautiful villages and empty roads.

The Mountain Goat:


We passed by Bhimtal which we found had become quite commercialised and crowded. The road from Bhimtal to Kathgodam was slow due to the weekend traffic returning to the plains.
Reached Ghaziabad at 8pm. Refilled near home, downhill mileage came out to be 14.9 Kmpl. Had used cruise control throughout the plains.

To summarise, I fall in love every time I drive the Jimny. At the price I got it, it’s a no brainer. The way it glides over bad roads without any drama is something to be experience. My friend who drives an Ecosport was saying that it would take him time to get used to driving the Ecosport again