Having seen all the famous hill stations in nearby states, we decided to go to a new, though less famous, hill station during one week’s break this summer. The search boiled down to Munsiyari located amidst Kumaon Himalayas in Uttrakhand. Munisyari is a paradise for the nature lovers. It is situated on the banks of river Gauri Ganga. It offers breathtaking view of snow capped high Himalayan peaks.
29/05/2010
Rudrapur
We started by own car at 8 A.M. on 29/05/2010. The journey had been planned with breaks at Rudrapur on 29/05/2010, Ranikhet on 30/05/2010, Munsiyari on 31/05/2010 and 01/06/2010, Almora on 02/06/2010 and Jim Corbett on 03/06/2010. Accordingly we reached Rudrapur on 29/05/2010 at 3 PM and halted at JNV Rudrapur for that day.
Rudra
pur is the headquarters of the Udham Singh Nagar district in Uttaranchal, India. Known popularly as the “Gateway to Kumaon Hiils” – Udham Singh Nagar is divided into three major subdivisions - Rudrapur, Kashipur and Khatima. For personal reasons I found the destination at Rudrapur in JNV Rudrapur unique. It was a pleasant surprise to know that the Principal, JNV Rudrapur Mr Vikram Joshi is a reader of Jiddu Krishnamurti. As for me, I am obsessed by JK to the extent of madness.30/05/2010
Ranikhet
Next day on 30/05/2010, we started at 8.30 AM for Ranikhet. From Rudrapur, we engaged one Driving Manager (Shri Haseen) as I and Aditya didn’t have the confide
nce of driving in hills. The company of Haseen made me nostalgic about my college days in Dr. Zakir Hussain College. On way to Ranikhet our next destination, we visited Baba Neeb Karori Temple/Ashram in Kanchidham. This is a beautiful secluded Temple/Ashram. Neeb Karori Baba or Maharajji as He is more popularly known is one of the greatest saints of the 20th century.As
we proceeded further, we were confronted by unforgettable greenery of hills all along the way. The pine trees all through the way made the sceneries very beautiful. We reached Ranikhet around Lunch. After taking lunch and some rest, we went for local sight seeing which included, Binsar Mahadev Temple, Golf Course and the Mall. Binsar Mahadev Temple is around 15 Kms from Ranikhet. It is famous for its archeological significance, being an 
ancient construction of 9th century. It is believed to be constructed in just one day. Though the temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva, the sanctum also houses idols of Lord Ganesh and Goddesses Parvati and Durga. This Temple was constructed by King Kalyan Chand of Chand Dynasty. The ambience of the temple is very beautiful and is surrounded by long Pine and Deodar trees. The golf course of Ra
nikhet is Asia’s one of the highly situated golf courses. It is the natural nine hole course and amongst the prime attractions of Ranikhet. It is entirely surrounded by lush pines and blooming orchards and provides a picture perfect view. The mall at Ranikhet comprising of a few shops is very quiet and calm place unlike the malls at Shimla or Nainital, which are always frequented by madding crowd during summer.We came back early to have an early dinner and to go to bed early because next day we had to travel around 250 kms., a distance quite long for hilly region.
31/05/2010
Munsiyari
We started from Ranikhet at 6 AM in the morning. We broke for br
eakfast at Dharanola and resumed our journey. On our way to Munsiyari, we crossed countless mountains. Some of the picturesque scenes cannot be explained in words. At some places we saw clouds sitting in the green hills, long unending beautiful jungles of pine trees, barren hills and at others we saw very beautiful clear crystal water of river. During our journey, we came across three rivers namely Saryu, Ram Ganga and Gauri Ganga. Ther
e was not much water in the rivers due to scanty rains so far. On our way we quenched our thirst by drinking natural mineral water oozing out from mountains which was very cold but sweet in taste. We again broke for lunch at Thal which is about 71 Kms from Munsiyari. After spending 11 wonderful hours travelling through the treasure house of nature we reached the Forest Rest House of Munsiyari around 5 O
'Clock in the evening. The Forest Rest House in Munsiyari is located at the best place from where one can have a perfect view of Panchachuli above and the valley below. We were very tired. Thus we took our dinner early and went to bed, also because we had planned to see a wonderful view of Panchachuli at 5.30 next morning. 
01/06/2010
Ne
xt day, we got up before 5 in the morning and came in the lawn to have a view of Panchachuli and sun rise. We started viewing Panchachuli from when it was still dark till when it had turned golden. The panoramic view of the Great Himalyan peaks turned golden due to the sunrise cannot be expained in words but can be perceived with the help of attached photos. Thereafter we freshed o
urselves and went for breakfast and other sight seeing of Munsiyari. In Munisiyari, there are not many places to see. Here one can see Panchachuli, Nanda Devi Temple and Birthi Falls. After breakfast, we went for Nanda Devi Temple which is at a distance of 2 kms from Munsiyari. It is a small white temple with very large open space rarely found in hilly areas, surrounded by a lush green valley and view of Himalayan Range. We spent around an hour here and did some photography. Then we came back to the Rest House. It had started raining before
we reached Rest House. We had planned to take some photographs of the Panchachuli when the sun was on the other side. While it could not be possible due to rain, the chill of atmosphere due to rain reminded us of winter of Delhi.02/06/2010
Baijnath Temple
Next day also we got up early to once again have an unforgettable view
of sun rise from the Panchachuli. The sky was not as clear as yesterday. However, after some time thick clouds waded away and the sun was visible with small clouds. This day, we were scheduled to leave Munsiyari for Almora. Another occupant of the Rest House suggested us to go via Kausani as it would be a beautiful sight seeing at Kausani and road was also stated to be good. We decided to go as suggested, although it 
would take us to drive 40 Kms more. We left Munsiyari around 7 in the morning. Never during our umpteem visits to hills have we seen such deep green valleys as we observed on our way back from Munsiyari. It was a mixed feeling of both fear and thrill.On way, we saw a herd of around twenty eagles which is a rare species now a days. From Thal, we took the road that leads to Kausani via Bageshwar. From Thal to Kotmanya (approx. 25 Kms), the road was inexplicably bad and we almost regretted taking this route. But after Kotmanya the road was very good and we soon forgot the experience of bad road. On our way to Kausani, we visited Baijnath
Temple. It is a 12th century temple on the banks of Gomati River. At an elevation of 1126 m. in the Garur valley of Katyur is the complex of Baijnath Temple. Built by the Katyuri kings these are ancient temples of Shiva, Ganesh, Parvati, Chandika, Kuber, Surya and Brahama. The Baijnath Temples dating back to the 12th and 13th century are constructed of stone. According to Hindu mythology, Lord Shiva and Parvati were married at the confluence of River Gomati and Gauri Ganga. From here we proceeded towards Kausani.Kausani
After crossing 4 Kms from here, the entire way to Kausani was very beautiful with j
ungles of sky rocketing pine trees. The way was very smooth just like plains in the hills. But it was mist all around and we were not able to have a glimpse of even local mountains what to talk of snow clad Himalayan peaks. After taking lunch and a walk on the small mall road we proceeded further towards Almora, leaving Kausani as a future destination.
Almora
We reached Almora which is 52 kms from Kausani at around 5 P.M. It was founded by Raja Kalyan of Chand Dynasty in 1560 AD. Almora is a town in the shape of a horse shoe perched on a 5 km lon
g mountain range in between the river Kosi and Suyal. We spent some time at Mall Road, which was very crowded. Then we proceeded towards JNV, Nainital where we had to stay tonight. JNV, Nainital is situated in Siyalbari, on a hill top on the banks of the Kosi river. From the guest house of the school one can have a beautiful view of the sunset. Just like Kausani, there was mist all around and strong wind was blowing. Next day we had to reach Jim Corbett early but we were confused about the route. The principal of the school, Mr Tyagi suggested us to go via Nainital.03/06/2010
Nainital
We started at 6 in the morning and reached Nainital at around 7.30. We spent some time at Naini Lake. Naini Lake is a natural freshwater lake, of tectonic origin, located amidst Nainital city of Uttarakhand. It is lunar-shaped and has an outlet at the southeastern end. Naini Lake is one of the four lakes in Kumaon hills, the three other being Sattal Lake, Bhimtal Lake and Naukuchiyatal Lake. The lake is bordered by three mountain peaks - the tall and sharply inclined Naina peak on the north western front, Tiffin Top on the south western front and Snow view peaks on the northern 
front. Balia Nala is the main feeder-stream of the lake. Other than this, 26major drains, including the three perennial ones, feed it. Now a days, there is not much water in the lake.From Nainital we proceeded to Ram Nagar. Since the visit to Jim Corbett Park was an experience in itself, I decided to write about it in a separate blog
http://avisittojimcorbett.blogspot.com/
 |  |
Moradabad Haldwani big presentations - 15 June 2011 of Speak asia.
ReplyDeleteDelhi To khatima Bus Booking
ReplyDeleteI found this post useful.I was trying to find this. Really refreshing take on the information. Thanks a lot