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Going to Neverland
Shitlakhet, situated at an altitude of 1828 mtrs is a small hamlet nestled in the hills between Almora and Ranikhet in Uttarakhand, which is yet to attract the fancy of mountains hunting tourists from nearby metropolis and cities. Shitlakhet still manages to holds an old world charm of a hill station unlike its nearest cousin Ranikhet which is barely 30 kms away from Shitlakhet.
Shitlakhet, the name I heard few years back never ringed a bell. I never even bothered to check where it was situated. But off-late I read some simple stories about this place. It ignited a strong desire to visit this place. I tried to plan few time during past few months but it never materialized.
However, I got lucky during Republic Day this year. My usual road trip partners, Praveer, Rahul and Rakesh too were yearning for a road trip. Out last trip together was the Saach Pass trip which we did in September-October 2019. You can read it here Saach Pass – Sa(a)ch me Bahut Mushkil hai.
We decided to take a day off on Monday and visit Shitlakhet. Now, we had a three day window which was perfect for a quick yet refreshing road trip. So 25th to 27th January 2020 was marked for Shitlakhet. We decided to drive Rahul’s Scross instead of my trusted Thar as I was facing some mechanical issues with Thar.
On 25th morning three of us assembled near Akshardham temple and picked up at Rakesh after crossing UP gate. We had to cover almost 350 kms during the day. The day was slightly foggy in the morning but with good enough visibility. We took our first break at Gajraula for breakfast. By 9.30 am we left from Gajraula. The day too opened up and we made good speeds on the highway with Rahul behind the wheels. Son we reached the cut for Moradabad.
foggy start to the day
first break at Gajraula
We took the Tanda-Bazpur-Kaladhungi-Nainital route. Though the entire route was a two lane undivided road, yet traffic was sparse except when we crossed the towns of Tanda and Bazpur. After Bazpur, the journey was beautiful with lots of greenery on both sides of the highway as we were nearing the Corbett forest area. At noon time we reached Kaladhungi.
From Kaladhungi, we took a left turn and entered into the forest and headed towards Nainital which was about 35 kms away. It was another leg of a beautiful journey from the foothills to the lofty mountains. After an amazing drive of about 30 minutes we took a chai-maggi break at a road side dhaba. Weather was nippy, perfect for enjoying a hot cup of tea coupled with steaming maggi.
Chai-Maggi break
After a break of half an hour we carried on with our journey. We stopped here n there just for the misty views the mountains offered. Roads were good devoid of traffic hence we made merry and covered a lot of distance in no time. We crossed Nainital before 2.00 pm. It was almost empty.
misty weather near Nainital
Shitlakhet was just 60 kms away. We had plenty of day light to spend before reaching Shitlakhet. We stopped for a late lunch at a roadside dhaba before Kakrighat. The dhaba had a lovely river view at its back side. Food was simple but delicious.
lunch time
river view behind the dhaba
fulfilling food
Shitlakhet, the name I heard few years back never ringed a bell. I never even bothered to check where it was situated. But off-late I read some simple stories about this place. It ignited a strong desire to visit this place. I tried to plan few time during past few months but it never materialized.
However, I got lucky during Republic Day this year. My usual road trip partners, Praveer, Rahul and Rakesh too were yearning for a road trip. Out last trip together was the Saach Pass trip which we did in September-October 2019. You can read it here Saach Pass – Sa(a)ch me Bahut Mushkil hai.
We decided to take a day off on Monday and visit Shitlakhet. Now, we had a three day window which was perfect for a quick yet refreshing road trip. So 25th to 27th January 2020 was marked for Shitlakhet. We decided to drive Rahul’s Scross instead of my trusted Thar as I was facing some mechanical issues with Thar.
On 25th morning three of us assembled near Akshardham temple and picked up at Rakesh after crossing UP gate. We had to cover almost 350 kms during the day. The day was slightly foggy in the morning but with good enough visibility. We took our first break at Gajraula for breakfast. By 9.30 am we left from Gajraula. The day too opened up and we made good speeds on the highway with Rahul behind the wheels. Son we reached the cut for Moradabad.
foggy start to the day
first break at Gajraula
We took the Tanda-Bazpur-Kaladhungi-Nainital route. Though the entire route was a two lane undivided road, yet traffic was sparse except when we crossed the towns of Tanda and Bazpur. After Bazpur, the journey was beautiful with lots of greenery on both sides of the highway as we were nearing the Corbett forest area. At noon time we reached Kaladhungi.
From Kaladhungi, we took a left turn and entered into the forest and headed towards Nainital which was about 35 kms away. It was another leg of a beautiful journey from the foothills to the lofty mountains. After an amazing drive of about 30 minutes we took a chai-maggi break at a road side dhaba. Weather was nippy, perfect for enjoying a hot cup of tea coupled with steaming maggi.
Chai-Maggi break
After a break of half an hour we carried on with our journey. We stopped here n there just for the misty views the mountains offered. Roads were good devoid of traffic hence we made merry and covered a lot of distance in no time. We crossed Nainital before 2.00 pm. It was almost empty.
misty weather near Nainital
Shitlakhet was just 60 kms away. We had plenty of day light to spend before reaching Shitlakhet. We stopped for a late lunch at a roadside dhaba before Kakrighat. The dhaba had a lovely river view at its back side. Food was simple but delicious.
lunch time
river view behind the dhaba
fulfilling food
