To Devbhoomi, Uttarakhand

[Dry Ice]

I wanted to spend my Diwali at a quiet place, away from the cacophony of Delhi. Family intervened and it wasn't to be. But, I managed to get them on-board for a 4 day trip soon after Diwali.

With the dates fixed, next thing to decide was the place. Where to.
Since the trip was going to be with my parents, there had to be a few religious places on the list. Uttarakhand was a perfect fit. Moreover, after back-to-back HP trips, I wanted to venture out a little in Kumaon

With help from some awesome logs on this region here & the road update thread, I chalked out a rough plan.

Delhi - Chaukori - Baijnath - Bageshwar - Kausani - Jageshwar - Delhi.

Adding a few pictures randomly for now, will share the day-wise report soon.

Bheemtal

Diwali lights @ Almora

Star studded sky @ Kausani

Wonderful sunrise @ Kausani

Steed, Trishul in the backdrop

@ Baijnath

Gomati @ Bageshwar

Sunset @ Chaukori

Morning sun lighting up the trees @ Jageshwar

Almora, day view
​

Contd..

 

[Khagesh]

Nice photographs. Thanks for sharing.

 

[ajayshokeen]

nice pics

 

[sanjeevkumar]

Nice Pics waiting for actual part

 

[xplorerdev]

Kausani is a nice and quiet place. Lovely shots. The starry one looks amazing. Aur dikhao! Aur dikhao

 

[raman mittal]

Nice Pics buddy, hooked for the complete log

 

[BHOOTER RAJA]

Great start. Lovely photos.

 

[Dry Ice]

Nice photographs. Thanks for sharing.

nice pics

Nice Pics waiting for actual part

Kausani is a nice and quiet place. Lovely shots. The starry one looks amazing. Aur dikhao! Aur dikhao

Nice Pics buddy, hooked for the complete log

Great start. Lovely photos.

Devine .......

Thank you folks , updates coming up soon.

 

[Cookie]

Devine .......

 

[Dry Ice]

12/11/2015, Day 1: Delhi - Kausani

I wanted to leave before 7:30 am but Diwali festivities at home ensured we could not leave before 8:30 am. Near Ghaziabad, traffic started to build up. Narrow 2 laned road and unpredictable traffic made our progress slow.

We stopped at Bikanerwala, Gajraula for a tea break.

Roads cleared up a lot after this and we were making good time. The trouble started soon after Rampur. The stretch between Rampur - Rudrapur is absolutely horrendous. The huge potholes and criss-crossing vehicles (trying to avoid the craters) are a pain to deal with. This is the only stretch which can slow one down considerably on this route. Haldwani is another suspect but with the bypass now, can be avoided.

Beautiful road through the forest, between Pant Nagar - Haldwani​

Took a lunch break at Udupiwala, Kathgodam. Finding a spot to park was a little difficult. Seeing the crowd, I was expecting a slow service. But thankfully, they proved me wrong and we were out of there in under 30 mins! Probably the shortest lunch break for me while out on the road. Food was good too, better than the usual Sagar Ratna fare that I mostly avoid now.

Soon after Kathgodam, the hills started and we were on narrow winding roads. The road surface was good, with some exceptions here and there. At Bhimtal, took a small photo break.

Kosi giving us company as we move towards Almora
​

Between Bhimtal and Almora, the sun started to set and we got to see Almora in a different light

Due to Diwali, all the houses were decked up with the usual decorative lights and it made for such a wonderful view. Sadly though, while clicking the pictures, I did not realize, I was shooting in jpeg! That's why couldn't recover much details from the shadow areas.

After Almora, the traffic was virtually non-existant and all shops/houses along the way were closed. The deserted roads often made us doubt if we were on the right track.

We reached Kausani pretty late, around 7:30 pm. After dinner, roamed around a little and clicked some pics before retiring for the day. It was a clear night with little to no clouds and thus we were able to see the stars in all their glory. Something we always miss in Delhi.

Last shot of the day​

Contd..