Trip to Garhwal


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Here is ma first post “ THE MONK WITH A SAFARI[lol]”.
1. Guys, this one is out from my trip to Lansdowne in Garhwal in January 12. I know most of you wouldn’t have heard of this place and many have even asked me with a big question mark on face-“ are you sure its in india?”. Well, its a beautiful place to be precise and surprisingly the roads are fabulous(stretch of UP in between is a pain!![frustration]). So, me and wifey, thought over nainital, shimla, mussourie and what not then finally homed on to Lansdowne. We both wanted to take a short break as my leave was limited. No more discussions, packed our bag and off on the road from Dehradun to Lansdowne.
2. We started off early as distance involved is roughly 200 Kms only but involves hill drive. My music system was loaded with 8 GB of punchy(for me) and smoothies(for the likes of my wife) variety and I knew driving with smoothies is fun between the mountains.
3. Detailed route:-
a. Doon to Haridwar- Haridwar to Najibabad- Najibabad to Kotdwar- Kotdwar to Lansdowne. Total distance- 212 Kms. Time taken – 7 hrs(involves a 30 mins break each at haridwar and Kotdwar and slow hill drive)
4. You don’t get much of options to stay once you reach Lansdowne as it is Training Centre for Garhwal Rifles, so..seriously plan only if you have your uncle in Army(well, I have that luxury[clap]). So, a guest room for us with damn good landscape scenery and lovely cultivation to welcome that early morning sun rays(as if you are in for your Honeymoon!). Now, about the car, Brilliant ride we both had. The car was absolutely comfortable and no tiredness whatsoever. The stretch from dehradun to haridwar was like playing NFS with maximum traffic option ‘ON’, so speed not beyond 60-70. The stretch from haridwar to Najibabad is again good with a bad stretch of 5 Kms in between, and believe you me-it is like craters that you get to see in pics of moon. However, back you are on the same lovely stretch till Kotdwar and comfortable to be reaching 100+ speeds.
5. Quick bite at Kotdwar and few snaps of a very famous temple “Sidhbali” and back to road. From here starts the hilly drive, absolutely serene and peaceful. Icing on the cake is the way Uttarakhand Govt has maintained the roads(lesson for Andhra, MP and Mah Govt), I mean what better can you have from those roads which take the maximum brunt of nature with landslides, rains etc. I even went to Tadkeshwar temple in the interiors of garhwal almost 40-50 Kms from my guest room and experienced the same lovely roads. The road is adequate for two trucks to pass and no special hill driving skills are required. Only imp points that are a must to be checked are:-
(a) horns - louder are better as hills have hairpin bends and weak horns may not be audible to traffic on the other side.
(b) lights – avoid night drive in hills at any cost but just in case, keep it always low. High can be inviting accidents.
(c) spare tyre – very imp. What to do if spare is flat? No road side assistance for miles(both upslope and downslope)
(d) Heater – Man, I tell you, temp here are low and sipping all the tea in this world won’t make you feel warm. Also, carry adequate clothes to keep you warm.
(e) Remember the most imp tip. Your mobile will show you no bars, more so if it’s not BSNL. So, work out all contingencies, contact nos before you start and do start early!
Safari has rugged power and I respect that. All 140 horses galloping and you will have no dearth of power in the most wanting situations also. It pulls effortlessly on all upslopes and leaves a smile on your face.
6. At lansdowne you won’t find a big market to shop for and that’s what I wanted (Saved a fortune). It’s a Regimental centre for troops of garhwal and a glorious history of 150 Gallant years welcome you. There is a museum that will showcase WW I and WW II vintage equipments and weapons. The valour and bravery of Indian Army needs no better explanation with this feather. Ok, back to the topic. Had a lovely stay there, visited everything including bunglaws, church and view points of Britisher’s era and became nostalgic(almost). I used to park my car at the view point, open the doors, play some smoothies with a cup of coffee and have a long chat with wifey (ohh, I miss those moments). Pics of course, just a few of them I have, next time will click more during a trip-
 

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Thats a nice write up..

Missed those beautiful pictures( the ones that u did not click),
we can try and imagine them only.
Do click more picture on all your trips..at lest we can see the nature that way[:)]
 
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Nice crisp write up The Monk. Great going...Why did you not take a road from D'Dun to Srinagar, Pauri and Landsdowne ! Complete hilly roads with good view all the way.
 
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Nice crisp write up The Monk. Great going...Why did you not take a road from D'Dun to Srinagar, Pauri and Landsdowne ! Complete hilly roads with good view all the way.
Not much of info available for this road. I did'nt wanted to experiment something new and get stucked in the middle. But will definitely try it sometime, thanks.
 
Thread Starter #5
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Thats a nice write up..

Missed those beautiful pictures( the ones that u did not click),
we can try and imagine them only.
Do click more picture on all your trips..at lest we can see the nature that way[:)]
Yes, i too miss them[frustration] but will make it a point to click more on further trips. thanks
 
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@Monk:
That's a good start, now I am awaiting more pics.
And yes, same question as Shailinder asked: Why not Dehradun-Rishikesh-Srinagar-Pauri-Landsdowne route? I mean, that route is even more fun filled.

This year itself I made a biking trip to Badrinath and I took the same route(via Rishikesh) instead of going via Kotdwar-Pauri-Srinagar. You can find it HERE..
 
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@Monk:
That's a good start, now I am awaiting more pics.
And yes, same question as Shailinder asked: Why not Dehradun-Rishikesh-Srinagar-Pauri-Landsdowne route? I mean, that route is even more fun filled.

This year itself I made a biking trip to Badrinath and I took the same route(via Rishikesh) instead of going via Kotdwar-Pauri-Srinagar. You can find it HERE..
Gosh man, fantastic pics and lovely travelogue[clap]. I have got so much to learn with ma camera skills! I missed the route mentioned by you cause i was'nt aware of it, but now is the time to check it out. Thank you mate.
 
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Hey "Monk With a Safari", Gahrwal is always very close to my heart and any write up on it moves my soul.

Thanks for the details but would have been better with a little more pictures.

As suggested the Srinagar Pauri route would have involved more hill driving including griving past Devprayag.
 
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Hi "The Monk",

I have visited this place two times. Great place!!! last time i visited Tadkeshwar mahadev temple 33km from lansdowne. May be you see the board before entered Lansdowne city. First of all the drive is awesome very calm... and the temple is situated between the hills and trees. Even i dont have perfect words to express.

Regards,
Adi
 
Thread Starter #12
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Hey "The monk", the pictures looks cool. Can you please share more photos of your trip so that we can also enjoy
Rajscorpion, thanks for appreciation. I have actually made a blunder by not clicking much pics[frustration], but got a lesson from this one. Will click adequate pics in coming trip. BTW, i will give route update for road from hyderabad to indore as i will be driving on this route shortly...and definitely with more pics![clap]

Hi "The Monk",

I have visited this place two times. Great place!!! last time i visited Tadkeshwar mahadev temple 33km from lansdowne. May be you see the board before entered Lansdowne city. First of all the drive is awesome very calm... and the temple is situated between the hills and trees. Even i dont have perfect words to express.

Regards,
Adi
Yes Adi, the place where temple is located is absolutely charismatic. it was my second visit to Tadkeshwar temple and only those who have visited this place can actually understand the beauty. Why the hell did'nt i click more pics??:stupid:
 
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Rajscorpion, thanks for appreciation. I have actually made a blunder by not clicking much pics[frustration], but got a lesson from this one. Will click adequate pics in coming trip. BTW, i will give route update for road from hyderabad to indore as i will be driving on this route shortly...and definitely with more pics![clap]



Yes Adi, the place where temple is located is absolutely charismatic. it was my second visit to Tadkeshwar temple and only those who have visited this place can actually understand the beauty. Why the hell did'nt i click more pics??:stupid:
Yes you should click the beauty and captured it for long.....anyway its not so far you can go anytime again :)
 

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