Pauri Garhwal: Hills, Lesser Known Places, Villages and Roads in a Maruti 800


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Namaste! to all. This is the very first travelogue I am writing, So accept the apology in advance for mistakes, and correct me wherever I go wrong.

I am a born petrolhead. Since my childhood I wanted to become a driver (or a truck driver to be specific) [:D]. In my childhood, I used to sit beside the driver in the bus and would keenly observe how he drives it.

But, nobody supported my dream and I ended up doing graduation in mechanical engineering. The idea was to keep myself close to engines and automobiles. After my graduation I worked for engine research projects, automotive aftermarkets etc. and now I work in a university looking after an automotive vehicles lab.



To Be Continued....
 
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Thread Starter #2
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Re: Pauri Garhwal: Hills, lesser known places, villages and roads- in a Maruti 800

In last summer with my savings I managed to buy my first car a pre-worshiped maruti 800AC.

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I am the 6th owner of this car, it's a 2003 4 speed mpfi AC version with type-III lights [glasses] fitted by one of those 5 past owners. I learned how to drive with this car without an instructor (the childhood observation worked well). And, since then I have driven it for more than 10k kms without a single breakdown (not even a flat tire).

I live in dehradun and few tourist spots like Mussourie, Haridwar, Rishikesh etc. are at an hours drive from my place. So I had done several trips to these places. But apart from these I had not taken my car too far. Because, my purpose of buying this car was only to learn driving and some city commutes. Nothing else I was expecting from more than a decade old maruti coming to me after its 5 previous owners.

This June we had some work at our village situated around 250 kms from our home in the hills of Garhwal. I had to go there with my family of five members. The bus service there is not convenient. So, the first thought was to hire a cab to reach there. I enquired few taxi drivers and they quoted 10k to 15k for the one side. So initial idea was to spend around 30k on a four days trip [frustration]. My heart said why not to take my car there ? it will save a lot of money and I will get a chance to feel the adventure of driving in hills. At first, this idea was totally rejected by family, friends and even by my mind. Why ? Because it seemed foolish to load a 12 years old 800 with five passengers and luggage and to drive it on broken, narrow and steep hilly roads of those remote areas where you will not find a mechanic or petrol pump in 100 kms. But my heart and the motorhead inside me said "Darr ke aage jeet hai" (beyond fear the victory lies). Somehow I convinced everyone and started working on the route map and on the car.

This is the route I followed for reaching my village.

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The route was Dehradun-Haridwar-Najibabad-Kotdwara-Dugadda-Lansdowne-Rikhnikhal-Nakuri(Bironkhal)

One week before starting my trip I started preparing my car technically for the trip. I got the two tires changed. Although, tires were not that bad, those one could last for an another year with few mm of treads remaining on them, but I was not going to take the risk with low cost Kelly-VFM so changed to brand new MRF Zigma because remaining two were also the same and I had no complains in last one year from them. As a preventive maintenance I got timing belt, Alternator belt and AC belt replaced with the new ones. Also, I got the engine oil, air filter, oil filter, brake pads changed; radiator flushed and wheel balancing, alignment done. I decided to drive my car daily for one week before the trip. Just one day before my trip I felt some jerks in car in first and second gear at low rpm. So I went to the spare parts shop and bought new fuel filter, spark plugs and changed them. Here, I would like to thank TAI member SS80 for his valuable suggestions.

I topped up the fuel to tankful and started the drive on 14th June,2015 at 6:45

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The early morning gray weather of Dehradun, Best time to avoid the hot june day and traffic jams.



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I, on the steering wheel.


Continued....
 
Thread Starter #3
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Re: Pauri Garhwal: Hills, lesser known places, villages and roads- in a Maruti 800

Dehradun to Haridwar :
Dehradun to Haridwar (NH-72) is a busy route. Especially in summers this road often witnesses jams in office hours and evenings; because it connects Haridwar and Rishikesh to Mussourie, Dehradun, Paunta Sahib, Himachal etc. The broadening of road is in process, so the road is very uneven. While cruising at 100 on a four lane highway you may suddenly come across a big pothole or unpaved road or a vehicle coming in wrong lane. Prefer traveling in early mornings or late evenings to avoid heavy traffic.

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Wrong lane ? Work in progress in the right one.

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Haridwar-Najibabad-Kotdwara


Haridwar is the most crowded city of Uttarakhand. So, while entering in the city we came across a slow moving traffic, even in the morning. This you may face till the Hari-ki-pauri. Hari-ki-pauri is the place where all the religious rituals, evening and morning aarti etc.are performed.

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Slow moving traffic while approaching haridwar.

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The Ganga. A close look from Hari-ki-pauri.

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Packed parking near the Hari-ki-pauri.

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I took NH-74 (Haridwar-Bareilly Highway) to reach Najibabad(UP).

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A still from the start of NH-74, Chandi Devi Bridge on the river Ganga.

NH-74
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Google map says this route has tolls. But, toll charges are just Rs.10 for LMVs. So don't alter your route only because of this toll.

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Eastern Ganga canal. Take a left onto the eastern Ganga canal road to avoid the city traffic of Najibabad(UP)

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Eastern Ganga canal road, The canal flows along the side of road and saves few kms. and bypasses Najibabad to reach Kotdwara(Uttarakhand).

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Overloading. Not a rare seen.

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Kotdwara(Uttarakhand)

We reached Kotdwara at around 9:15. Almost in two and half hours from Dehradun.
Kotdwara is the gateway of Pauri Garhwal. Daily goods are supplied from here to a large part of Garhwal. We stopped here for some light break-fast and tea. And, also did some shopping. Also got the fuel topped up to tankful here and additional 2 liters in a bottle.

Note: This is the last town where you will find the Petrol-pumps and good mechanics. So it's better to check all the fluids before starting towards the hills. I would suggest to keep some additional stock of fuel in your car other thank your fuel tank.

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Departure from the Kotdwara, start of the inclined roads.


Continued...
 
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Re: Pauri Garhwal: Hills, lesser known places, villages and roads- in a Maruti 800

Very nice review with full details and lot of pictures [clap] keep up the nice work buddy.
 
Thread Starter #5
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Re: Pauri Garhwal: Hills, lesser known places, villages and roads- in a Maruti 800

Kotdwara-Dugadda-Lansdowne

Here starts the roads I actually wanted to write about. From Kotdwara the road (NH-119) is double lane, less crowded and mostly smooth. You will only find some traffic till Siddhbali temple on this road. Although some sections and bridges are a little narrow.

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A single lane bridge

Make sure your vehicle is fit for these roads. The controls in the vehicle should be in good condition. Check your brakes, tires, tie-rods and whole steering system. Because with a failed engine or worn out clutch or broken drive-shaft you may be left stranded on the road; but, a steering or brake fail may result in a fetal accident in hills. I saw a new zest with both its front wheels bent inwards, may be a tie-rod failure (Couldn't click the picture though to avoid causing a traffic jam). Saw some other vehicles stranded on the sides.

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Overtake carefully
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Avoid overtaking on turns and narrow sections. Don't hesitate to use your horn. And, enjoy the natural sights around you. I love the freshness of air in hills.

Some sights from the road.
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Dugadda, The town between Kotdwara and Lansdowne.
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Some kms after Dugadda the road becomes narrower and more steeper, after a place called Fatehpur, you start missing the smoothness of the road.

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Stopped here for sight seeing and a fluid check.

Keep your vehicle on your side, but be careful that you don't end up causing damage to your car by going to the rough road sides.
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Keep your vehicle on the right gear.
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There is scarcity of water in some hilly places. See this truck carrying large water tanks. I had to follow it for around 20min. before I got the pass.
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Deriyakhal, A place from where my route was to bypass the Lansdowne town. But I preferred going to Lansdowne and then came back to Deriyakhal and continued to my route towards Rikhnikhal.
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Do you know this plant? this is special one. Try touching it once when you go to hills[;)]

The road towards Lansdowne is more steeper with regular hair-pin bands. This is a toll road, you will have to pay 50Rs per car plus 1Re per passenger.
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A sign board in local language Garhwali.

Lansdowne
Beautiful and a clean town it is; worth watching in summers. It was established by British and is the headquarters of the Garhwal Rifles. Keep your extra petrol with you, because there is no petrol pump here and locals sell it in black, 20-30 Rs above the actual price per liter.
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Continued...
 
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Re: Pauri Garhwal: Hills, lesser known places, villages and roads- in a Maruti 800

Excellent write-up and pics, waiting for more
 
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Re: Pauri Garhwal: Hills, lesser known places, villages and roads- in a Maruti 800

Lansdowne-Rikhnikhal-Bironkhal

After our short visit to Lansdowne, we came back to Deriyakhal.
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Back from Lansdowne.
Keep your toll receipts handy to avoid giving it again.


Deriyakhal is a small market situated four kms. from Lansdowne with good scenic landscape around it. There are some lodges, hotels and resorts around this area. It is a peaceful hill station with all natural crowd-free surroundings.


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View from Deriyakhal. It looks better when weather is clear and visibility is more.

Moving further, we took the Deriyakhal-Rikhnikal road. Road is smooth, with very less traffic, and sides dressed with coniferous pine leaves. These leaves can be slippery, so one should be careful while walking or even driving.
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Some land slides.


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Road parapets, good for safety.

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Here is a temple called Tarkeshwar Mahadev Temple of lord Shiva. I was already running short of time, so didn't go there. But, many people told me that it is worth going there. The temple is ancient and surrounded by dense forest. We had our lunch in a road-side restaurant, but forgot to click pics there. The food was good and prices were very reasonable.

After this the road becomes a little rough, but still not bad.
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We reached Rikhnikhal at around 4 pm, Rikhnikhal is again a small market with shops of daily goods, taxi stand, bank, dhabas etc.
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Rikhnikhal

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In these type of markets, it is hard to find a medical store or a good doctor or a petrol pump. But for sure you will find a liquor shop. [surprise]

After Rikhnikhal the road is very bad, rough, patchy , narrow and broken. But my 800 never gave up; with five passengers an packed boot it proved its reliability. I was not able to cross 20 kmph mark, because of the road condition. I heard stones hitting the floor of my car. Car was skidding over lose stones on sudden braking. I was worried that any big stone can hit my engine oil sump or fuel tank and can cause serious problem in the middle of nowhere. There was almost zero traffic on this road, we didn't came across even a single vehicle.

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A sign board making fun of me ???[anger]

Just few kms. before my destination, the road condition improved and I was able to move my car beyond 20.
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Finally, after eleven and half hours of drive, we reached our parental village near Bironkhal at around 6 pm.

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The dust on bumper says it all.

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View of my village from the road.

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The parking space for my car, I couldn't find better than this.

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Here, ends my DAY 1 journey.


Continued...[:)]
 
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Re: Pauri Garhwal: Hills, lesser known places, villages and roads- in a Maruti 800

That was amazing travelogue. Looking at some pictures it feels like you have done off roading in your 800 [;)]. How was the experience on steep inclines with your loaded car ? Is there any incident where you loss momentum?
 
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Re: Pauri Garhwal: Hills, lesser known places, villages and roads- in a Maruti 800

nice one bro liked it very much. reminded me of my trip to HP same road conditions near narkhanda, Hatu mandir, and that plant you said very special will give you all kind of itching sensation. [;)]. Nice review bro keep up the good work. lots of Pics thanks for giving us a darshan of Uttaranchal.
 
Thread Starter #10
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Re: Pauri Garhwal: Hills, lesser known places, villages and roads- in a Maruti 800

That was amazing travelogue. Looking at some pictures it feels like you have done off roading in your 800 [;)]. How was the experience on steep inclines with your loaded car ? Is there any incident where you loss momentum?
Thanks buddy. Car behaved better than my expectations on steep inclines. most of the times I was on second gear, engine was audible but never felt underpowered. The offroading was scary in Maruti. Only once on a steep turn there was stop and go traffic, and car refused to climb in first attempt, again I tried with slow clutch padel release and it worked.
 
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Appu, JK HP, Arunachal, Uttranchal are places where there is scenic Beauty. you instantly fall in love with the place. the people there are very simple and down to earth. there is a bit of commercialisation ina few tourist places. guess thats with every tourist places.
 
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@Udit:
That was a brilliant travelogue and I must admit that the old kid you was driving took a lot of beating too.
I have been to Lansdowne numerous times and every time it was a very soothing experience; no boredom at all.

It is above Dugadda when you turn right on the narrow road towards Lansdowne (I don't know the name of place). There is a small fresh water stream on the right hand side of the road. There is a wonderful point where you can drive down to the stream in your car and enjoy some snacks sitting beside the stream; we friends used to spend hours there together and have our lunch there itself. The point is just before the bridge whose pic you posted (Not the one with a Mahindra Maxx, but the one you posted after moving on the narrow road. The bridge with some dust over the road), you should try to get there once, I can bet you will be smiling over that for whole time.
Here is a pic of the place:


@Incarnation:
That grass is also called as 'kandaali' or 'bicchu (scorpion) ghaas (grass)'. Maybe because of the fantastic feeling one gets after touching it! :biggrin:
 
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Thread Starter #15
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Nice TL man,

Your village looks so beautiful. wish to visit once [:)]
Thanks. You're welcome.

@Udit:
That was a brilliant travelogue and I must admit that the old kid you was driving took a lot of beating too.
I have been to Lansdowne numerous times and every time it was a very soothing experience; no boredom at all.

It is above Dugadda when you turn right on the narrow road towards Lansdowne (I don't know the name of place). There is a small fresh water stream on the right hand side of the road. There is a wonderful point where you can drive down to the stream in your car and enjoy some snacks sitting beside the stream; we friends used to spend hours there together and have our lunch there itself. The point is just before the bridge whose pic you posted (Not the one with a Mahindra Maxx, but the one you posted after moving on the narrow road. The bridge with some dust over the road), you should try to get there once, I can bet you will be smiling over that for whole time.
Here is a pic of the place:
image

@Incarnation:
That grass is also called as 'kandaali' or 'bicchu (scorpion) ghaas (grass)'. Maybe because of the fantastic feeling one gets after touching it! :biggrin:
Thanks, I too saw the place from roadside, there were few people with their SUVs having fun in the water. But, we had a long way to go further, so I didn't stop there. I guess it is near a place called Fatehpur.
 

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