39 FiveHillStns
Ranikhet, Kausani, Munsiary, Choukori & Binsar are the 5 hill-stations, in Kumaon, that we a took a summer vacation trip to avoid the sweltering heat of Mumbai in April-2010:
Use cursors buttons at Map's top-left corner ... to move around the map and zoom-in/out ... Earth view is best for me!
I have been to all these five hill-stations in Kumaon before; mostly to relax for a couple of days after completing some strenuous trek. They are all quite and serene places in good altitudes of 1800-2400M and with wonderful Himalayan snow-peak views. Quite different from the touristy hill-stations like Nainital, Mussorie, Shimla etc.
For several years now, I had been wanting to take my wife and show her these wonderful places. April was good month to go as these places would be cool to relax, but I knew viewing the Snow-peaks in summer haze was going to be chancy. So it was, but we did manage to get some very clear sunrise views of Panchachuli, from Munsiary, thanks to some thundershowers in the previous night clearing up the skies.
Clumps of beautiful roses in Ranikhet KMVN-TRH garden
Baijnath's ancient temples (16th Cent AD) on way to Bageshwar
Sunrise view of Panchachuli range behind us at Munsiary
In Munsiary, we visited this private museum of tribal artifacts and handicrafts of the region; collected & maintained by Dr S S Pangey
Trekking in the wonderful forest trails of Binsar Sanctuary
View of Nainital Lake from the cable car ride to the ridge top. On our way back we stopped in Nainital for 4-5 hours to kill some time before catching our train from at Kathgodam at 8:30pm
Our Boatman on Nainital Lake ... he seemed to be sincere & hard working sort of chap ... insisting on doing the full lake circuit that we had paid for ... even though we said he can turn around midway!
We did many walks and treks in the wonderful woods of Ranikhet
Faint outlines of Himalayas snow-peaks seen from Ranikhet - behind the smoke from forest fires rising in the middle distance
Tea Gardens on the hill-slopes below Kausani
Thats how clear the view was in Munsiary (click image to enlarge)
The Nanda Devi temple located in a serene & peaceful bugyal on top of a hill-ridge, some 2 Kms out of Munsiary town. But we were not lucky enough to get the awesome Panchahuli presence that my friend Mr A. K. Chowdhury got in Dec-2007, when he was here (see his pic below)
Nanada Devi Temple, Munsiary (click on Image to enlarge)
Two oldies .... enjoying a boat ride on the Nainital Lake
Brief Summary of Itinerary:
WED 21-APR Dep: Borivili by 2953 AK Rajadhani at 16:17 Hrs
THU 22-APR Arr: Hazrat Nizamuddin (Delhi) 11:00 Hrs
THU 22-APR Dep: Old Delhi RlyStn by Ranikhet Exp at 20:40 Hrs
FRI 23-APR Arr: Kathgodam Stn 06:30am Hire Taxi (Rs 650/-) to Ranikhet-KMVN*
FRI 23-APR Arr KMVN* Ranikhet by 9:00am N/H ( Nice Forest Trail walks near KMVN incl. Jhula Devi Temple)
SAT 24-APR Continue in KMVN 2nd night (Nice walk 4-5Kms through nice forest Rodd to Choubhutia Horticulture Gardens & back)
SUN 25-APR Dep:9am (in a Booked for 9-days Taxi from here) to Kausani-KMVN Arr: Noon N/H
MON 26-APR Continue in Kausani KMVN 2nd night (again: Nice walks in foresty trails, sloping down just below the KMVN here)
TUE 27-APR Dep: 8am to Munsiary Via Baijnath Temple & Bageshwar - Arr Munsiary: 3:00PM N/H (a bit too long taxi ride this one today)
WED 28-APR Continue in Munsiary-KMVN 2nd night (Sunrise views of Panchachuli, visit Nanda Devi temple & Tribal Heritage Museum)
THU 29-APR Dep: 9am to Choukori-KMVN arr: 13:00Hrs N/H (evening walks to an old tea factory and a residential school nearby)
FRI 30-APR Day Trip to Patal Bhuvaneswar Caves & back in Choukori 2nd night
SAT 01-MAY Dep: 9am to Binsar-KMVN arr 13:00Hrs N/H (had planned to see Jageshwar Temple on the way ... but skipped that)
SUN 02-May Continue in Binsar KMVN (wonderful thick forest walks to zero pt. and some local temple etc)
MON 03-MAY Dep: Binsar 9:00AM Visit Naintal on way (1pm to 5:30pm) and then Arr Kathgodam 7:00PM
MON 03-May Dep: 8:30PM by Ranikhet Exp to Delhi
*KMVN = Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN) - The Tourist Rest Houses (TRH) of the Uttarakhand Government in Kumoan