Re: Magical Uttarakhand - 6 Days of Fun and 2 Days of Mess

nice log. I also had made a solo dehradun-chakrata-lakha mandal-mussorie-dehradun trip in 09 on my zma, and it was my frist solo trip. the thing that scared me the most was thinking about what would i do if my bike stalled cos the road from chakrata to lakhamandal is deserted as a desert. i could not find a house let alone a human for about 40-45 km at a stretch then saw two houses then again deserted there after.... thanked god once i reached lakhamandal...after that it was ok... pretty sure you took the turn to gangotri right after passing this bridge outside lakha mandal ..

Re: Magical Uttarakhand - 6 Days of Fun and 2 Days of Mess

Day 4 - Uttarkashi - Dhauntri - Chamiyala - Ghansali - Ukimath - Sari - Deoria Taal


Got an early start today,thanks to the waiter who came to ask for early morning tea.I went to the main market(Taxi stand) area to inquire about the route which i had to take,saw some hotels in the left and then the Garam Garam samosa's coming out of the frying pot caught my attention.With few rounds of samosa and tea to sum it up,i finally came back to my senses and asked the hotel owner about the shortcut to Ukimath.He was so kind and generous,that he drew entire map for me and pointed the landmarks and towns from where i had to take the diversions


My Plan for today was to reach Sari Village as soon as possible and complete the Deoria taal trek before it gets dark.On the other hand,i wanted to see the sunset from top


I was keeping the tea,rajnigandha and photo breaks to be minimum.Road condition was pretty good,but the roads were narrow..so i was riding slow and careful.








And a pit stop to give my dhanno and myself a break.This was taken at Kemunda Khal





I would keep admitting this thing again and again,Wherever i went in Uttarakhand,I was greeted with breathtaking views.











I reached Ghansali and stopped for Lunch break.Had normal thali with dahi and lots of butter .All for 60 bucks





Beauty of this state continues to amaze me








A quick tea and bidi break





Main highway NH109 which connects the outer world to the remote places like Ukimath and Kedarnath.





I reached Ukimath and made my way towards Sari village.Deoria tal is quite popular place among tourists.So it was quite easy to find the route heading to sari village from Ukimath.I reached Sari village at 05:00 PM,almost on time.I reached directly at the point from where the trek starts.I started inquiring about the tent accommodation at the top and after few rounds of bargaining,i got a single tent for 500 bucks for one night.I quickly dumped all the luggage and riding gears at the tent owners place and started the trek.The guy with which i booked the tent..told me that...the route uphill is straight and you will not find any difficulty on finding the trek route.He also told me that the trek is piece of cake and can be done in an hour
I realized it later,what he meant by piece of cake..It was me who arrived in piece's when i reached the top :P
I walked..I walked and I walked.





Still a long way to go !!!





I made it to the top,but it was dark already and one thing which i regretted most was the Sunset i missed


Along with me there were many other folks,i was able to see at least 20-30 tents pitched up around Deoria Tal.I settled myself in the tent which i had booked..at the entrance of the Tal,there are two shops where dinner,snacks and everything else is available at double cost.Which is fair enough.


Around 08:00 PM delicious dinner was served.Candle Light Dinner







There's my tent on the left,Need to learn a lot about night photography..i was unable to focus in pitch dark..hence this blurry image.





After successful attempts on taking many such blurry shots,i finally remembered that i am tired because of the painful trek i did in the evening.Crashed to bed for a promising morning with some breath taking views


Cheers
Biru

Re: Magical Uttarakhand - 6 Days of Fun and 2 Days of Mess

Superb ........... Waiting for the rest

Re: Magical Uttarakhand - 6 Days of Fun and 2 Days of Mess

Day 5 - Deoria Taal - Chopata - Gopeshwar - Bageshwar


I was waiting for the morning so sincerely,that i didn't slept at all.Ok i admit that it was very cold due to which i didn't slept properly :P.Good thing was that,i was able to witness some early morning magical views of the Deoria Tal.












From the travel logs i have read by other members in BCMT,i came to know that this lake has an spiritual connection/importance.Its the same place where Pandavas were asked queries by Yaksha.Every Pandav was consumed in the process of answering the question,only Yudhistir remained and he answered all the questions correctly and brought back all his lost brothers.That is why Yudhisthir was considered most intelligent and wisest among all the Pandav's.I recollect this episode from Mahabharat where all this happened..but seeing the lake for real was something which i never imagined











I walked in and around the lake and tried to capture the beauty of the lake from all the possible angle's.Meanwhile saw these beautiful flowers.








And the beauty captured from my S3








With enough time spent clicking and admiring the beauty of the lake,I finally decided to head back to the Village.That was to avoid trekking back in the heat as well.View from the top was much clear and beautiful as compared to what i saw in the last evening





A temple on the way to trek.





Returning back to Sari was much faster and easier as i just had to roll down on the well laid stone path.Sometimes gravity and weight helps a lot :P.
My drug...Tea and Parle G





I collected my stuff and started towards Chopata.Diversion from which we head up towards Sari village from the main highway going towards Chopata.





And there was still some ice left in Chopata,after all i was not that late .I skipped the Tunganath and Chandrashila trek as i was out of time and out of energy and strength due to yesterday's fast track trek .So i just enjoyed on what i had around the highway.





TO BE CONTD


CHeers
Biru

Re: Magical Uttarakhand - 6 Days of Fun and 2 Days of Mess

Amazing stuff. Hopefully one day I can get a chance to ride on these roads.

Keep the pics coming.

Re: Magical Uttarakhand - 6 Days of Fun and 2 Days of Mess

great ride again.
And it was April u rode to this place?? coz roads are not that Ice laden and nice pics btw.

Re: Magical Uttarakhand - 6 Days of Fun and 2 Days of Mess

I am becoming an ardent fan of yours,,,, awesome, breathtaking!!! guess, you are doing multiple updation simultaneously; btw your 'Down Under' log is still pending
OT queries - How do you manage to get time off?, You married? - Do not bother to answer, I just typed my mind out Please continue...

Re: Magical Uttarakhand - 6 Days of Fun and 2 Days of Mess

Uttarakhand is really magical..proud to be its native. Well, what went wrong the last day?

Re: Magical Uttarakhand - 6 Days of Fun and 2 Days of Mess

Hey bro am from UK too......where do you reside. ????
Hope to meet someday....
I never knew there were some more riders from our place on xbhp


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Re: Magical Uttarakhand - 6 Days of Fun and 2 Days of Mess

well i am from Pithoragarh buddy but i reside in Dehradun...... n you are right i think hardly any rider is there from UK.Hope to meet you someday mate...
]

Re: Magical Uttarakhand - 6 Days of Fun and 2 Days of Mess

Yeah.....though I have joined 'Uttarakhand BykerzZz' group on xbhp here but nobody seems active....am from Nainital,residing in Haldwani

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Re: Magical Uttarakhand - 6 Days of Fun and 2 Days of Mess

right, I have encountered only 2 xbhpians from UK still.... you n me...LOL

Re: Magical Uttarakhand - 6 Days of Fun and 2 Days of Mess

Hope to meet some more someday.....no more posts on off-topic now.....ehehe... Sorry mods

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Re: Magical Uttarakhand - 6 Days of Fun and 2 Days of Mess

Bro... Waiting for ur log @beruoist

Re: Magical Uttarakhand - 6 Days of Fun and 2 Days of Mess

Chopta’s astounding beauty cannot be binded in words. Lush green meadows,trees around..loaded with thousands of flowers,snow capped mountains and beautiful landscapes.Specially the hues of red’s and pink’s of rhododendron flowers.











And the flowers i was talking about








Pose marne kaa :P





I rode ahead towards Gopeshwar and after few meters i had crossed...i got to see what is on the other side of the mountain.Simply majestic.








Road ahead was quite narrow and lonely and as i moved ahead i ventured into the deep,dense and thick forests of Kedar Khand.For today's journey i planned to reach Munsyari,It wasn't hard and fast that i should reach there by evening...Plan was to be as close as i can.





Some more wild flowers on the way.











Overall road condition was very good all the way till Gopeshwar but few kms before Gopeshwar it went bad.





I stopped in Gopeshwar for much needed Lunch break and later on went to the Shiva Temple which is popularly known as Gopinath or Rudranath temple.This temple is believed to be one of the biggest and tallest temple of Garhwal region and lies on the ancient route of Badrinath and Kedarnath shrines.'Jai Bholenath'







My destination seemed quite far,i decided to do some non stretches but god had something of his own in his mind.Got heavy crosswinds and rains around Gwaldham.So i had to stop there for 30-40 mins,as i didn't came prepared for the rains :P
As the rain completed their show i moved ahead.





By evening i made it to Bageshwar and decided to stay there for the rest of the night.Got a nice room with english toilet for 400 bucks :P.Was feeling quite cold,due to the rain i encountered on my way or it was just a feeling to get myself few pegs of rum.Whatever it was i wanted some rounds of rum,i had some of it left from the shopping i did lately.Had few rounds and slept in peace.







Cheers
Biru