Re: Exploring Dev Bhoomi Kumaon

superb pics..

Re: Exploring Dev Bhoomi Kumaon

Beautiful pictures Lokesh, the best till date of Kumaon/Kausani that I've seen.

Please share more!

Re: Exploring Dev Bhoomi Kumaon

Thanks. Here's day two.

----consecutive posts auto-merged-----

Day 2: Chaukori - Thal - Tejam - Munsiyari - 95Km

The 2nd day was going to be short as Munsiyari is a short distance from Chaukori. So I took the morning easy. Relaxed on the room's balcony and enjoyed the sunrise over cups of hot tea. I'll let the pictures do the talking.



First rays of light on Panchachuli peaks



Himalyan peaks and village houses


Sunrise over Nanda Devi peaks



Outside the KNVN guest house.

After a lovely sunrise, I went down and had a leisurely breakfast of paranthas and omelette washed down with coffee. The good part of KMVN rooms is that breakfast is bundled with the room changes. Given that there are pretty much no choices for eating outside the guest house during off season, this works out to be a very good deal.


It was almost 0830 by the time I left Chaukori. I retraced my route towards Berinag and then turned down towards Thal, a few Km before Berinag.

Again the road had hardly any traffic and crossed several tiny hamlets separated by dense jungle.



Panchachuli peaks enroute.



Selfie with Panchachuli peaks in the backdrop.


Chaukori to Thal is about 25Km and I was soon at Thal. For a moment it occurred to me to take the Didihat-Askot route to Munshiyari, but then decided to stick to the shorter route and keep the day relaxed.



Clear waters of the Ramganga river. Very tempting to take a dip, but the water was freezing cold.




Another view of the Ramganga river a few Km after Thal.



After Thal, the road again follows the river till Tejam, after which the ascent to Munsiyari starts. The road narrows and the condition worsened with several water crossings thrown in. At one of the crossings I made the mistake of putting my foot down and the freezing water soaked my shoe and socks all the way in. The cold was unbearable. So I parked the bike and sat down on a sunny ledge to take off the shoes/socks to let them dry thoroughly before moving on. Remainder to keep waterproof shoes on the next hill ride.





An unknown waterfall across the valley.





The more popular Brithi waterfalls. There is a KMVN guesthouse just at the foot of the falls.




Another roadside small waterfall. Experimenting with long exposure.



By 1330 I was on the pass above Munsiyari town. The place is called Balati Potato Farm. The view was splendid. Lying down on the browning autumn grass, I settled down to enjoy the view and the sun on my back. After almost 40 min of soaking in the view, which included a short nap, I headed down to the town of Munsiyari.


View from the Balati Potato Farm



The KMVN guesthouse is towards the entrance of the town. Again the place was hardly occupied. So I took a room on the top floor with a awesome view of the Panchachuli peaks.




Room with a view.


After dumping my luggage in the room, I went down to town for lunch. Munsiyari is a small town with a few shops, houses and couple of schools. There is a co-operative which sells stuff made by village folks. Picked up a pair of wollen gloves and some pahari spices.





Sunset was another splendid spectacle, though the view is limited to the Panchachuli peaks.

Dinner at the KMVN guesthouse was a simple affair.
All in all a relaxed day of riding.

Re: Exploring Dev Bhoomi Kumaon

Thats Superb fine quality pictures...I guess you had a wonderful moment enjoying ride and place. .:thumbup:

Sent from my GT-I8262 using xBhp Connect mobile app

Re: Exploring Dev Bhoomi Kumaon

Brilliantly captured!

Re: Exploring Dev Bhoomi Kumaon

Thanks.
Yes it was wonderful. The excellent weather added to the fun.

Re: Exploring Dev Bhoomi Kumaon

Day 3: Munsiyari - Tejam - Kapkot - Bageshwar - Gwaldum - 175Km


Woke up early and headed out to photograph the sunrise. I was advised to go to a nearby school ground to get some clear views. The cold was bitter and somewhat freezing. Trying to operate the camera with gloves on, made me realize the value of physical buttons and ergonomics of camera.


Some sunrise pictures




Bike silhouette just before sunrise.



Sunrise



First rays of sun on the highest of Panchachuli Peaks


Munsiyari Town



After sunrise I returned to the guesthouse. Got ready in a hurry as I had to cover good distance over some bad roads. I also wanted to reach Gwaldum before sunset. Again the breakfast at the KMVN guesthouse is a blessing. After a hearty breakfast of bread, puri and omelet, I was on my way.





Another view of the Panchachuli peaks with a grazing meadow in the front.

At Tejam, I turned right towards Kapkot hoping for a shorter route to Bageshwar. The road first descends to Ramganga river and then climbs up. The road condition also worsened and at places the road was non-existent.


The road ahead across the Ramganga river valley.



Mostly gravel road



Ramganga river valley.



After climbing out of Ramganga river valley, the road descends through some excellent jungle to Kapkot. From Kapkot, it mostly follows the Saryu river to Bageshwar. Post Bageshwar the road is much better and also well paved. The road follows the Gomti river up the Bageshwar valley to Baijnath. At Baijnath, I turned right to climb towards Gwaldum.
Gwaldum is situated on the border of Kumaon and Gharwal. It offers some awesome view of the Trishul peaks.



Finding accommodation at Gwaldum was easy. There is a GMVN guesthouse which was empty and I took a room as the only resident for the night. Unfortunately the kitchen was closed. But the town was just below the guesthouse, so food should not have been a problem or that's what I thought.

But first I dumped my bag in the room and headed a little out of town to photograph the sunset.



Couple of shots of orange glow of the sunset.





After I returned to the room, I relaxed for a while. Around 1930, I stepped out for dinner. To my surprise the whole town was shut. No shops were open. The only thing stirring was strays who gave me a wary eye. After walking through the length of main street, which was about a Km long, I found a small joint serving food to the overnight bus and sumo drivers. Glad to find something, I dug in and had a good meal of rice and dal.


Post dinner, called it an early day as I planned to wake up early for sunrise and drive a little out of town for the pics.

Re: Exploring Dev Bhoomi Kumaon

Once again, brilliant photography!

Re: Exploring Dev Bhoomi Kumaon

Awesome photos! Just curious; given that you went solo, did you take the selfies using a tripod or found some place to rest the camera? They have come out quite well.

Re: Exploring Dev Bhoomi Kumaon

It is a mix.
I did take a tripod, but its a hassel to take it out and set it up. So if the tripod was already out and setup for taking the low light pics, I used it. In other cases. I just put the camera on the ground or a stone or a parapet.

Re: Exploring Dev Bhoomi Kumaon

Lovely photographs

Re: Exploring Dev Bhoomi Kumaon

Beautiful clicks

Re: Exploring Dev Bhoomi Kumaon

Wonderful pics lokesh sir.

Re: Exploring Dev Bhoomi Kumaon

Thanks all. Hopefully will get the last day covered by this weekend.

Re: Exploring Dev Bhoomi Kumaon

its was a solo ride ? Sir Ji