Tourer thread Approved

Wow buddy that's great. Waiting for the log and pics!

Brilliant initial writeup ... I am sure I would see a really lovely log and some interesting photographs here ...
I am waiting ....

@ Moeed n Bhogvan - thanx guys... though the teaser doesnt seem to have garnered too much interest... u know, 99 views n 2 replies... thats a little too far a proportion ... n a little disheartening too... I thought the guys here just luv to read logs and look at more and more pictures... but thats just my opinion i guess...!

Anyway, here is the 1st part of the ride... hope u enjoy this...!!



Day 1 – Gurgaon – Delhi – Ghaziabad – Moradabad – Haldwani – Nainital




I had estimated that Nainital is about 320 km from Delhi but it turned out to be different. I started off early, at least according to me ha-ha, at 0600 hours and ripped till Ghaziabad without a problem. But traffic started picking up volumes very soon and to add to the horror there was a massive jam. The 6 lane highway towards Moradabad was all dug up and trucks were jammed in opposite directions. Nobody knew what to do and merely watched as helpless spectators. There was a whole lot of dust and I was just pissed off. After trying to move in the same jam for around 2 hours, I could no longer bear it. Took a few suggestions from some truckies and got to know that there is an internal road along a canal that would leave me somewhere ahead of the jam. Took that road and in a matter of minutes saw heavy traffic there too as everyone had diverted to the same road.
Anyway I finally got back on the main road...had lunch at the Reliance A-one Plaza somewhere before Moradabad... roads were just BAD and full of traffic till Haldwani and then at last there was a smooth ride with a few smooth views..!!





Reached Nainital at 1730 hours…The views on the way were just ok but nothing to die for and the Naini lake was all commercial…Checked in a cheap hotel and strolled around the town, in the chilly weather, for sometime before hitting the bed…All in all this was not a very good day of the tour, neither in terms of roads, nor in terms of the serenity that shows from the aura of a place…

Trip Meter: 390 km

lovely trip there....
love nanital the most than any other place which i have visited
can you please post some more pics of nanital???

Day 2 – Nainital – Ranikhet





Got up a little late as usual and was ready to hit the road by 0900 hours. The road towards the snow view point was quite steep but I managed to reach there in just 15 minutes. The view was ultimate though without a trace of snow. Enjoyed the views for sometime, came back to the town, had breakfast, and at 1100 hrs, took the road towards Ranikhet.





Now this was just beautiful…It was an ultimate smooth and curvy ride along some very beautiful views…Since it was only a 65 km ride from Nainital, I managed to reach Ranikhet at 1300 hrs…Checked in at Hotel Meghdoot on the Mall Road which turned out to be very nice and so affordable…Staying here was better because it was away from the crowd in the main market area…



After a freshening-up session, it was time for excursions towards the Haira Khan Temple, The Golf Course and the Chaubatia.
Chaubatia is an apple orchid which blooms up in the season but was totally dry at this point in time…It didn’t matter though as the ride was just lovely…Road towards the Haira Khan temple was simply superb with pine and deodar trees all over and the red ground beneath…There was nothing much at the temple dedicated to King Haira Khan said to be a carnation of Lord Shiva, and on the way back I decided to off-road on seeing a lovely track which took me in the middle of hundreds of pine trees…Took a lot of photographs here and there and just enjoyed all the rides…







Finally crossed the Golf Course area and in no time saw the sun calling it a day…The day ended on a very good note…In fact I was so immersed in the beauty and silence of the place that I didn’t even realize that it was already time for sunset… The weather became chilly and ultra-cold suddenly after the sunset...
I conclude that Ranikhet, in Almora region of the Kumaon Valley, would now be among the top-slot touring destinations in my list for ever… As there’s nothing else I can say about the place other than…BEAUTIFUL…!!





Trip Meter: 505 km

I was a little confused now, as I had not planned anything for the rest of the 2 days that I had…After a good look for 20 minutes at a detailed Uttaranchal map that I found in the hotel, I decided that I would go to the district of Pauri-Garhwal and then on the next day descent to Lansdowne. Pauri was about 280 km from Ranikhet which meant it would take the whole day or in fact I might not even reach there the same day as it’s a very steep ascent. Also the locals in Ranikhet said it might rain heavily in Pauri, by the look of the clouds. So I thought that I should try to reach Baijron (a place in Pauri district) which is about a 100 km from Pauri-Garhwal and also has a diversion towards Lansdowne. I didn’t know that this would turn out to be one hell of an adventurous ride…!!


Day 3 - The real adventure... coming up...

Thanx, hard luck mate... dont really have too many pictures from nainital..

Day 4 - Excursions and treks to Tip 'n' Top- Bhulla Lake - St. Mary's Church - St. George's Church - Kaali Mandir - The Cemetery

Since I had the whole day to explore Lansdowne extensively, I was all excited and charged up. And the excitement was worth it. Lansdowne is so quite and relaxing that you can virtually sit anywhere and get detatched from the world... Its serene and peaceful... Its lovely and mystic... And specifically because it has so many off-roading tracks and so many trekking trails that you just dont feel like coming out of the exploring activity. The first place that I visited was the Tip 'n'Top which is kind of a 'view point'...It had some good views and off-roading fun involved...Ventured into a jungle trail and came back as a satisfied trekker...nice flora...nice trails...



Then rode towards the Bhulla Lake and relaxed there for quite sometime...listening to music and reading 'The Prophet' by Khalil Gibran, that made the philosophical mind go wild. Next was the St. Mary's church where they show you a 20-minute movie on the Bravery of Garhwal Rifles... The Army Museum was somehow closed that day, so came back to the hotel after clicking a few shots of the War Memorial.









After lunch it was time for some real trekking-stuff. First was the English Cemetery... Its located at one corner of the town... After the road ends you got to take a foot-road to reach the place...I somehow got confused as there were 3 different tracks... One said Army shooting range, so i thought it was better to give it a miss. I took another track and actually forced the bike on it...It turned out to be a little too risky and dangerous as i reached a place where i could not turn the bike and I was on a 4-foot track with valley on one side. Luckily saw an Army man and called him to help...After a real difficult 'U-Turn', the Army man told me to take the shooting range trail to the cemetery...This place is called Bhoot Bangla as it has abandoned Army Barracks and schools... One thing that I learned...Trekking can be so difficult and confusing without a map, a direction magnet and a partener... I again took a wrong trek and kept descending till the trees started becoming dense and i felt i was entering a jungle...! So I climbed back on to the starting point and took the 3rd and the final trail which took me to the Cemetery...woof...finally...!! But you know... You ejoy all these things so much... Because this is what called you in here....






I was tired by this time, so before taking another trekking-trail to the Kaali Mandir, relaxed for sometime in the St. George's Church... And then after praying to goddess Kaali... became a heavenly lucky spectator to a heavenly beautiful sunset at a place which might virtually be called Land's End....

Trip Meter: 815km

Day 5 - Lansdowne - Dugadda - Kotdwara - Meerut - Ghaziabad - Delhi - Gurgaon



When I got up that morning, I could hardly believe that this was going to end very soon... But hey... Does this really end... This only leaves us with sweet memories...with tired butts to rest...with so much to think about...with a new thirst for more...And after a little rest...after a little retrospection...after a little philosophical analysis...after a little planning...
We would pack our bags once again... and shoot for the never-ending road... in search of ourselves... in search of the truth... in search of the nature... And maybe again... In search of the Land's End....!!

Ending Trip meter: 1180km








To view complete photo album :

ashish :some very good pics there keep it up bro.thogh in some pics it is over done i mean colours are over saturated.

Lice short log & lovely pics, tempting ones.

Nice write up and lovely pics buddy.

thanx all...!!