Travelling in the hills with
family is always a challenge. This time we were willing to take the challenge
and targeted Binsar, Uttarakhand. I had an opportunity of a long weekend and
after a few thoughts and hunting for suitable place to stay I decided to leave
on Thursday afternoon. So I packed my camera, my wife Deepika packed other
luggage, our kids Puru and Yohan got ready to leave.
Day1, we started at about 3.30 PM at Noida to hit NH 24
straight and targeted to reach Rudrapur by 8.00 PM. The road from Rampur to
Rudrapur was in pathetic condition and we could reach Rudrapur at about 9.30
PM. Checked in to the hotel and after having dinner we retired to bed early to
catch some nice sleep and start fresh next morning for the drive up in the hills.
However, only after a couple of hours sleep, we got up hearing the heavy noise
of wind. A medium heavy storm had hit the area disturbing our sleep. Anyways,
we managed to sleep again.
Day2, Friday morning, after having the breakfast, we checked
out and started next course of the journey in Uttarakhand. I was amused with
the road conditions in Uttarakhand and expected a smooth drive. Very soon we
were alerted by the bikers coming from the opposite direction not to head
towards Haldwani through the highway. The storm had uprooted lot of trees and
the roads were blocked. The locals suggested a detour which was not a highway
and could not accommodate such a heavy traffic coming from both the directions.
Thanks to Uttarakhand Police who were proactive in managing the traffic. However,
due to this mess we reached Kathgodam by an hour late. Until Nainital I did not
feel like driving in the hills.
After Nainital the drive in the
lush green hills started through spiral roads and along the rivers at many
places. Till Almora it was smooth. However after Almora I relied on the sign
boards for directions and did not consult the resort owner. The sign boards led
to a rough terrain which was running through dense forest. For next 15 kms we
hardly saw any human being. Finally we reached at Binsar Eco Camp in
Dhaulchina.
Binsar Eco Camp is situated up
the hill covered with dense pine, fir and other plantations. The place is
surrounded by lush green hills and valleys. The owner Ravi Mehra, his dog Sandy
and other staff welcomed us and served Palash flower juice which was
refreshing. As we were not tired and it was still sunny, Ravi took us for a
nature walk immediately on the ridge just behind the resort. It was a nice
short walk through the plantation and the view from the ridge was awesome. We
could see the layers of lush green hills in all directions and deep valleys.
Ravi pointed to snow covered mountains in the north. But due to clouds in that
area the mountains were not visible. We spotted quite a few birds and Ravi told
about vegetation also. There was aroma of Thyme in the air which grows wild in
the hills. Also, there were few thick and tall Fir trees (Christmas trees).
Puru and Yohan were all excited on the ridge seeing so many trees, butterflies
and birds. The kids in excitement did not need any assistance while climbing or
coming down the ridge.
Binsar Eco Camp: Clicked from the ridge
Binsar Eco Camp: The Lawn
Binsar Eco Camp: The Valleys
Binsar Eco Camp: Flower – Krishna Kamal
Yohan enjoying the blue sky
Later in the evening we enjoyed
the bonfire with some nice wine. During the bonfire we met Shakir and Fatima
who were on their honeymoon, Aditya was solo traveler and was enjoying the gap
between the jobs and Matthew from England who was on a road trip on his Royal
Enfield.
The camp has a small staff and
all of them do everything like housekeeping, serving the food etc. The cook is
a local guy and he prepares some local food. The food was very simple and
fantastic. Tasted like home cooked food.
Nature Walk – Fir Tree
Couple
: Rare Click
Family: While walking on the ridge
Monster Cloud: As Puru named it
Day3, Ravi took all of us to a river which was about 15-20
mins drive from the resort. The area appeared to be untouched and I think only
the locals knew about it. The water in the river was very cold. While I was
busy clicking pictures Deepika soaked her feet in the cold water and Ravi took
Yohan and Puru in the water. Surprisingly, the kids wanted hot water for the
bath in the morning and they were enjoying the natural whirlpool of the cold
water. Ravi proposed a lunch at riverside and we refused as it was very
difficult with kids. So we returned to the resort at lunch time and retired in
our room for the rest of the day. Later in the evening the kids enjoyed playing
in the lawn with Ravi and his younger brother Gaurav.
Puru
enjoying the cold water
Yohan and Puru with Ravi
That evening I set up my camera
with telephoto lens to shoot the moon. Settings did not work well and I could
not manage to click good pictures. So I packed my camera and we spent rest of
the evening with other guests while enjoying another session of bonfire and
wine. The cook prepared chicken on special request and it was just finger
licking.
Day 4, Morning Deepika and I tried clicking some pictures of
birds. Later we decided to go to Jageshwar famous for an ancient Shiva temple.
The place is about 30 kms from Dhaulchina and the drive was very smooth. The
last few kms of road runs through dense forest along a river. That view through
the windscreen of my car was a like a picture postcard. The sun rays were
filtering through the dense trees, spiral road, small river and just a few
locals walking on the roadside.
Road to Jageshwar
Russet Sparrow: The bird was sitting here for about half an hr
Found in abundance in this area
Red-Billed Blue Magpie
Black and White Robbin
The small campus in Jageshwar has
few small temples. A small river flows nearby and the temple is surrounded by
green hills. I did not carry my camera to the temple assuming they do not allow
photography. From outside the temple I could not get a good view of the temple
to click pictures. After spending some time in the temples we came back to
Dhaulchina.
That evening I setup my telephoto
lens early in the evening. I was able to zoom and focus the full moon and
clicked few pictures. Other guests also got an opportunity to view the close-up
of moon through my camera. Rest of the evening was usual with wine, bonfire and
dinner.
My first attempt on lunar photography
Day 5, I got up early and Ravi & his younger brother
Gaurav suggested me to go to the ridge as it was clear sky and snow covered mountains
were clearly visible. So I immediately trekked towards the top of the ridge. By
then the cloud formation had started but still it was clear. I setup my camera
and clicked few pictures in close up and panorama. I came down and suggested
Deepika to go up the ridge. She also managed to click few pictures of snow
covered mountain. Meanwhile I took Puru and Yohan to the ridge and Puru was
able to see the white mountains. He had been eager to see snow covered
mountains for long.
Snow covered mountain
By 9.30 AM we were all ready and
after having the breakfast we started our journey back to Noida. This time we
decided to take another route hoping it to be better. Some locals suggested
going via Kashipur. Until Kashipur the drive was excellent through hills and
then through dense Jim Corbett National Park. After Kashipur the hell broke
loose and the road was worse than Rampur – Rudrapur stretch. It was a mess
until we crossed Moradabad to reach NH 24. After hectic 12 hr drive we reached
Noida at about 9.30 PM.
Binsar is very beautiful with
lush green landscape, fresh air and clear sky. We had a successful trip and
this driving us to plan such trips frequently. Break in the journey really
helped me in keeping away the driving fatigue. However on return journey I
drove all the way to Noida in 1 day. Next targets could be Mukteshwar, Ranikhet
etc.
Recommendations for other
travelers
1. The
drive is long so take an overnight break at Rudrapur or Haldwani both ways.
This will also save your mood as the roads are really bad in UP.
2. Take
the road Moradabad – Rampur – Bilaspur – Rudrapur. All the roads, until you
enter Uttarakhand, are bad. This road is busy and you feel little safer.
3. There
is a bypass just before Kathgodam. Take the bypass to avoid city traffic. However
the bypass is very long.
4. Carry
your toiletries, medicines as you generally do in all your travels. It is
difficult to find doctors in nearby places in the mountains.
5. Carry
jackets or other woolen clothes. The evenings are cold.
6. Almost
at every shop I found only Frooty and Mixed Fruit juices. If you have special
taste, carry the juices with you.
7. Get
your fuel tank full at Almora. Difficult to find fuel station after Almora.
8. Try
Bal Mithai. This is delicacy of hills and very very sweet.
9. Don’t
drink and drive.
