Uttarakhand - The Summer Escapade - II






13h March, Monday – Day 4:

Clicked by our Safari jeep driver
               Camera batteries charged, we had our pickup at 6. It was an exciting prospect to spot a tiger in the wild. We spotted a few birds in the beginning, a barking deer and a few other animals. But two hours into the safari, we started to get the feeling that there is not going to be any tiger spotting today. It had been the case for the past 4-5 safaris across the country in the past, but we’d hoped Corbett would be different. Three hours later, we completed the safari, disappointed that we couldn’t see a tiger.

Stork-billed kingfisher
               We returned to the hotel, and went off to explore the area behind the hotel. There was a river there. It was beautiful, and we stayed there for a while clicking photos. After returning from the river, we checked out and went to the bus stop to get a bus till Nainital – our next destination. The bus dropped us till Kaladungi, which is around 30 kms from Nainital. Since there was no bus for a while, we hitch-hiked on a tempo. I got in at the back, while the others took the front seat. I clicked a few pictures, and then got my guitar out and played it for a while. After travelling for nearly 30 kilometres, the tempo broke down, and we had to take a cab to get to our hotel, which was actually at Bhimtal. Our room at the Hotel Sapphire Inn had a great view of the mountains, and we had tea on the balcony of our room before leaving to explore the place. On our way to Sattal, we realized that we had lost our way, and it was dark by then. After asking a couple of people, we found the way back to the hotel. It was a long walk back. After dining, we went to sleep, but I was up by 3 AM, and sat in the balcony for a while, listening to music, stargazing. It was 5:30 AM by the time I went to sleep.

14h March, Tuesday – Day 5:

He dropped us till Nainital in his tempo
               We hired a car and left the hotel at 9:30 AM for local sightseeing before heading to Almora. At Nainital, we visited Eco Park caves first, which involved climbing, crawling and jumping around the numerous cave formations. It was tiring, but fun. Next, we went boating in the Nainital lake, which was calming after all the running around in the caves. It was followed by a visit to Nainital zoo, where we spotted quite a few animals – a couple of lazy tigers, a restless Himalayan black bear, few leopards and quite a few exotic birds. Lunch was quick, and we started our journey to Almora, which was our halt for the night. We stopped at a few places en route for clicking pictures, most notable place being the Toad Rock and the resort around it.

Nainital Lake
               At Almora, the sun was just starting to set, and snowclad mountain peaks were visible in the distance. Our hotel was called Jeevan Palace, which didn’t look too promising from the outside, but the room was nice and clean, and the mountains were visible from the window. We ordered Chinese food at the hotel, ate a lot and retired for the night.

15th March, Wednesday – Day 6:

View from Almora
               Our destination for today was Munsiyari. I was really excited to visit this place, and I had planned the entire journey around our stay here! On the way, we visited the Golu Devata temple where devotees offer bells for their wishes. There are numerous agreements too, which are given by the devotees to the temple to get their wishes fulfilled.

Golu Devata temple
               The route to Munsiyari had some of the best landscapes that Uttarakhand had to offer. We were going at higher altitudes now, and the weather cooled down considerably. On the way, we halted at the Birthi waterfall, which is around 30 kms before Munsiyari.



We reached Munsiyari by 5 PM, and the Himalayas were clearly visible now – all five Panchchuli peaks.

Birthi waterfall
               Our bookings were made the the Johar Hill Top resort from where we could see the mountains clearly. The view was amazing! Only problem was there were a lot of power cuts at the hotel, and we spent most of the time in the darkness. The next day, we planned to complete the Khaliya Top trek. We dined the hotel, and slept early.

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