A Drive to Bhowali

It’s been quite some time when I trip to Manali. Therefore in search of a break I look for some places which I can visit during weekend as long holiday is not possible.  I singled out few places like Nainital, Kasol and Kasauli. A trip is as great as the company you have. I shared my plan with my friends Rish, Raj and Aman. They agreed and we plan the details of the trip. In the planning of the trip we found challenges in finding a place to stay due to the less time for execution and the peak tourist season. During the discussion, Rish suggested that if we can make slight modification in plan then everything will be in place.

Bhowali, a town in Nainital district, a gateway to many places in the Kumaon division like Almora and Bageshwar. We got a place in Pine Oak Paradise in Bhowali to stay, courtesy Rish. The plan was decided to leave on Saturday and back on Monday via road. We decided to gather at my place and from there we travel by my Duster.

Saturday, 4 PM. Everyone was at my place on time and we left to Bhowali.  Google maps was telling the distance of 281 km have to cover and would take 5 hours and 37 minutes. As the distance is quite good so we filled up the fuel tank to avoid any bad situation. We took NH 24 which will further connect to NH 87.  The route was passes through cities of Hapur, Moradabad, Rampur, Rudrapur and Haldwani.

There was four tolls on the route. Points to Remember

• The toll at Dasna in Ghaziabad is defunct and collecting illegal toll. If you want to pay, it is up to you! (Check Link).
• The other tolls charges a sum of Rs. 210 for one way.

The drive was smooth and we were enjoying it. I was driving from two hours and then Rish took the driver seat. We were looking for some stop to grab something to eat but there are not much highway dhabas on the route. The famous one is at Gazraula but it was going to take quite some time. After another one hour drive by Rish we took one stop along the highway to grab the snacks brought by Aman.

On resume of the journey I was again on the driver seat. As the journey is long therefore we get divided into two teams and played Antakshari. The trip was converting into fun filled journey. Everything was going fine but in Rampur we got a stretch where the road becomes one way due to the construction going on other way. Unfortunately the construction was going on our side of road. So, we were forced to drive on the other or wrong side of road. We saw a bus was coming from opposite side and bus driver has no intent to give way to us. The bus driver take a cut just when it is about to collide and I need to jump on break to stop the collision. After this incident I was praying to complete that one way stretch as I don’t want to face another unpleasant situation.

Rest of the drive was good. We were feeling a strong urge of tea but unable to found any good place. Finally, we found Moti Mahal in Haldwani. It was blessing in disguise as we were driving from last five and half hours and in dire need of tea. We asked for the tea which they denied first but on insisting the owner agreed. The tea was good or not we were not sure but it was refreshing at that time. Along with tea, we also ordered parathas but unlike tea we were sure that these were not good.

It was 10 PM and we again started for our destination. Rish on the driving seat. We purchased material to make tea before resuming the journey. The distance of 39 km were still left. As we entered the hill road we found that the traffic is less on the road due to the late night hours and it was quite comfortable to drive in night compare to daylight as we can easily saw the coming traffic due to headlights. The rest of journey was comfortable. We were at Pine Oak Paradise by 11:15 pm. Mr. Anil was there to receive us. The weather was cold but pleasant. We were tired due to long journey and it was the time to take rest after a cup of tea but even then it was 1:15 am by the time we went to bed.

I woke up at 5 am. Everyone was sleeping. I saw the darkness was still outside the window. I tried to sleep again but did not. By 6 am Aman and Raj was also up. The morning breeze was pleasant and soothing for body and mind. Previous night, we decided to visit Jageshwar, a Shiva temple. But after some brainstorming we found it was not suitable due to some reasons. The distance of temple was 93 km on hills which will take 4 to 5 hours considering the tourist season and there were only two drivers both are tired after previous day long driving and both have to drive back next morning. So we finalised another place to visit, Mukteshwar, another shiv temple, which is at 38 km at a drive of two hours only.

We leave at 10 am, 2 hours late what we decided to. I was on the driving seat and driving slow and carefully as I did not have much experience to drive on hill road.  I was driving at a speed of 40 kmph and my whole focus was on road and not what my fellow passenger was chatting. The weather was pleasant and the driving was pleasing, at the same time it was tiring too due to hill roads.  We took a stop at Ramgarh to buy something to eat on the way before proceeding again. The way was quite steep at some point of time and took too much concentration while driving. Couple of hour past Raj felt nausea due to the turns of road. So we have to take few stops to make him feel comfortable.

We reached at Mukteshwar Dham around 1:30 pm. The place had parking issue so we struggle to find one but by the blessings of God Mahadev we got a safe place to park. Apart from God Mahadev temple there were Sankatmochan Hanuman temple and Prabhu Shri Ram temple too. The atmosphere was peaceful and picturesque. We stayed there for sometime and felt the piousness of the place.

We took another route of Dhanachuli on the way back to Bhowali. It was 10 KM extra than previous route but it was more safe due to no traffic on this route. The route was beautiful to drive due to its picturesque landscape on both sides of road. On some patches the road was not constructed which was only increasing the beauty of the place. We stopped at a beautiful scalariform landscape to absorb the beauty of the place. After spending quality time we resume our journey to Bhimtal.

It was 4:15 pm by the time we reach Bhimtal lake. At lake you can do boating and other water sports. Boating in the lake and saw the beautiful scenic view of the lake was refreshing. After boating, we came back at Bhowali. By this time we were feeling hungry and we went Parthak Restaurant to grab something to eat. The food was delicious at restaurant and must visit at least once if you visit Bhowali. It was 9 pm by the time we came back to flat, we make tea and spent rest of the time chatting and playing cards.

Monday, 6:30 AM. We are driving back to Noida. Rish was on driving seat. The traffic on the road was less and Rish was driving quite fast. Suddenly on a turn another car came in front of us and Rish took a sharp cut to ignore the clash. This incident opened our eyes which was somewhat sleepy. Rest of the journey was peaceful. We planned to stop at Bikanerwala, Gajraula but we found one Amritsari Dhaba on the way and we stopped there to grab something as it was 9 am and we are driving from last two and half hours. The parathas was good with kulhad tea. We resume our journey with me on driving seat for the rest of the way. Rest of the drive was smooth and comfortable. We get idlis and faluda from Bikanerwala, Gajraula. At 1:15 pm we are back at my place with beautiful memories, relaxing and feeling fresh to resume again with our daily routine but with new energy.