After my wife discussed our trip in her office, her colleague also jumped in for a trip along with his wife(as he already was inspired from my last few destinations), and then we made a final plan of meeting point etc.
Members for the trip :-
Me, My Mother, My Sister, My Wife(Harsha) and our Daughter(Shona)(9 months Old)....80% were girls in this gang.
My Wife's Colleague and his Wife..,(Kaushik & Pradhi)
From Left > Kaushik, Pradhi, Harsha, Shonu, Kanika and my mom(ofcourse I clicked this pic).
Machines for the trip :--
My Swift Lxi
Kaushik's Toyota Corolla with Automatic Gears -- Super Luxury Vehicle.
Day 1
As per the plan we started our day @ 5am with our kiddo sleeping in my wife's lap and Kaushik's car following us.
Route for destination
Delhi - Baghpat - Shamli - Saharanpur - Herbertpur - Vikas Nagar - Chakrata -
Total Distance= 315 km.
Roads were in absolutely bad shape with big potholes and mad traffic of UP and no dhaba to take a break. We were just driving for 4 hours continuously when I got a chance to see big Sai Baba temple and small dhaba outside it where we had our breakfast(Paratha and Tea) and Shona used facility of Temple to make herself fresh for the rest of the journey.
After that we started our journey to Saharanpur, where I found this beautiful Saloon on the road side..
The road from Saharanpur to Chakrata was nice and I felt the driving pleasure only @ that stretch. Soon after we crossed Saharanpur, rain welcomed us and continued till our destination. It was a sudden change in weather with nice downpour and low traffic.
I almost took 9.5 hours to cover 315 kms which was worst for anyone but I was happy that my baby didnt bothered me much and was enjoying the bumpy ride.
At Chakrata, I already booked the resort Himalayan Paradise, family suite for Rs. 1200/day and Kaushik opted for Rs. 700/day room. Rooms were fine enough with nice view of valley from its lawn and nice people around(hotel staff). There was no tourist and we 6 were there in full resort, infact in full Chakrata, which made me more happy because we were getting nice treatment from the staff and were getting nice fresh things on our table to eat.
By 5pm we were ready and sitting in the lawn, it was raining outside and the view was just amazing from there.
By 6:30 pm or so we ordered Tea along with Onion and Potato pakodas as weather was just fine for all this and we really enjoyed it.
As we were tired because of our long bumpy ride so we decided to go to bed by 10 pm after eating dinner so that we get up early morning to enjoy the sunrise or valley view.
But it was raining full night(as I could hear the sound of water) and I slept in a hope that next day will bring some hope for us to visit some nearby spots. I got up at 6am(thanks to our baby),it was still raining outside and there were absolutely dark clouds with no scope of us to go and see some nearby places.
Day 2
We started our day with morning tea and full rain noise in the background with a hope that it will stop and we will go outside. By 9 am we ordered breakfast with no hope(as I could only see black clouds outside), but by 10 am or so, suddenly weather changed and rain stopped, and we jumped to the lobby outside to get some pictures clicked before we go for some nearby places to enjoy.
Before leaving for Chakrata, I knew that I had to visit Tiger falls(2nd highest fall of India), Devban(from where I will see Himalaya ranges), Kanasar Forest(where Devdar tree with 5 mtr in diameter exists) and Chilmiry neck(open 1km area on the top of a hill)
So soon after rain stopped we decided to go to Tiger fall which was 14km from our resort by road and also one trek goes from the hotel to tiger fall, which is 3.5km long but it was closed due to rains etc, so we took our car and started the journey for Tiger Falls. But after 2.5km or so the road was blocked and there was no sign of going forward(it happened due to continuous rain last night).
We decided to click few pics there and came back to our hotel with heavy hearts.
At that time I made a plan to go to Kanasar as we got to know that Devban road is also blocked due to heavy rains, but Kaushik & Pradhi decided to stay in resort to relax/enjoy the valley view from there itself.
I took my car out and was ready for 26km journey to Kanasar Forest, the roads were not too bad but it took me 1.5 hours to complete those 26 odd kms with nice view of mountains and landscapes.
There were apple orchids too with good fresh apples :
At Kanasar we really enjoyed with big Devdar trees with every tree marked with its diameter and there was lush green garden where we spent some time before heading back to our resort.
When we reached the resort we got to know that Kaushik & Pradhi came back from Chilmiry neck and they really admire the place for its beauty and peace.
As there was nothing much to do on that evening, me and Kaushik decided to do a bit of trekking to go to Owner's home which was just above the resort with bit of dirt track. We reached his home safely and saw cucumber tree, beans, corns, apple & Rajma. It was fun to see those fresh fruits/vegetables in that pleasant weather.
For dinner, we already ordered Chicken curry well in advance which chef made it nicely. Soon before retiring to bed we decided that before leaving for Delhi on Day 3 we will again try for Tiger fall(as we got to know that roads would be cleared by morning) and then will hit the highway to Delhi.
Day 3
I and Kaushik went for morning walk @ 6am towards Tiger falls to inquire weather the roads are clear for our cars or not, the shopkeeper informed us that crane was working till late night and it should be clear by now, we were happy with this news and came back and got ready by 8 am with 2nd attempt to reach Tiger falls.
After completing 12km by road, we found the major landslide and crane was working to clear that, we were definitely not happy to see that and came back 1km @ a shop to have some breakfast/Tea.
We finished the breakfast and again went ahead just to see the roads are clear or not, but it was not and it was not advisable to walk to Tiger fall with our baby in our lap, so we decided to come back and head to Delhi.
Route to Delhi:-
Herbertpur - Paonta Sahib - Yamuna nagar - Pipli - Karnal - Panipat - Delhi -
Total Distance = 350km
I decided to take this route because its good to explore different routes and I already knew that old route which I took while coming will make me and my car sick again. The journey till Paonta Sahib was very nice with beautiful weather outside and nice carpeted road.
But the road from Yamuna nagar to Karnal was bad(not as bad as Saharanpur one), we stopped @ Murthal for some snacks in evening and reached home safely by 9 pm with our Heart satisfied with Chakrata beauty but mind wanted to go back again to see Tiger fall and caves which we missed this time).
Our two machines @ Murthal :-
For more pics refer below link :-
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=65649&id=1022746787&l=50340f7679
Vinay Kumar
veenu.kumar@gmail.com
