Travel Blog India
Delhi with its heart in the hustle bustle is at times best loved after a short and crisp getaway to isolation. Its common sightings of unclejee and auntyjee with children flocked right next to them at prominent yet Delhi like hill stations that allow some of us to traverse and hunt for places which are close yet exploited with minimal footprints.
On the winter morning of 12th Nov’11 a bunch of us “biking friends” set out to another destination called Pangot . Now Pangot can be visualized as a sleepy hamlet right in the midst of a dense forest approximately 15 kilometers from Nanital and that would put ex Delhi run of around 300 kilometers one way. State highways in Uttar Pradesh feel just like a moody wife, ranging for extremely good to shoddy at its best. Nevertheless one can crunch the miles in good seven hours and the preferred route was New Delhi- Ghaziabad- Hapur- Gajraula- Moradabad- Bazpur- Kaladungi- Nanital- Kilbury- Pangot.
The customary first stop for masses is Gajraula which boasts of dining options ranging from dhabhas to a drive-in Mc Donalds . Another reason I think Gajraula is a customary first stop is because of the exhaustion one feels while trying to cross the bridge over Holy Ganges at Garhmukhteshwar, legend says that the bridge was built before earth was formed and how traffic has multiplied since then is a story for another blog. After filling our stomachs with the delicious paranthas laden with butter we pushed off towards Pangot.
The sight of foothills near about Kaladunghi magically washes off the dirt and tiredness of the journey and one can pleasantly proceed towards winding roads with non existent traffic. The Nanital to Pangot journey is worth a mention here as the miniscule journey of 15 kilometers is on a single twisting mountain road which climbs from Nanital going all the way up to the view point ( place to get a glimpse of Komaouni snow range ) ,also the place till where one can expect to bump into Uncle and Aunty jee. Post that the road is nothing but a serpentine path riding through dense jungle and opens up into a small village called Pangot.
Pangot is a place where you can hum with the birds , see them flock around and find your own trail in the jungle. With adequate places to stay right from Swiss tents to concrete rooms one can easily anchor there and either witness the sunrise/sunset in solitude or go about discovering the lesser know traits i.e. bird watching, cycling, traversing through jungles. Ah ! I miss losing myself in the lap of nature.
About Kartikeya Virmani:
This is the first post written by Kartik on LetsExpresso.com ! A true Biker at heart -watch out for his forthcoming trips and reviews.He can also be consulted for any biking trip and travel advice.