Mik

"Yup, its gonna be a Sunday release" coolly said my boss.
It was Holi time, a three day weekend, and a ride on my mind. With Sunday spoilt, all of that went out of the window. While the world revelled in colour, i was stuck in office. Heck!! even the coffee machine was in a holiday mood.

A successful release, and i went up to my Boss, and said coolly, "I am taking next monday off" There, my weekend was made..

The Destination: Nope, not Shimla.. Not even himachal. Even my mother was frustrated with my Shimla sojourns. So, it had to be uttarakhand. This time i wanted to do fresh routes. Mapmyindia to the rescue, and i had the basic route in mind. Gurgaon - Chakrata - Tehri - Back. Chakrata because i had heard so much about it, and Tehri because Tehri dam was something i really wanted to see (Bhakra is still on the list)

Day 1: Gurgaon-Karnal-Yamunanagar-Paonta Sahib-Chakrata-6th March

Learning from previous mistakes, we made an early start this time. Adjusted the trip meter at 0 at 5:15 am and we were off. Progress was good as there was hardly any traffic and soon we were having paranthas at Pahalwan Dhaba at Murthal. Till Karnal was a breeze and then we took the bend towards Yamuna Nagar. Mapmyindia had assured that it was a state highway. So it was quite a shock to see the rocky terrain in front of us. My bike cringed and my wife cursed me for taking this route. A few better stretches and i thought the worst was over.

A quick detour from the "road"


Not to be, soon, just stones gave way to a tractor path with slush. We slipped and my bike kissed the earth. Damn!! black ice would have been better than this muddy slush. Later, we ran into a sandy dirt track.



A limo in YamunaNagar :-)


Finally, after what seemed like hours, we got back to tarmac and through the beautiful Kalesar national park.





A quick snack break in Paonta and we started climbing the hills.
Since for day 1 we had only a short visit to tiger falls, we took it easy and took lots of breaks. Here are a few pics.





















Checked into a hotel 5km down from chakrata, Himalayan paradise. A beautiful hotel tucked in the bosom of the mountain, away from the hustle and bustle.
Had lunch there and then we biked to a place from where the trek to tiger falls begins. 14km of rather dicy road with lots of rubble made progress slow.
Climbing down the mountain, I clicked a few shots.





However, we couldn't even find tiger falls. It was simply not visible. A local guided us, and then we were witness to this beautiful spectacle, hidden from the casual eye.









As darkness fell we trekked up the hill (a very exhausting climb ), and started back to the hotel, in the darkness. A quick shot of how things looked. Apologies for the blurriness.



In the hotel, the lights went out once and we witnessed an amazing spectacle. The stars in the sky were simply bursting forth. The edges of the mountain took up different shapes and we had a great time giving them meaning. I wish i had the skills and the equipment to capture those beautiful vistas.
The night was still young when we drifted off to sleep, with a plan to bike up to Devban and then onto Mussoorie-Dhanolti and Tehri, to see the dam.

Day 2 and 3 tomorrow. Now i gotta sleep

Aryan

Topic Approved.

Lovely. Good to see that you hardly" waste" any long weekends! And it's even better to see you riding to Chakrata. I just love that place, I have been there atleast 3 times already.

It's a pity that the stretch between Pipli and Yamunagar (at places) is crap - full of dirt, potholes and what not. But, what awaits us is pure bliss. And good to know that you ended up finding the Tiger Falls, as it really has the "quality" of staying hidden from the casual eyes, if you know what I mean.

The last I visited Chakrata was sometime March last year. Below is the thread for your reference (if you want to have a look at it). Bravo! Ride safe, and keep riding. I am waiting eagerly now for the Devban and the Dhanaulti text and photographs.

Breaking the Chakrata Jinx - Bikers' Way!

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yatishankar

Hey Mik, absolute delighting snaps of the hills....as Aryan Da pointed out you hardly waste any long weekends and thats so very very true.....
Living in the plains and with our hectic schedule these logs and snaps bring so much joy to me.....

Thanks again for sharing and i will be surely waiting for the rest.....

jd666

i visited tehri on my way back from rudryaprayag ( badrinath ), and took a detour towards mussorie.. The roads were a hoot to drive on.. amazing.. and the sight of the dam is awesome... Looking forward to some great pics... Did u go down till the reservoir???

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blackprince

Nice Write up man...great

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petrolhead22

Wonderful one Mik! The photos are great!
Bring out the rest of the trip log fast.

Well, that limo you mentioned looks like a modified Tata Automobile or Estate to me!

Mik

Thanks. I had been through your thread as a reference point
All we need is a 3 day weekend to ride out. Why waste it here.


Yup, the road from yamuna pul to mussoorie- dhanolti all the way to tehri were great except for a few bad patches. Even as i write, workers there are relaying some of the sections to make it better :-)
The dam is amazing. Though we did go near it, didn't take any photographs of the actual dam as its not allowed.

Thanks !! Will be completing the log at night.
I think its an old tata estate.

Aryan

I totally agree!

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zayn

Fab stuff Mik good to see that you doing serious touring and especially with Bhabhi ji KUDOS! to both of you and nice pics and travelog brother.

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k2cool_87

nice pics man...waiting eagerly for days 2-3....

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