There is also a train from Nainital, but if you take this train you spend daytime sitting in a train rather than being out on the hills. Also, you end up spending time in Nainital, which is crowded and noisy and not pretty any more.
Digression over with, let me get back to Kathgodam. From Kathgodam station you travel by road to your destination. Booking a taxi in advance is preferable. Don’t miss Bhimtal which is on the route out of Kathgodam and is quite pretty. Naukuchiatal which is a bit further off is apparently very beautiful too, but it was off our route and we never had the time to visit it.
Sitla is about an hour and a half from Kathgodam Station. Vikram Maira’s Sitla Estate is the best place to stay. Vikram has converted an old English Bungalow into a hotel with all modern amenities without losing the quaint charm of the place. The Estate has a lovely garden, orchards on the slopes of the hill and woods at the base which merge into Corbett National Park. Do not miss the bench in Vikram’s orchard that is situated at the perfect spot for a panoramic view of snow-covered peaks.
The garden at Sitla
Nandadevi and her circle of courtiers - viewed from Sitla
Sitla Estate is an oasis of tranquillity; if you’re idea of a holiday is lolling in front of the TV during the day and visiting a crowded pub or disco at night, you will be sorely disappointed. On the other hand, if it’s reading and chatting with friends/family, gazing at the mountains, bird-watching, long walks, and other such activities that appeal to you, this is the perfect place to be. Frequent long walks confer the added benefit of helping you burn off the calories you gain eating the absolutely yummy food whipped up by Vikram.
Mukteswar is about 30 minutes drive from Sitla, you can also walk up along the road in the evening if the mood takes you. The town is tiny and quaint and worth walking through. Near the main post office is a small shop where you can get a cup of chai and some biscuits to give you strength for the walk back.
We drove down to Mukteswar and stayed a day at Camp Purple for a day. The camp was very different from what I had expected, quite a relief on the last day of the holiday. It’s a camp for urban-dwellers who haven’t had much interaction with the outdoors, and want to begin with controlled amounts of exposure. There’s not much roughing-it-out involved here; the tents are pitched on raised cement platforms and have proper beds inside ! There is a separate row of clean bath/loo tents with running water, these facilities are kept surprisingly clean.
The staff is friendly and take good care of you. There are a lot of adventure activities that are organised based on demand. There’s bird-watching and trekking for the wimps (like me), for the more active ones, there’s rapelling, rock-climbing and jumaring conducted by the Camp Purple folks at a place nearby called chauli-ki-jaali.
The KMVN (Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam) guesthouse at Binsar is right at the peak of Mt. Binsar, in the middle of Binsar sanctuary. It is the best place to stay in at Binsar as it has the best location. Have also heard good reviews of a resort called ‘Kalmatia Sangam’ from some friends of mine, though it is undoubtedly a swankier place than KMVN, it is outside the Binsar sanctuary and lower down the slope than KMVN. KMVN is fairly functional and basic - the rooms are large, comfortable and clean, food is simple, tasty and available in plenty, and the staff is nice. Cold water is available through the day and one bucket of hot water is given in the morning. At night, one bulb in the room is powered by solar power, but only till 9:30 p.m., so carrying a torch along to Binsar is advisable.
Sunrise at Binsar
Sunrise at Binsar - lighter patch on peak of mountain grows bigger
Here comes the sun
Sleeping early is advisable in Binsar as you must wake up early, sit on the terrace and watch the sun rise over the peaks of the Himalayas. Use all your willpower to stir yourself out of bed at 5:30 a.m.; braving sleep, the bitter cold and the biting wind is well worth it. The view is amazing, from the left the peaks of Trishul, then Nandadevi and Nandakot to the right and finally the five peaks of Panchuli or the ‘kitchen of the Gods’, over which the sun rises. As a reward for braving the cold, KMVN staff bring out hot tea at 6 a.m.
The Binsar sanctuary is quite beautiful, there are various tracks through the forest for hiking enthusiasts. You can hire a guide for the day, we were lucky enough to get Purna who was a veritable fount of information about the flora and fauna of the area.
If you want a long walk, you can walk from Binsar to Jageshwar and Dandeshwar temples. Alternately, you can hire a car and driver there or travel by bus from Almora. For some other temples worth visiting check this link.
Kausani and Munsiyari are other great places to visit – I heard about these from fellow travellers during my Kumaon trip. Have added these to my must-visit list, partly because they are small settlements snuggled right next to the mountains, partly because these are what I call ‘new towns’ and used to be villages not long ago. Apparently Munsiyari was a village till about 1982, there was no electricity there and no roads either – people trekked up to it from the nearest bus-stop. Then the UP tourism deptt realised that tourism could be the major source of revenue in the hills and looked for sites to set up KMVN. One was this village. It was only during the 80s that Munsiyari was connected by road and the electric power lines were extended to it. Though some might say that this is not an altogether good thing for the erstwhile village !
By,
Zen
p.s. Contact details of some of the places mentioned in the post above:
Sitla Estate, Vikram Maira – Ph: 05942-286330 or 286030, email i.d. : maira_40@yahoo.co.uk
Camp Purple, Mukteswar – 011-29531036,29531037 (Delhi Office number)
KMVN Binsar – 05962 – 210176, +919412996535; bookings need to be made through Nainital (05942 – 231436,236356, 236209) or Delhi office (011 - 23712246, 23746433, 23746431)
Puran Singh, In Toto Birdwatcher, Binsar - +919411518056, +919410765414.
