Uttarakhand - Mesmerizing Himalayan Odyssey

From snow clad peaks to green valleys, from paragliding to jungle safari beautiful sunrises to thick white cloud blankets - Uttarakhand offers serenity and peace to every traveler.

While Nainital can easily be reached by car or train (Kathgodam) from Delhi, for people coming from other places like Mumbai either Pantnagar or Bariely airports are the nearest ones.

Nainital has been one of the oldest hill stations in India. The busy Mall Road, the sprawling Naini Lake surrounded by lush green mountains have attracted revelers and families alike. Our stay was in a heritage villa couple of kilometers from the busy Mall Road. One can easily complete the Nainital and surrounding places in a day - starting with Naini Devi Temple, boating in the lake, drive to Bhimtal and other lakes and dinner & shopping at Mall road. However, jumping off a cliff paragliding in Bhimtal was an experience that I will always cherish (cost Rs. 2000 + 500 for GoPro shooting).

Next destination Kausani - a small quiet village with panoramic Himalayan views, we literally sat for hours watching the gran Trishul and Nandadevi peaks from our hotel rooms and yet the next morning they were equally grand. In a small family managed hotel, we laid back and enjoyed the views and hospitality for few days. A note caution: carry your own poison here as there is no wine shop in the town.

Enroute, we had impromptu stop in jungle camp besides a river and surrounded by Deodhar trees, beautiful butterflies. Wandering in the mountains, siting in a farm and watching the river flow was all we did.

Mukteshwar, another hill station about 50km from Nainital, has started becoming the second home property destination for Delhites. Another B&B stay called Chirping Orchard became our 2nd home for few days - literally! As Uttarakhand witnessed one of the heaviest rain spells, we were stuck here without electricity and network, but the staff and owners made our stay very comfortable.

The views from here made you truly feel in heaven - with clouds beneath you, snow clad Himalayas in front and clean blue skies above. This was the best destination in our tour.

Unfortunately, due to the rains, we had to cancel our plans for Jim Corbett and couldn't do the safari. However, the Kumaon region in Uttarakhand