The bloggers trip arranged by Club Mahindra is an annual event where we take a select list of travel bloggers to a location where we have our resort, and explore locations around it. Last year the trip was to Coorg, this year we made the trip to Binsar(Uttarakhand), a beautiful, quiet and wild Himalayan destination with rich natural surroundings.

The travelers to the Binsar trip included Kiruba Shankar (popular blogger and columnist), Arun Bhat (prolific travel blogger and photographer), Prashanth (another popular travel blogger), Ruchika Vyas (travel writer), Shrinidhi Hande (blogger and travel enthusiast) and yours truly.

After convening to the Delhi airport from Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai we had to rush to the Sarai Rohilla railway station and had an interesting twist (read Kiruba’s and my account) along the way. We departed at around 10 PM to Kathgodam via the Ranikhet express, and arrived early in the morning at around 5 AM.

From Kathgodam we made a short detour to our newly opened resort in Naukuchiatal (lake of nine corners, is perenially sourced by an underground spring), which is set amidst lush green surroundings, and is tranquil. Unlike Nainital, this place is devoid of too many tourists and makes for an ideal location to vacation.

A view of Naukuchiatal from the resort

Room view of the Club Mahindra “Dancing Waters” resort, Naukuchiatal

After freshening up and breakfast, we continued to Binsar. The scenery along the way was equally breathtaking, and we stopped at a few places just to absorb the sights, sounds and smells of these wonderful locations.

Bloggers taking a break

After a 4 hour drive along the winding roads, we finally arrived at our destination, the beautiful Club Mahindra Valley Resort, Binsar. After soaking in the wonderful reception extended to us by Amarnath Bakshi (resort manager), we were led to our rooms set around a beautifully landscaped garden. The room temperature was just right and it was quite a relief crashing into our beds, that felt like the lap of luxury.

View of the resort and inside our room, the Club Mahindra “Valley” resort, Binsar

The next day, we traveled to the Jageshwar temples, which is around 60 kms from the resort, or about 35 kms from Almora town. The temples are beautiful in their architecture, and the surrounding trees add to the beauty. Sadly, the filth around the place (plastic garbage, wasted food) steals away some of the delight.

Jageshwar is an ancient temple city, and was once the centre of Lakulish Shaivism, located in the Jataganga valley (at an altitude of around 1870 mts) near a Deodar forest.  It is a group of temples with 124 temples, most of which are in ruin.
…There is no definite proof about the construction of Jageshwar group of temples, but these are stated to belong to the post-Gupta and pre-medieval era and are estimated to be over 2000 yrs old. (source Wikipedia )

Jageshwar Temples

On the way back, about 10 minutes from Jageshwar, we stopped by the Dandeshwar temples, which unlike Jageshwar isn’t a pilgrim center and is sparsely populated with tourists (which is one of the reasons we found it more appealing). According to a stone tablet outside by the ASI, the Dandeshwar temple is one of the biggest and tallest of the Kumaon region built around the 8th Century by the Katyuri rules.

On Day 3, we left early in the morning for the Binsar wildlife sanctuary, and after trekking for nearly an hour uphill, we reached the famous zero point. Now what’s so great about this place? Well, picture this, you see a magnificent, panoramic view of the Himalayan peaks like Trishul, Nandadevi, Kedarnath etc stretching 300 km – a sight so breathtaking that you will be spellbound, even more if you haven’t seen the mountains.

For us trigger happy folks, this was the perfect opportunity and we were shooting photos all the while. However, you need to reach the spot early in the morning to get a good, clear glimpse of the mountains before the clouds cast a curtain over those peaks. We were also warned about Leopards in the region (though the place is frequently visited by trekkers), so its always good to go out in groups and exercise some discretion.

View of the Himalayan Peaks from the Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary

View of the Himalayan Peak “Nanda devi” from the “Zero Point”, the apex point of the Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary

After a day of hectic traveling, and outdoor activities, we camped overnight at a breathtaking spot in the hill near the resort. Gopal and Panth, the Club Mahindra holiday activity guys arranged for our camping, instructed by the resourceful Kundan, the Holiday activity executive and Amarnath. It was a different experience camping, warming ourselves by the bonfire and sharing stories and travel experiences with my co-travelers. Gopal and Panth, joined in and shared with us folklore from the Kumaon region, including tales from the Corbett and the mountains.

Early Morning after the overnight camping

On the day of the departure, we made a detour to Nainital to get a glimpse of the Naini lake, where the weather was close to 15 degree celcius, and gave us enough time to capture some captivating photos of the lake. Though Nainital is crowded and filthy, the drive up to the place is a sight for sore eyes!

Nainital

We wound up our trip by stopping for dinner at an Udipi restaurant close to the Kathgodam station, and an unlikely place to gorge on tasty upma!

Just a few minutes to spare, we arrived at the Kathgodam station, with a tinge of sadness having to leave this beautiful place and with memories that would linger.

The Bloggers – (L-R) – Prashant, Ruchika, Kiruba, Shrinidhi, Arun Bhat, Arun Nair