This summer Vibha was given the responsibility to finalize the place & do hotel bookings. She did great job at finalzing the place, doing hotel bookings and organizing a brilliant family trip to Binsar in Uttrakhand. Nishant planned the commute part. Almost everyone in family contributed to great planning except the photographer :). The journey started from Delhi at 1:30am on thursday. We booked a Tempo Traveller for comfortable journey.
Weather was nice because of rain during the day. Most of us took a nap for 2-3 hours and then took a tea break around mango trees. There was a huge stretch which was full of mango laden trees, paddy fields full of rain-water and green landscapes all around.
After a relaxed break at Bhimtal, we headed towards Binsar. We had to cross Almora to hit Binsar. The weather changed as went down to Kanchi dham. After Kanchi dham, you almost drive at same plane and follow Sheetla river for a long time. Because of heavy rains, Shitla river was flowing very fast and it's water was carrying lot of mud. See this video to know more.
Soon we crossed Almora and everyone was surprised to see the size of Almora town. It take approximately 15 minutes to cross the town even when you get clear roads throughout.
Just after Almora, we crossed through these lovely pine forests surrounded by snow covered peaks. High hills, moving clouds, green-orange hues and cool wind makes this ride very special.
After driving for 1 hr we reached KMVN Binsar. Just before the hotel, our tempo traveller got stuck. Connecting road was in very bad state because of rains. Repair work was in progress. All of us got worried about moving around in Tempo-traveller. KMVN staff was very helpful to take out the tempo-traveller.
There are fixed timings for lunch, so we couldn't get. Instead we ordered tea and some snacks. Then Sunset point was nearest place to the hotel so thought of walking to sunset point from KMVN hotel.
And this place is brilliant. Sunset views from top of the Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary is awesome. There was some time for the sunset when we reached there, but the play of light and clouds entertained us.
After spending some time around Sunset point, we headed back towards the hotels. On the way, we met some colorful birds in the forest and Eurasian Jay was in abundance.
Bonfire or music is not allowed if you are inside the Wildlife Sanctuary. So most of the time was spent around the terrace - watching cloud play, stars, varied discussions, selfies etc. There was no light in the hotel that night, so we had our dinner in candle light :). Usually KMVN Binsar gets light for 3 hours in the night. For rest of the time, they put candles everywhere and give you few extra candles for rooms.
Next day started with brilliant views of snow covered mountains all around. Hotel staff mentioned that we are very lucky to have such view. Usually it's hazy. Rains a day back made it so clear for us. Next day, these hills were not visible at all.
Plan for the day was to visit Jageshwar dham. Instead of going in our Tempo-Traveller we hired 2 cabs. Most of the folks were not comfortable in using Tempo traveller after it got stuck on the way because of bad road. We took the route through Golu devta temple which is in middle of pine forest and located at a very peaceful place. It's well connected with road, but since it's not a main road you would not find lot of vehicles crossing through it. In fact, when we crossed the temple there was no vehicle parked and hardly there was any other vehicle which came from the other side. It was a bit bumpy ride but beautiful landscapes on the way.
After a while, we hit the main road which connected us to Deodar forests which indicate that you are close to Jageshwar now. Jageshwar is 45 kilometers from Binsar although the other route via Almora is bit longer. Everyone was excited to see these high & old deodar trees all around.
We reached the temple compound which had 125 temples and surrounded by deodar trees. After spending some time around these beautiful temples, it was time to find a good place for lunch. Unfortunately there are not much options in Jageshwar. To know more about this place and temple, check out this post.
It was time to have a group shot before leaving Jageshwar Temple. While going back, we chose the other route which passes by Almora town. The roads around Binsar are brilliant as you always experience in Uttrakhand. That's best part to drive around Kumaon.
Throughout the stay, we made a point to explore the forest early in the morning. Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary is full of colorful birds. One needs to be patient and calm to enjoy these beauties of the forest.
Soon I will be adding more details to this post, but in the meantime you can suggest through comments. Below are some of the things you may want to share with us.
Places to explore around Binsar?
How to reach Binsar?
Best time to visit Binsar?
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