An Adventurous Road Trip from Delhi to Munshiyari Part-1

 Delhi-Hapur-Moradabad-Kashipur

Day 1 (Wednesday):

Consecutive four public holidays in the first week of April propelled us to embark on an audacious road trip. Ever since we first heard about the tiny town Munshiyari, the window to Himalayas in Uttarakhand we have been patiently waiting for the apt time to visit the place. In North India by April winter makes way for spring and rightly so the pleasant weather is felicitous for venturesome journey to the hills. We soon started making necessary preparations for the road trip- the first and foremost was a quick and thorough check on the condition of our car, then gearing with nitty-gritty stuff like the warm clothes, snacks to munch on, adequate bottles of water and fruit juice and last but not least a container to stock some petrol.

By 4 pm on Wednesday, we hit the road, armed with a map of the road and details about the brief stopovers to make on our Odyssey to the Uttarakhand hills. Though we were keen about visiting Munshiyari, (600 km from Delhi) the long distance drive along the hills with just three of us was little intimidating. So we have settled down for Chakouri, (480 km from Delhi) a small hamlet in Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand and offer a spectacular view of the Nanda Devi, Nanda Kot and Panchachuli group of Himalayan peaks in India.

Ghaziabad-Dasna Highway

Soon we were on a way to Moradabad via Ghaziabad, the erratic, unruly traffic and clumsy roads really tested the patience of the person behind the wheel. Since it was sugarcane harvest season, all along the way slow moving bullock carts stalled the motor vehicle traffic. As the road began to widen along the Philkhuwa-Garh Mukteshwar, NH-24 highway we had brief respite. Garh Mukteshwar is place of great religious significance with famous temple of Mukteshwar Mahadeva of Lord Shiva and Meerabai ki Reti, a sandy stretch where Meerabhai used to offer prayers to Lord Krishna. We moved along over the bridge across the river Ganga near Garh Mukteshwar. The road was in good condition and was congenial for a comfortable drive. The huge expanse of green fields and tall trees on the both sides of the road was a great relief from the polluted and crowded locales of the Metros. Shortly before hitting the Moradabad- Bareilly Express Highway, we briefly halted at Gajraula, a vibrant town with few industries and a medical college. The highway had eight lanes and it was a pleasure driving over such a wide road. We almost travelled 170 km from Delhi by the time we reached the outskirts of Moradabad, bypassing the city we decided to travel to Kashipur which is 65 km away.

Garh Mukteshwar 

We hit Moradabad-Kashipur road around 7 pm. It has begun to slowly drizzle and with total absence of street lights, it was pitch dark. Little did we realise that the next two and half hours of drive could be the most cumbersome. As we moved on we realised that road was heavily pitted, but were hopeful that this bad stretch would extend for 2 or 3 km. To our horror, the entire stretch of road of almost 55km was extremely bad, with potholes of meteorite size. Added to our distress, part of the road was dug up and huge piles of rocks were stocked up on either side of the road for laying a new one. Since it has rained the previous night, some of the potholes and even the sandy patches on the sides of the road were filled with water. By far this has been the most strenuous stretch to drive. The situation is really pathetic. Kashipur is an industrial town in Uttarakhand with several industries and paper mills. As we entered the town, though roads were okay, heavy trucks and carriers on the roads compelled us to break our journey. We checked into Gautami Heights, a decent hotel and relaxed for the night. To our delight, the weather became very pleasant as it started raining and gradually our exhaustion waned. 


Photographs Courtesy: Dr. T. L. S. Bhaskar

 

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