It was again a long weekend on this years' Independence Day.
We wanted to explore some new offbeat destination and want to avoid the crowd due to an extended long weekend so we decided to explore the places around Nainital.
We hit the road early morning at 4:30 AM and took the route Delhi - Gajraula - Moradabad - Rampur - Nainital - Pangot via Kaladhungi Road.
We took our first halt after Gajraula at Moga restaurant for the breakfast. It was 7:30 in the morning and the restaurant was full.
We ordered Paranthas with Curd and tea , the food was delicious to satiate our hunger. Then we resumed our journey , after few hours we entered the forest area of Kaladhungi which was generating the curiosity to reach our camp (Ayar Jungle Camp).
And as the mountains started suddenly fog appeared and started drizzling , roads were visible only up to 10-20 feet which was making difficult to drive in the mountains but it was creating more excitement.
After a long exciting journey we reached our camp which was 2 kms above Nainital named Ayar Jungle Camp. Our cottage was in the forest and one can hear the chirping of birds outside cottage having a soothing effect on the mind away from the maddening city crowd.
After having a bath we walked down to the mall road of Nainital and visited the famous Tibetan market to have some Chinese food Momos Thukpa noodles and spring rolls and visited the famous Naina devi temple. As we came back to our camp it started raining heavily , so we decided to play some guitar.
It rained the whole night for about 10 hours.
Next morning it was a clear sky , so as per our itinerary we went to the Kilbury and Pangot Bird Sanctuary. In Pangot there was a 2-3 kms trek down the forest , where we happened to met a camper who was with his helper was cooking some delicious food in the forest.
There was a water stream flowing down as we trekked down in the Pangot bird sanctuary . It was very picturesque and beautiful.
Our second night stay was in jeolikot , which was a hostel named Hots hostel India's first hiking hostel as one has to hike through the forest to reach there. As we reached there we mesmerized by the surroundings and the beauty of the property which was looking more beautiful in the monsoon.
We played volleyball there in the evening and met some fellow travelers.
Some of our fun was ruined by the leeches.
Next morning we did the healthy breakfast with porridge , omelettes and breads. After having the breakfast we resumed our journey to the next spot which was Sattal. As we hit the road again the fog came and started drizzling. We reached Sattal from Jeolikot in 1.5 hours and booked KMVN (Kumaon Manadal Vikas Nigam) guest house and got the off-season rate. The location of the guest house was in front of the Sattal lake and one can see the lake from the balcony. We did the kayaking in the lake which was a great fun and one should definitely try that.
The next morning was the Independence Day , we hoisted our flag in the guest house compound which was a great feeling.