Nainital Trip

"Lets celebrate New Year in a different style".This was in our mind when we returned from our Gwalior trip.But we didn't even imagined that we would be celebrating the first day of year 2009 in Nainital.So when my friend Avik told me about Nainital plan i immediately said 'Yes! we are going!!!'

Without thinking much we booked a ticket for Kathgodam from Old Delhi railway station on Ranikhet Express which was supposed to depart at 10:30 PM but got delayed by half n hour.No big deal for Indian Railways.It was a very cold 31st night and couple of brandy sips kept us warm inside the compartment.Chilly winds,fog and dense forests on the mountain range welcomed us in the morning.Kathgodam is a really small station with only one platform and only cabbies and hotel agents present there so early in the morning.We took a cab to Nainital for Rs 200.It took around 1 hour or so to reach our hotel very near to Mall Road, the lifeline of Nainital.

Hardly wasting any time we finished our breakfast and went on our mission i.e. to explore the beauty of Nainital.Naini lake was just around the corner of our hotel,buzzing with tourists.Some of them were enjoying the lake on boats.But we headed straight for the Snow View point.It is at an altitude of 2270 m and gives an incredible view of the snow laden himalayas.

From there we moved on to Naina Peak or China Peak located at an altitude of 2611 m and is the highest peak of the town.To reach it we had to go for a horse ride of around 20 mins.It was really a thrilling experience riding a horse on a steep mountain range amid dense pine trees.

Enroute we also visited Tiffin Top or Dorothy's Seat.It is a terrace hill top at an altitude of 7520 ft.Now it is a famous picturesque picnic spot.Our last point on horse was Land's End at an altitude of 2118 m.It gives a panaromic view of the mountains and also the Khurpatal Lake.From there we moved back to Nainital town and decided to explore it on foot.The first option available was Naini Lake.It was chilly moving through the lake water on a boat but we were enjoying it.After a hot cup of tea we visited the local Tibetian Market,Bara Bazaar and Naina Devi Temple.The night was spent around The Mall Road enjoying the beauty of the lake in night.

2nd January 2009, it was time to move on.We took our cab for Ranikhet.Ranikhet is at 1829 m above sea level 65 km from Nainital.It took around 2 hours to reach there.Ranikhet is the Head Quarter of the reknowned Kumaon Regiment of the Indian Army.In Ranikhet we visited the Chaubatia Orchards famous for its apples,peaches, plums and apricot,Jhula Devi temple with hundreds of bells hung around it.

By evening we returned back to Nainital.We visited Eco Cave Garden which has 6 deep caves and a musical fountain.Our last spot was Hanumangarhi which provides an excellent view of the sunset.Night was falling and we tried our hands on golfing on a small 9 hole golf club.It was realy enjoying palying golf in the freezing night.We took our dinner in the restaurant and retired to our hotel rooms as we had to get up very early to catch a train for Delhi.

It was really one of the most memorable New Year celebration for me.Wish to visit Nanital once again and recommend those who have not visited yet don't miss this paradise.

Jhansi-Orcha Trip

After an eventful and exciting excursion in the jungle it was time to move on.We packed our bags and took a bus for Jhansi which is around 103 km from Gwalior by bus.It took around 3 hours to reach Jhansi as the road was pretty bad.Also a lot of time was wasted while looking for a good hotel room.It was pretty disheartening to see the condition of tourism in MP.

But nothing was going to stop us.We hired a auto and headed straight for Jhansi Fort.It was built by Raja Bir Singh Deo in 1613.Spread over a 15 acre area with 4 entrances and 10 gates.The eastern side of the fort was built by the british.There are many important constructions inside the fort namely Ganesh Mandir,Shahar Darwaza,Gulam Gaus Khan's grave,Execution Tower,Kal Kothri and Panch Mahal.It is a living testimonial to the valor and heroism of Rani Lakshmi Bai.

From Jhansi fort we visited the State Museum which was established in 1978.It has a vast collection of artifacts from early Gupta period to modern era.There was not much to see in Jhansi so we moved on to Orcha which is just 22 km from Jhansi.

Orcha is the erstwhile capital city of Bundela kings.It is renowned for the world famous mural paintings.The different attractions in Orcha are Jehangir Mahal,Raja Mahal,Rani Mahal,Chatris,Laxmi Narayan Temple.Though there are many other attractions we could not visit each of them as we had very little time and most of them were getting closed down by 5 PM.We had some evening snacks on one of the converted restaurants there and returned back to Jhansi.

We had our return tickets from Gwalior but it was impossible to reach Gwalior in time so we decided to board the train from Jhansi itself.Thus ended our momentful journey which started from Gwalior to Jungle safari in Shivpuri to old city of Jahnsi and Orcha.It was time to say good bye and hoping to come back here someday to find some more hidden attractions.