A view of the road cutting towards Bhowali village done in 2012
A panoramic view of the new road cutting on the bye pass to Kainchi Dham from Bhowali Sanatorium as on June, 2026
Every
year I visit my home in Ranikhet region of Uttarakhand during the summers.Accordingly, this year too I planned my visit
in June, 2026 but due some official pre-engagement, I had to shift my visit to
second week of June, 2026 and to be precise, I planned my visit on 13th June,
2026.There is a very famous shrine of
Baba Neem Karoli Baba en-route Ranikhet from Haldwani/Kathgodam and even during
normal weekends it is packed with pilgrims and vehicles.This shrine has a special significance for
15th of June every year, as it is the foundation day of the shrine.There is so high influx of pilgrims and
tourists that the Government has to impose restrictions for visit during the
said days.I had presumed that the
restrictions would kick in only a day earlier than the scheduled mela/fair as
per the usual practice and had accordingly planned and purchased ticket for
early morning Shatabdi train for 13th June, 2026 that would reach Kathgodam by
mid-day of the same date and thereafter, travel for about 90 Kms. or so by taxi
to my home.
Panoramic view of Bhowali village in 2012
Panoramic view of Bhowali village in June, 2026
I
reached New Delhi Railway station early in the morning well in time and boarded
the train.I had a fixed driver who
usually ferried me from Kathgodam to my home in Ranikhet region and I had
already informed him beforehand and he had also acknowledged the same.By the time I reached Haldwani, I rang him up
to inform him about my imminent arrival in Kathgodam, but his phone god disengaged
every time I tried to dial his number.Since, I had another number, I rang up with it and his phone rang but he
did not respond and thereafter, switched off his mobile.It can be appreciated that a person may get
pre-occupied with some other work, but courtesy requires that he informed me
about it beforehand.So I had to talk to
another person from my village, who operates his own taxis and he provided me
with an alternate number of another driver and he willingly agreed to pick me
up from Haldwani itself.Having tied up
with the new driver, I alighted from the train at Haldwani station itself and
got onto his taxi for our onward journey to Ranikhet.The driver informed me that he stays in
Ranikhet and hence it was his regular route.However, on the way he informed me that this year the road restrictions
on Kainchi Dham route had kicked in two days in advance rather than usual one
day in advance.Although the usual choke
point of Nainital entry point was normal and we got past it without much ado,
however, just as we reached Bhowali sanatorium region, there as a traffic jam,
as the traffic was being diverted and we took the chance of going through the
newly constructed bye-pass to Kainchi dham rather than the circuitous route
through Mukteshwar-Almora-Ranikhet route that had been decided by the
authorities.
Panoramic view from Chorsa village in 2012 when it was not connected by road
View of Chorsa village in June, 2026 as the road passes through it
The
usual distance from Bhowali to Kainchi Dham through the regular route is about
8-9 Kms., however, the length of newly constructed bye-pass from Bhowali
sanatorium is about 18 Kms.The first
twelve kilometers of this new route was properly paved, but beyond that the
road is unpaved and uneven, a little rain can severely constrict movement
across this road.I had last traversed
through this road way back in 2012, when we were offered a piece of land in a
place called Chorsa village on this route, but as the road had not been
constructed properly by then, the bunch of friends had decided to traverse this
kuchha road of about 8-10 Kms. by foot and we had sent out taxi to Garam Pani
to wait for our descent.The condition
of the road then was so atrocious that we had called off the plan to buy land
in Chorsa village as we did not want to get struck with no means of transport
to the village and it is only recently that the road has been developed.I have some old photographs and hence have
posted them as then and now photos.Beyond the initial paved 12 Kilometers stretch, the road was so bad that
the remaining six odd kilometers took almost one and a half hours to
traverse.I have placed a link to a
short video for the viewers to evaluate the conditions themselves.The remainder of the journey was without any
further hiccups and we reached my home well in time.
Finally reached my home - view of my garden
Panoramic view of valley with Ranikhet in view across the valley from my home
View of Soni village - shot from a view point about 700 meters from my residence
Here is a short video of the
road from Bhowali sanatorium-
*Note - all the recent photographs have been shot using my mobile phone camera and hence the quality may lag a little.
Ranikhet – during
monsoon in August, 2025 (A photo blog)
There
are a plethora of blogs on my link describing the various facets of the quaint
little hill station of Ranikhet, as I keep visiting the destination to oversee
the maintenance work related to my pad in a village called Timila that is
situated in Tarikhet Block of Ranikhet Tehsil.Therefore, I am not describing any details regarding the journey from
Delhi to Timila village, but briefly to state, we took the early morning
Shatabdi upto Kathgodam and after reaching their around Noon, we proceeded
further in hired Taxi.Being peak
monsoon season, we had a blast eating local fire grilled maize and I found to
my dismay that many of the sellers were pushing maize from plains as one from
the hills, the latter is costlier and have a distinct sweet & soft texture.
However, this time around, having
visited after quite a long time, I had not anticipated that the Kainchi Dham
would be packed, however the entire stretch was and as we were already late for
lunch, but we kept our tryst with the ‘Highway Inn’ run by KMVN at Khairna for
our lunch.
My
wife had not travelled to any of the hill stations during monsoon, so it was
first time for her and the scenic beauty of the hills totally mesmerized her
and describing it in words would be futile, so I chose to post a photo blog
this time around.Here goes the
photographs with brief descriptions –
Miaze being grilled on local wood
Wild Begonia flowers blooming around the hillside during monsoon
After days of dark cloud cover - the Himalayan ranges gave us a rare glimpse
Panoramic view of Baba Haira Khan temple in Chilyanaula, Ranikhet during monsoon season
Panoramic view of Ranikhet township during monsoon from road leading to Majhkhali
The cloud covered with a green top golf ground of Ranikhet
View of the valley below from Naini Village enroute of Majhkhali from Ranikhet
Umbrella Liverwort growing during monsoon season in Ranikhet region
Chetnuts growing on tree in Chaubatia Garden in Ranikhet
Panoramic view from Chaubatia Garden in Ranikhet
As the clouds envelope the Pine trees of forest in Ranikhet region
Panoramic view of Timila village in Ranikhet Tehsil
As the cloud cover moves in - view from Timila village during monsoon
As the tufts of clouds drift along the valley - view from Timila village in Ranikhet Tehsil
A wide angle view from my Timila village home in Ranikhet Tehsil during monsoons
Just after a bout of rains - view from village Timila in Ranikhet Tehsil of Uttarakhand
Just after brief bout of rain - rainwater on Colocasia (Arbi in Hindi) leaves - shot in Timila village in Ranikhet Tehsil of Uttarakhand
Rose of Sharon (locally called Kaner or Gular in Hindi) - after rains - shot in village Timila in Ranikhet Tehsil of Uttarakhand
The year 2024
is almost drawing to a close and we are in the last month of the year.But due to several issues, I could not
compose my blogs and decided that at least for the sake of records, I should
conclude the year with some of my blogs in respect of places visited during the
year.After visiting Puducherry for some
admission related work of my daughter, we decided for a short visit to Ranikhet
during July, 2024.
Panoramic view of Binsar Mahadev temple
A view of 'Dolia Pahadi' restuarant in Ranikhet
As my car was
due to complete its 15 years life time tenure in September, 2024 we decided to
make a last trip in my car to Ranikhet.Usually, I refrain from visiting the hills during the rainy season, but
this time around as the rains were scanty and there was no other time available
for the visit, we decided to take a chance.It was hot and humid as we proceeded for the journey from Delhi and
remained so till we reached the hills.We had two short breaks for B’fast, around Gajraula and for lunch at
Bhimtal (having driven via Haldwani) and on the way to Bhimtal, tried some fire
grilled Maize (Bhutta in Hindi), but due to lack of rains, the taste was not as
good as we were used to having during our past visits.Having started at 6.30 A.M sharp from Delhi,
we reached my pad in village Timila in Ranikhet Tehsil in the evening at around
4.00 P.M.
Hydrangea (Guldasta in Hindi) in bloom
We settled in
for a few days in the peace and tranquility of the hills, although it was not
very hot, but lack of rains had made an impact all around and the hills were
not as green as they are during monsoons in the hills.During this stay, we visited the famed
‘Binsar Mahadev Temple’ that is about 2.5 Kms. from my village home.We also visited Ranikhet main market also
during the said visit and headed for lunch in a restaurant that boasts about
its cuisine etc. named ‘Dolia Pahadi’.It had started drizzling by the time we could locate the restaurant
entrance, which is about 100 odd meters away from the road head and finding a
parking space is also a challenge.But
apart from the ambience, the food was not at all to our satisfaction,
especially the chapattis were smelling, as if made from stale atta (flour) and
despite asking them the replace, the second serving was also the same.So despite having high hopes of having a
sumptuous lunch, we had to retrace our steps back, simply dissatisfied with the
outing.The only silver lining was that
we could get half a plate of famed mutton chap from Prakash dhaba in Ranikhet
market for my daughter on our way back.As it had started raining, we simply retraced our way back to our pad in
the village.
A Khalij pheasant (male) in jungle adjoining my house in village Timila
After having
settled for a few days in our pad, simply enjoying the tranquil enviorn, we
started back for Delhi.However, this
time around we decided to travel from Ramnagar side, as it is shorter distance as
compared to coming back via Haldwani.But I rued my decision , as after crossing Kashipur the road heads
across a short bridge built over a small rivulet and therefrom the entire road
was splattered with huge potholes and a journey of about 40 odd kilometers took
3 hours to complete and the experience was atrocious.We reached Delhi late in the evening and
thus, completed my first visit to Ranikhet for the year.
Road along Shipra River - from Kainchi Dham towards Khairna
On the way towards 'Binsar Mahadev temple'
Himalayan ranges at sunset - as seen from my pad in village Timila
A panoramic view of the Himalayan ranges as seen from village Timila
The second
visit to my pad in village Timila in Ranikhet Tehsil was undertaken by me with
a family friend of mine in November, 2024.Since my vehicle had been scrapped on completion of the tenure, we had
no other option but to travel by train.We boarded the Kathgodam Shatabdi from New Delhi Railway station at 6.20
A.M in the morning, after having had an altercation with the Taxi Driver, who
dropped us on the road on Paharganj side, without completing the journey citing
jam and we had to trudge about 500 odd meters to reach the station.However, the train journey was smooth and we
got down at Kathgodam at around 12.00 Noon and therefrom commenced on our
journey towards Ranikhet via Jeolikote side by local Taxi driven by my long
standing trusted driver Mr.Amit (Monu being his nickname).On the way we had a sumptuous lunch of Mutton
and rice at a road side eatery (dhabha), but were struck in a mild jams
starting from entrance to Nainital till the time we crossed Kainchi dham.Although my friend was inclined to visit
Kainchi Dham, I insisted that he undertakes the visit during his return
journey, which was scheduled earlier than my departure.We reached my pad in village Timila in
Ranikhet Tehsil at around 3.45 P.M and it was quite cold in the evening, as the
winters had started setting in, I had asked my caretaker to prepare a fire wood
stove (Angithi in Hindi) to ward for the extreme dampness and cold faced during
first day due to the fact that the house remains closed for months
together.During my friend’s very short
visit, we went to Binsar Mahadev temple one day and rested for the remaining
days.I continued for some more time and
spent my time cooking and washing utensils etc. and enjoying the environs of
the village to soothe my strained nerves, away from the hustle and bustle of
the city life.I returned back following
the same route, but after collecting and purchasing some local vegetables, ginger
and kidney beans from village home.Thus,
ended my second visit to Ranikhet region for the year.
Forest area around Binsar Mahadev temple - comprising of Deodars & Pines
There
are a plethora of blogs on my link describing the various facets of Ranikhet, as I keep visiting
the destination to oversee the maintenance of my pad in an adjacent village called
Badankhet/Timila.However, this time
around, after quite a long time due to the Covid-19 pandemic, I made a summer
visit to the destination, as per my past practice of t visiting my village
home, for atleast twice a year, for regular upkeep of my home there.Since the children were busy with their
College, Office etc., this time around I travelled alone and on my invitation
one of my relatives also agreed to accompany me for this visit.Being only two of us, I decided to travel by
train, unlike the past when I usually visited using my vehicle, as the economics
of cost of petrol versus cost of train ticket, weighed towards the later, being
only two of us travelling this time around.Due to the heavy rush in the hills this year, I decided to travel on a Monday
and return on Friday, so that I could avoid the tourist rush that usually
happens on weekends being holidays for school children, in the month of June,
2022.
Panoramic view of Binsar Mahadev temple
The
Kathgodam Shatabdi leaves from New Delhi station at 6.20 A.M and I decided to
book taxi through OLA, but the driver failed to respond despite ringing him
many times over, so I had to book another one and thus, got a bit delayed from
my planned time of departure.However,
as I had already scheduled some buffer time, we reached the station well in
time.The train departed at the right
time, but got delayed at the fag end of the journey, for reasons best known to
the Railways, the train was kept waiting for a long unscheduled stop at
Rudrapur.Having reached Kathgodam, I
spoke to some Taxi drivers at the station premises, for dropping us at our home
near Ranikhet and after some negotiation, one of the drivers agreed to drop us
for Rs.2500/-.However, as soon as we
reached near his cab, he informed that he will charge an additional Rs.500/-, as
the usual rate for dropping from Ranikhet, as the price he had quoted was for
dropping us at Ranikhet market.I told
him that the rate already stood negotiated and as we were also not required to
go till Ranikhet, what was the reason for charging this additional sum.As he appeared to be adamant, I walked off
from the Railway taxi stand, to one outside the station.I got a taxi for Rs.2,500/- and as we were
about to board, the earlier negotiated taxi driver came over and started
arguing.I gave him a tongue lashing and
informed him that he should have realized that I was not a tourist, but someone
who comes here regularly, as I was not travelling to any known tourist
destination and he could not take me for a ride, further if required, I would
call the Police.On hearing this he reluctantly
withdrew and we commenced with our onward journey at around 12.45 P.M. from
Kathgodam.
Selling cotton candy puffs in the fair/mela at Binsar Mahadev temple complex
As
the road via Bhimtal was under repair at the Ranibagh bridge, the driver
informed us that there would be a huge traffic jam and hence this time around and
hence we headed through Jeolikote-Bhowali route.The driver was a person with a pleasing
personality and just after crossing Kathgodam, an old gentlemen signaled the
driver to stop, thinking it was ferrying local residents.He offered him Rs.50/- for journey till
Jeolikote, but the driver refused, finding him to be an old person, on my
insistence he allowed him to board and dropped him at Jeolikote.Just after passing by Jeolikote, we stopped
to have some local charcoal baked Maize, although the ‘chutni’ made of local freshly ground Mint leaves, Coriander leaves,
Spring onions, Garlic and some local spices tasted as heavenly as always, however, the maize
itself was a bit dry, due to lack of rains in region during the summers.We again made a short halt just after after
passing by Kainchi dham and purchased some local Plums, Apricots and Peaches,
although their season was almost over, however, we enjoyed the fresh and ripe
fruits.Thereafter, I took a break at
the KMVN run Highway Inn at Khairna and some of the old employees recognized me
being a regular visitor in the past and we partook a quick lunch comprising of
Rice, mixed vegetable and Dal (Lentils) with some fresh Cucumber & Onion salad
and the meal was as sumptuous as ever.Finally, we reached my home at around 4.15 P.M and I dialled for my
caretaker, who had already arranged for a person to clean up the house.My relative being a good cook himself, we
cooked a Bengali quick and wholesome meal called “Khichudi’, which is a mixture of Rice, Dal with vegetables cooked
together with some spices and had it with Omelets.Thereafter, we retired for the night and had
a very peaceful sleep in the hills, albeit it was a bit hot this time around
and so no heavy blankets were required.
Taking rest after a long trek from the villages around
Selling all types of fried snacks and sweetmeat at the local fair/mela at Binsar Mhadev temple complex
After
waking up the next morning, we had some morning tea and simple bread &
butter with some tea/milk etc. and after that I with the help of the local
water supply person filled the overhead water tanks, by running the newly
installed water pump and it appears that from now onwards with the water supply
being provided to individual homes, my struggle for calling for tanker to fill
up the water tanks, would be a thing of the past. Thereafter, having taken bath
and performed the puja, we headed for Binsar
Mahadev temple.During the month of
June, usually during the very first week itself, there is a festival attended alongwith
with a big ‘Mela’ (Fair) organized in the temple complex and it is visited by
all and sundry from all adjoining villages from near and far.There are a quite a few blogs of mine as well
on the internet that has mentioned in details about this destination, thus, for
the sake of brevity I would refrain from repeating about the religious & mythological
importance of this destination.However,
as no mela had been held due to Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 & 2021, this year
around it was conducted in a grander scale and also over an extended period of
almost two weeks.Since it was a Tuesday,
as well the last day of the fair/mela, I took the opportunity to visit the
temple and have darshan of Lord Hanuman inside the temple complex, as per my
routine on Tuesdays.It was also a
chance to show my relative this important tourist destination of the Ranikhet
region.After having visited the temple
and the mela, we headed towards Tarikhet to purchase some hardware goods
required for maintenance of the home.Thereafter, we had some local ‘Samosas’
(A kind of crisp fried wrap) with a plate of ‘Cholas’(Spicy cooked Bengal grams) and polished it off with some ‘jalebis’ (A kind of sweetmeat) and
returned back home and got the maintenance work completed.Had some tea and snacks in the evening and later
had dinner at night and thus ended our second day of the sojourn.
Here is a link to a
short video of the destination -
Baba
Hairakhan temple -
An old photograph of the Baba Hairakhan temple with my friends on foreground
Since
my relative had not seen Ranikhet, especially all the tourist spots, I had
arranged for a trip for the next day and we started for the journey at around
10.30 A.M and I had arranged for the Cab from my village itself, wherein one of
the residents owns several of them.Accordingly, we first visited Baba
Hairakhan temple in Chilyanaula just near Ranikhet.Since there is an older blog available –
those interested to know about this destination may click on the link - https://ghummakar-biswas.blogspot.com/2013/01/chilyanaula-gallery-of-himalayan-vistas.html
- where description of Baba Haira Khan temple is also provided.Therefrom we headed towards the Ranikhet
Market and then onwards to the Golf Grounds in Ranikhet.
Here is a link to a
short video of the destination -
Golf
Grounds Ranikhet
–
Panoramic view of Golf course in Upat, Ranikhet
This
Golf course, popularly known as Golf Ground by the locals, is situated at a
place called Upat on the Ranikhet-Almora State Highway, while driving towards
Majhkhali from Ranikhet, at a distance of about 5 Kms. from Ranikhet, just a
little further ahead from Ghingarikhal.This Nine-hole Golf course is managed by the armed forces stationed in
Ranikhet i.e. the Kumaon Regiment and the Naga Regiments and is one the highest
elevation Golf Courses in the world, perched at over 1700 meters or around 6000
feet above MSL (Mean Sea Level).During
the Covid-19 Pandemic this Golf Course had been closed for Public access, but
now it has been opened for public viewing for the whole day on Tuesdays and
from 11.00 A.M to 1.00 P.M on all other days.However, only the south side of the Golf course will be accessible to
the tourists.The Golf course is well
manicured with lush green undulating meadows of green grass with the Himalayan
ranges in its back drop that offers a spectacular view for both tourists as
well as those enjoying a game of Golf there.
Here is a link to a
short video of the destination –
Rani
Jheel
–
Panoramic view of Rani Jheel
From
Golf course, we retraced our route back to Ranikhet and after passing by
Kalika, Somnath grounds etc., we took a small detour just across the Church in
Ranikhet to head for Rani Jheel.Although
this lake was a rain water harvesting artificial water body and has been in
Ranikhet since long, having been managed by the Cantonment Board of
Ranikhet.However, of late various
tourism related activities have been introduced in this lake and it has become
a tourist attraction of sorts.Situated
at a distance of about 2.5 Kms. from the Ranikhet market, it is small water
body that can be approached through a vehicle or by trekking.Although it is quite small, but for a small
place like Ranikhet, it offers boating facilities at approximately Rs.75/- per
person, it has also a zorbing facility and a small flying fox or zip line
facility that are moderately priced and coupled with this there are quite a few
colorful fishes that constantly swim in this water, hence the tourists and the locals
come and enjoy at the location for short durations.With the inflow of the tourists, now a days
there are several juice counters as well as fast food stalls that have come up
on the road,just across the entry gate to
the this small lake.Although it is
nothing spectacular like Naintal or Bhimtal, but definitely a fun place for
kids and their parents to enjoy as a passing by destination.
Here is a link to a
short video of the destination -
Jhula Devi temple & Chaubatia Garden –
A view of the famed Jhula Devi temple
From
Ranijheel we headed forward towards the Jhula Devi temple and therefrom to
Chaubatia Gardens.Whereas, the temple is
one of the most famous temples in Ranikhet region and has a very huge following
amongst the locals.The Chaubatia
Gardens is in Cantonment area and perched at almost 7,500 feet MSL and home to
the famous Chaubatia variety of Apple and is now maintained by the Horticulture
department.I have been to these destinations
on many occasions and hence these places find mention in many blogs of
mine.In case one wants to check about
the details of the destination, you can click on the link provided in one of
the paragraphs above.
View of the Chaubatia garden in Ranikhet
Thereafter,
we headed for the Kumaon Regimental Center Museum and since no
photography is allowed inside and only war related artefacts and memorials are
on display to see, although interesting, but without a visual reference it is
difficult to weave a blog on the subject and hence am skipping it.Having visited all the tourists destinations
of Ranikhet, it was late afternoon and we were famished and hence had lunch in
a local restaurant and after having some tea enroute at Tarikhet, where I got
my tape-recorder repaired, reached home late in the evening and thus ended our
day three of the visit to Ranikhet.
Kumaon Regimental Centre Museum in Ranikhet
The
next day had been earmarked for refilling of the water tanks, but as there was
no supply due to poor voltage, the prime target for the day eluded us and we
spent the day doing some odd jobs around and carrying out some house cleaning
errands like using the vacuum cleaner etc., as we had to proceed back to Delhi
the next morning.Looking at the
precarious situation of availability of Cabs during my journey from Kathgodam to
Ranikhet/Timila, I had booked the same taxi driver at same rate to drop us at
Kathgodam.I had called him by 10.00 A.M
and also confirmed over telephone about his having commenced journey to pick us
up.However, as is the norm of the cab
drivers, instead of pre-decided time of pick up between 10.00 to 10.30 A.M, the
fellow reached at around 11.00 A.M and after completing the usual chores of
putting off the electricity, water etc. and closing all the doors and windows,
we commenced our journey at around 11.20 A.M and the scheduled departure of the
train was 3.10 P.M.On the way we
purchased some vegetables and tried to pick up some local fruits, but nothing
was available.However, just before
reaching Kainchi Dham, due to haphazard parking of vehicles by the tourist, a
huge jam had built up and it took 1.30 hours to get past the jam and by this
time we had got considerably delayed.Despite best efforts, the Cab driver, whose car brakes too had got
overheated due to oncoming traffic, we missed the train by a whisker and
the driver even tried to drive upto Haldwani railway station but the train had
already left and thus I missed a train for the first time in my lifetime. Thereafter, as the AC busses were
scheduled to leave Haldwani for Delhi only late in the night, I took a cab
(returning back to Delhi) that charged only for one way and reached back Delhi
albeit late and thus, ended our short but enjoyable summer sojourn to the hills
of Uttarakahnd.
