Trip to Bhimtal Saattal

Third week of December 08 I was off to Bhimtal along with a my corporate group of about 90 people. We travelled overnite by Deluxe buses in the night. Stopped at Gajraula in the night for some tea, it was unusually warm that night, unlike the late December in North India. Early morning around Rampur there was a dense fog that made driving difficult. Still we could make it on time for breakfast at Country Inn, Bhimtal a nice resort with deluxe rooms,cottages, nice lawns, spa and a swimming pool. The rooms, cottages and the facilities at Country Inn are excellent and we had a nice breakfast after freshening up with a warm bath. Here it was not so cold,rather pleasant. Our team had arranged for training for the employees and some fun activities for the families and children.
In the evening we had some nice old songs accompanied by guitar by the Fun rangers sitting around a bon fire.
Next Day early morning we did some yoga under expert guidance and it was a refreshing and wonderful start to the day. After bfast, we headed for Saattal(seven lakes) which is about 8 km from Bhimtal. Saattal is a more quieter and cleaner lake not visited regularly. After circling the lake we did some adventure activities like rock climbing,rappelling and valley crossing in the nearby jungle area. After that we had our lunch at Country Inn, Saat tal a small hotel with lake facing rooms and situated in a quiet corner. If you are looking for some thing quiet,lonely and serene this is the place.
The whole area is strewn with lakes, some of them being Bhimtal, Sattal,Khurpatal,Naukuchiatal and the biggest and most well known-Nainital. So from here we went to Nainital for some sight seeing, boating, shopping and all. It was real chilly in Nainital with gusty winds and all. For the first time in our visit we felt that we have come to a hill station.

Next day morning about 15 of us trekked to a very special but unknown place in the vicinity, the Nal Damayanti pond. The trek was a soft one and for about 2 km. It took us to a small pond which had lots and lots of fishes. We took some bread along to feed them and it was real fun seeing them jump for the bread crumbs all over the pond. The pond we were told has some religious significance too and any kind of fishing was not allowed here. On the way back to Delhi we stopped at Bhimtal lake.



Overall it was a nice trip enjoyed by all the participants and was a lot of fun.
For more info on Bhimtal,Sat tal, Naukuchiatal and Nainital and hotel bookings log onto Nainital Resorts
For arranging your trip tp Bhimtal, Naukuchiatal or Nainital call us at Around Delhi at 09891458220/09811193634
Anand, Around Delhi

Corbett Trip

On Friday morning we headed for Corbett National Park in Uttrakhand with like minded friends of Rotary Akash,Delhi. After collecting all of them on the way in a deluxe bus we left Delhi by about 8 AM.We were a group of 25 including children.After stopping at Gajraula(Meriton) for some excellent breakfast (pre arranged)we could reach Corbett by about 2:30 PM for lunch in good time. The resort was a new one which we were trying out for the first one. It turned out to be an excellent choice as Tarangi, our resort, was a riverside affair and housing 21 beautiful cottages in 20 areas of vast Green lawns. At first it was difficult to find our way in the big resort. After taking a sumptuous lunch, we did not rest much and were by the river and then in the river soon. The river by the resort is Kosi and though it did not have too much water but enough for a cool dip. The cocktails were at the riverside lawns and every body was in the holiday mood. We had to retire early as we were booked for the morning Safari and had to leave the resort by about 5 AM.

Next morning we were 30 minutes late (thanks to a dear friend)and reached at the Jhirna Gate at about 6:30 AM. You have many gates for entry to core area of Corbett like Jhirna, Bijrani,Durga Devi, Sitabani, Dhikala etc. Each leads to a different part of the jungle and one needs a permit to enter. One can prebook the morning safari or go for a current booking for the afternoon one. Most of us go to Corbett with an aim of only seeing the Tiger and feel that if we don't see a Tiger it is a waste of time. I think that thinking should change and one should really enjoy and see the jungle as a whole instead of just the Tiger. We saw a lot of animals and birds like the spotted deer, barking deer( a deer that barks like a dog), wild boar, mongoose,kingfisher, tree pie, monkeys and langurs etc. Some of the friends were disappointed not to see the Tiger and wanted to again in the noon or next day, but sorry no luck, everything was booked. We came back to the resort and went straight for the breakfast, the variety in the bfast on both days was amazing, giving a choice of more than 10 things to have. Before noon we enjoed a game of cricket and after noon we went to a bridge on the Kosi near Garjia
temple for some adventure activities. The activities were loved by one everyone specially the children. It was amazing some of the six year olds trying their hand at flaying fox and rappelling. After the activity some of the friend went to the nearby temple while we decided to walk back to the resort, covering a distance of about 3km. It was a nice and cool walk covering all the resorts like Corbett Hideaway, Country Inn, Corbett Riverview etc. This road in fact now looks more like a Mall road with all the hotels and resorts instead of a jungle road. After a tipsy evening where we were treated to some old Hindi songs by a North East guy who also played the guitar. Later it was back to some fast CD songs which really set the tone for the evening making some friends really go over the moon(thankfully they were back the next morning). Finally it was time to leave the next day and a common thought that we needed at least another day a the place. While coming back we were struck in a bad jam near Garh crossing. The road from Corbett to Gajraula is quiet and not much of a problem, but the stretch between Hapur and Gajraula still has some bottlenecks which I am sure will not stay for long as construction is underway. Looking forward for another trip with the friends.

For a trip to Corbett and other destinations around Delhi click here- Wild Life Resorts around Delhi.

Driving on the Delhi-Jaipur-Ajmer Highway

On Monday I planned to go to Jaipur for some work and took the NH 8, Delhi-Jaipur Highway early morning. It was wonderful travelling on this wonderful highway as we made it to Jaipur with in 4 hours, but for entering main Jaipur, we took the Jaipur-Ajmer bypass and it was simply wonderful and even better than the Delhi-Jaipur leg. We travelled about 30 km on it and the part of the highway which passed through JAIPUR was on an elevated road passing through one side of the city giveing one a beautiful view of the pink city. Though we had work in Jaipur but the highway being so good we really felt like going all the way to Ajmer. Both sides are covered by a railing and there are no frquent gaps in the road giving a smooth and fast drive.

By the way if you want to have some stay options in Jaipur you can look here Jaipur Hotels & Resorts.

Around Delhi

Sariska,Rajasthan-Tigers are back

Continuning from where I left from last time about Wildlife resorts around Delhi. Went to Sariska, near Alwar on 2nd weekend of October as one of my clients Mr. Minood was doing a workshop at Sarisaka Palace on 'Rebirthing'. Sariska is a cool 3 1/2 hours drive from Delhi via Alwar(190k). Sariska is famous for it's Tiger Wild life sanctuary. Sariska and gone out of favour of wild life lovers as Sariska had lost all it's tigers to poachers and other risk fastors. It was only recently in September that a Tiger and a tigeress were airlifted from Ranthambhore, another tiger sanctuary and relocated to Sariska. That has brought life back to this Sanctuary after a long time, making it the closest place to watch Tigers Delhi. So in a way it is 'Rebirthing' for this almost dead Tiger Sanctuary. Though there are only two tigers at Sariska, people have already had sightings and close to the metalled road for that. So does't matter if you only have two days with you, start on Saturday morning from Delhi or Jaipur and stay for only one night and go watch the jungle and be back on Sunday to face the World, afresh. As far as stay is concerned, Sariska doen't give you too may options. The only worthwhile place to stay is Sariska Palace, a heritage property now converted into a hotel. It is all of 100 acres and beautiful lawns are really inviting with great rooms and food. It is a little on the costly side but look from some great offers from us at www.AroundDelhi.com. Though we did not have enough luch this time but still we saw lots of neel gai, spotted dear, langurs, monitor lizard, wild boar and lots of birds too. So I feel Sariska is one of the best weekend getaways from Delhi and Jaipur. For bookings contact us at Around Delhi-Sariska Bookings

Bye for now.

Around Delhi

Wild Life Spots around Delhi

Staying in Delhi give you a chance to have a look at lot of wildlife options not too far from Delhi. In August on the Independence Day weekend we visited the Bhartpur Bid Sanctuary and just last week to Sariska.( Guess what am visiting Corbett in month end, lucky me).
Both the wild life and bird sanctuary we recently visited have seen revival of resorts this year. Bharatpurt or Ghana or Keoleaodeo Bird Sanctuary as it is called was almost bereft of water, swamps and birds for the last few years because of deficient rains. The migratory birds had almost stopped visiting the park and started looking at other options for nesting and laying eggs. On visiting this year it was heartening to see the park full of water and more of it still coming. We were told that they are going to start boating soon in the park, after a gap of 4-5 years. August is an early time of migration of birds but I was surprised to see the bird colonies of Painted storks, Ibis and other birds in large numbers. There were loas and oads of them and the cackle of the young ones was almost deafening. There were also other birds like kingfisher, snake bird etc. I am sure by ealry winter we will have the park full of different birds including coots, pintails and so on and maybe the elusive Siberian crane.

I would love to talk about Sariska Tiger and Sariska Palace,but it is time for dinner and I am feeling quiet hungry(less than my wife though on this Karva Chauth day). Catch you later.

For staying options at Bharatpur, follow this link-Bharatpur Hotels & Resorts


Bye,
Around Delhi

Tourist season in North Hills

Hi,
It's been a long time since I posted as last few months have been very busy due to the tourist season in North India. It's still season time as people from all over India converge to North India Hill Stations to beat the heat of the plains. The maximum rush has been towards Shimla and Nainital but lot of people avoid these main hill stations and head for off beat ones like Kantal, Chamba, Chail, Binsar and so on. I will probably give more info on these off beat hill stations in my subsequent posts. Meanwhile places in Rajasthan like Jaipur, Sariska and son on which are close to Delhi were shunned by the tourist lot because of the ongoing Gujjar agitation. I wish the matter settles fast.
Bye for now.
Around Delhi

Travels in North India

Hi,
This is Around Delhi, I am a travel enthusiast staying in Delhi and running a website by the name www.AroundDelhi.com for last 5 years. What started as a hobby-travelling by own car and sharing it with friends on the site has now become a full fledged profession of finding new and exciting new places and promoting them on the website. Though traveling is now a profession but the passion of discovering and unearthing new travel hot spots still remains. My original profession of Anaesthesia, putting people to sleep, has taken a back seat with this new found love. On this blog I will love to discuss various options of applying balm to your harried body, mind and soul by spending some time with near and dear ones at a worthwhile destination and accommodation. Also your valued suggestions are welcome about any destinations you have visited or stayed so as to share your experiences with fellow travelers.
ArounD Delhi