Places To Visit In Kumaon

An Indian Traveler

2 years ago

After exploring and volunteering in Tamil Nadu for a couple of months, I traveled back to the Indian Himalayas after my last year’s 4-month trip to Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Ladakh and Kashmir. This time I explored the Kumaon Region of Uttarakhand. Uttarakhand (One of the Northern states in India) is divided into two administrative divisions i.e. Garhwal & Kumaon. Last year, I explored the Garhwal side of Uttarakhand. During the course of a week or so, I explored various places in the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand in the month of May. Exploring the Himalayan region in different seasons can yield totally different experiences. In this post, I am going to talk about places to visit in Kumaon. Read on!

IN AND AROUND NAINITAL

DAY 1: NAINITAL

I took a train to the nearest railway station to Nainital i.e. Kathgodam. It lies around 35 km from Nainital. I begin my trip with a short volunteer stint near Nainital at an organic farm. It was a mixed-bag experience. Later, I did Couchsurfing(after more than a year) near Nainital in a village called Bhumiyadhar. Great location as it is away from the maddening crowd of Nainital. I spent 3 days exploring in and around Nainital. On Day 1, I begin my exploration with a walk on Mall Road along the Nainital Lake. It is populated with many diverse food spots. I walked a lot that day. From Mall Road, I hiked all the way up to the Tiffin top viewpoint. It has some great aerial views of Nainital. I chose a different route for the descent. I came out at KhurpaTal Viewpoint. It has a nice view of Khurpatal Lake. 15 minutes walk from there took me to the Lover’s Point Viewpoint. Later, I hiked to the Snow view point in Mallital. Mallital is a quiet neighbourhood in Nainital with some beautiful views. From Mallital, I took the aerial ropeway back to the Nainital city centre. It costs INR 200 for one way. With that my day comes to an end. Also, Pangot is a quaint village near Nainital worth exploring.

DAY 2: CHAFI, BHIMTAL, NAUKUCHIATAL

On Day 2, My Couchsurfing host recommended that I explore an offbeat village called Chafi. I took local public transport to reach Chafi. It has an old beautiful British-era bridge. From the bridge, I hiked to Pari Taal (30-40 minutes hike). Pari Taal is a hidden lake with a waterfall. I totally enjoyed my time there. Later, I hitchhiked from Chafi to Bhimtal lake. I wanted to do Kayaking but it was too crowded. I decided to walk from Bhimtal to Naukuchiatal. It was a 2-hour walk on a concrete-cum-dusty road. Naukuchiatal is a hill station famous for Naukuchiatal lake which translates to “Lake of nine corners”. I did Kayaking for 30 minutes there and quite liked the experience. It costs me INR 200. With that my day comes to an end.

**This hole holds religious significance to locals**

DAY 3: MUKTESHWAR

Day 3 was all about exploring the touristic village of Mukteshwar. It lies around 50 km from Nainital. I took public transport to reach Mukteshwar. Things to do in Mukteshwar are Sitla Jungle hike, Bhalugarh Falls, Chauli Ki Jaali Sunset point, Mukteshwar Temple, Peora village trek etc. Rock climbing and Rappelling are popular adventure sports in Mukteshwar.

**Hitchhiked in this truck: Got stuck for a while**

**Panchachuli peaks as seen from Munsiyari**

**Alpine resort: On the way to Khaliya Top**

ALMORA, BINSAR, KAUSANI, CHAUKORI, MUNSIYARI

After exploring Nainital, one can follow this route: Nainital-Almora-Kasar Devi-Binsar-Kausani-Baijnath-Chaukori-Munsiyari. I have not explored any of these places except Chaukori and Munsiyari. Kasar Devi is a hippie village, Binsar is known for the Binsar Wildlife sanctuary, and Kausani is an offbeat beautiful small town with stunning views of high peaks in Uttarakhand. Baijnath is noted for its ancient temples. I took multiple public modes of transport to reach Chaukori. I spent a night in Chaukori. At Chaukori, I head to KMVN guest house viewing tower for a stunning view of Nanda Devi, Nanda Kot, Panchachuli peaks etc. Other places of interest are Musk Deer Park hike to spot rare musk deers, Hanging rocks hike, and Tea gardens. After chaukori, I traveled to Munsiyari. The famous hill station lies at the elevation of 2200 m. It is the starting point of various treks like Milam Glacier Trek, Nanda Devi Basecamp, Thamri Kund trek, Namik glacier trek etc. I did the Khaliya top trek. It took me around 5 hours to do the roundtrip. It is a moderate trek for beginners. I strongly recommend downloading the “MAPS.ME” mobile application as the whole trail is properly marked on this app. Other places to visit in Munsiyari are the Tribal Heritage museum, Birthi waterfall, Balanti Potato farm etc.

KAILASH MANSAROVAR ROUTE: OM PARVAT & ADI KAILASH

PERMIT REQUIREMENT

After Munsiyari, I traveled to Dharchula. At Dharchula, I took a permit to visit the mountain peaks i.e. Om Parvat and Adi Kailash. This permit is valid to visit the base camps of Om Parvat and Adi Kailash i.e. Nabhidhang and Jolingkong respectively. Indians need 3 photos, a COVID vaccination certificate and an Aadhar card copy to apply for the permit at SDM Office in Dharchula. It took me a couple of hours to do the complete process. One needs to visit the police station and hospital in Dharchula for NOC and Medical certificate respectively. My total expense to obtain the permit was INR 500. The permit was valid for 8 days.

DAY1: REACHING GUNJI

I took a shared taxi to reach a village called Gunji. It took me around 7 hours to reach Gunji due to multiple stops, road work etc. This road was opened a couple of years ago. Before that, the trek used to begin near Dharchula. I made Gunji village my base to explore Om Parvat and Adi Kailash. They are situated on opposite sides of Gunji. These mountain peaks hold great significance in Hinduism and are part of the renowned Kailash Mansarovar Pilgrimage. Kailash Mansarovar Pilgrimage is closed for a couple of years due to the Covid pandemic. Mount Kailash is the end point of the Kailash Mansarovar Pilgrimage and it is situated in Tibet.

**Early morning View from Gunji village**

**Look closely: There’s a cave in the mountain!**

**Hitchhiking on the top of the vehicle!**

**Can you spot the OM symbol on the mountain?**

DAY 2: OM PARVAT

On Day 2, I traveled to Nabhidhang Camp. It is located at the elevation of 4300 m. Nabhidhang Camp is an Indian army base with a clear view of Om Parvat. One can only cross this camp if they are part of the Kailash Mansarovar Pilgrimage. The India-Tibet border is around 10-15 km from here. Since it is a border area there is a lot of army movement. Nepal’s border is also nearby. I left Gunji early in the morning. I started walking towards Kalapani. My permit was checked by the army on the way. Many army officers who were doing their morning run greeted me with a big smile and appreciated the fact that I am hiking alone. After an hour or so I reached Kalapani army base. There is no separate walking trail. We have to use the same trail as the vehicles. At Kalpani, my permit was checked again. I spoke with army officers for a while. Luckily, I got a ride to Nabhidhang Camp from Kalapani. Since there was no space in the vehicle, I sat on the top of the 4*4 vehicle. It was a bumpy but fun ride

Even in the month of May, it was really cold. The ride lasts for around 30 minutes. After reaching the Nabhidhang camp, I was stunned by the view of Om Parvat. Om Parvat has an OM(sacred spiritual symbol) shape which is formed by the deposition of snow on the black mountain. It is truly a sight to behold. After spending some quality time there, I hitchhiked on the same vehicle but got down at Kalapani to use the WiFi at the Army base. Only BSNL works in this region. From Kalapani, I walked back to the Gunji village.

**After the snowfall: Adi Kailash mountain**

DAY 3 & DAY 4: ADI KAILASH

On Day 3, I traveled to Jolingkong camp. Jolingkong is the base camp of Adi Kailash mountain. It is located at the elevation of 4630 m. Adi Kailash is known to be an abode of Lord Shiva. I woke up early in the morning and started walking towards the next village i.e. Nabi. Shortly, I got a ride in an army truck carrying petrol. Few more local people joined me at the back of the truck in Nabi. After half an hour or so, it gets really unbearable to sit in the back of the truck due to the strong smell of petrol and bone-shattering bumpy ride. We got down in the middle and bid the truck goodbye. They were all going to the next village i.e. Kuti but my destination was even more further ahead i.e. Jolingkong Camp. We started walking together but soon I left them way behind me. After 90 minutes or so, I reached Kuti village. It is such a beautiful village with labyrinth lanes and vibrant woodwork. I spend a couple of hours waiting for a ride. When I was losing hope and planning to spend a night at Kuti village, I got a ride to Jolingkong camp

As you must have understood by now, no public transport ply on these routes. After reaching the Jolingkong camp, it gets really cloudy. The Adi Kailash mountain was completely covered with clouds. I hiked to the Shiva Temple situated on the banks of Jolingkong Lake. It took me 20-25 minutes to do so. Such a serene site. While returning back to the camping ground. it starts snowing. What started as a light snow shower initially turned into a heavy downpour of snow. It was a magical sight. I was experiencing snowfall after a year since my last year trip to the Indian Himalayas. One can never get over the magical feeling of snowfall. I decided to stay back at Jolingkong while almost every tourist rushed back. Snowfall continued till late at night. The next morning, I woke up quite early to witness the stunning view of Adi Kailash. Snowfall had stopped by then and virtually everything was white around me. After soaking in the mesmerizing views around me, I decided to head back to Gunji. After a wait of a couple of hours, I finally hitchhiked back to the Gunji village and spent the night at Gunji village. The next day, I head back to Dharchula in order to begin my trip to Nepal. Stay tuned for the Nepalese adventure 🙂

ROAD MAP OF KUMAON

The road map of Kumaon are as follows: Bhumiyadhar-Nainital-Bhumiyadhar-Chafi-Bhimtal-Naukuchiatal-Bhumiyadhar-Mukteshwar-Bhumiyadhar-Bhowali-Almora-Kasar Devi-Binsar-Kausani-Baijnath-Chaukori-Munsiyari-Dharchula-Gunji-Kalapani-Nabhidhang(Om Parvat)-Gunji-Nabi-Kuti-Jolingkong(Adi Kailash)-Gunji-Dharchula

MODES OF TRANSPORTATION

Traveling In and around Nainital: One can take local buses (limited frequency) or shared Tata SUVs (uneven frequency). Hitchhiking is another possibility. There’s always an option for hiring a private taxi.

Nainital-Almora-Chaukori-Munsiyari: I took a bus from Nainital to Almora(INR 200). From Almora, I took a shared taxi to Ganai Gangoli village(INR 350). From there, I hitchhiked in a truck to Berinag. From Berinag, I took another shared taxi to Chaukori(INR 100). From Chaukori, I hitchhiked back to the Udiyari band intersection. From the intersection, I hitchhiked to Thal village. From Thal village, I took a government bus to Munsiyari(INR 160).

Munsiyari-Dharchula-Gunji: From Munsiyari, I took a shared taxi to Dharchula(INR 450). From Dharchula, I took another shared taxi(INR 800) to Gunji village.

ACCOMMODATION

Nainital: I used Couchsurfing for accommodation.
Chaukori: I paid INR 400 per night for a stay at Hotel Apna Ghar.
Munsiyari: I paid INR 300 per night for a stay at Snow view Inn near the Bus stand.
Gunji: I paid INR 300/- for a shared room and dinner per night. I stayed with Mangal Da(9410180974)
Jolingkong: I stayed in an igloo-shaped shared cottage and paid INR 500 for tea, one night’s stay and dinner.