Riding through the mountains | Uttarakhand

The last two years of my life have seen a lot of solo-travel until this year when I finally gave in to insistence from friends on taking a trip with them.

The destination wasn’t new to me, just the roads were.

I began travelling to Uttarakhand this year and found it surprisingly untouched and stunningly beautiful.

We were to ride for three days through the curvy roads of Dhanaulti and Tehri, two favored tourist destinations in Uttarakhand.

A group of nine, 5 REs, mountainous terrains and breathtaking scenery…. We were in for a great time!!

Tehri is a city in the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand, famous for housing the highest dam in the country and 2nd highest in the Asian continent.

The mornings here are serenely quiet. I could hear only the sounds of birds chirping and clouds roaring throughout the morning.

Tehri is about a hundred kms (60 mi) away from Dehradun, the capital and the largest city of Uttarakhand. We stayed a few kilometers ahead of Tehri in Raichauri Chamba, in a dorm for ten people.

After an overnight halt, we left for what turned out to be the best part of our journey.

Dhanaulti Lagga Goth is about a two-hour ride from Raichauri Chamba in Tehri. 

The road was in a perfect condition and ran alongside an awesome elevated view of the whole of Uttarakhand. The clouds flew with us and for a minute made us totally forget about the screeching hot sun.

Our hosts of the evening were just what we needed after the long strenuous ride.

And no matter how strenuous a journey gets, I would never say no to a hike through villages, forests, mountains, clouds, and nature…..

The last stop of the journey was enroute our descent towards Dehradun. A little-known stream of water running through a thick forest, the Jharipani waterfalls, 9-kms (6 mi) from Mussoorie. 

Briefly,

• The weather was the best part here. However, the sunburns are frequent, itchy and extremely irritating while on road. I’d recommend using good sun-protect as I did and saved myself a lot of trouble.
• There were few power cuts during our stay. A torch with rechargeable battery would definitely come in handy.
• The weather in mountains can be very unpredictable. It is advisable to use a waterproof cover for your luggage, especially if you are travelling with cameras and laptops, as I do.
• The temperatures can drop really low at night. Carrying a comfortable jacket will do the trick.
• Our bike rental service was our worst decision of the trip. It is definitely not recommendable for solo female travellers.
• Last but not the least, use a Mini Tripod for shooting videos and pictures and to maintain the stability of the camera. It is really easy to carry and convenient to pack. I use Manfrotto’s mini tripod and it is till date one of my best purchases.