Behind the wheel & Contributor

Vinod Kumar...know more about me

Travelogue Photologue What to see in Kanatal

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Travelogue

Route

Distance to Kanatal : 325 kms. (7 to 8 hrs drive)

Route : Delhi - Meerut - Muzaffarnagar - Roorkee - Haridwar - Rishikesh - Narendra Nagar - Chamba - Kanatal (On Chamba - Mussorie Road)

USP of Kanatal

At 8500 ft above sea level, secluded, Awesome view of Himalayas. Clear view of Trishul, Chaukhamba and Bandarpoonch. Lots of trekking options in Kodia Jungle. Pine and Oak forest.

Places to See

Kodia Jungle, Tehri Dam, Dhanolti - Surkanda devi temple, ECO Park.

Road Condition

Road after Muzaffarnagar to Roorkee is bad. High traffic in Haridwar and Roorkee.

Midway Break

Namaste Midway has MCD, Haldiram, Costa, Baskin and Robins is about 5 kms before Muzaffarnagar and an ideal stop over. Of course Cheetal Grand is also another option which is 12 km before Midway.

Stay

So the plan was 3 nights at Club Mahindra Kanatal and 1 night at Rishikesh. Rishikesh stay was at GMVN Rishilok Tourist Rest House.

We started by 5.30am. By 7.30am we reached MCD. 10am we were in Haridwar and by 1pm reached Kanatal.

Day 1

Check in at Club Mahindra Kanatal was smooth and post lunch we lazed around for the day... The resort is on the main Chamba - Dhanaulti road. Medium sized resort with about 35 rooms. All rooms are valley facing. Well appointed rooms with good insulation and room heating . Evenings and early morning are cold and some times windy too. The hotel is just infront of Kodia eco park. Food is pricey but members have discount and fun dining option. Monkey menace a problem.

Day 2

We planned to trek Kodia Jungle. Morning trek was about 7 kms. We called for a guide from the hotel, and decided to start a bit late as early morning was very cold, we started at 7am and were back by 11am. Again post lunch went for another trek. Rest enjoy the photographs. Kodia jungle has many trek tracks overlooking the mighty Himalayas. Lots of birds. Chances to sight Himalayan Monal.

Day 3

Today we planned for Surkanda Devi temple visit and Eco park, Dhanaulti. The day started lazily. Hired a taxi and started by 11.30 am. The temple is at an altitude of 9800 ft. My watch was showing 10,200 ft. Its a tough 1.6 km climb. We took 1 hr and 20 min to reach the temple. The new temple has not yet opened. Work has been completed and will open in October. Our next place was Eco park, Dhanaulti. Its a beautiful park for a day out. Ideal birding location. Lots of walking tracks.The taxi charged us around Rs 1200.

Day 4

Checked out from CM Kanatal by 10am. Our next destination was Rishikesh. We usually stay at GMVN Rishilok. Its very near to Ram Jhula. We reached by 11.30am. Plan for the day was to have lunch at Chotiwala, Walk around, Witness Ganga aarti. I was surprised to see 2 CCD's one each at Ram and Laxman Jhula and lots of German Cafes have come up near Luxman Jhula market. As usual Chotiwala's Thali was simbly awesome....

Day 5

We left for Delhi early morning. 9.30am we were at Midway. By 1 pm we were in Delhi. Total Distance Travelled : 700 kms. No fuel refilling required.