I have been shuttling between small town of Betul ( my home town)situated in the lap of Satpura mountain range and Bhopal, since I settled down here in 1985. Those were days of trains pulled by steam locos and buses. Last traces of steam locos were still in use. Canadian steam loco with shining star at the nose, roared through the track pulling morning Janata Express. Despite bygone 25 years, I never lost the charm of Midghat. Narmada bridge, tunnels passing through Budhani Ghat and Ghat just before Betul. One can not resist peeping out of window on route to Nagpur via Betul,as the enchanting forest, mesmerizes every soul in all seasons, be it scorching summer, pouring monsoon, or chilly winter. Ups and downs, sharp curves, streams running down from cliffs of Vindhyachal and Satpuda , gushing under the railway track bring back childhood charm. Rains, in particular make this journey a life time experience. Spring is a time of emergence and migration.

Hi, I am a regular and avid fan of ghumakkar and swear by the experiences of  fellow fun loving ghumakkar’s… Though, I always wanted to share my experiences but due to utter callousness and laziness, would never write… , for a change… Today, I have got sometime to pen my thoughts..expereinces…and fair share of inexperience in preparing the travel itinerary… at least in the trip to be shared…

Ever since my colleagues traveled to gangotri and gaumukh sometime in may 2004 and shared with me their experience… I was looking and waiting for like minded friends who would accompany me to such places…It was my first trekking trip…

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My last road trip to Haridwar was in Feb this year. After this trip again in March this year I did a road trip to Wagah Border.And now after five months here comes my road trip again.This time too during Rakhi Holidays , we again planned a road trip to Dehradun, Mussoorie and Haridwar similar to every year. My Last years wonderful Mussoorie experience is described in my previous post -”Road Trip to Mussoorie – The Queen Of Hills “. This time Rakhi was a little late ie. in the last week of of august , and this time was the peak of monsoon. However , our plan was made a month in advance. We had to go to Dehradun this time by different route. We had decided to follow the Route – Delhi – Panipat – Shamli – Saharanpur – Chutmulpur – Dehradun. But rains played havoc to our plan. We knew that this is the state highway and the condition of roads were not good due to heavy rains. So just a day in advance , we changed our plan and decide to go by the same old route of National highway. Details of the trip –

No. of Adults – Four
1. Myself – The solo driver
2. My Father
3. My mother
4. My Great Grand Mother

My Car – Maruti 800
Total distance covered in the trip – 750 Km
Avg distance per litre – 18 Km/Lr
Total cost of fuel consumed – Rs 2500

It was 22nd August’10. Rains were on its full throttle. But our plan was made. We left Delhi on 22nd at 5 am. Continous rains were pouring. We followed the route from ISBT , Dilshad Garden on NH-24 towards Ghaziabad .
From Ghaziabd we turned on NH-58 towards Meerut.

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YES, it was the mountain Echo,

Solitary, clear, profound,

Answering to the shouting Cuckoo,

Giving to her sound for sound! -William Wordsworth

“Kukru” an obscure corner of Satpuda at the border of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra is true reflection of the above words of William Wordsworth. Seventy five Kms from district head quarter of Betul  in MP small forest bungalow stands at a cliff 3500 Ft above sea level, overlooking rampart after rampart of Satpuda mountains,   welcomes you in eternal tranquility and peace.

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