Motorcycle Diaries. Road to Munsiyari…here we come…

Night at Binsar went by quite peacefully and I woke up to a bright, sunny morning at 7am. As I walked out of my cottage, I noted for the first time the structure and location of this very well laid out Eco-camp. It was a marvel constructed painstakingly amidst the Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary, perched on the hill as a green jewel.

The Bikes at Binsar

Binsar is perched on top of the Jhandi Dhar hills. At an elevation of 2412 meters AMSL, Binsar is situated amidst the Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary. I learnt that the route to main Binsar goes right from the gate of the sanctuary where we met the guards last night.

Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary

The Camp is located in the non-core area of this sanctuary, in a place called Dhaulchhina. This is the shortest possible route to Munsiyari and saves a lot of time and distance, as compared to the one that goes via Bageshwar.

Binsar Eco Camp, Dhaulchhina

Gaurav shared that his father, Kesar Singh Mehra, a former businessmen and one of the founding activists behind the establishment of the sanctuary in 1988, set up the resort as a eco-friendly destination, primarily catering to the nature-lovers and bird-watchers. He went on to share that the Camp is frequented by over 200 species of birds and one can expect to learn about the aviary world.

View from uphill at the Binsar Eco Camp

View from uphill at the Binsar Eco Camp

View from uphill at the Binsar Eco Camp

By now, Nitin was up and ready with his arms and ammunition – the Camera! Gaurav guided him to a viewpoint they constructed right the top of the hill, located at a 5-minutes trek. Nitin came back with amazing set of images – spectacular mountain panorama of evergreen Himalayan ranges and valleys. The views of major peaks like Chaukhamba, Panchachuli, Nanda Devi, Nanda Kot, and Kedarnath are distinctly visible from there. Sitting leisurely at the camp, one couldn’t even fathom what vista laid just a five-minute trek ahead! This was a clear sky day, which offered a 180-degree Himalayan view. I must share with all readers here that such vast panoramic view can been seen only from Binsar and Kausani in Uttarakhand. In fact, there is a location called the ‘Zero Point’ here, which offers amazing views of the magnificent range. Binsar also offers an excellent view of Almora town.

As we sipped the superbly made herbal tea, prepared from the herbs grown in-house, Gaurav helped us with sourcing five litres of petrol from Almora through his contacts. This was done as the next filling-station was at Berinag, another 65kms ahead. Since we rode almost 430kms on day one, I didn’t want to take risk of running on an empty fuel tank in case of any exirgency.

Thanking Gaurav for his splendid hospitality, we resume the ride for the day at 10:30am. Our stay was really pleasant here and in fact, I have already planned upcoming my winter-break with Neha here!

With Gaurav Mehra at the Binsar Eco Camp

For details of Binsar Eco Camp, you may visit their website (http://www.binsar-ecocamp.com/index.html). Highly recommended for peace-lovers.

Hereafter, the ride was approximately 160kms. The route we took:

Dhaulchinna – Berinag via Sheraghat – 65kms
Berinag – Thal – 27kms
Thal – Munsiyari – 68kms
The roads were really good between Dhaulchhina and Berinag. We rode through dense forests for the first 15kms and them descended steadily into the valley; we reached Sheraghat in almost an hour. This is where you witness the Saryu River. From here, Berinag is an uphill ride of about 35kms.

Saryu Pul at Sheraghat

Berinag came in another hour and we filled our fuel tanks at the HP petrol station located outside the town, and moved ahead towards Thal. Berinag, located at 1740 meters AMSL, is a tiny hamlet; I was told by locals that both Nanda Devi and Panchchuli peaks can be seen from here. However, I could not observe these peaks during our halt from here.

It is important to note that 6kms after Berinag, there comes a crossroad called Udiyari Bend from where the roads bifurcate; the left one goes to Chaukori and the right one descends towards Thal. Again, after 18kms, there comes another bifurcation called Bharad Bend, from where a U-turn shall take you to Thal. The other road from here goes towards Bageshwar. I came across a very good map of this area at the KMVN rest-house at Birthi; reproducing an image of the same for the readers. Very useful, it is…

Map of the Road to Munsiyari

We arrived in at Thal, a small hamlet, at about 1:30pm and locals guided us to Mehta Restaurant for lunch. Finished, is what the cook shared! So we moved to another small eatery right next to the police station, and ate the easily available Thali – Daal, Roti, Chawal!

As we crossed the Ram-Ganga Bridge to enter Thal, I saw a very age-old looking temple complex on the banks of river. I learnt later that this is a Lord Shiv Temple, and it is here where from several decades the famous Thal Mela (Fair) is held. This temple also has a significance as it is believed that all Kailash Mansarovar pilgrims from here would take a bath in the Ram Ganga and then only proceed towards the pilgrimage. It was amazing to learn that before independence, the revolutionaries organized the Fair to commemorate the ‘Jalianwalan Bagh’ massacre and since then, the Fair became an annual feature. However, people shared that since the trade from Tibet slowed down, now the significance of the Fair is steadily diminishing. Some history this small hamlet has…

Munsiyari was about 67kms from here and we hoped to reach there by 4:30pm. Weather was really good, bright and sunny and we rode almost non-stop.

Ram Ganga – Milky Way!

We rode quite leisurely after Thal, clocking 30kmph. En route, we rode alongside the Purvi Ram Ganga River, a river with such whitish water flowing as if milk it were! We had never seen anything such; see for yourself…I also made a video here, capturing the pristine beauty of this river in images was nearly impossible. See it on Youtube at

Villages in Kumaon are really captivating. Every now and then, you’d come across the group of school-going kids, who make all sorts of gesture to grab the bikers’ attention, while the elders look upon at us as the ‘spoilt-ones’! Well, I don’t blame them – imagine what your and my Mom would say upon hearing or biking exploits!

At around 4pm, we arrived in at Birthi, where the mighty Birthi Falls could be seen and heard at a distance. However, we didn’t stop and kept riding, hoping to reach Munsiyari by 5pm and catch the magical rays of setting sun on the Panchchuli peaks.

Well, nature has its own plans! As we crossed Birthi, I could observe the onset of clouds – dark and threatening – over our heads. I feared the repeat of what we faced yesterday, and asked Nitin to speed up.

Clouds at Thal

Just as we neared Munsiyari and the milestone declared 14kms more to go, it started to pour, as heavily as it could get. We rode non-stop from this point, getting wet in the lashes of the rain, right at the altitude of 2700 meters AMSL! I could see captivating views of the hills from this height; yet, stopping and clicking pics in such rains would have been sheer stupidity! Some hard luck…

We reached Munsiyari by 5pm and were really glad to find Bilju Inn located right on the main road, as we entered the town.

Shivering, we quickly checked into the hotel and changed into dry & warm clothing. By now, rainfall had stopped! We noted the magic that unfolded outside – see for yourself.

Magical View of Evening at Munsiyari

Magical View of Evening at Munsiyari

Whole of the evening hereinafter went in drying clothes and other gear in front of the room-heaters! However, we did find the room very well laid out and service to be good. Once warmth came back in our bodies, we chalked out the plan for next three days.

For Day-3, were decided to stay and relax at Munsiyari, exploring this magical town at leisure…

To be continued in the next blog…