Munsyari: The story retold

Evening view of Panchuli

If you decide to meet your destiny, God will help to achieve this, I had gone through this phase. My childhood dream was to drive on hills on a grand Royal Enfield machine. This dream came true on 20^th June 2018 when five of my friends (me Mohammad Saleem Haider, Rakesh Kumar Singh, Praveen Kumar Aswal). all three riders of their Royal Enfield Classic 350, with the pillion on Rakesh and Praveen’s bike, is Vijay Sharma and Mohit Srivastava. I was driving solo (which was a big gamble to ride 1500 km alone) with other two bikes with rider and pillion. We started at 5 am early morning from Lucknow to meet the first destination; Nainital, it was an almost plane drive with only 35 km Haldwani to Nainital. We reached around 3 pm in Nainital and checked in to our hotel on Zoo road.

Riding towards Bageshwar from Munsyari

Birthi Fall

Next morning after breakfast we continued our journey to Pitthoragarh via Almora about 180kms drive on hills. It was an awesome journey with cool climate since we left a hell 45-degree temperature at Lucknow, about 45 km before Pitthoragarh I faced an accident. Actually, it was not an accident but a lesson for me that while riding on hills, you just can’t be a tourist. I saw a beautiful mountain, a white one, about 3 km before it actually existed. When I came near it and passed around the corner and bent, I just moved my head to see it properly and it happened. I couldn’t bend my handle of bike according to the turn of the curvy road and the bike lost its control and fell on the left-hand side of the road. My bike lay down just 2 feet from the edge and it was an almost 100-150 feet valley. It was just the mercy of God, my daughter’s well wishes that I saved my life there. Now my partners were ahead of me and there was no one in that place, I tried to lift the bike but there were lot of small pebbles and dust which was not giving me a proper position to lift the bike, after 7-8 times attempt I finally lifted the bike and stood on main stand, by doing this my thumb and wrist joint bone on my left hand felt hurt, well I continued my journey and reached Pitthoragarh at 7 pm.

Back at home with my group

At Bhowali ready for the adventure of Pithoragarh

At Jauljibi with broken hand and confidence high

Next day pain started from my hand but I just hold my nervous and not shared the actual condition of my hand to my friends, I just taken Volini spray, crepe bandage and medicine of muscular pain and next morning after breakfast we moved towards our main destination Munsyari via Jauljibi about 145 kms drive on really on the toughest roads of Uttrakhand, now these days there are a lot of road construction is going on in Uttrakhand, after Patal Pokhari there was a patch of 20 kms where construction is going on, hills were broken into pieces and it caused a hell of driving especially a 150+ kg Royal Enfield, temperature start to slow down after Jauljibi and first glimpse of snowy mountains we saw near Mawani Dawani, one can see the Panchuli snowy peaks view generally at evening when Panchuli becomes golden in colors with the falling sunrays on evening, it was not too shivering cold in Munsyari since we were in June end but it was around 10 degree temperature in nights, there are no too many options for hotel here in Munsyari we check in at Vijay Mount View Resorts, next morning our hotel staff told us that weak up early and watch the snowy peaks of Panchuli mountains from the terrace that’s what we are here for but unfortunately it was a cloudy morning Panchuli peak was covered with dense clouds and we didn’t see the magic of Himalayas

The riders just before Munsyari

Now after breakfast we decided to leave Munsyari and move to our next destination that is Almora again via Bageshwar, it was a big patch around 210 kms with travelling through one of the best scenic mountains, waterfall, valleys, forest and we started our trip after breakfast at 9 am but things to worry happen, Praveen bike was not well its battery was dying and there was some more problem with the starting of the bike, we tried to repair on our own for the first 30 minutes and it fails and we decided to put the bike to the mechanic, luckily there is a bike mechanic at Munsyari who is very talented and he takes around 2 hours to relive the bike once again, we had wasted almost 3 hours here at Munsyari and around 12 pm we started our journey, we plan our first stop as Birthi Fall, now when just covered 20 kms from Munsyari I told you I saw the deadliest roads of Uttrakhand, it was a huge mountain fully covered with clouds and somewhat rain also, I was terrifying on that road it was very narrow full of curves, lots of water stream flowing through the roads which is making driving too dangerous and adventurous, we slope down to Birthi Fall with engine off for around 20 kms.

I hope, it was a long slope and very high altitude mountains, Birthi Fall was awesome, fall was not such heavy but quite elegance as always, we stayed there for 1 hour and enjoyed Maggie and tea and continued to our journey, before Bageshwar I told you it was one the best scene of mountains you can watch, beautiful roads with yellow forest, I seen a lot of baboons and monkeys over there, we reached Bageshwar at 7 pm and believe me we were just exhausted  but since our halt was at Almora so we taken some snacks and tea at Bageshwar main market and continued our journey to Almora with head lights on, I really recommend bike riders to usually do not ride in nights on hills, if you are in group than it is not so risky but for a solo rider it is not advisable, Aag me Ghee is that we just stopped for water in between Bageshwar and Almora the Uncle there told us that there might be chance to see Tigers on the roads to Almora, we were shivering not of cold it was because of threat of Tiger, alas we reach Almora at 10 pm and check in to hotel.

The Wast Mountains before Bageshwar

Next Day we moved to Nainital again and planned to rest in there and roam the mall road since from last 4 days we are just riding and riding the whole day. At Bhowali it started to rain which lasted for 3 hours and we enjoyed a lot, Nainital became live and there was a huge crowd on the mall road. We chilled at mall road enjoyed, ate momos for dinner and rested for the night. Now finally our tour came towards the end, next morning we said goodbye to the hills and took our bikes to Haldwani Royal Enfield service centre, Praveen changed his bikes Ampere and we too just tighten the breaks and continued our journey back to home, Lucknow. We reached Lucknow at 7 pm with very happy memories which will be going to stay long with us, next morning I went to Ortho Doctor and found a fracture on my wrist but I am happy with it since I had completed my journey without getting any troubles to my friends