Bird’s eye view:
180 km today, but that’s not bad if it implies driving mostly in the hills, where average speed is just 40 kmph. We left as usual at 7.15 am and clocked into our hotel at Pithoragarh at 4.15 pm. Roads were good, in fact it was NH9 which guided us all through. Some rains in Pithoragarh had been predicted, but as far as we were concerned, it was sunny all the way through. There were a couple of unplanned stops that made our trip today memorable.
Leaving Nanakmatta/Khatima (7.15 am):
I woke up in a chirpy mood, since yesterday’s clouds and thunder over my middle area had subsided, and all was quiet on that front. Otherwise we were quite prepared to stay back at Khatima for another day. Road trips are flexible that way. But we could leave as usual, after our ritualistic tea and Marie biscuits, planning to reach Pithoragarh after 4.5-5.0 hours.
Visiting the Gurdwara at Nanakmatta (7.30 am):
A friend had told us about this famous gurdwara at Nanakmatta town and we decided to take a quick look. We were really glad we did, because it was a beautiful gurdwara, with a square lake at the back. We stood for some time at the service inside. For some reason I was very affected there and could not hold back my tears. We collected the halwa prasad and pushed off, considering the additional hour well spent.
Breakfast at Tanakpur (9.00 am):
An hour of driving on flat roads, and we had reached Tanakpur, which was where the mountains lay twiddling their thumbs, waiting for us to put our front wheels up the slope and start revving up. But we thought it prudent to stock up on some breakfast and parked at Zapizza, which advertised South Indian food, and sent some dosas down the hatch. Then we topped up the fuel tank of our Punch to its 40 ltr capacity, and proceeded to climb.
Visiting the Mayawati Advaita Ashram at Khat Khutam (1.00 pm):
I find mountain driving very exciting, unlike flat driving, which becomes boring after some time, like home cooking (ouch, ouch, OUCH!). I must admit, however, that till now, Uttarakhand mountains have turned out to be less challenging than North Bengal mountain, which sometimes offer an hour of continuous steep hairpins. Well, a month more of hill driving is yet to be unleashed, so let us see if I change my opinion.
A tea stall owner on the way asked us whether we were going to Mayawati, but we said no. I could not recollect the context of Mayawati, and a quick look at google revealed that this was the Advaitha Ashram that Swami Vivekananda had personally founded in 1899. His dream had been materialised by the British Sevier couple, who bought the land for him and helped in the building as well. Things have been renovated, of course, but the original styling has been retained. There is no place of worship here, being an Advaitha Ashram, but just a meditation hall, and an exhibit room for visitors. Of course, there is an upper floor of accomodations and another administrative block. All in all, a small ashram with beautiful gardens and a small lake nearby. The 10 km road to the ashram, narrow, well-maintained and with very little traffic, is a dreamy stretch of driving, which leads from Lohaghat to the ashram and the free hospital at the end of the road. The two hours that we spent for adding this place to our itinerary was totally worth it.
Lunch at Lohaghat (1.30 pm):
We stopped at Lohaghat Kitchen for lunch, a 100% shakahari joint, where, though the food was nice, the administration suffered from severe limitations. Even in an order for 3 items, they forgot one item. The ice cream frigidaire (which we rarely raid but we were feeling like having choc-o-bars today) had been locked by the owner who had gone home for lunch. And…er…could we pay online, since the cash drawer was locked too so cash change was not available. Real laid back people, these Kumaon guys.
Reaching Pithoragarh (4.15 pm):
After Abott Mount, the road divides, the right one going towards Pithoragarh and the left one towards Thol. We took the right road, in more senses than one, and kept climbing up and going down in succession, till we reached edge of Pithoragarh town, and found to our consternation that it was warmer than Lohaghat, and we will probably need AC at night. Moreover, our hotel, Pine Resort, seemed to be under attack by a dancing prancing singing baraat, who had totally jammed the main gate. We drove a little further down and called the manager, expressing our indignation that he had lent the hotel for a marriage when he knew jolly well that we were coming to stay there. He managed to park the car just outside the gate, lugged our essential luggage to the room, escorting us through ladies dancing like deverishes. Luckily for us, they settled down to the serious job of tying the knot quickly enough. The manager assured us that they will leave by 8 pm, this being a “day-wedding” (whatever the hell that means), after which our car will come inside and we will get the rest of our luggage.
As such it is a good property with big rooms, and we did not mind the Rs 3200/- tariff.
