LANSDOWN CIRCUIT (March 2016)

It was a long weekend during Holi and we had a Short crisp plan for just five days. Lansdown is the nearest hill station from Delhi. I had been there for so many times but that was going to be my first bicycle ride in that region. During my early touring days, I read one cyclist blog who attempted the Lansdown ascent from Kotdwar side. Read was interesting, but then I realized, he exaggerated about the steepness, as the ride was smooth and moderate.

The Circuit

This was Rajesh’s second tour. And I was trying to make it little easy for him. Our Original Plan was to start from Lansdown but Due to some safety issue for my car breaks, we decided to start from Dugadda, where the actual uphill ride starts. We couldn’t get PWD rest house for the night stay and contended with a home stay on the main road. For rest of the journey we enquired about all the possible stays on the way. During every such tour, it’s every evening adventure to get a suitable stay. Rajesh was getting bit worried about the steep route for next morning, so we decided to start very early.

In morning, after taking a light breakfast we managed to start at 7:30am. Road was clean wide with mild traffic. ORS solution was good idea for energizing ourselves. With 9-10 short halts we managed to finish 25km steep ride in 3Hrs, last 5km from Deria khal were challenging with more degree in slope. Lansdown is the headquarter for Garhwal rifles. And they won first prize for best campus many times. This reflects from the cleanliness of the area. We also saw a documentary on Garwal Rifles which tells about its history. After having a meal we rode up to the highest point, Tip & Top. Over all the town is good but staying there on weekend is expensive. Only few resorts like GMVN (at Tip & Top especially their tree houses) and Fairy Dale are worth staying. We had half day remaining so we decided to stay at a place called Sisaldi, which was about 12 km away on Tadkeshwer road.

It was a steep enjoyable downhill ride for next 9 km. It’s mentally tough negotiating uphill at the end of the day. Last 3km were bit tough. On the way we decided to take a shower from a tap on the road which revitalized our body and soul. Sisaldi lies in the middle of two valley vistas. We arranged our stay below a small shop which had a silent surrounding. Village had a very picturesque location with small temple at one corner hill and had a view toward Corbett national park. Locals cautioned us about a man

eater tiger who took away a child recently. Fear is always thrilling and we already had tiger reserve on our further route.

During breakfast next morning, an old man asked our whereabouts and about our journey. I said “I’m a local boy and Rajesh is from Dehradun. And we will be going to Dugadda via Rathwadhab skipping Tadkeshwar Mahadev”.  With a Surprised gesture he asked why we want to skip Tadkeshwar as it’s a famous local shrine situated in the middle of deodar forest. I replied “I am Aswal by the way”.  Old man understood the reason. Every local was aware that Leaves of Sal Tree & Rajput Aswals were not allowed in the temple due to old beliefs. This question was asked a lot of times during this journey. Contrary to old beliefs, I already had visited Tadkeshwar 15 years back when I was in college. That time I was not aware of the local sayings.

From Sisaldi we had a steep route ahead till the highest point called Chakuliakhal from where Tadkeshwar Mahadev Temple was just 5km away. There was a dense forest of Burans (heritage edible flower of Uttrakhand) on the way. And then came, the longest downhill ride I ever had. Road quality was superb. From chakuliyakhal till Rathuwadhab there was no uphill ride. There is a beautiful valley, Panisain on the way with lot of flat surface along with rivulet.

Cycle Repair

Immediately after crossing Panisain Rajesh front cycle tyre burst. We had extra tube but small pump was not working. Luckily, help arrived on a motorcycle. That person took Rajesh to nearby house which had mechanical pump. We fall behind by one hour which cost us lunch at Gadipul a small market. Valley opened up wide with oak trees. Soon we joined up with the Corbett park peripheral road. Landscape with the wide river on right and dense forest on the left was amazing. Ratuadhab was at the confluence of the rivers. At Forest rest house we requested Ranger for our night stay. He didn’t allow us for the Bunglow as the reservation was possible only through the internet. And one has to reserve Bunglow as well as safari at least 45days before for such deep forest Corbett properties. Somehow Ranger officer allowed us to stay in the outhouse for the night as we didn’t had option as it was getting dark. Outhouse was a mini zoo with lots of noise but we managed that show with some volatiles.

Route for the next day was through the dense forest. With initial gradual uphill for 10km there was smooth downhill. We could have stayed at jungle rest house which was 17km away but there were no supplies. There was a lot of variation in landscape at Sonn Nadi area with flat grazing areas for elephants and narrow valleys with small rivulets. We had our lunch at Dhontiyal, and steep uphill started after 3km for almost 10km up till Sendhikhal. PWD guest house at sendhikhal was in ruin, area was a good camping site with water and views. After that there was a downhill stretch till village and about 2-4 km uphill ride. And at last there was a steep downhill maroon color road till Dugadda. This ended our circuit at around 3pm. Over all this circuit is good for long weekend trip.