Pangoot:- A Hidden Gem in Kumaon Hills

     

                                    Pangoot:- The Lost Hamlet in the Valley Of Imagination

For most of our corporate life, we work so hard on our deadlines and projects that we almost wipe out our work-life balance. We work in shifts, work on Saturdays and Sundays and what not, so when an opportunity knocks our door to explore or regain your work-life balance, then you should be game for it.

We got that “opportunity” when a long weekend around the Republic day came. The destination was well discussed and sorted. We were heading Kumaon hills this time. In terms of the exact geographic figure "18Kms from Nainital”. Nainital is a most common hill station in the north, but the place which we were visiting was a bit unexplored. A small town called “Pangoot”.

26th January 2017:

11 people, 1 driver, a tempo traveler, lots and lots of snacks and at full swing; we left Gurgaon (Read Gurugram) at around 3:00 AM in the morning. Routes were simple, take NH24, Cross Moradabad and then take the outer road of Nainital and reach Pangot. Simple, isn’t it? Wait for it!!

As most of us were exhausted with the office work from 25^th Jan, after few round of name guessing game, we passed out. Around 9 AM in the morning, we took our first stop for breakfast.

We were now on the Nanital road and in no time we were in the hills. Roads in Uttarakhand are not as good as you will find in Himachal Pradesh. So, after numerous rounds of antakshari and completely out of sync singing later, we reached outer of Nainital.

View of Naini lake

Drive from this place till Pangoot was quite rough. We saw the beautiful view of Nainital city from a point. Roads became narrower. We reached Pangot at around 3:00 PM in the afternoon. But, that was not it. We had to drive down to our camps in the valley. And from there on, the "simpler" part of the journey took a U-turn. The road condition was horrible. No sign of any living creature at all.

Road from Pangoot city to the Camp

After about 3-4 Km of driving in nowhere, we reached our destination: - “Hidden Valley Camp & Resort”. It was literally hidden in the valley. All the pain that we took for last an hour or so were gone by seeing this place. There were tents with all sorts of amenities. And bang opposite to your tent, you will find beautiful valley view. This place is what you want to get that calm and serene feeling. Away from everything, even no cell phone coverage. Just magical!! 

Staffs at the camp were very supportive; they took order for dinner and provided us with a guide. Our guide took us for a stroll in the valley. The more you explore, the more you fell in love with this place. It seemed we were the only tourist in the entire valley. It felt like we own it. How amazing it was!

After a lot of photo session and a beautiful sunset view later. We decided to return to our camp as it was getting dark. As we reached our camp, the staffs were preparing food for dinner. They were also setting a bonfire for us. Bonfire, music, awesome food, amazing company, and the stargazing, what else you want apart from cherishing and savoring those moments.

It was getting colder as time was passing. Some of the staff members told us that it might snow tomorrow. And after some time, the heat from the bonfire was not even able to keep us warm. We decided to have our dinner and go to our tents.

27th January 2017:

I was the first one to wake up. It was 5:30 AM in the morning. And guess what, the valley which was green 12 hours before had white snow on top of them. Our plan was to stay for 2 nights at Pangoot, but one of the staff and our driver warned me that if we stay there after 11 AM then all roads will be blocked and we had to extend our stay for 2 more days. That was not the plan at all; I waited for an hour and woke everyone.

We left Pangoot by 10:30 AM through the same route. We decided to go to Mukhteshwar and then stay back at Nainital. As we were leaving the Pangoot city, there was snow all over in the valley. We got lucky by an hour max; otherwise, the road would have been blocked easily. 

Just 5 Km before Nainital, it started snowing heavily and traffic got heavier and resulted in the jam. People were in no mood to clear the traffic. So, we took charge and cleared almost 4 Kms traffic on our own. Oh yeah!! Cheers Guys 😎😎😎

Our trip after that went quite smoothly. All in all one of the best trip I ever had in my life. It's been a year now, but I am still in love with this place. If you want to re-energize yourself and want to visit a secluded place, go to Pangoot.  

Pic Credit :- Surya
Title Credit :- Utkarsh 

Tawang- The Conclusion

                                   Close to heaven, Down to Earth- Indo Chinese border 

Rock of Peace

On reaching Tawang, we decided to explore this amazing place. The first target was to visit Bumla Pass. Bumla Pass is at Indo-China border and is situated at 17500 feet above sea level. To reach Bumla pass you need another set of permission from the defense authorization and a local taxi. Your own rented vehicle outside Arunachal Pradesh are not allowed to go there. After Submitting id proofs and ILP, we got the permit to visit Bumla Pass.

26th May 2016:

After a heavy breakfast, we were set to move to Bumla Pass. Our local driver Dhiraj was waiting for us in his brand-new Bolero. Bumla pass is located about 37 Km away from Tawang City. We knew it is going to be a tough ride. But, what came during the drive were the fascinating experience I had in my life. Driving through snow, off-roading, going beside landmines and what not. We were amazed by the view and the landmines of course 😉. After 2 hours of driving, we were at Bumla Pass. -6 degrees and such cold wind welcomed us. We were also welcomed by the army personnel, he greeted us with a big smile on his face. Told us about the dos and don'ts of the area. Eventually, this border between India and China is the most peaceful border among these countries.  

We saw the Chinese post through binoculars and it was a lifetime experience. The ‘peace of rock' which is situated right between the border is amazing. One of the army personnel was guiding us and telling stories about the place. Apparently, Chinese troops come early morning every day for the inspection. We missed that by an hour or so, damn. After clicking a lot of pics, we were served ‘samosa' and tea by army staff. We were enjoying a lot, but suddenly AMS started kicking. We were having difficulties in breathing. We then decided to leave the place, but the major surprise came when we were given certificates by the army for reaching Bumla Pass. How cool is that!!

Later in the day, we visited local monasteries and other sites in Tawang. We were almost done exploring Tawang. Next day we were ready to head back.

China

Enroute to Bumla Pass

In Chinese Territory

Tawang Monastery

27th May 2016:

Bidding goodbye to Twang, we left for Dirang. The drive was short, 130 Km. But, as usual, it took us 6 hours to reach there. But in between, Prashant bhai told us that we are going to visit a mighty waterfall. “Nuranang Waterfall" with an altitude of almost 100m. We had a great time at the waterfall. Clicked a lot of pics. After spending some quality time, it was time to hit the road again. We were passing through "Paradise Lake" and Sella pass again. This time we took a long break at Sella pass. Had Maggie, Boiled eggs, and hot coffee. We reached Dirang in the evening. This was a leisure day for us. Sit back, relax and enjoy the beautiful view from the hotel’s balcony. We did go for a stroll in the evening post sunset. We had a nice dinner and went to sleep.

View from the hotel in Dirang

28th May 2016:

We had our breakfast and was set to leave for Bhalukpong. In route, we went for a small kiwi fruit farm, this farm is run by a lady alone. This was not the best time to visit as the fruits were just coming up. No luck, but worth the visit. We started our journey to Arunachal from Bhalukpong. At that time, we saw one river flowing beside the hotel we were supposed to stay at. The river is known as Kameng River. So, out of nowhere during our drive, Abhishek and Kunal came up with a brilliant idea, let's cook beside the river. I was game for it. But the problem was, we had no utensils or any commodities that were needed to cook. We then turned to our go-to man Prashant bhai. He made few calls to the hotel and we were all set. It took us around 6 hours to reach Bhalukpong from Dirang. 

Kiwi Fruit Farm

After reaching the hotel, we were in the discussion that when we can leave for the river to cook. As per the hotel staff, it was not safe after sunset. So, we left in the afternoon itself. We went to market first, bought firewood, chicken, petrol and other groceries. Everything was set, except none of us were experienced enough to make a firewood cooking flame. We tried, we failed. We tried harder and we failed miserably. The sun was setting down slowly and there was no sign of any flame. Then, Prashant bhai came after washing his cars and did his magic. We got the flames from the firewood finally. I started cooking and was done in an hour or so. By the time the sun was almost set.

We decided to take the food to the hotel and then have it there only. We were exhausted after all this adventure. Totally worth it. We crashed into our bed.

Nuranang Waterfall

Sunset at Kameng River

Firewood Cooking

29th May 2016:

 We left for Guwahati. 250 Km, but no hill driving, it took us 5 hours to Guwahati. As we reached Guwahati early, we decided to visit famous “Kamakhya Temple”. After that, we were at the airport for our respective flights.

6 days to total adventure. We finally took the best offbeat road trip of India. Guwahati to Tawang. If you want to take my advice, a must visit place. Cheers!!

Pic Courtsey:- Abhishek

Title Credit:- Utkarsh aka CHAK