Visit to Kumayoon, ranikhet, Binsar, Munsiyari, Chaukari, nainital

Hi, first of all I am new to the site.

I plan to visit kumayoon this May 2010, originating from kolkata.Total members four adults and my seven yrs daughter.
My itenary is as follows,
26th reaching katgodam and reaching Ranikhet.
27th reaching Binsar with two days stay
29th reaching choukari with two days stay
31st reaching munsiyari with two days stay
2nd Kasauni with two days stay
4th nainital with two days stay
6th to kathgodam and board train for kolkata.

I would appreciate if I could get information regarding

1. Whether booking in KMVN resorts could be replaced by reasonably good staying options with better budget. If any where staying in KMVN is really worth I dont mind, like I have been told staying at Binsar at KMVN is worth.
2. Is hiring a car from Katgodam for the whole tour more worth, please detail.What should be the fair rate per day of an Indica type car?
3 Can anyone please tell me whether staying in mahiraj Tent resort at chkauri and Pandey lodge at Munsiyari will be OK. I am not getting any pictures of these hotels in internet
4. I feel I should book the hotels/car in advance considering May end-- Please advice.

hi saikat,

your itinerary seems to be fine.
just few comments
Nainital you can do 2 nights 3 days stay. you can cut down one day from choukari
KMVN has the best place in town and views are amazing. Binsar KMVN is the best.

I m forwarding link of travelogue which mentions pandey lodge munsiyari.
http://www.bcmtouring.com/forum/trav...v-08-a-t13429/

http://www.oktatabyebye.com/hotels/h...munsiyari.html


Good luck

you may add two days for Kausani. best place to view KJ.
kmvn FOOD and stay is best

Thanks,

In ref to the order of my visits, will any of the journey be very tiring?

Thanks for the links too

Hope this helps.

Dear Sagarneel,
thanks for ur advice.see accordingly Ihave now booked rooms in KMVN at Binsar and munsiyari. Now for chaukari, i will try Gaurav resort too. I would apreciate if u could detail lodging/fooding charges.Any pictures would be an added boon.

Regarding transport , we r 4 adults plus my daughter 7 yrs old. Normally we r (try to be) comfotable in an Alto in city along with a driver. I do not know whether I can manage in the hills. otherwise 1200 /day is decent enough. The contact nos. would be handy then.

I was in Chaukori in December 2009, and the rate of a double bed room in Gaurav resort was Rs 700 excluding food (their website states the rate as Rs 1200 though, which obviously is bargainable). Since, May is peak season, the rate might slightly be on the higher side, but should not be more that Rs 800. I dont exactly remember the fooding chrges, but they are not very high, and they provide good food. If you contact them, ask for Room no. 107 or 108, which are at the topmost floor. IMO, they are the best, as they receive plenty of sunshine throughout the day, and remain warm event at night.

Though you are comfortable in an Alto in a city, as far as long journeys are concerened, you might not find it as comfortable. Though the roads of Kumaon are excellent, however, the journeys are pretty long. Four people in an Alto would mean packing the vehicle very tightly, which would, for a long journey on a winding road, not be very comfortable IMO. HOwever, if you dont opt for an Alto, the options you have are bigger vehicles like Qualis/Innova, the rates of which would be approx. Rs 1600-1800 per day depending on the vehicle type.

I will be posting the photos of the hotels this weekend in tis thread. If you want to see the pics of chaukori and Munsyari, you have a look at my gallery here:
http://www.indiamike.com/photopost/s...0/ppuser/33040

hi sagarneel, could you share more details on car booking.
i am planning a trip to kumaon in May. I checked with the KMVN office and they are charging more than 1200 for Alto.

I had been to Kumoan this December, and had words with quite a few drivers. Barring one (Mr Anil Bisht, who quoted Rs 1500/day), all the driver's initially quoted a price of Rs 1200-1300 per day (inclusive of everything, ie driver's fooding+acco. and petrol) for a petrol car (Alto or petrol Indica). A diesel car would be a little cheaper I guess, but since I was going to Munsyari, I decided to hire a petrol vehicle, and finalised the deal with Babbu, whom I paid Rs 7200 for 6 days.
Regards,
Sagarneel.

Dear Sagarneel,
thanks for your feed back. I feel Indica should be good enough. Babbu as u mentioned drives Indica? Kindly also throw some light on the advantage of petrol cars against diesel .
-------------ands lots of love for the valuable feedbacks.

Dear sagarneel

The pictures of yours are just spectacular. Great to see all--------- total feast for the eyes

I have spoken to Gaurav resort , they havent confirmed as yet about rate. What r reasonably good hotels at Nainital, Kasauni, Ranikhet in the range of 600 bucks?

I have been hearing about bad weather conditions during May end and june first week, didnt consider at the beggining, feeling a bit damped.

Please advise whether staying at Nakuchiatal instead of visiting Ranikhet on the first day would be wise.

Hi Saikat,
I will try to answer your questions one by one.
1. Babbu drives an Alto (he has two Altos in fact). Regarding the advantage of a petrol car - I was told by the drivers that the road to Munsyari via Kalamuni is a steep one, and a petrol car would be more efficient in handling the gradient. However, the most important reason why I opted for a petrol car was the comfort that they provide, and the fact that I am not a big fan of the smell of diesel .
2. Since I havent stayed in either Naninital, Kausani ir Ranikhet, I wont be able to comment on the hotels. However, since I had initially planned to include Kausani in my tour plan (though opted out of it later, as I was too fascinated with Chaukori), I had googled a bit. You can try searching hotel Jeetu, hotel Prashant etc. in google, I think these hotels will fit the range that you mentioned. Though, I havent been to Ranikhet and Nainital, I am sure these places do have a lot of hotels to fit every budget, as they are the so called 'tourist spots'.
3- Even the best weatherman cant predict the weather in the Himalayas. Honestly speaking, I never visit the hills in summers, as I want to avoid the madding summer crowd. IMO, the period from October to January is the best time to visit the mountains, as far as clear weather and chances of views of the peaks are concerned. However, I dont think May end will pose a problem of bad weather. You can have occassional rains, but a nagging monsoon would be unlikely.
I again apologise for the fact that I dont have info on Naukuchiyatal, as I have not been there ...other IMers will be able to help you out in this regard, I guess.
Regards,
Sagarneel.