1st September, 2007 We left early on the morning of Saturday, Sept 1, 2007. From Gurgaon, leaving at 4:45 a.m did us good, since we managed to reach the Old Fort (33Kms) in
Delhi, in about 25 mins only. From there on, we took the
Nizamuddin Bridge, passing by the majestic Akshardham temple to our left. The NH24 for Hapur led us towards
Moradabad and we continued on the highway for about 145 Kms from Gurgaon to reach Gajraula, the midway point famous for its dhabas. Our first break was at a fast food place called Meriton at 7:45 a.m, which is on the right hand side, immediately after Gajraula.
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After a decent breakfast, we headed towards
Moradabad and took the bypass to avoid the city. The toll on this bypass is funny, they charge twice within a span of 5 mins, we used these breaks to find out the route from these toll guys. We wanted to avoid the main road which would normally take us from Moradabad via
Rampur, Bilaspur, Lalkuan to Hladwani, since the condition of the road is not good, and there are often trafic jams in this portion. At the end of the Moradabad bypass, we turned back towards Moradabad, the road signs showing a way to the
Jim Corbett National Park. We followed the sign, which took us right after about 2 Kms from the bypass. This road actually heads towards Kashipur but after 13 Kms, we turned right towards Bazpur. The green road signs are very clear and show the way towards Bazpur, Haldwani and Nainital at this point. We had crossed 225 Kms on the meter from Gurgaon.
This road towards Bazpur is beautiful , it has very less traffic and is very well maintained. It leads towards Kaladhungi, about 65 Kms from the turn, via Tanda and Bazpur. The only railway crossing on this road doesn’t hold you for more than 5 -10 mins. There are, however, very few fuel stops and the entire stretch is though a jungle which is part of the
Jim Corbett Park. At Kaladhungi, one of Jim Corbett’s residences’ is converted into a Museum, where we stopped for a few mins to click some pictures. In one of the letters hung in the Museum, Jim Corbett writes to a friend of his in India “The ambition of three men to make a name for themselves has bought untold misery to millions of poor and innocent people, and it is hoped that they will receive the punishment they deserve in the next world” I assume the three men are Mahatma Gandhi, Nehru and Jinnah. From there, we took to the road towards Nainital, which is only 37 Kms. This stretch is hilly but the roads are good except for a 10 Km patch in between, where the road is under construction. We reached Nainital at 12 p.m, 7 hrs and 15 mins from the time we left Gurgaon and took a break for lunch and a walk around the lake. From Nainital, the road to Almora is 63 Kms and takes about 2 hours and 30 mins. This road is also in good condition and is very picturesque, with less traffic too. We reached Almora at 4 p.m, covering about 385 Kms in total from Gurgaon. The return journey from Almora via Haldwani and Kaladhungi was as pleasant and almost of the same distance.