Kaladhungi -Nainital road

The Kaladhungi-Nainital road was a discovery... in all these years I hadn't once traversed this no-trucks-permitted, verdant, cool, calm, winding route. I had not known the villages that existed here, and the bunch of tourist attractions which I never bothered about in all my exploration of Nainital. It was an embarrassment doing this stretch on my Enfield, its discordant thump that broke the illusions of some careless leopard crossing my path, or a Kakar grazing in the dense meadows nearby oblivious to my presence. Throughout, one is inside the buffer zone of Jim Corbett National Park, which is a sight to behold. There's little check by the forest officials, which makes a pitstop alongside the road for rest, or photography, or a smoke, or libations, or some cuddling, or some exhibitionism - any sort of non-intrusive activity - a comfortable affair.

How to Get There
This road can be approached from Delhi side by taking the Kaladhungi Road, where it bifurcates at a village called 'Chhoti Haldwani' (there would be huge road signs to guide you), right next to the Corbett Museum (take some time off to visit this museum, if possible).
For somebody coming from Nainital, just keep going up along the road to Manu Maharni, beyond the Rock Caves, beyond the Kumaon University guest house at Sleepy Hollow, without turning right towards Kilbury.

I myself took a disproportionate number of breaks midway - on hillcrests, winding snakey road views, rolling fog through the pines, open vistas, the Khurpatal lake, on seeing a congress of langurs, facing the converse face of China Peak, to name some. Riding on a Royal Enfield, my command on the turns felt cheeky, partly because any twist of the accelerator would make the Enfield break into its discordant thump - anything artificial will feel annoying on this pristine stretch - that felt like I was an alien here, to counter which I kept my bike under-revved. Then there were the occasional debris or shallow, flowing water on the road. Ending up with a muddy pair of jeans was still worth it.

Upon return, I caught sight of a couple of civets (bijju) crossing my way.

Now there more destinations on my Nainital map for a day hike, thanks to this 2-hour education.

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