An unforgettable road trip through Delhi, UP, Uttarakhand

During the summer vacation of April 2013, we planned our holiday to north India.  My daughter had learnt quite a bit about Mughal history and so we thought it the right time to visit the places that she had read about.

It turned out to be a beautiful vacation - fun-filled,educative and taking us back in history to the Mughal era.  It packed in varied experiences - from watching the historic relics in New Delhi, to witnessing the soul-stirring and peaceful 'aarti' of the holy Ganges in Haridwar, to enjoying the thrill of river rafting in Rishikesh, to following the pug marks of the majestic Indian tiger in Jim Corbett National Park, to seeing the birthplace of Lord Krishna and finally to be bewitched by the eternal beauty of the Taj Mahal in Agra.

The highlight was the road trip - we hired a self driven car from CarzonRent; and with a vehicle at our disposal, we covered the 3 states of Delhi, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh over 12 days and drove nearly 1,300kms.

New Delhi-Mussorie-Rishikesh-Haridwar-Jim Corbett Park-Agra-New Delhi

New Delhi - We spent the first 4 days in Delhi visiting all the landmark monuments and places like Qutub Minar, Raj Ghat, Humayun's Tomb, Red Fort, India Gate, Rashtrapathi Bhavan, The Lotus temple, The Swami Narayan temple, the Birla Mandir.  Some of the unique sights and offerings that we enjoyed and relished were

Qutub Minar

• the Red Fort Sound and Light show - we watched the evening show; it was a fascinating walk back into the pages of Indian history
• the Change of Guards ceremony at Rashtrapathi Bhavan (this takes place every Saturday morning).  We jogged from India Gate towards Rashtrapthi Bhavan on the historic Rajpath road and were lucky to catch the Change of Guards ceremony!
• the amazing street food like Dahi Bhalla, Channa Bhature, Lassi in Chandini Chowk & the Haldirams restaurant.

Uttarakhand - From Delhi, we drove to Mussorie via Dehradun.  It was a long drive, took us nearly 7 hours; we took it slowly, enjoying the villages and small towns that we passed through. We picked up peaches from Meerut and they tasted amazing.  We stayed in Mussorie for 3 nights,relaxing and enjoying the cool weather and the beauty of the landscape.

Highlights of the Mussorie trip -

On the steps leading to Mr. Ruskin Bond's house

Watching the IPL match at a wine store

• We visited Mussorie's most famous writer, Mr. Ruskin Bond's house in Landour, in the fond hope of meeting the legend in person.   But unluckily for us, we chose a wrong time.  His house keeper informed us that he was in the middle of his afternoon siesta and could not be disturbed.  We had to satisfy ourselves with a glimpse of the hills and dales of Mussorie that he usually sees and writes so magically about in his books.  
• We played cricket in the resort that we stayed in and spent a considerable amount of time  searching for the ball!
• We took a walk around the Mall area.  It was the day of the IPL match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Pune Warriors and the kids wanted to watch the match.  We did not have time to get back to the resort to see the match, so all of us stood around the TV in a small Wine store and cheered Chris Gayle as he stormed his way to an unbeaten 175*.  RCB ofcourse, won the match!  A Police constable was curious and came to check what 4 children (all minors) were doing in a wine store.

We then proceeded to Rishikesh, stopping enroute at Sashasthra Dhara,the sulphur springs.

Highlights of Rishikesh and Haridwar -

All hands aboard - white water rafting!

A view of the Ganges

• The Lakshman Jhula bridge - one of the engineering marvels built way back in 1929 is a suspension bridge and is nearly 450 ft long, and offers spectacular views.  We walked across the wide bridge and stopped for pictures and to see the Ganges placidly flowing by.  The wide expanse of the river is an ideal spot for white water rafting and we spotted several rafts below.  We contacted an operator and opted for the beginner's level which has 3 rapids and covers a distance of 9 kms.  We first drove upstream in the operator's jeep, to the starting point called Brahmpuri, walked down to the river bank, fitted ourselves in life jackets and equipped with an oar each, got into the raft.  It was quite an adventure and we got a thrill when we maneuvered our raft successfully over the rapids.  Towards the end, we also had a chance to swim alongside the raft, and found the waters of the Ganges to be refreshingly cold!  
• Evening aarti of the Ganges - This was a beautiful experience.  In the evening, we sat on the steps leading to the river; quite a crowd had gathered there - locals and tourists like us- to witness the religious ritual.  As the sun sets and the skies darken slowly, several pundits join together to sing bhajans, recite mantras and wave the aarti plates with the flame gently billowing in the breeze, praying for the divine blessings of the sacred Ganges! 
• Visiting the Manasa Devi temple in Haridwar taking a cable car ride to reach the top of the hill to see the shrine.

In tiger country - Jim Corbett Park

Next stop in our itinerary was the lush green forests of Jim Corbett National Park in Ramnagar, close to Nainital, home to the Bengal tiger. We took the jeep drive into the forest and eagerly hoped to meet the elusive tiger but it remained elusive.  We missed seeing it by a mere few seconds and had to be satisfied with seeing its pug marks and hearing its roar.  The children (and adults too) were a tad disappointed but well, that is life!  We enjoyed the scenic beauty and drove along watching the River Kosi meander its way through the hills and valleys.




     Uttar Pradesh 

A view of the Taj from Shahi Darwaza

• We then left the hills and drove towards Uttar Pradesh.  It was a long drive; we first stopped at Mathura to see the birth place of Lord Krishna - a lovely temple has been built here.  We also visited Gokul (which is about 10 kms from Mathura). Not many tourists take this stretch , and we understood why; the road was totally in disrepair and the 10 km stretch seemed to go on forever.  The home of Yashoda and Nanda where Krishna grew up, is badly maintained and definitely not worth the effort.
• Agra is a wonderful city; the club that we stayed in dated back to the British times and the rooms were BIG by any standard.  We visited the Taj Mahal early in the morning ( to avoid the heat and rush bound to be there later in the day) and had a great time looking at the majestic relic of love.  Even though we had seen it before, we were still struck by its sheer beauty, the eye for detail and the dexterity of the masons who built it.  Everything was in perfect uniformity and in proportion.  All of us were astounded and started talking about the kind of effort that would have gone in in building such a fine marvel, back then when there were no machines or tools/technology.   
• The Yamuna Expressway - We took this highway on our trip back to Delhi and covered the 165 km stretch in 2.5 hrs.  But we had a hell of a time getting on to the Expressway; the boards were highly misleading and asking people for directions led to more confusion!

This is one road trip that will be etched in our memories. We faced a few inconveniences but they were all worth it and enriched our overall experience; and I am sure, if given a chance, we will again jump at doing this!