Winding Roads & Never Ending TalesFamily trips, wrong turns and the places we still talk about.
Chaukori to Bhimtal: Cave Temples, Binsar and Our Kumaon Finale
There was still plenty of Kumaon left after Munsiyari. Chaukori, a temple hidden inside a cave, the forest around Binsar and finally the lakes. It sounds like a very neat ending when written in one line, but these places felt quite different from each other. After the rain had changed our plans in Munsiyari, this last stretch gave us another chance to slow down and enjoy the mountains before heading home.
This is the last part of our Kumaon trip: Chaukori, Patal Bhuvaneshwar, Binsar, Nainital and Bhimtal.
In this article
A note on this archive story
From the travel archive, first published 20 May 2017. This is our experience at the time, not a current price or booking guide. Check opening hours, access, fares and services before making your own plans.
How did we combine Chaukori, Binsar and the lakes?
After Munsiyari, our route continued through Chaukori and the cave-temple visit, then Binsar, Nainital and an overnight stay in Bhimtal. This is a historical route diary, so allow for current road conditions and verify stays and access before booking.
BREAKPOINT: CHAUKORI
The road to chaukori passed through small villages with beautiful kids all along the roadside waving to us and their houses all naturally decorated with beautiful varieties of Roses. The drive to chaukori is around 3 hours and is very pleasant one with the good road and a large number of Pine trees covering it on both sides. With hardly any traffic it's a relaxing drive.
WHERE TO STAY
The place we checked in was Ojaswi Resort and it was one of the most beautiful property we have seen. All the bungalow are crafted with panache and complimenting it very well was the Garden Area in front of the rooms. Even the beds and bathrooms were top of the notch, definitely the best place to stay here. Within walking distance is viewpoint to enjoy sunrise called Dolphin's Nose.
The place is just to lay back and let your brain cells get recharged. Once reaching there the main place we wanted to visit was a unique place which we had only heard off called as Patal Bhuvaneswari Cave Temple.
BREAKPOINT:Patal Bhuvaneswari Cave Temple
All search of this place will result in the amalgamation of myth and mystery of Dan Brown novel. It is almost an hour drive from Chaukori and closes after 6 so plan accordingly. The name says it all that it is a located deep inside earth level. There is a basic ticket price of Rs 50 that includes mandatory charges for Guide as the place is treacherous and a bit risky.
As soon as you enter on your right you can see the entrance which is nothing but an opening of around 1 feet naturally made tunnel going down. The first look and I blabbered I can not go inside with my kid as not only it was very narrow but it was vertical with an iron chain in middle for support like rappelling.
The guide came to my rescue and said don't worry I will carry the baby initially and will pass it on to you once you are down. The initial few meters were really scary with only stones all around and hardly any place to squeeze through, but things got better after that once the path became less vertical and finally opened inside a cave.
The first shock you will get is when your Guide will tell you that at the moment you are almost 200 feet underground. But behold this is just the beginning of amazements that is in store for you inside. This is literally like stumbling into a treasure trove of all mythology and mystery that has existed beneath our feet since the time of Vedas as there is a reference to this place in Skanda Puran.
So the cave is full of wonders all nature made like how is having 3 stones representing Brahma Vishnu Mahesh all originating from the same stone base and having again a 3 tipped hanging stone which somehow magically drops water on each one of them.
Also, beat this in all black stone cave there is one amalgamation of stone which is aptly called shiv-jata which is white in colour and is always dripping water even when there is no river or lake over this entire area. It's just mountain. If you look up you will find a small cave that has a very clear black shadow print as if Some sage actually sitting there, lore says it was Rishi Agstasya.
There are again naturally carved stones that resemble Airavata and his hundred legs. Now suddenly our guide says look at the ground which you have been walking, we look down and find as if it is a skeleton of some snake body, not any snake my dear the guide then shows us the head of Sheshnag clearly staring back from one of the stone corners.
The story doesn't end here it is believed there are three tunnels here off course not for normal humans but it is believed one of them connects to Kailash and was used by Pandavas for their formal walk to the afterlife, the proof again a set of five stones.
There is again a folklore here which shows three stones two of which have already touched the cave's roof but one is somewhere in middle and is said that every hundred years or so it grows an inch or two. Call it an end of the world counter, Our own Nast re Damas.
The feel, the stories and the uncanny resemblance to multiple characters really beg question who and how created this. if not god then who else could have stored such amazing things at one single place that could not have been found. And it was found in kali yuga by none other than Adi guru Shankaracharya.
The place is very claustrophobic and is dimly lit with no mobile allowed inside so we could not click pictures but we got them outside being sold by someone. I was spellbound but not because of lack of oxygen but because of air of mystery that I was inhaling. The ride to the top was again through the same hell hole and we somehow managed to come out of the place unharmed.
I tipped the guide handsomely as it was his enthusiasm that we all went down or else I would have cursed myself my entire life. Jai Patal Bhuvaneshwari!!!
It seemed the rains of munsiyari were following us here as well. By the time we reached back to the hotel it has changed into Hailstorm.
BREAKPOINT:BINSAR
Next morning was a lazy ride to Binsar with not much to visit. En route we reached the same fork of roads but we found one place to park our car and believe it or not they charged us Rs 10 for an hour. Parking was confusing and we were directed to the paid area. That was our experience that day; I cannot infer an arrangement between the people involved.
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Bagnath is a small temple and is majorly famous for being at the confluence of Saryu and Gomti but it serves as an idyllic setup to sit and view the water moving around stones. Don't miss to see a small enclosure opposite to the main temple that houses original artefacts of the idols and stone drawings that were unearthed here and tells how ancient the roots of this temple are. Feeling blessed we shopped a little bit near the temple and headed to Binsar.
Binsar does no have any special places to visit but the Binsar forest reserve itself that is stretched in acres and houses the most famous vantage point for enjoying the beauty of this area called Zero Point. The entry fees for a vehicle is though very high at Rs 500 Plus Rs 100 per person ticket. Interestingly there is government sponsored KMVN guesthouse inside the campus itself and you can book it here to have a very unique experience. Imagine this the place does not have electricity and you will be given set of candles to go through the night.
WHERE TO STAY
Our planned hotel booking did not work out, so we stayed at Suman Resort. For a remote stay, I would confirm the booking and meal arrangements directly before setting off.
ih Anyways the Suman property is few Km away from the main gate of the Binsar park and the looks of the place are very impressive. Due to off season or whatever we were the only guests for the day it seemed. We had our food and enjoyed each others company and went to bed.
At checkout we found out that our driver had not had dinner at all. He was ready to pay, but could not get a meal at the resort. There was nowhere nearby to eat either, so the poor guy had spent the night on biscuits. We had eaten and slept without knowing any of this.
That really upset us. Next time I am checking the driver's food arrangements along with our own, especially at these remote stays. Asking whether the hotel has a restaurant clearly is not enough.
BREAKPOINT:Nainital
The final leg of our journey took us to Nainital, but be aware this stretch has lots of construction work going on so if you don't want to get caught upstart very early from BInsar. The first visit was obviously the Naini temple where it's so peaceful you will not feel coming out. Everywhere Mata ki chunari are hanging and bells are jingling and will captivate you forever.
After doing the puja we went off for pet pooja. there are multiple shops all calling for you to eat on their own, all are one and same so you can go anywhere you want.There is one very authentic Mutton Momo shop inside market run by Tibetans do try that.
The mall road is like any other hill area with lots of small shops selling all kind of stuff at good bargaining price.We came to know that the place is choked with tourists on weekends and it was lucky that we reached there on a quiet afternoon. But one thing was sure even with limited tourists it was pretty clear the real Uttaranchal was left far behind.
We were back to sound of traffic and chaos all around back to reality I guess. We will miss you munsiyari and chaukori.
BREAKPOINT:Bhimtal
For stay, we had chosen Bhimtal at the happy home. it's a small property but tastefully done and it seems there was a change of management and renaming of the hotel from earlier Clarks inn to the happy home. The food was good though and our rooms were shown before to choose from. Nice gesture to let guests have a look of rooms before they settle in. Good Going management !!!
The Bhimtal lake is like a younger brother of Naini lake and offers a more relaxed atmosphere. We enjoyed boating at a fixed rate of 220 here. There are Zorbing balls also available for rent and its a must do thing irrespective if you are a kid or an adult. We sipped tea as the sun was setting marking an end to a remarkable 8 days nestled amongst nothing but nature in all its varied form.
Hope one day I will retire to someplace similar...
Adios Uttaranchal you will be missed and never forgotten and yeah yeah I remember the next time the turn will be for Garhwal region ending in Auli.....
TIPS
1. Carry lots of ready to eat things
2. Carry water there will be stretches where there will be no shops
3. A small backpack with umbrella food and water must for even a small trek
4. Try booking Hotels with food options included, a la carte might not be available
Keep a cautious pace around blind bends and leave enough time for the drive.
Check where you can refuel before the longer mountain stretches.
7. Road Trip is a bit challenging here so be prepared
Carry enough of your child's usual food and drinks for the longer transfer days.
9. Weather becomes very chilly at night here, come prepared.
10. This place is not for sightseeing, come if you are in the mood to relax and unwind with nature.
What I would keep in mind
- Discuss the route with your driver before leaving, not only the destination.
- Confirm meals for everyone travelling with you, including the driver.
- Keep food, water and weather layers within reach on long mountain stretches.
A note on the cave visit: A guide carried our child during the initial descent on that trip. I would not offer that as a recommendation or a guarantee of safety. Check current access restrictions and consider whether the confined descent suits every person in your group. The cave stories are local religious traditions as told to us.
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