Delhi to Auli, Uttrakhand | Part 1

Well…it all started from 4 of us leaving Delhi @5 A.M. 25th Dec, 2008 to AULI in search of white dust the SNOW… with almost nothing visible due to fog as soon as we hit the NH -24 highway….we felt it won’t be easy at all way up in the hills ..especially when it’s your only second trip in the high peaks on your own with just an year of 4 wheel experience..but that passion kept the only driver among four going…. ..

Day – 1 | 25th December, 2008 | Delhi to Karn Prayag

Almost zero visibility…

The first problem due to fog hit us when instead of meerut by-pass we followed the meerut city path..with no visibility of sign boards… then one chai wala showed a path on left to reach back the highway so as to avoid the city traffic..n it was the worst 1 hr stretch I had in my life…firstly due to that road which looked promising at first sight turned into a mere 2 feet wide made of bricks…on both side it was too deep so as to take that road in between the four wheels..so had to drive with 2 on it n 2 off it in the farms…secondly it kept us drawing deep into the village where there was no going back n truly speaking we were scared by the looks of the people there n all the horrible stories of meerut n muzzafar nagar were murmured into our ears by our parents n all relatives..it was just next moment we may end up being vanished from this planet n no one would be knowing where [could not take pics] .. but finally we made it to the highway….

Highway to haridwar was not in good shape n under construction..traffic was moving very slow…n the main problem was you don’t whether you have to go on the very road or had to take the turn to the opposite direction road due to road blockage ahead…no sign boards were visible due to FOG… one moment the traffic was going with you n next moment you find that traffic n trucks were coming onto you only 3-4 mtrs ahead they become visible…so some very close calls… two time it happened that we hit a road blockage only to make our followers stuck too so it was great fun… really enjoyed that drive with full of concentration as no one in the traffic wanting to take the lead… We reached haridwar at 1.30 definitely way behind the schedule… so the only way to make it up was to drive at nite which was big no by each of our well wishers…no body trusted the driving skills of the rookie… but delay in schedule left me with no choice…we reached shiv puri in around 1 hr only to see this..

MEN at work

..

Road was in pretty much bad condition

there completely under construction…around 10-12 KM

And seemed to be a

fresh land slide on the opposite bank

…

After this

initial hiccup rest of road was all

merry hats off to BRO…with some of these views..

Temple on TOP

..

We reached the

holy place of Dev Prayag

…. it was awesome to see delta for the first time….with this clarity…the place was very silent n peaceful….a close up…

One more pic

…

We continued to move on in dark as well…with steady speed..after srinagar there was no company at all on the road…no cars no trucks..n surprisingly it felt easier driving at nite than in daylight… there was a stretch of aroun 14-15 KM before Karnprayag [photos shot on the returning day] that was awful n it was all black out..not a single soul was there around and finally around 10:00 PM we saw a lite after almost 1.5 hr on that stretch n reached Karn prayag for a stay in Gharwall mandal rest house which was really good n cheap too.. 400@nite for 4 person i think was a great bet….but we dint found any food there…so had to satisfy ourselves with some lay’s..kurkure..n vodka…n we slept rest of the days to follow soon….keep a close eye…from now on more pics than text..

The Journey ahead-

• Karn Prayag to Joshimath – Auli