As the summer sun soars, a short trip to the hills of north India is all you need to refresh your mind and body. The hills of Uttarakhand have some beautiful places to spend quiet time in the lap of nature.
North India tour packages to Uttarakhand mainly cover Nainital, Mussoorie and Corbett. No doubt these are excellent places to visit with family and friends but there are some offbeat places too that are a hit with people who want to spend some peaceful time away from the crowd.
Ranikhet, a cantonment area in the Almora district, has dense pine, oak and deodar forests. The Jhula Devi Temple is a famous place situated a few kilometers from the mall road of Ranikhet. The road that goes ahead from the Jhula Devi temple, away from the mall road, has dense forests. People avoid this area after sunset as wild animals like mountain goats, barking deers, jackals and leopards are often seen on this road. March to October is the best time to visit this place. Take a train till Kathgodam, the last railway station. From here, one can easily get a taxi to Ranikhet which is only about 68 kmts.
Mukteshwar is another quiet hill station about 65 kmts from Kathgodam. The place got its name from the famous 350 years old Shiva temple Mukteshwar Dham. Overhanging cliffs, Chauli-ki-Jali, is another place worth seeing in Mukteshwar. It is close to the temple and gives a beautiful view of the valley. One can also do rappelling and rock-climbing here.
These two places are located in the Kumaon hills of Uttarakhand. North India tour packages to the Kumaon hills will cover these places. Whereas if you contact the tour operators in India for a package to the Garhwal hills of Uttarakhand they will take you to Dhanaulti, Lansdowne or Auli to name a few.
Dhanaulti is 66 kmts away from the nearest railway station of Dehradun. Situated at a height of 2286 m, this place has dense Deodar, Rhododendron and Oak forests. March to August is a pleasant time to visit Dhanaulti. The Surkhanda Devi Temple and ECO Park are main places to visit. Also there is Aloo Khet (Potato Farm) which is a famous sunrise point from where one can view the beauty of the early morning sun.
Lansdowne is 40 kmts from Kotdwar railway station. It was founded in 1887 and named after the then Viceroy of India, Lord Lansdowne. Auli is a famous skiing destination. It is also where you will find the world’s highest man-made lake. May to July is a good time to visit Auli if you are not looking forward to chilling winters.
Tour operators in India frequently organize trips to Auli in the winters because of the skiing activity in the area. Summer however is a pleasant time for a fun vacation.
