Kumaon (North India) in the monsoon

[Bora]

Hello people,

It's been a while since I'd posted anything or done any riding - the last ride was almost three months ago and I can't wait to go out again - soon!

Problem is - the hills are 8 hours away, and I need at least three days in hand to do that. The last ride was the first long one for my wife and we headed for a place called Binsar in Uttaranchal, the foothills of the Himalayas.

It was difficult for her - first ride and all and that too 10.5 hours in the saddle!

Here's here we stayed the first night:


And it rained and rained all night - pitter, patter, pitter patter it went on the roof!

This is the view from the cottage the next morning, the clouds having moved in



We decided to try out a shortcut to another place called Mukteshwar. By the main road, it's about 120 km and we were gonna take the road on the left after the bridge, which will be about 70km, almost half the actual distance.



It started off well, the drizzle started and we put on our rain gear!



But the road surface soon disappeared. With the rain, it was slush and mud for most part.



That was the road we came from:



But we were soon blessed with some wonderful terrain:



And a campsite waiting for us, after a 70 kilometre (about 44 miles) ride that took all of 6 hours!



And what more can you ask for, as the clouds move in for the evening:




Thanks for all the wonderful images everyone.

Sorry about the picture quality here. I still shoot on film and the scannig job isn't that great and I'm a novice with photography.

[FishWitch]

WOW Awesome countryside. I have a lot of climbing friends that go to the Hymalyas regularly and from all the photos I have seen it's just magnificent. Kudos to you & the wife for tuffing it out. Sounds like you had some "fun" weather & road conditions to deal with!

Don't be a stranger around here!!

[Backmarker]

Who cares if you scanned those in. They look great! We just wanna see where ya went! And it's beautiful. Thanks for showing us somewhere most of us will never experience. Excellent!

[Papa-Ken]

Thank you Preetam for showing us your part of the world. The weather could have been more pleasing but what a way to spend some time. I admire your adventureous side..........Ken

[Bora]

Thank you everyone for the comments. Will post some more pics as soon as I manage to head out again!

[Orson]

Thanks for posting!

does it rain all day in the monsoon season or does it all come down at once?

[Bora]

Originally Posted by Orson

Thanks for posting!

does it rain all day in the monsoon season or does it all come down at once?

Depends on various regions in the country. In the North East it rains throughout the year, only difference during the monsoon is that sometimes it rains for 20-25 days at a stretch and then the floods come.

In north India, it usually rains in July and August till early September sometimes, this could mean a few spells of rain (from 1 hr to 3 hrs everyday) or with a sunny day thrown in every now and then.

But sometimes it does rain all day here in north India as well, but only in the monsoon.

In the southern parts of the country the annual monsoon cycle is different..

[Polovision]

Thanks for sharing the pics.

[Fastfar]

Great ride Preetam, those are places I will never get to ride so I am happy to see your pics. What a spirit of adventure you display, you are true motorcyclists, thank you for sharing your great trips with us and keep riding...

[OrangevaleFJR]

Thanks so much for sharing! My Grandfather was with the Royal Engineer Corps and was tasked with putting a railroad through India, the Himalayas and up to Russia during WWII so that supplies could be delivered there to aid them with the battles against German forces. I have heard stories of the mist hung hills and I want to thank you very sincerely for sharing the photos with us!