It is the story of 3 moms and their 4-5-year-old kids, Kanatal and Dhanaulti. The trip started on a very interesting note when two of my friends were discussing getting a break from their respective daily routines. And how their respective husbands have been really caught up with work. Suddenly, one of them suggested “Let us go on a mom and kids trip”, to which the other friend agreed. After couple of days, when they shared their idea with me, i was instantly interested being a travel lover.

So, we started shortlisting possible destinations from Himachal and Uttrakhand (the Northern states of India), which can be travelled by road. Finally, we zeroed upon Kanatal and Dhanaulti in Uttrakhand state, which are less explored, populated and not so popular destinations among tourists. Kanatal is also popular as “The Lost Hamlet”.

It was a 3N 4D trip, and we booked a hotel in Kanatal for our stay. We planned and executed our trip in less than a week. This was my second trip with friends in 6 months. I started this tradition of going with my friends this year only 🙂

We started early, at around 5.30 AM, from Delhi to avoid traffic from cities like Modinagar and Merrut before they get crowded.

Kanatal is a 9-hour drive from Delhi, and with a couple of stops in between with kids, it can take up to 10-11 hours to reach here. We reached our resort by early evening.

Another story of our resort – The resort which we booked for our stay was a 100 m trek down into the valley from the road, which was a real surprise for us. Though the owner informed us that we needed to walk down, as the car would not be able to go. And we thought that the road would be narrow for the car to go and it is OK, we could walk down. But when we reached the resort, we didn’t expect what was coming. Trekking down the valley with toddlers on a steep track seemed difficult. We were almost on the verge of saying no and were planning to search for another hotel to stay. But then we decided to stay there for a night, as the kids were tired of the journey. And look for another resort to stay in the morning.

With this bold decision, we all started trekking down the valley with the kids. After getting comfortable in our room, we decided to stay there only for the next 2 nights as well, as the kids easily managed to trek down. The view from our room was mesmerizing. The entire valley was so beautiful. The resort only had 5 independent rooms. The owner and staff were extremely courteous and helpful. They ensured that our stay was comfortable.

The next morning started with an amazing sunrise and sight of a beautiful valley. After breakfast, we went sightseeing. Our first stop was Tehri Dam – the world’s highest dam. We went to the top of a hill to get a full view of the dam. It is a beautiful dam and is different from other dams in terms of build-up and structure.

Next, we went to Tehri Lake. There are many water sports activities available here, like motor boats, speed boats, scooters, banana boats, etc. We choose a 30 minute motor boat ride. Motorboat speed is slow, but you can enjoy the scenic beauty and lake that nature offers. The rest of the rides are for a very limited period. Before you actually start enjoying it, the ride comes to an end. We had an amazing junk food lunch with Maggie at the lake in the soothing weather.

It was already early evening when we proceeded towards our next stopover for adventure – Sky Cycle. The experience was simply amazing. It felt like riding in the sky with clouds.

Then, our last stop was Kodia Jungle. But then we decided not to take a safari and directly reached our resort. Here, we had an amazing hot tea with a beautiful sunset view from our balcony.

Later, at night, we had a bonfire dinner. It was simply an amazing day.

Our Itinerary

• Day 1 – (Delhi – Kanatal)
• Day 2 – (Kanatal sightseeing) – Tehri Dam, Tehri Lake, Adventure Sports
• Day 3 – (Kanatal-Dhanaulti-Haridwar) – Surkanda Devi Temple, Dhanaulti Eco Park
• Day 4 – (Haridwar – Delhi) – Harr Ki Podi, River Ganga

STORY OF 3 MOMs n 3 KIDs – DHANAULTI, (Part 2)