Uttarakhand, The Land of Gods – DoW Mega Meet 2017

After the last four DoW Mega Meets in the high and remote parts of the Himalayas, this year we plan to swing on the roads of the lower Himalayas. Last year, it was Bhutan, The Land of Dragons in November 2017. However, this time in order to materialize the vision of the DwD Community for promoting the Responsible Travel and DoW Causes up in the Himalayas, we will travel to “Uttarakhand, The land of Gods“.

The fifth edition of DoW Mega Meet 2017 will be held in Uttarakhand – Garhwal & Kumaon from 18th November to 25th November 2017. In the last few years of the DoW Mega Meets, we have taken the DoW Causes to the next HIGH and of course, we would like to raise our spirits of Responsible Travel and spreading smiles up there in the Himalayas, even higher this time.

The Prologue

Like we say, yet another year has dawned, and it’s time to write some new stories, weave some new memories, renew the vigor and start on a new journey, to a new destination and travel within. The memories of the previous such travels are still fresh and hardly showing any signs of losing it in the future.

“12 Lakes, 12 passes in 12 Days” of DoW Ladakh Mega Meet 2013, “Hidden Gems of Spiti Valley” of DoW Mega Meet 2014, “Suru and Zanskar Valley, The Wonderland” of DoW Mega Meet 2015 and “Bhutan, The Land of Dragons” of DoW Mega Meet 2016 were great success stories exceeding even our well-calculated aspirations, each time.

It was possible because of the unfailing and unconditional support and participation of every member, irrespective of their physical limits or personal comforts. The attitude of the participants and members of each of our previous Mega Meets has given us the belief and aspirations to attempt bigger causes and achieve larger satisfaction in each of our subsequent Mega Meets.

What is Next?

So, keeping in with the tradition, we are dreaming even bigger for our next Mega Meet of 2017. And what better place it would be than to the spiritual land of the Gods, place filled with spirituality and beliefs, place having miles of towering peaks, the place called Uttarakhand, for our Mega Meet 2017?

Needless to say, our aims, objectives, and vision have always remained the same -spreading smiles and promoting responsible for traveling in the Himalayas. This year too, we won’t deviate from our principles but only make it larger. Spread more smiles and make bigger statements on Responsible Travelling. And we know that it won’t see the light of the day unless every member joins hands and march shoulder to shoulder to achieve this endeavor.

So, let us do it for ourselves; let us give ourselves a genuine reason to smile. Let us ignite our passion, let us invest in making better memories that last, let us increase the “Gross Domestic Happiness” of Uttarakhand a further bit. So, coming winters in November 2017, again, are you ready:

• to spin over the lovely landscapes,
• to unwind through the lush green valleys,
• to fly with the wind at some of the spiritual places of Himalayas,
• to get lost in one of the remotest yet magical places in the Himalayas,
• to spread smiles on the faces of Himalayan Lives through DoW Causes,
• to feel the spirit of responsible travel,
• to witness the magical colors in reflecting lakes,
• to witness the golden glow on the high snow-capped peaks of Chaukhamba, Nanda Devi and Trishul,
• to witness the chill on few of the isolated stretches,
• to experience the real feel of sleeping in the lap of mother nature,
• to experience a journey, like never before,
• to experience the aura of this land of Gods, called Uttarakhand,
• and finally, to explore THE unexplored !!

Are You Ready for Uttarakhand self-drive adventure? If yes, then get going and read on… If not, then also get going and read on, who knows you are there right amongst the group after reading it through 😀

Uttarakhand, The land of Gods | DoW Mega Meet 2017 – Tour Plan

You can find all the details for this DoW Mega Meet below including the eligibility which, as usual, seeing the nature, difficulty, season and distance to travel would mainly be DECENT ENDURANCE and POSITIVE ATTITUDE towards anything and everything…

Here is the complete tour plan for this WILD, ON THE ROAD ADVENTURE which can be experienced LifeMeinBaarBaar 😉 …

• Day 0 – Friday Evening, 17th Nov | Home – Rishikesh / Hardiwar Make a move from your home and reach Haridwar/Rishikesh on Friday evening. Rendezvous point of the Mega Meet kickoff will be Kautilya next morning at 9 AM with breakfasts done.
• Day 1 – Saturday, 18th Nov | Rishikesh / Hardiwar – Sari Village – Deoriatal Lake. After flagging off the Mega Meet at 9 AM, we will drive to Sari Village and trek to Deoriatal Lake. Spend overnight camping at Deoriatal. Those who want to read more about Deoriatal can check Delhi to Deoria Tal, Uttarakhand | Travel Guide.
• Day 2 – Sunday, 19th Nov | Deoriatal Lake – Chopta – Gopeshwar – Joshimath. After a lazy morning breakfast, we will drive from Sari village through Gopeshwar – Chopta route to Joshimath.
• Day 3 – Monday, 20th Nov | Joshimath to Auli to Gorson Top and back to Auli or Joshimath. We will take a call in the group discussions between stay at Auli and Joshimath as stays at Auli are expensive so we need to figure out camping comfort with everyone in the group.
• Day 4 – Tuesday, 21st Nov | Hidden Gems around Auli. This day will be relaxing, and today we will be exploring some hidden gems around Auli, those interested can also go over to Badrinath.
• Day 5 – Wednesday, 22nd Nov | Joshimath/Auli to Khirsu. Today we drive to a quaint place in the lap of mother nature to relax and rejuvenate called Khirsu.
• Day 6 – Thursday, 23rd Nov | Khirsu to Gwaldam. After relaxing in the quaint village of Khirsu, we will drive from Khirsu to Gwaldam, a place where you can witness the extraordinary beauty of Trishul peak from a touching distance. Sunrise and sunset worth dying.
• Day 7 – Friday 24th Nov | Gwaldam – Kausani – Binsar. Today we drive from Gwaldam to Kausani to Binsar, a place surrounded by forest and greenery where you can hear the birds singing and relax to the closure of Mega Meet.
• Day 8 – Friday 25th Nov | Binsar – Kathgodam / Delhi. Finally, call off the Mega Meet, and we drive back home to Delhi from Binsar or can take the train from Kathgodam. Those who have the Sunday as well can spend at either Nainital or a day visit to Patal Bhuwaneshwar caves would also be worth doing.

DoW Responsible Travel Initiative

• For all those who will be traveling with us, it is mandatory to support one of the DoW – Causes which are briefly described as follows:
  • Carry Rs 499 of general stationery items with you to be donated to local schools or children in the remote villages of Uttarakhand.
  • Carry Rs 499 of generic medicines with you to be donated to local dispensaries in the remote villages of Uttarakhand.
  • Carry whatever NEW or OLD but usable woolens you can donate to the needy people in the remote villages of Uttarakhand.
  • Carry whatever NEW or OLD but usable Toys you can donate to the children up there in the remote villages of Uttarakhand.
  • Kindly go through the link which enlists Tips for Responsible Travel in the Himalayas, so that we follow them wherever possible.
  • Apart from that, we may be holding cleanliness drives along water bodies we will be visiting. We may be carrying the large plastic bags and carry out these cleanliness drives while visiting some lovely lakes in Uttarakhand if the time permits.

Eligibility

You can see that trip difficulty level is between easy and moderate only, so it is not going to be too heavy on your body, and families with kids used to road trips should not have any concerns with the schedule. Hence, for being an apt traveler for this tour:

• You must be adventurous enough to take up this road trip.
• You must have moderate levels of endurance, some days can cause fatigue
• You must have a positive outlook towards adventure & should always respect the time to hit the roads.
• These are the Himalayas, a place where Mountain rules… So, you must always be ready for the surprises or changes in plans.
• If required, you must be ready to camp out or stay at moderate Guest Houses or Homestays or dorms especially when away from big towns.
• I feel families are most welcome to this time in DoW Mega Meet being less hectic.

The Loose Ends

To have varied flexibility, we have kept loose ends, head, and tail. So, in case you wish to start and end as per the below options, please feel free to do so. Here are the options we can think about as of now:

• Option 1 for Self-drive guys covering Delhi to Delhi.
• Option 2 for guys who start from Hardiwar/Rishikesh, end at Kathgodam (Railway/Train preferred).
• Option 3 for guys who want to spend last Sunday as well in Binsar, Chaukori, Nainital.

Are you interested?

In case, you feel the RUSH in the blood, want to feel the AWESOMENESS of ADVENTURE at its best, want to feel CLOSER to nature, want to get OUT of the comfort zone, want to be a part of a journey where there is no destination rather JOURNEY itself is the DESTINATION… Well, this is the journey to embrace.

Unfortunately, this time onward, we have closed the DoW Mega Meet as invite-only. Those who will get the invite can bring in his/her relatives, but the responsibility will be on them to make sure new participants are aligned with DoW Vision, DoW Causes and the idea of Responsible Travel.

Why Closed meet? Well, we never wanted it, but despite giving it a try for the last four Mega Meets, some unidentified morons still come to the party and spoil the overall experience of the trip for others. This time we have ruled out the possibility of any such people joining the trip with every new person and us is the responsibility of the person who got our initial invite, in case they wish to join.

Please read the Rules and Regulations carefully which are linked at DoW Mega Meet 2017 | Rules and Regulations, in order to understand the expectation and process we follow when we Travel together for such DoW Mega Meets or DoW Himalayan Meets and how the cost gets split between us.

The last date of sending your registration will be 15th October 2017 after which we will not accept any further registration requests.

Confirmations

In case you got the invite and confirmed for the trip, your team leader (the person who filled the form) will be added to the Whatsapp group of DoW Mega Meet 2017. There everyone can work out the logistics, stay options, camp rentals, taxi sharing, etc..

Conclusion

Looking forward to meeting and travel with you all over this mega-adventure trip of our DwD Community to spread smiles up there in the Himalayas. For other details about Traveling over this adventure trip, discussions, queries, finding travel partners, please go through the DwD Community Mega Meet thread at the link: DoW Mega Meet 2017 | Uttarakhand – The Land of Gods.

If you have the invite, please read the Google Registration Form above carefully, including Formal Disclaimer. You must especially understand and then agree, accept the Rules and Regulations linked in the registration form before submitting your request.

You can use the private messaging feature of the DwD Community to communicate or post on the meet thread over there to get your queries resolved. We can talk over the phone from there and discuss if it suits/meets the expectations from both ends and get going from there…