Fun On Wheels -- Bike Trip -- Day 1: Delhi/Gurgaon to Rishikesh/ Dev Prayag

Upper Ganga Canal Road

Day 1: Delhi/Gurgaon to Rishikesh/ Dev Prayag (Stay at Rishikesh/ Dev Prayag)

Yet to come 
Day 1: Delhi/Gurgaon to Rishikesh/Devprayag(Stay at Rishikesh/Dev Prayag )
Day 2: Rishikesh/Dev Prayag  to Joshimath (Stay at Joshimath)
Day 3: Joshimath toBadrinath/Govindghat (Stay at Govindghat)
Day 4: Govindghat to Ghangharia (Stay at Ghangharia)
Day 5: Ghangharia to Valley of Flower (Stay at Ghangharia)
Day 6: Ghangharia to Hemkund Sahib (Stay at Govindghat)
Day 7: Govindghat/Joshimath to Rishikesh/Dev Prayag  (Stay at Rishikesh/Dev Prayag )
Day 8: Rishikesh/Dev Prayag to Delhi/Gurgaon
Day 9: Rest at Delhi/Gurgaon

Road Route–

Delhi/Gurgaon--Rishikesh--Dev Prayag
Delhi/Gurgaon--Kotdwar--Dev Prayag

Train Route–

 Delhi--Rishikesh  then by road further.

 Delhi--Kotdwar then by road further.

 Delhi--Haridwar/Dehradun  then by road to Rishikesh and further. No train route ahead of Rishikesh.

 Nearest Railway station Rishikesh/Kotdwar.

Flight Route–

Delhi--Dehradun (Jollygrant) then by road to Rishikesh and further. No flight route ahead of Dehradun.

There are regular Buses for Badrinath from Delhi, Haridwar and Rishikesh. You might get shared taxis and Jeeps for Badrinath from Haridwar and Rishikesh. One can board a bus/taxi/jeep going to Badrinath and get down at Govindghat.
Personal Cars and Bikes ply quite often.
Roads open between 8am to 8pm. Check post at Pandukeshwar (Near Joshimath) regulates and restricts traffic.

Distances–

Delhi to Rishikesh: 238 km
Rishikesh to Dev Prayag: 74 km

Road Route–

Start early from your home at Delhi/Gurgaon. Take route via Raj Nagar Extension towards Muradnagar.As soon as you cross the bridge over the Ganga Canal (it is the first bridge over the Canal at Murad Nagar) take the left turn to board on to the Upper Ganga Canal Road. You will also see the Muradnagar Police Post on your left.
This is an alternate route to the National Highway, much greener and devoid of Large (Trucks, Buses, Containers etc) Vehicular Traffic. This Route is closed during the Kanwar Yatra Days (Mostly in months of July and August).

As you head on the Upper Canal road on the Meerut Diversion Road you would find several road side vendors on the right, who sell Cha(Tea)i Pakoras (a kind of fried snack).They sell Pakora by Kilos, i.e. say Rs x per kg of Pakora. You can mix and match various kinds (Onion, Potato etc) of Pakoras as per you liking. You can enjoy Chai Pakora as your breakfast and stop by the small barrage on the canal on your left.
You can drive through to reach the Khatauli Diversion Road and see Directions to take a left for Roorkee Haridwar Dehradun etc. If you take this turn you converge at the NH towards Roorkee. Instead of taking this road you can stay on the Upper canal road to avoid traffic and be on a lush green way. You can drive on the Upper canal Road till Mohamedpur where you need to cross the Barrage to converge at the National Highway towards Roorkee. The Upper Canal Road goes still further, but the road after Mohamedpur is not in good shape.
You can drive more for 10-12 km on the NH to reach Roorkee. After reaching Roorkee skip the diversion towards Dehradun and head towards the road that takes you towards Haridwar.

Roorkee

Roorkee is a tinsel town known for IIT Roorkee, IIT is situated on the Roorkee-Haridwar Highway. Near ‘Shatabdi Dwar” of IIT Roorkee, you would find few restaurants and eateries where you can stop by for lunch/brunch. Our favorite from our good old B.Tech days is “Bhatia Fast food & Shakes” who sells Burgers, Snacks, Shakes etc and is just adjacent to ‘Shatabdi Dwar”.

If you have time you can pay a visit to the Shiv Temple in the market lane just 300-400 m from “Shatabdi Dwar “, We used to sometimes visit the Temple to make our wishes during our B.Tech days.
From Roorkee take the Haridwar highway. Haridwar is around 30 Kms from Roorkee. You would cross “Patanjali Yogpeeth Trust” “Bahadrabad crossing”, “Jwalapur” etc before reaching Haridwar. As you reach Haridwar take the road towards Rishikesh and don’t enter Haridwar City.Sometimes you find major congestion on the Haridwar-Rishikesh High way due to ongoing construction works and major vehicular traffic by Pilgrims.
As you reach Rishikesh, head towards Rishikesh Bus stand to get yourself registered for the Chardham Yatra. Here your Photo would be clicked and your personals details would be recorded and then a Chardham Card would be allocated to you.

If you intend to stay at Rishikesh, you can book any Hotels/Dhramshalas here for the night stay. In the evening you can attend the “Ganga Arti” at the Triveni Ghat and enjoy some “Satvik Bhojan” (pure,natural and energetic food). If you halt at Rishikesh, sleep early as you need to leave Rishikesh early morning for the onward journey.

If you have 2-3 hours of daylight left you can drive through to Dev Prayag and halt there for the night. Way from Rishikesh to Dev Prayag is hilly, try and avoid it after sunset especially if you are driving for the first time in the hills.
Dev Prayag is a religious town in Tehri Garhwal District and is one of the “Panch Prayag”. “Alkahnanda” and “Bhagirathi”Rivers meets here and take the name “Ganga”.

***Life Savers: In case you don’t get booking anywhere or for last minute plans one can stay and dine at Gurudwara at  Rishikesh. The Food (Prasad) and Lodging is free of cost.
+ Disclaimer: Information provided above is based on self experience and collected from various other sources.

                                      Next Day : Day 2

Bamboo Hut Rishikesh