Pangot

Destination: Pangot

State: Uttaranchal

Distance by road: About 300 kms from Delhi.

Nearest Railway Station: Ramanagr, Kathgodam, which is about 46kms away.

Nearest Airport: Rudrapur-Pantnagar

Best Season: March-June, August-February

Pangot

Anybody who has ever read a fairy tale has most certainly wished as a child to visit the beautiful, serene land of fairies, nestled in the hills, having cozy warm cottages, surrounded by tall trees and the snow clad mountains completing the perfect scenery. Although growing up changes many things, secret wishes like these do remain in a corner of our heart. If you are one of those, then Pangot, an offbeat and unassuming hamlet in Nainital, should definitely be included in your yet-to-see destinations.

Situated in the midst of a clearing and just 15 km from Nainital and 45Km from Corbett Park, Pangot is the dream destination for people who love to get close to nature whenever they can. It gives you a feeling of being in a toy town rather than in a village. With everything like houses, tea-stalls, village temple, post-office and even the population being small, Pangot proves that small is indeed beautiful. The best thing about this place is that here you are far away from the in-your-face, over-the-top commercialized places that have become an inseparable part of our lives. The small village market having just a handful of shops, where you can get a few items of daily use, is quite a center of activity.

Pangot is a small picturesque hamlet situated 15kms from Nainital city.It can be easily reached by a half n hour drive. The road to Pangot goes through the forested area of Cheena Peak, Snow View Point and Kilbury. Pangot is famous for bird watching and it has been popular with nature lovers, photographers and birders.

The Pangot Cottage

If you are planning to find absolute, unadulterated bliss in this beautiful village, one of the best places to stay in there are The Cottage. The excellent location, impeccable services and courteous staff makes it an ideal vacation getaway.

Although everything here is of the best quality, their star attraction is their organic restaurant, where they serve pure vegetarian food grown organically in their own green house and kitchen garden. Equally exquisite is their own dairy which makes sure that all the milk products served to you are pure and unadulterated.

This is undoubtedly the best place for bird watchers. The comfortable and aesthetic cottages with well designed and beautiful fire places made of stone and wood work, takes you back into time. Staying here is indeed an experience that you will never forget all your life. So, do check out The Pangot Cottage to get all the required information.

You can see different kinds of migratory birds at Pangot. Birds from the upper Himalayan region fly down to the lower Himalayas to escape the harsh winter season. One can see a variety of Himalayan species here such as lammergeyer, Himalayan griffon, blue-wingedminla, spotted & slaty-backed forktail, rufous-bellied woodpecker,rufous-bellied niltava, khalij pheasant, variety of thrushes etc.

Almost150 bird species have been recorded at Pangot and in its surrounding areas. The numerous perennial & seasonal creeks are home to an amazing variety of flora and fauna including the leopard, yellow-throated Himalayan martins, Himalayan palm civet, ghoral, barking deer, sambhar etc. Pangot serves as an ideal retreat to enjoy isolation and wilderness by staying close to Mother Nature.

How to reach Pangot from Delhi, Gurgaon and Noida

The nearest railhead to Pangot is the Kathgodam Railway Station. It takes about eight hours by train from Sarai Rohella in Old Delhi where you can easily reach by a taxi from Delhi, Gurgaon and Noida. You can take either Ranikhet express or Sampark Kranti for Kathgodam. For people who wish to get there by car, it takes around eight hours. From Gurgaon or Noida, reach Delhi and from there you have to Start at ISBT road (3.79 kilometers) take NH 24 and continue towards Muradabad (153.11 kilometers), proceed towards Rampur (32 kilometers), turn towards Rudrapur on SH 87(47 kilometers), go straight towards Haldwani(32 kilometers), take NH 87 for Ranibagh(11 kilometers) via Kathgodam, turn left and continue on NH87 for Nainital (29 kilometers) via Jeolikot, and last but not the least take local road to Pangot (15 kilometers) from Nainital town.

One thing is sure, it will be one of the most exquisite experiences which you will keep in your heart all your life, just like that fairy tale you read years ago.