Pangot - How to plan your trip

About the place

If anybody comes to me asking for a short week-end trip from Delhi where he or she could rejuvenate his/her soul, i just suggest Pangot! A lush green place full of oak and devdaar trees, is carrying its own culture. After bypassing Nainital if your eyelids doesnt get closed because of the increasing density of forest, your ears start listening to sweet bird's chirp, your soul starts smelling those fresh air and the black road ahead is no more penetrable for sun- You are about to reach Pangot! A village full of bird species.

Pangot is a tiny village only 13 kms away from Nainital in kumaon region but miles away from human destructive inventions. Drive to Pangot from Nainital passes through one important tourist destination Himalaya darshan or echo point where Nanda devi peak could be seen from. The only enemy here is cloud which most of the time comes between us and the Himalaya region!

Apart from natural landscape and forest, main attraction of pangot are its birds. More than 150 bird species are recorded here including blue winged minla, forktail, woodpecker, niltava etc. If you are a bird lover, its a must visit place and dont forget to bring the scope even though you can watch them from the balcony of your stay.

How to reach  Pangot

Pangot is accessible by train, air and road. Sorry, no water transport😛 

By air

Nearest Airport is PantNagar which is almost 80 kms from Pangot. It is well connected to Delhi and Mumbai. Nearest international airport is Indira Gandhi international airport, Delhi which is 320 kms away.

By train

Nearest railway stations is kathgodam which is almost 50kms away. Haldwani is a bigger railway station at almost the same distance. Taxi is easily available  from both the locations.  We would advise to book taxi in advance in peak season to avoid any last minute hiccups. From delhi there are multiple trains run to kathgodam/haldwani. If you wish, you could get shared transport also from Kathgodam/Haldwani/Nainital.

By road

By road it is connected to Haldwani/kathgodam which in turn is very well connected with the rest of india. Daily volvo buses also run between delhi and nainital/kathgodam/haldwani.

If you plan to visit pangot by road from delhi in car. Then best route would be

Delhi -> Ghaziabad -> Hapur -> muradabad (bypass) -> Rampur -> Kathgodam -> nainital (bypass) -> Pangot

There are some traffic jam near ghaziabad due to ongoing major construction work on NH24. This could be avoided by choosing right time to leave Delhi. Roads after ghaziabad to Rampur is in pretty good condition. From Rampur to Haldwani roads are again in construction mode so it can take time. Would advise to bypass Nainital in peak season because of heavy traffic jam.

Weather of the place

Temperatures can range from 25 °C in Morning/Noon to 12 °C at Night in summer. In Winters (December–January) temperatures range from 18 °C in Morning/Noon to 2-3 °C at Night.

PANGOT WEATHER  

Clothes required

Carrying a light jacket & a sweater is always recommended. In winter, temperature really goes down so jacket/sweater/warmers are recommended. There are less chances of snow-fall but you never know! While conversation with elderly people i came to know that this place always had snow fall in their childhood but global warming has changed the equations now!

Places to visit

You are already in heavenly atmosphere. Dont rush, just relax. Listen to chirp and connect with nature, even with your very own inner self. I am covering this topic in Nainital trip for the tourist enthusiastic about multiple locations.

Best time to visit

All time green and always accessible so you can visit this place any time. From June to August landslide (chances are very less!) may occur due to heavy rain so this time should be avoided. But, rain in mountain attracts many travelers. If you are among them, do visit it as the place is really safe. Tourist peak season is from April to June.

Activities to do

Few of the resorts organize different activities like rock climbing. They take their hosts to some small fall in jungle also. But I would advise bird watching with your scope and walking on the trails! You will enjoy it. I am not a big bird lover still i enjoyed it.

Where to stay

There are many stay options in Pangot from luxury to budget. In peak season also you can get hotels at the cost of 1000-2000Rs. From July to March you can get it at even 500-1000Rs. Pre-booking must be done in peak season. I had seen people repenting and leaving pangot just because they could not get a stay. In off season, go and book your stay there. You would certainly get a cheaper price than online quotation.

what to eat

There is no special food of this place. Resort food is usually expensive. Could be 500 Rs/person for one time. Walk to the center of Pangot where there is one restaurant "Hotel Pangot Himalayan View" serving Indian food at quite reasonable price.

Nearby Petrol pump/mechanics

Nearest petrol pump is more than 20kms away. Pls have enough petrol in tank so that you return to Nainital road. One small mechanic shop is there but dont expect major therapy (if required) of your vehicle there.

Nearby market or shopping centre.

Pangot is a small village with 4-5 small shops. Only tourist attraction shop could be a candle shop right at Pangot chawk.

ATMs/Banks

Nainital is the nearest place (13 kms) where you could get so many ATMs

Medical Facility

There is one place where government doctor comes.

Mobile Network

All the mobile network works but only at certain places. We found difficulty in calling and accessing internet but yes it works. Its not like a far remote place where nothing works.

Itenary options

I
Day1- Leave Delhi early and reach Pangot in 8 hours by 12 pm. Rest and explore

Day2- Explore Pangot and leave in the evening.

Day3- Again in Delhi

II

Day 1- Leave Delhi early and reach Pangot in 8 hours by 12 pm. Rest and explore

Day 2- Relax and explore the place

Day 3- Leave Pangot

Road conditions

Most of the route is good except NH24 near Ghaziabad due to ongoing construction work and Rampur to Haldwani again due to construction work

Things to be taken care:

1. If travelling with kid, have all the required things in advance. You wont get it in Pangot

2. Do have one medical box with you with minimal required medicines

3. Get your vehicle properly checked for mountain

4. Have one bird watching scope

5. Tank should be adequetly filled with petrol.
6. Travel with required cash.

Our own travel steps:

1. Left delhi (Noida) at 1 AM.

2. Had morning tea in Rampur

3. Had breakfast in Kathgodam

4. Reached Pangot at 9 AM

5. After some rest, had lunch and explored the place.

6. I ran half-marathon amidst forest. You can read: My run in Pangot

7. Next morning so many birds in balcony. Enjoyed the nature.

8. Left Pangot at 2 PM

9. Met friend in Haldwani

10. Reached Delhi at 11 PM.

Conclusive remarks

Accessibility of the place- 100/100 (Easy)

Beauty of the place - 90/100 (High)

Food - 70/100 (Do try small shops for maggie and tea)