During last self drive trip to Uttaranchal in October; we stayed for a day at Dharchula which is a valley town in Pithoragarh District of Uttaranchal State. It is one of those rare towns on the earth where people can cross to other country over a foot-over bridge without showing any document whatsoever. It might be only town spread across two countries: Dharchula in India and Darchula on Nepal side.
Dharchula has gained its popularity because it’s a famous base camp to most revered Kailash-Mansarovar yatra for Hindus and also a base camp to many treks and hikes such as Adi kailash, Om Parvat and Panchachuli etc. Dharchula is around 600 km from Delhi and 80 Km from Pithoragarh and entire route from Pithoragarh to Dharchula is enriched with scenic beauty along the River Kali which is also a natural boundary between India and Nepal.
We stayed at KMVN in Dharchula which is located right on the Kali River near border check point. After checking in, first thing we wanted to do was to visit Nepal. After crossing foot-over suspension bridge we entered Darchula on Nepal side. People, culture, tradition and custom, everything was same on both side of Kali River. Though shops on the Nepal side were more vibrant and were offering fancy stuff but we preferred to exchange Indian currency for Nepali currency as souvenir. While crossing back to India through bridge we spent quite a time at the middle of the bridge absorbing the glimpse of two country from one point. Rarest of rare occasion!!
In the evening we strolled through the only road of the town and enjoyed the rustic and woody smell of the town and also spent time on the banks of the River Kali during sunset.
In the evening, we had our lunch under the starry sky amidst the roars of the Kali River on the open verandah of the KMVN property. It was really a memorable dinner and will be engraved deeply in our mind for years to come.
In August i did a self drive to Chhitkul in Himachal which is on Indo-Tibet border and in October Dharchula which is right on Indo-Sino-Nepal border. More to come!!
Photos of Dharchula
Pithoragarh to Dharchula-Along Kali River
Dharchula: An ancient trade and commercial centre
Middle of Suspension bridge Dharchula: Nepal on left and india on RIght
Kali River under the foot over brdige to Nepal
Dharchula: Surrounded by Mountains
Kali River: Natural Boundary between India and Nepal
Sunset at Kali River, Dharchula
Next day we left early in the morning with an aim to explore the unexplored route to Munsiyari via Jauljibi and Madkot along the Kali and Gauri River.
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That would be really neat to be on that bridge between the 2 countries.
A real rugged beauty, and great pictures. Would have been an amazing self drive trip.
Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Its a lovely secluded town bordering Nepal and China. Loved being there.
Your self drive trips are always amazing! And of course the picture.
Yes, indeed it is a rarest of occasion to stand at a point which do not belong to any country, as you are in the middle of the bridge 😀
Thanks bro!!
Self Drive trips are so much fun and gives a lot freedom. I am enjoying self drive and photography both.
Loving ur exploits also. Keep it up!
Yes, It gives a lot of freedom when you are on your own! To stop anywhere and everywhere to take a snap, travel at your own pace.
And thank you 🙂
Such a beautiful hidden gem!
Indeed. Himalaya has alot of such hidden gems.
wonderful pictures! I’ve only been to India once and I’d be as nervous as heck about the idea of self drive though!
Thanks….. self drive is little tricky in india but it always gives more than it takes. 🙂
I’d be a little nervous to self-drive somewhere I didn’t know (confession though I’m not a great driver haha!) but when you get photos like this it’s looks well worth it 🙂 The Kali River looks stunning, so cool to think that it creates such a beautiful natural border between the two countries.
The entire region along Kali is stunning. I loved every part this trip. Thanks for droping by.
It’s so cool that two countries share one city. I would love to check out the foot bridge. I had no idea that place existed.
Oh yes. It indeed exists.
Thanks for dropping by and for comment. C u more often.
beautiful photos in a really unique special place to travel. Really cool that they share a city. There is a really cool similar foot bridge that connects costa rica and panama too. ahahah Love it
Thanks. I am sure there must be more such places.
Having dinner next to a roaring river with stars about in an exotic local does sound wonderful. Looking forward to your updates
Thanks… it indeed was awesome. Not forget Himalaya Ranges all around.
What an awesome experience! It’s so pretty cool that you don’t have to worry about showing any documents whatsoever to cross to Nepal from India. And exchanging Indian currency for Nepali currency as souvenir is a great idea! I like keeping some bills as souvenir as well 😛
Thanks…. Soon i am planning a proper Nepal trip as well.
Interesting that there are towns that are spread across two different countries.It’s not the same, but somehow this reminds me of Basel airport that serves 3 different countries, depending on the exit that you take, haha!
Thanks. World was one once upon a time but now divided by man made boundaries… haha. Thanks for teh Basel Info. Keep visiting.
Beautiful photos – so interesting that you can cross over from India to nepal just like that. Reminds me of when we were in Switzerland and we walked over into France for dinner just because we could!! Always love that – it’s not the same but in Australia we have a street which is QLD on the one side and NSW on the other – it’s always amusing when it’s daylight savings because one States changes their time zone and the other doesn’t. So shops on one side of the street are open for an hour later than the other. Crazy right!
Hey, thanks for droppinng by and leaving comment. It really means alot.
I am sure street between QLD-NSW must be amusing.
That’s cool that you can cross the foot bridge and be in another country without a visa or papers. That sounds peaceful. I’ve never heard of most of the places you mentioned. Your photos are beautiful!
Thank for your ind words of appreciation. India has many hidden gems to offer and Dharchula is one among them.
I love these posts from the less tourist ridden parts of India!
I also love novel border crossings! 🙂
I’m pretty sure there are a lot of EU borders (at least the Schengen countries) you can cross without papers/passports, however I’m not sure if there are as many stunningly located border crossings…
Thanks Chris.
I also have heard of such borders in EU. Glad that you enjoyed.
For some reason, I keep reading it as Dracula 😛 haha
Haha…Dharchula means stove amidst streams. As it looks like a earthen STive from Top.
Really enjoying discovering this part of the world through your blog! Great pictures.
Thanks….This part of world is really less travelled.
This is an awesome experience. Hitting 2 countries with just crossing the bridge. Looking forward to visit this place someday.
This is definitely the route I can’t wait to take when we get to that part of the world. To see the difference between each country as you cross borders is always fascinating. Not only do the faces so often change but the scenery too. Talking of scenery, your photos are awesome. Beautiful landscape 🙂
Come to this part of word. Its an incredible part and you gonna love it.
Thank you for bringing me on these wonderful places. Reminds me that there are really endless spots this Earth can offer. Excited to see and read your next travel! 🙂
Thanks Jessica. Appreciation like this keeps me on toe to travel more. C u again.
I like the effortless border cross over! That gushing water is a beauty too.
Everytime I visit your site I discover new beautiful places that I perhaps should visit in the future. Thanks for sharing!
I am so delighted to know that… my goal is achieved if i could let you feel like that!
I like you can walk across the bridge and be in a different country without showing anything. Maybe the rest of the world could learn something there.
Your photos always look enchanting. You are really opening that part of India to me, such a remote and undiscovered part. Thanks as always
Thanks Mar for your continuous love and encouragement!
I’ve been very close to that place but now I feel sad that I didn’t get to see the Kali river. Those are some beautiful pictures!
Lovely photos. Gone to Munsiyari but missed Dharchula! May be next time!
Thank you Umesh. Dharchula must be visited atleast once. A different geography. C u again.
Sure!!!