Second Visit to Himachal

                                                            A Second Visit


It has been almost one year we came back from Himachal. I remember those sweet days around Shimla, Kulu, Manali. I never thought of another opportunity that would take me to the lap of Himalaya again. But it soon came during the month of August 2012. This time not we were alone.
Couple of my friends as well showed interest and we planned to visit Himachal again during the month of december 2012. The group size was of five and each of us was extremely excited to see the snowy season there. We heard a lot about the bone chilling temperature and deep snow and in spite of several warnings we finalized the plan.

Our plan was for total 10 days. The schedule was a little bit hectic but nothing but our joy was sufficient enough to plan the program. We planned to start from Dalhousi, from there to Dharmashala, then back to Amritsar and from there back to home.
Since now days tickets need to be booked in four months advance we booked Rajdhani train tickets well in advance. Our Plan was
1. Kolkata to Delhi via Rajdhani Express
2. From Delhi to Pathakote via Jammu Express.
3. From Pathakote to Dalhousi via cab.

It was almost four months we had to wait for the d-day to come. It had been a long wait. At last december arrive and we started finalizing the tour. We already had tickets, we only need to book a cab as we decided to book the hotels after reaching the spot. We found one cab driver through one of our relatives and decided to hire him for the tour. We planned to take him from Pathakote till the end of the entire tour to Amritsar. He asked for a reasonable amount and we confirmed him.
Leaves were applied in the offices and atlast the day came. It was 21st December 2012 we all gathered in Sealdah station. Rajdhani was on time and soon we were off for another dream tour.


 

Part 11: Manikaran..

Our lovely holiday at Shimla and Manali was coming to an end. Only two days were remaining. Some type of sadness filled in my heart as we prepared to visit Manikaran.
It is a pilgrimage place situated in Parbati valley near kulu. There is a hot water spring at Manikaran & is said to have medicinal value and is a cure for an number of chronic ailments. Manikaran is also known for temple of 'Lord Shiva' who remained in 'Samadhi' for eleven thousand year in 'Treta Yug' . Temple of 'Maryada Parshotam Ram' Naina Mata and Gurdwara are also there.
From Manali it is some 82 KM far. We started on one fine morning. The weather during march was fine, the sky was clear with a gentle warmth in the atmosphere. Our car drove on the zigzag road of the mountains. River "Satluch" was looking awsome as we drove by its side.
The route is from Manali to Kulu and from there to Manikaran. After approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes we reached Kulu and had tea by the side of the road. Local tea stalls are always good in such places as tea from there gives relief from the cold and refresh the mind.
As we left Kulu the road became narrower. We were driving up the mountain and beneath we could see the entire Kulu valley. It was an awesome view. The entire valley looked splendid with houses paddy fields appeared part of a huge picture from the ultimate creator. Some where the road was too narrow and hardly one car could pass by. Some where the green pine trees huddled beside the road. We could also see some apple trees here and there with blossoms appearing on the top. We could not prevent ourselves but stooped several times in between to grasp the beauty of nature. It all ways feel good to be in places like this for those  people who hail from busy  metros.

                                                                              road to manikaran

                                        view of the distant mountains--on the way to Manikaran

After driving for couple of hours we reached our place.
Manikaran is a very small place surrounded by hills and from far we could see a Gurdwara and the Ram temple. The place was calm with lots of pilgrimage visiting during that time. As we visited both the holy places a strange type of joy filled our heart. We forget the tiredness of the long travel.

 

A view of "Gurudwara"

                                                             In side of the "Ram" temple

Other than these temples there was nothing in Manikaran so we decided to leave. It was the last day of our tour. I was busy in thinking about the next day travel to delhi and from there back to home. Time spent without my knowledge as suddenly i noticed we were near Manali.


For Fellow Travellers:
Manikaran is not far from Kulu. From there a cab can be hired to visit the place. Typical cost will near about INR 500. There are plenty of hotels available in Kulu. These can be found from the private web sites as well as from Himachal Pradesh Govt tourism web site also. For help I have put down some of them here.
Clear Trip: Kulu hotels
Make My Trip: Kulu hotels
Yatra.com : Kulu hotels
Hotels in Kullu: Via.com
Himachal Pradesh Tourism. India
For more information about Kulu or Manikaran the following sites can be use ful.
                                                                                                                             to be continued....

                                                              

Part 10: Solan continued

It has been almost 2 months since i last posted my blog. It is festive time in India during October and November and hardly any time was available. Slowly winter approached and on one chill after noon I decided to resume my incomplete story.
I remember to have covered about Solan valley in the last blog.
Solan was beautiful and made us spellbound as we spent much time there. We went up the hill on a rope way. The misty morning and a grave silence covered the whole place. Where ever you look there is only snow and nothing else. Local guide suggested us not to roam too far as the snow might have varied depth and can lead to accident.

                                                                                      a view from the hill top

After some time we came down from the hill top. The valley was looking beautiful in the morning sun shine and number of tourists gathered in the valley. Most of them were busy in some other kind of activities. There were options of para gliding, horse riding and many other things. Options of taking photographs in traditional himachal out fits were also available as number of shops were offering himachal dresses on rent.
It was freezing cold and we decided to have coffee at one of the shops. Afterwards we moved out of Solan back to Manali.
News about the closure of Rohtang pass road disappointed us as I was hoping high to visit that place. On the way back we visited two temples one of sage Vasistha (From Ramayana) and the other of Hidimba (wife of Bhim in Mahabharata). It was almost evening when we completed our day long journey. We came back to our hotel and planned to roam in the local market place in the night.

                                                                      Temple of Hidimba in Manali.

Next day will be another hectic day as we decided to visit Manikarn, another pilgrim place related to Lord Shiva and Parvati of Hindu mythology.

Travel Guide:
Details about Manali:  http://wikitravel.org/en/Manali

Hotels and accommodation can be booked via any travel related web sites. Some of them are shared as below.
Clear Trip:  http://www.cleartrip.com/hotels/india/manali/
Make My Trip: http://www.makemytrip.com/hotels/manali-hotels.html

Part 9: Snowy solan

As we entered Solan valley our eye was widened. It was snow every where. The road was slippery with the water from melting snow and it was very cold as we stepped out of of the car. The road to Rohtang Pass was closed due to some construction work and we could not move ahead. Still Solan was a treat to our eyes.
Earlier on the way we got dressed up with water proof attire so that we could roam freely on the ice. It was my first visit to an ice kingdom so i was very much excited about it. As we stepped into the valley people thronged around us. Some one was trying to convince us to buy their handicrafts, some one was trying to assist us to take photographs with their rabbits. We some how managed to move ahead and came near the giant rope way that took tourists to the hill top.

                                                                             A distant view of Solan valley

The misty morning on the hill top created a spectacular picture as we moved up in the rope way.
                                                                                                 ... to be continued..

Part 8: Misty Morning in Manali & way to Solan

A misty morning:
A rainy morning greeted us as we stood on the balcony next morning. The hill top in front of our room was covered up in snow previous night. But in that morning it completely wore a white blanket. We were a little upset as we could not go out but when it started snowing our sadness turned into joy. I never saw snow fall earlier to this and was very excited. We sat in the balcony with coffee cups and enjoyed the lazy morning.

                                                             Snow fall in Manali
 After couple of hours the weather became clear and we decided to go out. It was quite cold out side and after a heavy break fast we started. Our destination was Solan valley. The snow fall has just stopped and the sun came out with its warmth. It became a pleasant atmosphere as we travelled along the empty highway. The snow capped mountains looked awesome from far and we could not but admire its beauty. River "Satluch" was flowing beside us. 

                                                                   distance view of mountains


We stopped near one shop and dressed ourselves with winter outfit. They were essential as normal shoes wont be sufficient on snow. We slowly entered into a wonderland. Every where it was snow and only snow.

The road was slippery and we had to drive cautiously. The morning warmth was enough to melt the ice.

                                                                      way to Solan Valley

                                                                      way to Solan Valley

We moved through the valley as river "Satluch" played a "hide n seek" game with us. Solan was not very far but still we could prevent us from stopping at the road side and touching the snow. It was a phenomenon experience for us and enjoyed every bits of it.

                                                                                                        to be continued......

Part 8: Endless Road

To Manali: an endless road
The road it seems had no end. We crossed mountains, paddy fields, villages, bridges rivers. Often curious people tried to look through the glasses of our car. I wanted to capture all moments but the camera's battery did not last long.
After traveling almost 2 hours post lunch, the mountains started becoming steeper. The road was so narrow that hardly two cars could travel side by side. It was a dangerous drive as one side of the road moved way down and a river could be seen from the top. Driver informed that it was the famous "Satluch" river that originated in the hills of Kulu and all along the next way it would accompany us.
The view of the mountain ranges together with the river made the site a majestic one. I could not resist but captured many snaps of the same. This side of the mountain was rather a dry one with less vegetation. The earth was dusty and the tall pine or deodars were hardly visible.

  Through the narrow lane we moved away slowly and suddenly at one road turn a temple surprised us. It was a temple of Devi Durga and the environment made the place a special one. Tourists, monks gathered in side the temple and a divine atmosphere was created.

After spending couple of hours we started again. We crossed Mandi, Bilaspur one by one and around 4 o'clock in the after noon we could see the snow capped mountains of Kulu. Driver informed we were approaching Kulu valley and our joy was boundless.
There was a change experienced in the surroundings also.Lush green trees were visible and the environement became a lot cooler. Satluch was still with us.

At 4:45 in the afternoon we reached Kulu. Manali was still some 50 KM far & we decided to have tea. After a long tiring day the tea gave us enough refreshment and we got many information about the place from our cab driver. At 5 o'clock we started again. Hills of Manali were becoming larger and to my surprise small apple gardens were also crossing our way. Earlier this i never saw an apple tree so i was quite excited seeing those.
River Satluch was flowing happily and beside it different types of activities was visible. Rafting and other water sport was among those. Our driver cum guide informed that they were better visible during the day, so we had no other options but to wait.
Slowly we approached Manali. We called our hotel owner and inquired about the location. After some time we entered a quite crowded hill city. Several hotels, restaurants, shops were there at the road side. When we reached our hotel it was already getting dark. We checked in to our room and placed our baggage in the cupboard. When we open the window we were astonished to see a big snow capped mountain in front of us. It would be our companion for the next few days.
The sun was already set and things became silent in the small hill station. After refreshing we had our dinner. We thought of going for a walk but found it was already raining. We came back to our room and went under the blanket. After a long tiring journey we finally reached Manali. A mixed feelings of both sad and happiness was there. I was thinking about Shimla and at the same time Manali was peeping through my mind. We slept without any effort hoping to get up early to explore majestic Manali.
                                                                                                                    ...to be continued.....

Part 7:Long way to Manali

Way to Manali:
It is a long way from Shimla to Manali almost 280 KM. There are three routes to complete this journey
1. Via NH88 which is 280 KM
2. Via NH 88 and NH21 which is near about 150 KM and
3. Via NH 22 and SH11 which is about 250 KM.

As construction work was underway we choose 1st option. The route would pass through places like Mandi, Bilaspur & Kulu. It would be a long day so we took sufficient water and dry food with us. The car slowly drove out of Shimla and we were on NH88.
The road was as much beautiful as we expected. We passed under the shadows of many hills. At each road turn nature used to surprise us. At one side of the road there were high hills while the other side moved way down which was full of tall deodars, pines etc.
At one such road turn we found a small temple on beside the road. The place was so beautiful that we could not resist us from stopping there.

                                                                      Way to Manali

After spending couple of minutes under the shade we started again.There were only Hills. Sometime small rivers used to accompany us. At noon we reached Sunder Nagar a small town in Mandi. We stopped at a road side restaurant and had our lunch with Dal Makhani, Salad and Chapati. We had light lunch as heavy food could cause motion sickness in the sharp turns of the mountains.

Post lunch we started again. The wind was chilled and when i felt asleep i did not know. Sometime later when i woke up i found a river going side by side.

We drove on ..on...and...on......