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......
                                                                                                                   

Part 6: Kufri and Naldehra

Naldehra:

Naldehra a hill top surrounded by tall Deodars is another example of natural beauty at Shimla. It is located at some 22 KM from Shimla and boasts of the oldest golf course in India. The road reaching to it is beautiful with abundance of green all along it. Our car drove cautiously through the hilly road and after 1 hrs drive from Kufri we reached there.
It was in the late afternoon when we reached there and the huge valley wore a calm, pale look. Birds were returning to their nests and some kind of strange silence covered the whole area. The entrance of the Naldehra peak was way above the valley and it was a perfect picture.I tried to capture as many snaps as possible but it was impossible to capture everything as nature down poured all its beauty at every corner.

                                                              view from Naldehra Top

It was getting dark so we hurriedly hired two horses and started towards the peak.

Must Visit Place at Naldehra:
1. The hill top for it awesome view.
2. Suicide point: Not sure though why people will commit suicide at such a beautiful place.
3. Indo-China border: Part of the border is visible from the peak
4. Off course the golf course: It is the oldest one in India

People can walk as well all around the peak, but horse riding gives another type of beauty and pleasure. Typical cost for a couple of horse would INR 750.

                                                                Suicide Spot and our Guide

Comparison:
Among Kufri and Naldehra the latter was less crowded but the pattern of scenic beauty was almost the same in the two places. My vote will be for Naldehra.

We had fine tea with ginger after coming back from the peak and started our journey back to Shimla.
Our stay at Shimla was coming to an end and we have to leave this beautiful hill station. Next day we would start for another beauty Manali.
Some kind of sadness filled in my heart as i was not sure if I would ever come back to this place again. We came back to our hotel and took rest as next day we had to complete a long journey.

Manali was some 250 KM far and it would take almost 6 hrs to reach there. We packed our bag and went to bed early. Bid adieu Shimla :( . 

                                                                                                                            ... to be continued

Part 5: Kufri and Naldehra

Way to Kufri:
Details:
Kufri is almost 16 Km from Shimla and is on NH22 (National Highway 22). It is the place where "Sugauli Treaty" was signed between India and Nepal. Kufri is pne of the famous tourist spot near Shimla and adventure-seeking travelers throng Kufri in winters to enjoy skiing and tobogganing along its snow-covered slopes. The Skiing season spreads between November to February and the tourist inflow is at its peak during winters.

Main attractions of Kufri:

Mashru Peak: The highest peak in Kufri.

Indira Tourist Park: The Indira Tourist Park is near the Himalayan Nature Park and provides panoramic view of the locations around. 

With this much of basic information from the driver we drove towards the place. The surroundings were beautiful without any doubt and the misty morning added enough to its beauty. There were several stops on the way from where snaps can be taken. We halted at one such place to see the green valley. As far as we can see there were green trees which looked like a fresh carpet. At the end of the road several tourists gathered and were capturing the beautiful moments within their camera. Some local people were also thronging here and there with different wild animals to earn money for their livings.

After spending some time we continued our journey and reached Kufri. It was crowded already and the only way to the peak is to hire horse. We hired two horses and went ahead. The road was steep, filled with mud (from ice) and very slippery. So one had to be very careful while riding the horse. Accidents happened where couple of tourists fell down and injured themselves. We proceeded with extreme care.

The top of the hill was flat with different shops and a temple. These shops displayed some of the local artifacts crafted beautifully. Wooded horse, winter clothes were among them.

We visited the temple which was a pretty old one. The other side of the temple was at the edge of the peak and we can see reminiscent of snow way down from there. We hurriedly ran down to see those white beauties.

After spending couple of hours we came down again through that risky road and started towards “Naldehra”.

Our experience in Kufri was a mixed one. The time we chose was probably wrong as every where there was water coming out of the snow. Otherwise it was a nice place.

We drove on with the sweet memories of Kufri towards our next destination “Naldehra”.

                                                                                       

Part 4

Explore:
I was awakened by a beaming sun light that fell on my face through the small gap of the curtain in the window. I got up hurriedly and found it is already 6 o'clock in the morning. The long journey has made me so tired that I slept like a hibernating snake. My wife was still asleep and it took me one second to wake her up using one drop of chilled water :P.
After a quick dressing up we came down stairs. The sun light has not reached that side of the hill and it was very cold. But the other side was lightened up by the sun and a warm atmosphere was created that we realized soon.
We came down the stairs and took the small road infront. Shimla was not fully awaken that time. Only a few people, morning cab services were rushing. The hills were covered up with a thin layer of fog as we started strolling accross the empty streets.

After walking a few meters we crossed a small tunnel and came opposite site of the hill and felt the warmth of the morning. It was pleasant and enjoyable. From the hill top small villages appear to be a perfect picture in the morning. The small toy train track was deserted with a couple of brids flocking in the station. The whole area was so enchanting that after such a long when i finally decided to write about them, they were still fresh in the memory.

We could not walk for long as our driver gave us a call that remined about our plan for the city tour. We hurriedly came back to our hotel and had our breakfast. The car came and we were off to our city tour.
We planned to visit famous Kufri and Nalderha that the hotel manager had told in lot details.

For fellow Travellers:
Places that be visited around shimla are:
1. Kufri (Approx 16 Km from Shimla)
2. Naldehra (Approx 25 Km from Shimla)
3. Kasauli (Approx 78 Km from Shimla)
4. Fagu (Approx 23 Km from Shimla)
5. Chail (Approx 45 Km from Shimla)

Also within the city itself there are several places of interest. like
1. Shimla Mall
2. Shimla Kalibari

How to Roam:
After reaching Shimla one can go to the taxi stand and bargain for a cab for these site seeing. Typical taxi stand can be seen in any crossing or beside road.
If not good enough in bargaining then another option is to contact Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC) and make some arrangements.
Also each hotel has several contacts for getting a cab for these site seeing, so such arrangements can also be opted for.
If you are tech savvy then browsing internet also can give few cab owner contact details for prior booking.
                                                                                                                         

Part 3

End less road:
Our car speed through the wide streets of Chandigarh. We went past many unknown villages, towns and after almost 2 hrs journey we reached Kalka. As we moved through, slowly the wide straight roads started becoming narrow with sharp turns. A change in the climate also could be felt as we were approaching nearer to the great mountain.
It took almost 4 and half hours when we started seeing the hills of Shimla with high pine trees. The road turns were becoming too sharper and the outside temperature also fell to considerably low. We were so charmed by the beauty of nature that when we reached to our hotel we did not even notice. Being a resident of a crowded metro like Kolkata, we were too much relaxed seeing the huge open area with boundless sky, range of mountains covered with pine and so many other unknown trees.
The sky was colored in crimson and the huge shadows of the hills laid long back behind those. Sun played a hide and seek game with us as we slowly drove through the narrow lanes of Shimla.Our hotel arrived and we stepped out. A shivering cold greeted us as we stood on a hill top. It was a majestic view and we could see through a long distance.

It was getting dark so we left our car and entered in the room. It was the month of March still the temperature was way down as we covered ourselves with huge blanket. After a long tiring day, traveling almost 1800 KM we finally reached our destination. We soon fell asleep targeting to wake up early so that nothing could be missed from this spectacular hill station.

For Fellow Travellers:
There are several ways to reach Shimla from any part of India.
1. First travel to Delhi by air or by train.
2. From Delhi Shimla is almost 370 KM on road and one can take bus, cab or volvo buses.
3. Another option is via train. Delhi is connected with Kalka by a broad gauge train. From Kalka tourists can travel to Shimla via the toy train. This journey is spectacular as the train route passes through the beautiful hills of Shimla. It crosses some 102 tunnels and 87 bridges in its way.
4. Another option is to reach Chandigarh and from there take the road to travel to Shimla. This distance would be somewhere near about 122 KM and takes about 5 hours to complete. There are several options like hire a cab, or a bus for this journey. Reaching Chandigarh can be completed via air or via on road from Delhi
5. There are several ways to reach Kalka from delhi on train. From Kalka Shimla is about 90 KM which also can be completed by either booking a cab or by taking bus services.
 

Part 2

Chalo Delhi:

It was 10 o’clock in the morning when our flight landed in Delhi’s old airport. It was my first visit to the nation’s capital so was quite exited to get out. The weather was perfectly soothing in the month of late February. The temperature was warm (not too hot) and a gust of chilled wind welcomed us as we stepped out from the airplane. After collecting our baggage from the conveyer belt we boarded on the air port provided bus towards the newly built international terminal.

The wide roads, clean and beautiful surroundings made me amazed of the nation’s capital. My astonishment reached at its peak when we reached the international airport. It is an architectural marvel, with its astounding design, cleanliness and organized system. The place was beautifully decorated with different high end merchandise brands. People of different ages were enjoying the surroundings as we sat in front of a coffee shop and completed our lunch. We were too impressed by the airport and could not resist ourselves from roaming its different parts. Time spent without our notice and suddenly we heard announcement of our flight to Chandigarh.

We rushed to the check in terminal and boarded on a small carrier. The aircraft took of on time and after 40 minutes we reached our destination.

As we walked out of the small airport our driver greeted us with a smiling face. He was a perfect “north Indian” and his tone of Hindi pleased us. We put our baggage behind the car and our journey started.

Part 1

Battle ground 2011 hunting for the place:

When I thought of touring India floods of ideas rushed in the memory. It is difficult to select a place as India can boast of thousands of places to visit. After a long round of discussions with my better half we finalized to visit Shimla & Manali, the place that was still unseen to me.

As our schedule was approaching within a very short time span, lots of activities need to be completed. Things became fast paced in the daily life and words like “shopping”, “planning” started getting importance.

Booking air tickets seemed to be a difficult task considering both budget and time, but some how we manage to get those. After the air tickets hotels were also booked and we waited eagerly for the d-day to come.

It was expected to a great holiday; break from the daily busy life of Kolkata.

Pack the Bag: 

As our holidays were approaching nearer, our excitement was also increasing. A sense of getting rid from the daily hustle was creating an unknown joy in our minds and hearts. Though the bags were packed few days earlier they were frequently got opened in order to review and reorganize the belongings.

D-Day: 

At last the d-day arrived. It was 3:40 in the morning we wake up to catch the earliest flight to Delhi. Our rout plan was Kolkata to Delhi, then Delhi to Chandigarh and finally Chandigarh to Shimla.

Our car drove fast on the Kalyani express way to wards the Dum Dum airport. We reached on time and bid adieu to the relatives. We checked on time and finally the plane took off for Delhi.