In the Himalayas…
Having a tour with close friends is a great experience and I was fortunate enough to have yet another, this time with my new friends, Sreejit, Shankar & Dinker. In July 2009 we had a not-so-well-planned but very interesting tour to Shimla, Manali & Chandigarh. Shankar was planning to leave for Kerala for good and wanted to visit Nepal prior to that. A Nepal tour was not possible then and we decided to travel to Shimla & Manali. On 18th afternoon Shankar, Sreejit & me headed towards Chandigarh in a bus. After a 5 hours journey we reached Chandigarh. We had dinner at Dinker’s home. Dinker is friend to my then-roommate Rahul, who could not join us. Dinker was ready to accompany us till Shimla and we started towards the Sector 43 bus stand in an Auto rickshaw. It was raining near the bus stand area. By mid night we boarded a Shimla bus.
On 19th early morning we reached Shimla. We climbed the hill station in search of a room. Shimla was still sleeping and we had to walk a little extra to find a room. After refreshing ourselves, we walked through the mall road. The shops weren’t open and the road was empty. This was my second trip to Shimla and I knew the beauty of the Mall road in the evening and the panoramic view of the valley. After spending some time in the Mall road, and a church there, we headed towards Kufri in a taxi. Green valley, a thick forest with deodar trees comes on the way to Kufri and we halted there for a while. We reached Kufri and headed to Fagu valley on horseback. The stretch was full of mud and the horses struggled the way carrying us. The horse guy walked through the mud skillfully controlling the horses. He makes 3-4 such trips every day. The route was crowded with horses taking tourists up and down the Fagu valley. The panoramic valley had some flower garden to its attraction and we clicked snaps garlanding ourselves with a python. We had refreshment at the valley and visited a temple there. After enjoying the beauty of the valley and taking snaps we returned to Kufri on horseback. There we visited a small zoo. Snow leopard was the attraction there. On the way back we halted near Wild flower hall but soon carried on and headed to Jakhoo. Jakhoo is a 2455-metre high place with steep road where a Hanuman temple is situated. There was a long set of stairs leading to the temple from the car parking. During my previous visit to the place, we could see lots of monkeys there. They were harmless and even were feeding themselves by the prasadam from our palms. But this time they were very less. But still people were carrying sticks while climbing the hill as not only a support but also to keep the monkeys away. Now, after coming out from the temple we spent time in the nearby garden on the hilltop. The area was covered by mist and it was slightly chilly. This place is very close to Shimla town and we returned to Mall road. The place had plenty of tourists in different activities. Soon after dinner, we headed to the bus stand to catch a bus to Manali. Dinker, who had been to Manali earlier and could not spare the next days, parted with us and boarded a bus to Chandigarh. We three boarded a bus to Manali, which started at 9:40 p.m.
On 20th early morning we reached Manali. Kullu was on the way 1-hour journey distance from Manali. After refreshment, we had breakfast and soon headed to Rohtang Pass in a taxi. It is a 3978-metre high mountain-pass on the Himalayas, which is 51 k.m. far from Manali on the way to Leh. The taxi driver hurried as we may face traffic jam ahead in the mountain pass. We crossed the beautiful Beas River on the outskirts of Manali and stopped to take winter clothes from a shop. The driver said it will be chilly up the mountain and we will require these clothes and shoes to play in the ice. We got into the suit and traveled our way up the mountain pass. The beautiful pass is equally dangerous too. Huge rocks can be seen on the sides of the steep road. It was raining and the road was covered with mud. Work to broaden the narrow road was in progress and this caused traffic jam. There was a good presence of trucks especially Army trucks, and we got stuck in the jam for a while. We saw tourists on bullets on their way from Leh. We had to step out a couple of times, to push the car out which was stuck in the mud. We felt the roughness of the terrain and it seemed that the rocks from top could be fallen on the road anytime. Finally we reached the top of the valley. The place cannot be inhabited all through the year and we saw many tents erected there. The ice point is further 2 k.m. up and can be reached only on horseback or by foot. After a tea, we started. While Sreejit and Shankar sat on the horseback, I chose to walk. I was feeling uncomfortable in the winter suit and left it in the car and got into a jacket. The walk on the footsteps of the horses through the mountainous region was a nice experience and I enjoyed it. Initially the guys out there discouraged me by saying that walking would be difficult as lack of Oxygen can cause breathing problem. But I felt the same slightly and it didn’t affect my walking. The sight of ice covered Himalayas was thrilling and I walked in good pace. Now we reached a point where there was an adequate covering of ice in this month of July. People, mainly couples, were having fun in the ice. While Sreejit and Shankar stepped into the ice and started playing, I felt the need of the cloth I left in the car. Shankar pulled me down in the ice and together we skidded through it and collided with another group. While Shankar and Sreejit had full fun, I limited my actions. We climbed a little further up the mountain to see the panoramic view of the other side. After taking snaps we returned. Soon after tea we left the place. I had headache and felt tired. On the way back we halted near a waterfall for a while and rested all the way back to Manali. After bath at the hotel, we had dinner outside and walked through the Mall road for a while before we went back to the hotel.
On 21st morning while we were leaving the hotel room it was raining outside. We called the previous day’s taxi driver for a Manali sight seeing. First we went to Hidumba temple. This is a temple for the wife of Bhima, the second Pandava of the Mahabharata epic. Close to it was another worship place for Ghatotkaj, the son of Bhima. This area is really beautiful with a garden with many deodar trees. We clicked pictures carrying rabbits. Sreejit was puzzled for a moment when two elderly women asked him for money after holding rabbits on both his shoulders while Shankar clicked the camera. Yaks, the hairy buffalo like animal, were lined for tourists’ attraction. Some tourists were posing in traditional Himachal attires. We left the place and headed towards Vashisht temple soon after visiting a nearby Shiva temple on the bank of the Beas River. The temple is quite a nice place and the scenic view of the outskirts is excellent. The place is of interest due to hot sulfur spring there. As a bath there can cure bodily ailments, we decided to dare the heat. Even after mixing with cold water, the water in the pool was too hot for us to jump into and step-by-step we dipped ourselves to adjust with body temperature. It took more than 10 minutes for me to make myself comfortable in the water. We bathed thoroughly. Soon after coming out of the water, we felt excessively tired and for a moment, I felt like fainting. The area is a hub of foreign tourists. The street nearby had many shops with antique items and woolen materials. A few shopkeepers called us to come and see ‘Chingu’. Due to our curiosity to know what it is, we stepped inside a shop. Now they described us the story. Earlier special shawls were made from the hair of a baby sheep inside its mother’s womb. To acquire this, both the mother and the baby sheep were killed. Hence now it is banned to kill them for hair, they found an alternate way to make these expensive shawls. They now collect the hair of the newborn sheep without killing it, and make woolen sheets. These sheets known as Chingu are given to customers on lease for 21 months for an amount of Rs.6200 along with 5-6 gifts, mostly woolen stuffs that are worth the amount paid for the Chingu. They claim that, after 21 months they take this Chingu back from the customers and return Rs.5800. Now from this used Chingu they make very costly shawls. The fact is that, the hair required to make these expensive shawls are grown on this sheet from the warmth of human body during the period of 21 months. After listening to them haphazardly, without knowing the truth, we returned to Manali and the taxi driver dropped us in front of Vanya Vihar, a large & beautiful garden full of deodar trees by the side of Beas River. We entered the garden and enjoyed the walk through the plants-rich garden. Inside, there was a small pool with boating facility. Most of the visitors were enjoying themselves by swinging and walking by the dense deodar trees. We halted at a place to take snaps and Sreejit started collecting some plants, as horticulture happened to be one of his many interests. Before we left the place he had a bag full of different plants. We walked towards the Beas River through the garden. The river had strong current and people were indulged in activities like crossing the river on rope and swinging at the center to get wet oneself in the strong current. Shankar and Sreejit got interested and participated while I watched all these activities by lying on a rock. On the other side of the river, I saw a group of tourists cycling through the mountainous road. After some rest, we came out from the garden and walked towards a nearby Tibetan monastery. We experienced the calmness inside and spent some time there. That was our last destination in Manali. Now it was dark outside and we had dinner before boarding the last bus to Chandigarh. It was a normal bus and the journey was not very comfortable.
On 22nd early morning we reached Chandigarh. We reached Dinker’s house in an Auto rickshaw. All at home were getting ready for office. After breakfast Dinker left us for office, and we went for city sightseeing. First we went to Rock garden. The city has wide and well-planned streets. On the way we saw Rose garden, but didn’t visit. Rock garden is a one of its kind place with full of sculptures made of trash. Inside the garden, we walked through many narrow doorways carrying our baggage and were greeted by large number of figures in different shape and size. They reminded me of childhood. Some part of the park showed incomplete work. Tired by walking in the sunlight, we came out of the garden, and went to a nearby lake called Sukhna. A walking track and lawn encircled the large lake and we rested in the lawn for quite some time. By evening, we left the place and spent some time in a market for shopping and had food. Finally, we boarded a bus to Delhi.
Having a tour with close friends is a great experience and I was fortunate enough to have yet another, this time with my new friends, Sreejit, Shankar & Dinker. In July 2009 we had a not-so-well-planned but very interesting tour to Shimla, Manali & Chandigarh. Shankar was planning to leave for Kerala for good and wanted to visit Nepal prior to that. A Nepal tour was not possible then and we decided to travel to Shimla & Manali. On 18th afternoon Shankar, Sreejit & me headed towards Chandigarh in a bus. After a 5 hours journey we reached Chandigarh. We had dinner at Dinker’s home. Dinker is friend to my then-roommate Rahul, who could not join us. Dinker was ready to accompany us till Shimla and we started towards the Sector 43 bus stand in an Auto rickshaw. It was raining near the bus stand area. By mid night we boarded a Shimla bus.
On 19th early morning we reached Shimla. We climbed the hill station in search of a room. Shimla was still sleeping and we had to walk a little extra to find a room. After refreshing ourselves, we walked through the mall road. The shops weren’t open and the road was empty. This was my second trip to Shimla and I knew the beauty of the Mall road in the evening and the panoramic view of the valley. After spending some time in the Mall road, and a church there, we headed towards Kufri in a taxi. Green valley, a thick forest with deodar trees comes on the way to Kufri and we halted there for a while. We reached Kufri and headed to Fagu valley on horseback. The stretch was full of mud and the horses struggled the way carrying us. The horse guy walked through the mud skillfully controlling the horses. He makes 3-4 such trips every day. The route was crowded with horses taking tourists up and down the Fagu valley. The panoramic valley had some flower garden to its attraction and we clicked snaps garlanding ourselves with a python. We had refreshment at the valley and visited a temple there. After enjoying the beauty of the valley and taking snaps we returned to Kufri on horseback. There we visited a small zoo. Snow leopard was the attraction there. On the way back we halted near Wild flower hall but soon carried on and headed to Jakhoo. Jakhoo is a 2455-metre high place with steep road where a Hanuman temple is situated. There was a long set of stairs leading to the temple from the car parking. During my previous visit to the place, we could see lots of monkeys there. They were harmless and even were feeding themselves by the prasadam from our palms. But this time they were very less. But still people were carrying sticks while climbing the hill as not only a support but also to keep the monkeys away. Now, after coming out from the temple we spent time in the nearby garden on the hilltop. The area was covered by mist and it was slightly chilly. This place is very close to Shimla town and we returned to Mall road. The place had plenty of tourists in different activities. Soon after dinner, we headed to the bus stand to catch a bus to Manali. Dinker, who had been to Manali earlier and could not spare the next days, parted with us and boarded a bus to Chandigarh. We three boarded a bus to Manali, which started at 9:40 p.m.
On 20th early morning we reached Manali. Kullu was on the way 1-hour journey distance from Manali. After refreshment, we had breakfast and soon headed to Rohtang Pass in a taxi. It is a 3978-metre high mountain-pass on the Himalayas, which is 51 k.m. far from Manali on the way to Leh. The taxi driver hurried as we may face traffic jam ahead in the mountain pass. We crossed the beautiful Beas River on the outskirts of Manali and stopped to take winter clothes from a shop. The driver said it will be chilly up the mountain and we will require these clothes and shoes to play in the ice. We got into the suit and traveled our way up the mountain pass. The beautiful pass is equally dangerous too. Huge rocks can be seen on the sides of the steep road. It was raining and the road was covered with mud. Work to broaden the narrow road was in progress and this caused traffic jam. There was a good presence of trucks especially Army trucks, and we got stuck in the jam for a while. We saw tourists on bullets on their way from Leh. We had to step out a couple of times, to push the car out which was stuck in the mud. We felt the roughness of the terrain and it seemed that the rocks from top could be fallen on the road anytime. Finally we reached the top of the valley. The place cannot be inhabited all through the year and we saw many tents erected there. The ice point is further 2 k.m. up and can be reached only on horseback or by foot. After a tea, we started. While Sreejit and Shankar sat on the horseback, I chose to walk. I was feeling uncomfortable in the winter suit and left it in the car and got into a jacket. The walk on the footsteps of the horses through the mountainous region was a nice experience and I enjoyed it. Initially the guys out there discouraged me by saying that walking would be difficult as lack of Oxygen can cause breathing problem. But I felt the same slightly and it didn’t affect my walking. The sight of ice covered Himalayas was thrilling and I walked in good pace. Now we reached a point where there was an adequate covering of ice in this month of July. People, mainly couples, were having fun in the ice. While Sreejit and Shankar stepped into the ice and started playing, I felt the need of the cloth I left in the car. Shankar pulled me down in the ice and together we skidded through it and collided with another group. While Shankar and Sreejit had full fun, I limited my actions. We climbed a little further up the mountain to see the panoramic view of the other side. After taking snaps we returned. Soon after tea we left the place. I had headache and felt tired. On the way back we halted near a waterfall for a while and rested all the way back to Manali. After bath at the hotel, we had dinner outside and walked through the Mall road for a while before we went back to the hotel.
On 21st morning while we were leaving the hotel room it was raining outside. We called the previous day’s taxi driver for a Manali sight seeing. First we went to Hidumba temple. This is a temple for the wife of Bhima, the second Pandava of the Mahabharata epic. Close to it was another worship place for Ghatotkaj, the son of Bhima. This area is really beautiful with a garden with many deodar trees. We clicked pictures carrying rabbits. Sreejit was puzzled for a moment when two elderly women asked him for money after holding rabbits on both his shoulders while Shankar clicked the camera. Yaks, the hairy buffalo like animal, were lined for tourists’ attraction. Some tourists were posing in traditional Himachal attires. We left the place and headed towards Vashisht temple soon after visiting a nearby Shiva temple on the bank of the Beas River. The temple is quite a nice place and the scenic view of the outskirts is excellent. The place is of interest due to hot sulfur spring there. As a bath there can cure bodily ailments, we decided to dare the heat. Even after mixing with cold water, the water in the pool was too hot for us to jump into and step-by-step we dipped ourselves to adjust with body temperature. It took more than 10 minutes for me to make myself comfortable in the water. We bathed thoroughly. Soon after coming out of the water, we felt excessively tired and for a moment, I felt like fainting. The area is a hub of foreign tourists. The street nearby had many shops with antique items and woolen materials. A few shopkeepers called us to come and see ‘Chingu’. Due to our curiosity to know what it is, we stepped inside a shop. Now they described us the story. Earlier special shawls were made from the hair of a baby sheep inside its mother’s womb. To acquire this, both the mother and the baby sheep were killed. Hence now it is banned to kill them for hair, they found an alternate way to make these expensive shawls. They now collect the hair of the newborn sheep without killing it, and make woolen sheets. These sheets known as Chingu are given to customers on lease for 21 months for an amount of Rs.6200 along with 5-6 gifts, mostly woolen stuffs that are worth the amount paid for the Chingu. They claim that, after 21 months they take this Chingu back from the customers and return Rs.5800. Now from this used Chingu they make very costly shawls. The fact is that, the hair required to make these expensive shawls are grown on this sheet from the warmth of human body during the period of 21 months. After listening to them haphazardly, without knowing the truth, we returned to Manali and the taxi driver dropped us in front of Vanya Vihar, a large & beautiful garden full of deodar trees by the side of Beas River. We entered the garden and enjoyed the walk through the plants-rich garden. Inside, there was a small pool with boating facility. Most of the visitors were enjoying themselves by swinging and walking by the dense deodar trees. We halted at a place to take snaps and Sreejit started collecting some plants, as horticulture happened to be one of his many interests. Before we left the place he had a bag full of different plants. We walked towards the Beas River through the garden. The river had strong current and people were indulged in activities like crossing the river on rope and swinging at the center to get wet oneself in the strong current. Shankar and Sreejit got interested and participated while I watched all these activities by lying on a rock. On the other side of the river, I saw a group of tourists cycling through the mountainous road. After some rest, we came out from the garden and walked towards a nearby Tibetan monastery. We experienced the calmness inside and spent some time there. That was our last destination in Manali. Now it was dark outside and we had dinner before boarding the last bus to Chandigarh. It was a normal bus and the journey was not very comfortable.
On 22nd early morning we reached Chandigarh. We reached Dinker’s house in an Auto rickshaw. All at home were getting ready for office. After breakfast Dinker left us for office, and we went for city sightseeing. First we went to Rock garden. The city has wide and well-planned streets. On the way we saw Rose garden, but didn’t visit. Rock garden is a one of its kind place with full of sculptures made of trash. Inside the garden, we walked through many narrow doorways carrying our baggage and were greeted by large number of figures in different shape and size. They reminded me of childhood. Some part of the park showed incomplete work. Tired by walking in the sunlight, we came out of the garden, and went to a nearby lake called Sukhna. A walking track and lawn encircled the large lake and we rested in the lawn for quite some time. By evening, we left the place and spent some time in a market for shopping and had food. Finally, we boarded a bus to Delhi.
