This was the most special trip for me as it was my first Himalayan experience, although my husband goes to Himalayas almost every year. So my excitement hit the roof. I had started jogging 4 weeks before the trip so that I am prepared for one of the trek we had planned during the trip. I wanna give you guys a glimpse of it with this drone video.
We had a late evening flight from Pune to Delhi and we reached Delhi and crashed at cousin's place in Gurugram. Warning - Delhi is super hot with no wind this time of the year.
Next day we started lazy with hanging around with the cousins and we left around 11 for lunch with friends in Delhi. After lunch we went to Agrasen ki Baori which is a very beautiful stepwell in Delhi . It became famous since the movie PK was shot there.
After that, we hung around in a cafe near Manju ka Tilla from where we were suppose to catch our bus to Dharamshala. The sleeper buses are not allowed in Himachal so you can only get semi sleepers. We had booked tickets with Ram Dalal Travels and the bus was super comfortable. It leaves around 8 pm from Delhi and reaches Dharamshala early morning around 7 am.
When my opened my eyes the next day, we were in the mighty Himalayas. We reached Dharamshala and took a cab to take us to Mcleodganj from where we were suppose to pick up our bike. As the bike rental was not open , we had breakfast and tea . We collected the bike and went to our hotel. It was a bit far from Dharamshala but the view and peace was worth it.
After freshening up, we left to explore. First we went to Namgyal Monastery and Tsuglagkhang Complex. It is the overlooking mountain ranges of Dhauladhar. It is a peaceful and spiritual place. They say that Tsuglagkhang Complex is the official home of the 14th Dalai Lama
After that we went to Bhagsu Falls. As it was a weekend, there were a lot of tourists in Mcloeadganj and a lot of traffic as well. At Bhagsu Falls, after parking you need to walk to see the falls but the crowd made us a little irritated and there was really less water in the falls. We watched the fall from a distance and returned.
We left for Naddi View point . On the way we stopped at Dal Lake(not the Kashmir one), its a small beautiful lake in Himachal surrounded by trees.
As there was still time for sunset, we started exploring around Naddi view point and ended up finding this picturesque valley called Bahl valley. We parked our bikes at the top and started descending the mountain and there it was, the valley with river flowing through it. On enquiry, we were told that trekkers can camp here as well.
There is path going up from here to other mountain which ends up at a temple. Local people in the area climb the mountain in the evening, sleep in the temple premises on the top and enjoy the sunset and worship the goddess in the morning and return.
We climbed to see the view on the other side but as we did not come prepared to spend the night we did not go to the top till the temple.
We climbed down and back up to the other side where we had parked our bike and went to Naddi view point for sunset and after a beautiful sunset we returned to our hotel and called it a day.
The next morning we woke up really early , it was the most awaited day of the entire trip for me. My first Himalayan trek - Triund. We left for Triund.
Camping on the top of Triund has been banned so now you need to climb and get down the same day. Triund is less difficult trek and is perfect for beginners. If you take few smalls stops and walk at a normal speed you can reach the top in 4 hours.
We parked the bike at the start point of the trek till the point the road was drivable. Then started the journey on foot. Among the trees and valleys, was the view of snow capped mountains with the chirping of birds. Once you reach the top after all the effort, the view of snow covered Dhauladhar ranges will make you forget everything.
The weather in the mountains is unpredictable and this trek made me believe that. We literally experienced almost everything from bright sunshine to heavy rainfall.
When we started in the morning it was really cold. As we climbed up, the sun was shining bright and it was clear sky. After we reached the top, we were really lucky to get the view of the mountains and within 15 minutes the fog covered everything. It became cold and there was almost zero visibility.
You can get maggi, Dal Rice and tea on the top. So we ate and then started our descent as the weather seemed to get even worse. It takes around 2 and half hour for the descent. We forgot to carry our rain coats along and it started raining really heavily as we had just started descend. There were hails along with rain. We were fully drenched but continued to walk as after getting wet it seemed difficult and the wind was making us feel colder if we stopped. So soaking wet we kept going. After an hour and half it stopped raining as we were approaching the start point. We reached till our bike and there was sun shining bright in Mcleodganj :p .
After a long eventful and adventurous day we went back to hotel , had food and went to bed early with the image of the majestic Himalayas in our minds and hearts.
Next day we left for Bir on bike. It is approximately 2 hours journey to Bir. We had booked Zostel in bir. It is one of the most amazing Zostel.
After checking in, we went to explore the area. There are a lot of good cafes around. We went to Tsering Jong Monastery and Nyingyang Monastery.
It was raining on and off that day, so we came back to Zostel and played games, did some jamming on guitar.
Bir is famous for paragliding and it totally depends on the weather on that day. The next morning we went on to top on your bike, the view was mesmerising. Layers and layers of mountains covered with fog.
After checkout , we left for Dharamshala. We reached there by lunch time. As we had our bus for Manali in the evening, we thought of visiting the famous Dharamshala Cricket ground. It was another rainy day but rain made everything look more beautiful.
After this we went to Mcleodganj where we were suppose to return our bike. Explored the market and bought souvenirs for friends and family. Our bike renter arranged a cab for us to go down to Dharamshala bus stop and then we boarded the bus for Manali.
When we reached Manali early morning , we got the auto and went to bike rental from where we were suppose to pick our bike. The first day we had booked stay at ZostelX , Rumsu Naggar which is known for providing you a experience and peace at a small village and their culture. We started our journey towards Rumsu Naggar with Himalayas all around covered with beautiful and tall trees.
The host of the Zostel Mr Jadgish was a very lively guy and great host. He had an amazing cook who made delicious finger licking lunch and dinner.
We relaxed and adored the mountains and valley. In the evening , Jadgish ji drove us the village even above Rumsu and it is the highest village of Kullu. The people of village were so friendly and kind. They greeted us with smiles and offered us tea while we enjoyed the sunset.
The next day we started with yoga in the fresh air of the mountains. Jagdish ji's kids joined along and it was fun. It is amazing how you do not feel tired when exercise is done in fresh and clean air.
And after a delicious breakfast of aloo parathas we left for manali. The hotel we selected was little far but had amazing view of apple orchards
In the evening we explored the manali market and had delicious food. The next morning we left early for solang valley. Had a ride on ATV and went to the top and got a view of this amazing waterfall.
After that we went to Hadmiba devi temple which very famous and a must visit when you are in manali .
This ended our himalaya trip. We took a bus for delhi in the evening and then flew back to pune.