EXPERIENCE INDIA 

Mesmerizing Himachal Pradesh

We, Dr Deepali V KamatGupta(9870062428 ) and Dr Vijaykumar G Gupta, have decided to tour India every year and cover one state at a time ,so we plan our Itinerary and we trip for a month.

I have made sincere effort from my end (on demand of few of my friends and relatives) to jot down our experience hope it helps you to get same experience and much more than we had.

Before that I would like to share some inputs for the backpacker’s tours as it differs from normal touring that one does through travel agencies.

The whole tour that I have explained has been done by state transport and share vehicles where ever needed / can be done by private car / by bike (hiring a private vehicle you save your time but increase your expenses , about bike tour you need good experience to drive in mountain areas).

Have given details of Bus timings wherever possible rest you can go to HPTDC site and get the info , as the timetable changes frequently . For private car / Bike you can negotiate ,you will find many on google.

Route for the Tour - Himachal Pradesh /Golden Temple /Katra tour

Mumbai --Kalka ---Shimla ---Rampur--- Sangla ---Chitkul ---Reckong peo --- Nako –Geiu (Gui) village –Tabo—Dhankar –Kaza---Batal --Chandratal Lake– Keylong –Manali – Kasol(Choj)--Malana—Chalal---Kheerganga—Manikaran -- Banjar ---Mandi --- Baijnath ---Palampur ---Dharamshala –--Dalhousie—Amritsar—Katra—Mumbai.

Difference between touring with Travel companies and going for Backpackers tour .

No time restriction when you visit a particular sightseeing.

More places to explore than shown by Travel companies.

Get to see offbeat places.

Get to know culture as you stay with localities at their Home stays and eat local food items.

Freedom to decide your itinerary.

Most important save money beyond imagination with more enjoyment.

More adventures.

Make new local friends.

Similarity between Touring with companies and Backpackers tour

The Travel companies also hire either bus or share vehicle for local site scene they don’t provide individual car for each couple

They also wake us early to cover the sightseeing as depends on sunrise and sunset also as per number of places to be covered.

Things to keep in mind

There are prons and cons, challenges and adventures when we travel alone but what we do is we study about the places in details prior to our visits by doing google, talking to local people there, reading blogs (Trip Advisor ,Devils on Wheels, Vargis Khan) taking help of the Home stay host or Hotel Manager with whom we have booked the tour so that we have idea about the difficulties that we may face while on so called solo tour.

Search for offbeat places to make your tour adventurous and exciting.

Study details of dates of other package tours so that your dates don’t collide with others also you get to know the sightseeing that usually package tours visit.

Go for off season tours so not much rush, better facility, less expensive.

Book your stays at Homestay since they are local people they help you with all your queries so that you can properly plan your tour.

Try sleeping early and getting up early so that you cover sightseeing .

Always have a backup plan and a day in hand esp when you are in Himalayan areas.

Have a mindset that plan can be changed any time due o adverse circumstances (this can happen with tour companies as well ) so you can avoid disappointment. Keep in mind if you have studied well about your tour anytime any plan change may not affect you.

Try to find what is your point of interest regarding to places you want to visit.

Important thing is your physical health as you have to trek at many spots ,when you ride a bike through treacherous road and you need to carry your own luggage.

Also one should have healthy heart and lung capacity as many places are at higher altitude and no health care facilities are available in these remote areas.

We choose to go in September because Spiti Valley is coldest and snow claded from November to April , Kunzum Pass gets closed mostly 1st week of October , rest of Himachal experience rainfall from June to mid September , April till May Himachal is full of tourists, and Rohatang Pass opens after 2nd or 3rd week of May .

Download App from google play store it may help you to find road,directions,navigate even when you are offline (as one enters mountain area there is no range )

MAPS.ME

We had done almost 4 tours till date where in 2 were of 1 month at a stretch we really enjoyed it to the fullest with no homesickness as there are many places to be explored sometimes we feel one month is too short time. India has most amazing place to be see and has lots of variety ,beauty and diversity .

Our tour started on 14th September 2019 ended on 12th October 2019

Will now start our journey ..............

Day 1 We started our tour from Mumbai -Borivali station by train (Paschim express) at 12:30 pm reached Kalka station by next day 17:45 pm (do booking 120 days prior).

(If one wants they can fly to Delhi or Chandigarh and then proceed to Shimla by private car or bike or bus).

Day 2 Night Stay at Kalka , take rest in hotel .

(Hotel Oscar – 9728370354) it’s hardly 3-4 minutes from Kalka station and also toy train station so it makes one easy to catch the toy train next early morning.

Day 3 Next day early morning catch Toy train from Kalka to Shimla it will take around 4-5 hrs to reach Shimla. Prior booking of the toy train can be done online (90 days) to avoid inconvenience at last moment. If you wish to see the scenic view from Kalka to Shimla book the train as per the sunrise timing .Trains start as early as 3 am. Kindly check for revised timing as per season.

We had skipped Shimla; we directly caught bus and proceeded to Rampur Bushahr- District Shimla from new bus stand.

{If one wants to visit Shimla than follow below instructions – same day Stay at Shimla Mall road and enjoy evening shopping at Shimla mall road and also do some nearby sight seeing.

Day 4 Next day you can go for sightseeing as per package of Himachal tourism-HPTDC (get it on the site ) from 11 am to 6 pm (either book it online or when you reach Shimla station or go to there HPTDC office or hire bike or private car for sightseeing ) stay in Shimla.

Day 5 Go for sightseeing different route than previous day stay in Shimla}.

Day 6 As mentioned earlier we left for Rampur Bushahr from new bus stand, it is 3-4 hrs from Shimla through kufri route. Stay in Rampur Bushahr ,visit Sun temple which is second most Sun temple of India after Odisha.(Mehta Homestay-9418126233)

Day 7 Catch bus early morning to go to Sangla either direct bus or bus from Rampur Bushahr bus stop to Karcham dam We got a lift from Mehta Homestay to Rampur bus stop and from there we got bus to reach Karcham dam. Than from Karcham dam either get share jeeps to Sangla or bus which runs from Reckongpeo to Sangla. Rampur to Sangla takes around 5- 6 hrs.

Way from Rampur to Sangla Valley --District Kinnaur

Stay in Sangla valley get fresh , have lunch and same afternoon visit Kamru fort, Bering Nag Temple (idol is brought for worship from the Temple Garbhagriha (sanctum sanctorum) to Temple premises every 15 days)

Baspa Guest house-8219862800 / 9805070013 (2 minutes from Sangla bus stand)

Day 8 Leave early morning 7 am (inquire about timing at bus stand prior day ) by bus from Sangla bus station to go to Chitkul or Chithkul for sight seeing. Chithkul is last village of India and near to Tibet border.

Here i would specially like to Thank our friend Mr Gaurav Sharma ,from Chandigarh (we met him in our North East Tawang tour 2018) who insisted us to not miss Chithkul.

Visit Chithkul village , temple, Water flour mill,Hindusthan ka Akhri Dhabba , Baspa River.

Way to Chithkul

Leave from Chithkul to go to Reckong peo by bus at 3 pm on the way collect your luggage from Baspa Guest house .

Stay at Reckong peo select hotel near bus stand as need to catch early morning bus next day.

Day 9 Leave from Reckong peo early morning by 5 am (inquire about bus timing the prior day) to Kaza -District Spiti , as it is the only bus from Shimla to Kaza via Reckong peo -- Nako-- Gieu --Tabo --Dhankar --Kaza need to get the bus tickets early morning as no prior bookings taken(If you are travelling by private car /bike you can halt at Kalpa near Reckong peo-do some sightseeing previous evening /early morning if possible and than leave for Nako )

It’s a long journey of 8-10 hrs (more if there is landslide which is very common scenario) from Reckongpeo to Kaza but very scenic and treacherous roads. Bus passes through small villages like Nako, Tabo, Dhankar before it reaches Kaza .

Way to Kaza

Reach Kaza stay in Kaza-Dawa Homestay-9418144308 (2 min walk from Kaza Bus Stand ) take charge of your bike from Mr Narayan Singh-9418812700 and keep it ready for next day by filling petrol he will also provide you with helmet .(kindly carry your driving license, adhar card ).

Mr Narayan Singh will let you know how much petrol would be required as per the sight seeing you need to visit.

We didn’t halt in Nako ( just stopped for lunch –you can visit Nako monastery and Nako river if you are planning to stay back at Nako , if you have your vehicle and next day leave for Gieu Mummy and Tabo and again halt at Tabo ) or Tabo as mentioned early there is only one bus in a day that passes from Shimla to Kaza moreover there is no facility to hire bike from these villages also petrol station is there directly at Kaza and not in Tabo . So we decided to stay at kaza and ride back to Gieu ,Tabo and Dhankar next day.Stay at Kaza go for shopping in market area in Kaza eat at restaurants.

Day 10 Early morning (we kept our luggage in Dawa Homestay and carried only a days luggage as we were to stay in Dhankar that night ) leave for Gieu village to see the Gieu mummy it’s around 70 kms from Kaza road is dangerous in respect to its sharp turns but scenic all around you see black mountains (which in winter is filled up with snow ),each mountain seems different from other ,roads are narrow with mountain on one side and deep valley on other side there is no network except BSNL that too not reliable no vehicles for kilometres so need to drive safe and concentration is important but also enjoy the scenery. You may see many villagers working tirelessly to helping to keep the road clean as there are frequent land slides just wish them and go ahead and appreciate their efforts on that lonely area Once you reach turn to Gieu village Gieu monastery and, Gieu mummy is more 5-6 kms inside .

Spiti Valley

Now leave for Tabo which is a small village which has Tabo monastery (old and new ) and Tabo caves on the way you can have lunch .

Leave for Dhankar don’t get late as sun sets by 6 pm leaving darkness all over with no street light and the scenic mountains seems to look like monsters in pitch dark , Journey from Tabo to Dhankar is another 60-90 minutes and further 8 km steep road for Dhankar Village, Stay in Dhankar it’s small village hardly 20-30 houses .

You can either book in Dhankar Monastery , we had booked through Airbnb-at EAY MA HO Homestay - Mr Lobzang 8988276392 (sharing bathroom ) but host was friendly and room was pretty warm as it was too cold by night . They also served us with local food in dinner

Day 11 Start early morning after having breakfast , visit Dhankar Monastery and then leave for Lhalung Monastery which is again in outskirts hardly population of 10-15 houses .

Dhankar village and Dhankar Monastery

Leave for Kaza through another route which too is equally isolated ,there is a route which opens directly near pin valley bridge (if you want you can visit pin valley through mud village ). Hardly you see any person who can guide you whether you are on right track or not we were lucky to have few where ever we felt lost as we didn’t have map neither BSNL number but only lonely roads and surrounded by huge black mountains and scenery sometimes scary sometimes not. Reach Kaza by 9 -10 am get fresh and leave for Kaza sight seeing which includes Komic village (highest motorable village of India ) see Monastery, Langza (Buddha statue ),Hikkim village (highest and last post office of India )you can post post card from here to your loved once so please carry address as no network to call and ask for address , Kihaa monastery (Key Monastery )back to Kaza. Roads are not at all in good condition as well not much of sign boards on the road to show you whether you are in right direction or not ,if you miss a turn than it becomes difficult but if you are fortunate you will find someone or other to show you the way.

Stay at Kaza at Dawa Homestay also can visit local market and do shopping .Hand over the bike to Mr Narayan Singh (charges were 1500 / day without petrol no night charges taken)

Day 12 Leave early morning by 4 am for Batal and from Batal to reach Chandratal lake , there is only one bus which runs from Kaza to Manali at 4 am need to do booking on spot (you also can hire shared tempo traveler which leaves late you can inquire about it on bus stand ) it is also a scenic journey through mountains where after 5 hrs we reach Batal ( As I had mentioned earlier that there are challenges when we travel solo we had faced the same where in there was breakdown of a truck 2 km before Batal and there was no chance of it getting repaired because of it our bus couldn’t proceed further as roads were narrow so we all had to walk down 2 km with our luggage to the famous Dhaba called Chacha Chachi Dhaba or Chandra Dhaba ,we had booked our Chandratal lake package with their son Tenzin who was supposed to pick us from the Dhaba to Chandratal we had to wait for him for around an hour and than we left for Chandratal ,road is in very very bad condition.Hiring his jeep cost was 300 rs / person from Chandra Dhaba to camping site . Chandratal lake is more 1 ½ - 2 km ahead. Lake surrounded by mountains and it gets frozen in winter and one can see snow leopards in that area so it gets closed after 1st week of October when usually there is snowfall.

On the way from Kaza to Batal one passes through Kunzum pass which gets closed by early or mid October due to snow

There are lots of campsites at Chandratal which you can find on Google and book them accordingly

Chandratal lake is beautiful and we’ll maintained as well the tents are Swiss tents get your woolens tight as temperature drops as evening approaches

Tenzin-8988313473 provides you with dinner and breakfast cost of tent is 3500 per couple(its hard to get in touch with Tenzin so either leave him a message or email him-tenzincampspiti@gmail.com or contact other campsite companies which you can find on blogs )

Way to Batal

Day 13 Leave from camp site early to reach Chandra Dhaba by 9-9:30 am as the bus which leaves from Kaza reaches Batal by that time in case any breakdown again you need to take lift to go to Manali or Keylong (via Gramphoo ) road from Batal to Gramphoo is very difficult as there is no proper road .Our bus also didn't reach Batal and we got lift from Dr Brijesh Kamal who was from Solan district travelling to Keylong.We had a good time discussing about farming, he is Doctrate .

Reach Keylong (District Lahaul ) -- Stay at Keylong We had booked with Airbnb (Himalayan Greenland -9847285353/9418356710) ,the place was under renovation only good thing was it was in main market and nearby had many food counters (there are many other options for stay as well on same road ),host Sushil was also helpful Sushil provided us with his scooty at rate of 1000/day without petrol .

Day 14 Keylong sight seeing Suraj Tal and Deepak Tal stay at Keylong (we skipped due to time crunch ) its on leh route.

Day 15 Keylong to Trilokinath Temple , Mrikula (Markula) Devi temple at Udaipur. Stay at Keylong.

Day 16 Early morning leave for Manali -District Kullu, from Keylong bus stand 7-8 hrs journey it passes through Rohtang pass.

Reach Manali bus stand stay at Manali you can visit Manu Temple ,Hidimba Temple,Ghatatkoch Temple.

By share taxi 20rs per seat, evening visit the Manali Mall road for shopping stay in hotel.

Way from Keylong to Manali via Rohatang Pass

Day 17 Visit Guru Vaishist Temple (Share vehicles at bus stand ) and proceed for Choj via Kasol -District Kullu by bus from Manali to Choj stay at Choj village.

Way from Manali to Choj

Day 18 Leave early morning to reach village Barshaini by bus from Choj to Manikaran and from Manikaran to Barshaini ( we had kept rest of our luggage in homestay –don’t carry heavy weight as trek is too long )

There are three routes to reach Kheerganga first is via Nakthan Village 13 km to kheerganga –take left turn from bridge shortest route and usually taken by trekkers. Second is via Kalga Village -17kms to kheerganga --take right turn from bridge it goes through dense forest ,not familiar route by trekkers.Third route is via Tosh Village

We did the Kheerganga trek by our self without any guide we were helped by Mr Bhushan—provides basic tents under name of Kheerganga hike--8219017235 --who suggested us route no 2 ie Kalga Village which passes through deep forest, but safe for us to travel as he knew we are just two people travelling ,this route is not much take by many trekkers. We see few signboards on the trees. When you reach the base village Barshaini you need to register yourself and they charge you 100 rs / head for the trek for usual route (Via Nakthan Village ) but when you go through forest route(Via Kalga Village ) they don’t charge you, you need to tell them that you are going to Kalga village and not Kheerganga .If you go on weekdays there won’t be any rush but yes on Saturday and Sunday you may get rush .Kalga village route has many waterfalls ,is scenic and adventurous .it took around 5 hrs nonstop to reach the top of Kheerganga campsite so always start the trek as early as possible so one reaches before it’s get dark enjoy the scenery, get fresh in natural waterfall , there are small shops of refreshments but still carry something to eat and drink esp dry fruit ,protein or energy bars , there are no animals in the jungle except dogs who accompany you during the trek.

Once you reach the campsite you will be served with evening snacks, dinner ,bon fire and next day morning snacks.

Day 19 Trek back to Barshaini 3-4 hrs trekking via Nakthan Village route on the way visit waterfall and Rudra nag Temple.

From Barshaini catch bus for Manikaran, at Manikaran visit Manikaran Gurudwara have lunch in the langar, visit Ram Temple ,catch bus for Choj and stay at Choj.

Day 20 Hire bike and visit Malana Village (village where they grow hashish—Malana village is called Greece of India ) or go to Chalal Village trek or one can enjoy river rafting at Kasol in Parvati lake.We Skipped due to time crunch .

Day 21 Leave early morning to leave for Banjar (Trithan Valley ) -District Kullu so catch bus which leaves you at Aut tunnel to catch another bus for Banjar. Stay at Banjar Heritage Valley Homestay ( Mr Bharti - 9418561327) nearby sight seeing at Gushaini like Sai Ropa Forest Complex (they also arrange for forest treks),Chhoie waterfall.

Day 22 Sight seeing at Trithan Valley,Jai Shringar Rishi ,Chaini Kothi ,Jalori Pass ,Serloskar Lake ,BijliMahadev Temple , Shoja ,Jibhi Waterfall.

Way to Serloskar Lake

Day 23 Leave for Mandi --District Mandi catch bus from Banjar till Aut tunnel and from Aut tunnel to Mandi

Mandi is also called as Chota Kashi as it has many temples. Visit temples and Gurudwara stay in Mandi.

Day 24 Proceed to Parashar Lake by bus from Mandi bus stand at 8 am which reaches Parashar Lake by 11 am enjoy at Parashar Lake catch same bus which is at 1 pm reaches Mandi by 5 pm visit remaining temples stay in Mandi.(We dropped the plan will cover next time while coming back from Leh via Manali new tunnel route—as we had just done with Kheerganga trekking as well Chandratal Lake).One can also do Parashar Lake trek from nearest base Village eg Baggi village through trekking tours or help of villagers.

Day 25 We visited few remaining temples in morning and than left for Palampur -District Kangra .Stayed at Palampur .

Day 26 Morning catch bus to Baijnath -District Kangra visit Baijnath temple,than catch bus for Andretta Pottery, visit Andretta Pottery and Museum ,opt to go to Bir Billing for Paragliding and then catch bus to Palampur collect luggage and leave for Dharamshala it takes around 4-5 hrs to reach Mcleodeganj.

Stay at Mcleodeganj, visit Dalai Lama Monastery and shop in the market.

Day 27 Sightseeing at Dharamshala District Kangra- below is list of places to be seen like

Namgyak monastery, Gyuto monastery, Cricket stadium, war memorial, Jwala devi temple , Tibetian Art Museum, Norbulingka Institute,

Places to visit in Mcleodganj

Kareri Dal lake ,Church of wilderness, Bhagsunag Temple , Bhagsunag Waterfall, Dalai Lama Temple.

Jwala devi Temple .

Monolith Masroor Rock Cut Temple.

We had golden opportunity to see and hear to His Holiness Dalai Lama so we dropped the plan of Sightseeing, than after his lecture we hired bike and went to see Masroor Rock Cut Temple which took around 2-3 hours to reach and than back we visited Dal lake ,Sun set point and Church of Wilderness.

Way to Monolith Masroor Rock Cut Temple , Dal Lake , ,Sun set point and Church of Wilderness.

Day 28 Leave early morning by 5 am for Dalhousie -District Chamba,as this is the only bus , reach Dalhousie or Banikhet by afternoon. Stay in Banikhet {Dalhousie Delight—8219206945/ 8219584831} get fresh have lunch and go to Dalhousie by bus visit Gandhi Chowk, Subhash Chowk ,Market and than catch return bus to Banikhet.

Way to Banikhet from Dharamshala

Day 29 Leave for Dalhousie Sightseeing by private vehicle it charges you around 2000 /day including petrol (was arranged by hotel owner )you cn also hire bike charges depend on which type of bike you hire plus petrol.

Places to visit in Dalhousie

Panchpulla and Sathdhara water falls –localites said that there is no use going as hardly there is water so we skipped Panchpulla and Sathdhara Waterfall.

Green valley-Selfie point

Daikund Peak

Kalatop

Khajjiar

Day 30 Sight seeing at Dalhousie you can visit Chamba.(We skipped it)

Day 31 Leave early by 7 am for Amritsar by bus(inquire about bus timing at bus stop previous day ) from Banikhet reach Amritsar in 5-6 hrs, get fresh have lunch visit Valmiki temple and Lav Kush Temple by local bus last bus from Valmiki temple to Durgiani Devi Temple at 6 pm ,visit temple proceed to Golden temple at night eat in langar. Stay at Amritsar

Day 32 Leave by 9 am visit Jalianwalabagh,Partition Museum(Closed on Monday and Public Holiday) , Golden Temple (all are in same premises) you can go by share rickshaw or bus, eat in langar also if possible give service in Golden Temple ,then proceed to Gobingarh fort by share rickshaw. Have Lunch proceed to Atari border by sharing rickshaw or private car , don’t go on weekends and public holidays as it’s too crowded ,you need to reach early to get seat,go at least 2 hrs early. Timings of parade differ in summer and winter season so kindly confirm and proceed. Night again visit Golden Temple do shopping and have Dinner. Stay in Amritsar.

Atari Border - FEEL THE JOSH

Day 33 Proceed to Jammu by train for Katra from Amritsar in morning reach Jammu by 2 pm ,have lunch at Dhaba near bus stand and from Jammu proceed to Katra ( by private or Government buses) reach Katra by 6 pm stay in Katra relax have dinner and than proceed for Vaishnodevi yatra ,but we did it the next day.

Day 34 Relax in the morning have lunch and than start your Vaishnodevi yatra by new road(Tarakote Marg ) it takes 3-4 hrs to reach top take new road take darshan visit Bhairavnath temple on the way if possible visit Ardhakumari (it needs prior booking ) get down by old road it takes around 2-3 hrs to reach the base.

Day 35 Proceed to Katra Railway station to come back to Mumbai reach Mumbai next day early evening.

Any help be free to

Whatsapp on 9870062428 or

email at dr_kamat@yahoo.com

Thank you