The serence place Kalpa in Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh had been unknown to many people. Kalpa is a fascinating blend of nature beauty and icing mountains. I travelled by our bike and the bags,cameras and tripod were tied at the back of the our Enfield. I visited Kalpa in the month of January and Delhi was experiencing shivering cold and fog. Such climate always excite the travellers and it is no bad time to ride in the morning. No doubt, the fog lightened the vision and we went through the roads with no visibility but as the time passed, the fog got clearer. The windy roads with headsets on was breathtaking. Our first hault was Saithi Dhaba, Chandigarh and we reached around 12pm. One of the finest dhabas to refresh and have Aloo parantha with hot tea. The prices were not too high and it was attractive enough to relax and take your good pictures. The real ride towards the mountains started and we were in Shimla around 3pm. Riding bike in the mountains of Himachal makes you witness inexplicable views and many haults where you can stop by and enjoy the views and capture them in your camera. We booked a hotel in Shimla for Rs 800 by OYO but always book your hotel in the outer area. The shivering nights and the hotel view kept us awake but the bike rides makes you tired and we drifted off into deep slumber at 2am as we had to leave from Shimla towards Kalpa in the morning at 6am.
A new day in the laps of the mountains had new thrilling experiences for us but it went way quite far. We were gojng through the weather forecast and snowfall was expected in Kinnaur and Kalpa from evening so we had to leave our bike in Shimla and continued our journey by HRTC bus. The journey started at 6am in the morning from Old bus stand to catch the bus costing Rs450 per person only for Reckong Peo. The scary trench, the cold breeze, the sun rise, sounds of the mountains, the river and the wondrous climate were breathtaking. Travelling by HRTC is very safe because of the government drivers who are well trained .We were accompanied by not ony the beautiful views but also, the beautiful hearts accompanying us. We reached Reckong Peo at 5pm in the evening. Reckong peo is a small village with very few people and shops. The moment you step down onto the streets, all you have our huge mountians enveloped with snow. We had our dinner and you can find momoz,chowmein and few snacks there in the market. My brother had been to the place 2 times before, so we stayed in Snow view hotel but I wouldn't reommend anybody staying there as it was too unhygienic. But I had a beautiful brief fling with the moon at night. My eyes couldn't believe the beauty of the moon. The mountains were shining white and the moon was just in between them. The clouds were radiating ligthts too. The view was inexplicable. As I had been to many places but I had never seen such beauty ever before. We slept at 11pm in the night as we had to take our journey to the next desitnation, Kalpa.
In the morning, we woke up to the rays of the sun in Peo. We called up the hotels of Kalpa but all were closed as there was no availability of water. The frozen water made them shut their hotels. Nevertheless, we decided to reach Kapla and see if anything could be done or else would leave for way back home in evening. As Reackong Peo is a small village, the bus stand was few foot steps away. You can find the buses to Kalpa in every 15 minutes. Kalpa is 7kms away from Reckong Peo. The wait for the bus made me capture more clicks as a souvenir. The houses, the roads and the trees were covered with snow. It was a snow land. Finally, we reached Kalpa, the snow land. It was silent with no human around. It was freezing cold in the morning at 11 am. I was cradled in the arms of snowy mountains. Kalpa doesn't have many things to do but it has got many areas to uncover around many corners. I was flabbergasted by witnessing the plants enveloped in ice and could see frozen plants. The ones hunting for a serene place should definitely visit. One must visit We played with the snow, clicked pictures and most importantly I savoured hours to go into the deep thoughts with myself. The snow land, Kalpa is a must visit place but not on sundays as no buses are available on Sundays. The snow fall could start any moment and we were stuck with no availability of vehicles. I am thankful to the two travellers from Delhi who came to our aid and dropped us to our hotel in Reckong Peo. We reached Peo safely and could feel the wondrous climate which could receive snow fall any moment. We waited for hours for snow fall so that we could extend our trip as I have never witnessed snow fall. The far green mountains of Kalpa turned into white as Kalpa received snow fall and Peo was next. We waited till 7 pm in the evening but had to leave without witnessing snowfall. But I cannot end my experience without praising the beauty of Recokong Peo, Kalpa and the beautiful souls residing there.
Wrapping up the trip was our last day in the mountains, Himachal Pradesh. We reached Shimla at 3am at night and booked a hotel in Shimla. In the morning,we picked our bike from the hotel and started our ride to home. The sun was shining bright and we had our first halt with one of the amazing views. We had maggie and hot tea and down the mountains were beautiful small mountains radiating warmth. The smooth-small roads with river on one side were the icing on the cake. The view and the trip was vibrant, yet silent.
