Barot is 110kms away from Dharamshala. So, we rented our gorgeous Dhanno (Thunderbird Royal Enfield) for 3 days starting Friday night, packed some clothes, some eatables on Friday night. The next morning, 9th January 2021, we started from Gamru at 9.00 am sharp because, it takes at least 4 hours(mind it, I am saying at least) to cover 110kms with a bike on mountain roads.
I must say the scenes I saw on entering Barot were literally jaw-dropping!.. Down, I could see the river flowing with green mountains beside it. While my poor friend was busy dealing with bad roads and driving carefully. I kept staring and grasping the scenery on my side and taking videos!
It was around 4.30 pm when we finally saw some luxury camps downside and decided to stay there. There is a very steep road to go down to the camp. The reason to stay in the camp was obvious; just behind the camp, the mighty Uhl river flowed! We booked the beautiful camp for Rs.2200 for two days; all the camps were empty so we had the freedom to choose any tent.
For the first time in my life, I woke up to the sound of real chirping of birds and the heavenly sound of the river flowing in Barot! It was around 7.40am in the morning ; going washroom is a difficult task in cold places ,right? Anyways, we had a washroom in our tent but the water was too cold to brush teeth. There was another common bathroom outside which had a hot water tap. I came out with my brush, went by the side of the river, thanking God for letting me travel to such beautiful heavenly place Barot.
We decided to visit the Lapas waterfall which is just 6km away from Barot after breakfast.To reach the waterfall, you can go till Lapas village with your vehicle, beyond it its just a 1km easy trek. But , the road is much worse than that of Barot. At one point, I was so scared that I thought of walking till the village. Also , we weren’t able to see proper road. But fortunately, a local came with his car and guided us till Lapas village. Himachal local are skillful Khatro k Khiladi ! I couldn’t spot the road and he casually drove away through the muddy road in front of us.
We proceeded for the waterfall and seeing the views ,my adrenaline pumped and I was literally hopping like a kid there. The trail was hardly 8.00m and we could hear the sound of the waterfall. I was beyond happy to see the waterfall and absolutely clean water flowing through the rocks. We clicked photos, sat there quietly for quite long , just watching the river. All those scenes.. I had just seen them in the mobile wallpapers ,and couldn’t believe the beauty of that place. Unwillignly , I had to leave the place and proceeded to go back.
The bonfire was lit at the camp till the time we returned. One camp worker entered with a guitar. He was the silent and youngest among all. As he began playing and singing, I got goosebumps. There was a pin drop silence; everyone was watching him play.He sang so well that the atmosphere completely changed at the campus. Everyone just left their work and listened to his voice. Just imagine , the chilly night, the bonfire and a guitar with a sweet voice.. what else would you want to call it a perfect Camping!!
The guitar was the best surprise for us in Barot. The next day we started early by 7.40am and bid goodbye to the beautiful place and the beautiful people that we met there.
To know about the full story and the hurdles that we faced and some important points that you need to take care of, you can visit my blog here .