Mumbai-Chandigarh-Narkanda
After planning for more than a year, waiting to get a job start earning and go for a roadtrip of a lifetime. #DreamComeTrue.
15th August, 2019 We had booked our flights from Mumbai to Chandigarh.
Our first stop being Narkanda for the day.
We were to start our journey towrads Narkanda at 12pm but since the zoomcar fucked up with our bookings we were running 3 hours late.
Reached Narkanda at only around 11pm. There was nothing much we could do that day.
There were 10 of us for the trip, spent the night knowing a bit about each other, not getting awkward around the others.
Narkanda-Chitkul
Morning views from the balcony 😍, away from the city hustle and bustle, calm, serene. One of the most peaceful mornings, woke up without the alarm and not lazing on the bed. Never felt this fresh in the longest time. Today we planned on reaching Chitkul before sunset.
However, our tire was flat early in the morning. Didn't take much time to fix it. On our way we went to the Hattu temple first. Fog all around, pleasant weather and people you want around you.💕 This was the best combination anyone could ask for. Next we went to the Padam palace which we saw from the outside since it was private and entry restricted inside the palace. Beautiful architecture. The day was long and the weather not on our side. Though we didn't face any problems but it was raining quite a bit. It was post sunset and we hadn't reached Chitkul yet. A self driven car, no sight of what lay ahead and an unknown terrain, no situation on our side.
We crossed a stream late at 7pm near Chitkul, still no sight of the tiny village. We reached Chitkul by 8pm, thanking our stars that nothing went wrong. We missed out the view on the way.
Had an amazing dinner at the hotel. We could hear the river flow by the side but no sight since there were no street lights and was pitch dark. Slept in those cozy rooms with the sound of the river. We don't get a chance like this in the cities.
Chitkul-Kalpa
Waking up when in the mountains isn't a difficult task. You feel fresh whenever you wake up. We got ready and went for a small hike by the Bhaspa Riverfront. And mahn! The view is to die for 💕 waking up early and going for the hike was totally worth it. Spent a good hour taking pictures and just soaking in the calmness and peace. Later we went back to the hotel had our breakfast and left for the India Tibet border check post. It wasn't just a check post, you could see the entire tiny last village on the India Tibet border from the check post. We spoke to 2 of the jawans on the border, they looked soo happy. Speaking to them we realized that staying in metros is like only running. Behind trains, money and sometimes from your own life. We left for our next destination Kalpa. The view that we missed the previous day, we could now see it in the day light. We stopped by a small stream to fill our bottles and some photography. The journey on all days was different. Different landscapes but only one thing remained constant. I.e. The smiling local people.
We reached Kalpa a bit early. Went to the Kalpa Monastery later had some momos and checked in our hotel. Our hotel had a Mt Kinnar Kailash View from the windows. We spent that evening playing cards, video calling few of our friends and family, showing them the view. Unfortunately due to bad weather we couldn't go to the much hyped Sucide point near Roghi village. However God had other plans. We called it a night post the heavy, mouth watering dinner. Also decided to start early the next day because the roads that lay ahead were the declared most dangerous/treacherous roads in the world.
Kalpa
One of our friend woke up as early as 5:30 since it was raining way too heavily the entire night. All of us woke up got ready within 30mins had scrumptious breakfast and left for Tabo. The Kinnaur roads are the most treacherous in the whole world. The roads till spello are bad, there are shooting stones in this stretch. It was still raining, the weather hadn't cleraed but still we decided to ho ahead. There was news of Manali being flooded, roads to various places in Himachal shut, snowfall in kaza and chadrataal (Our destination). Despite all of this we were determined. As soon as we started on the NH 22 we could see shooting stones in front of us, we all had our hearts in our mouths. Still we didn't return. After a few kms the cars ahead of us took a turn and also adviced us to return back to Kalpa because of landslides at 3 places. We moved a bit ahead, the rains didn't stop, shooting stones continued and cars were returning back. We called our hotel co ordinator, the Disaster Management of Kinnaur and also spoke to a few other cars and locals. Everyone was of the same view and said the roads would only clear the next morning if the rains stop. We took a turn went back to Reckong Peo. We coordinated with the person booking our hotels, he shifted our booking from Tabo to an additional day in Kalpa. We passed our time having hot chai, speaking to the locals around and also went to the Sucide point which we had missed the previous day. An additional day wasn't wasted because we got to see the much hyped suicide point and also clicked touristy pictures. The 5 of the other people checked in the hotel and the remaining 5 went to search for momos since we weren't satisfied with the one that we had the previous day. And yess! We found the satisfying momos near the Recong Peo bus stand. By sunset we reached our hotel discussed the way forward since our itinerary had been disturbed. And one thing that we learnt that day was never to have an itinerary or a plan when in the mountains. With every turn there are surprises!
Ended the day with a chat and also found an experienced local driver who was driving till Tabo. We were sorted for the next day. Also one more advise: Always start early in the mountains. We ended the night with some astro photography, by then the weather had cleared, moon was shining bright and we could also see a fresh layer of snow on the Kinnaur Kailash Range. What a beautiful sight that was💕
Kalpa-Khab-Gue-Tabo
We started from Kalpa at 7am not knowing where we'd reach today. The disaster management had informed us that the roads would be clear by afternoon. We joined the other local driver on the NH 22. We could go uptill a point and all the cars were in a queue, the landslide hadn't been cleared but we were informed that the JCB was on its way. We went upto the point, spoke to a few people standing there since midnight, spoke to HRTC drivers and a few hours later the road was cleared. Everyone was happy, we were going to our next destination (Not sure which one, but yaya!)We halted at the Khab bridge for lunch. There's a small dhaba 'Sangam Dhaba' by the bridge. We could see the sangam/confluence of sutlej and Spiti river. They serve simple yet yummy food. The couple owning this small joint are ever smiling and would also give you the details about the bridge, the confluence and ask you'll to enjoy the scenery till the food is ready. We further reached the Gue Monastery.Gue is one of the most isolated village of Spiti, lying very close to the border of Tibet, about 50km from the Tabo Monastery. This Village is famous for 550-year-old mummified monk locally called as 'Mummy of Lama'.
The legend has it that the lama was sitting and meditating when he got trapped in an avalanche. He was discovered thousands of years later when the construction for the post led to digging of the spot. Legend also has it that his nails and hair keep growing. It was the time for the sun to set, again we were late to reach Tabo. We reached tabo post sunset. We spoke to the person in charge there and a few other people. Everyone said that the roads to Kaza and Chandrataal were shut due to snowfall. Even the Manali Chandigarh roads were shut due to flooding. After staying at Kalpa we decided to take one day at a time, not thinking or planning for the further trip. We had our dinner and went of to sleep post our gossip and cards session. Everyone had bonded quite well untill then as if we knew each other since a very long time.
Tabo-Kaza-Hikkim-Langza-Komic-Kaza
Early morning at 7 we visited the Tabo Monastery. The monastery could be seen from our hotel balcony. Unlike other monsateries, tabo was lying at the foot of the hills and not on the top. Tabo Monastery, also known as the 'Ajanta of the Himalayas,' is one of the most popular monasteries in the Lahaul and Spiti Valley and was founded more than a millennium back in 996 A.D. The temple complex of this monastery is declared a national historic treasure of India and is looked after by the Archaeological Survey of India. The vibes in a Monastery are very peaceful and positive. All your stress is gone. You can hear yourself. After spending about an hour and half here we went back to the hotel for breakfast. We later left for Kaza. The roads to kaza had luckily opened but were in a very bad condition due to the rainfall. In the middle of nowhere our car tires got stuck and we couldn't move. We asked for help from a couple of locals and a few bikers from Jharkand were quite sweet to come offer their help. Within 30mins we successful got the tires out and thanked everyone for their help. 2 of the locals joined us since they were going to Kaza. We chatted with them throughout the journey. They were generous enough to offer green peas freshly plucked from their farms. And I haven't tasted such tasty, sweet, big and fresh green peas in my entire life. We dropped them at the entrance of Kaza. We checked in our hotel, had our lunch and left for Hikkim, Langza and Komic.
We bought a few postcards to be sent to our own house and a few friends. Postmaster Rinchen Chhering has been running the operations since its inception in 1983. This is the world's highest post office at an elevation of 4400m.
We further moved towards Langza Gompa. And the view is breathing, you can see the statue from a distance and you feel all the positivty. After spending some time there. We went towrads Komic which is the world's highest village connected with a motorable road at a height of 4587m. We reached Kaza before sunset and went to the market for souvenir shopping and just soaking in the positive mountain vibes. Came back at the hotel had our dinner and went of to sleep.
The day was perfect! Different landscapes and the happiness of reaching to the heart of Spiti despite all the difficulties. The trip was offering us more than we had asked/planned for. We were more than satisfied with all the thrill and adventures we found in the mountains.
Kaza-Key-Kibber-Kunzum-Chandrataal
The day was long, the roads bad(Infact no roads) The rains had made the conditions worse. However we were determined to go ahead and were ready to face it all. We got a day less at Kaza as per itinerary but we didn't regret a bit. Already making plans of coming back again in another extreme season. We went to the key Monastery, On one side is the magnanimous Himalayas and on the other side lies the Spiti river valley set at the backdrop of snow-capped Himalayas. The Key village and it's lush green farms nestled on the banks of river gives a majestic treat for your eyes! It is the largest Monastery in the valley. We went at a time when the lamas were chanting and we were mesmerized, we were lost in the chants creating a positive aura, forgetting our worries, leaving the wordly desires outside the four walls. It was one of a kind experience. We didn't know how time passed. We left for kibber after a while. Kibber is the photogenic hamlet of Spiti and a wildlife sanctuary housing many snow-dwelling animals such as Ibex, Blue Sheep, Red Fox, Tibetan Woolly Hare, Himalayan Wolf, Lynx, Pika, Tibetan Wild Ass, and Snow Leopard.
On our way was the Chicham bridge, an engineering marvel connecting the Chicham Village to Kibber. It is the highest bridge in Asia at a staggering height of 13596 ft. We clicked a few mainstream touristy pictures on the bridge and went further towards Chandrataal. We also halted somewhere in the middle of a beautiful river. All the glacier melted was so cold and blue you could stand there all day looking at the river flow and hear the soothing voice. We had our lunch in a small village. We also crossed the Kunnzum pass, one of the highest motorable mountain passes at an altitude of 4552m. It lies on the eastern Kunzum range of the Himalayas. Kunzum la offers a 360 degree view of the Bara Shigri Glacier (The 2nd longest glacier in the world)
We finally reached our campsite late afternoon. Checked in and left for Chandrataal lake. As soon as we reached the check post the person told us it was too late. However, after convincing him he let us. We couldn't take our cars up because of low clearance and bad conditions. But we convinced the local riding the 4x4 Bolero to give us a ride. He agreed for 200 bicks per person and we didn't regret as the ride was all worth it. An open jeep is the last thing we asked for in the trip. And we had tick marked our wishlist😎
The short hike from the point where the jeep left us was quite a mysterious one. For the pre dominant duration of the hike, you don't see the lake at all. Just the last bend when you come over a small ridge you see the lake emerge in front of your eyes in its full entirety; and it's a breathtaking sight. Makes you want to sit down and take a few deep breaths so you can soak it all in. We returned down to the check post post sunset and we could see the stars already. Crystal clear sky and stars wherever you look. We could see the milky way. We also clicked a few pictures and called it a night.
Chandrataal-Batal-Manali
We woke up around 6:30 and we were all freezing, the temperatures for sure must have dipped down to negative single digits for there was a layer of ice created on our car windows and even the bike seats. We woke up to an amazing view and an amazing weather. We had had our tea and left for Manali. We weren't sure of the roads as the conditions were worse out near Chandrataal because of snow a couple of days back. There were no proper trails only stones big and small and we had to make our own way and go. It was difficult but at the same time a thrilling experience driving through no roads and streams. The water levels kept on increasing as the sun moved towards a 90 degree, making the journey more long and difficult. By now we had seen it all and weren't afraid of any situation, we had no network for 3 days and we all were fine and enjoying each other's company through all the adventure. We reached Batal and stopped by the Chandra Dhaba for a hot cup of tea. We all knew the day was a bit longer than any other day and were prepared to face it with all that we had. We reached the Rohtang pass by late afternoon and were thankful we could make it till here safely. We could see other cars and people after 2 days of empty trails and hardly sign of any vehicles. We stopped by a small joint for some food after crossing the Rohtang pass. We reached our hotel post sunset and went for a stroll at the famous Mall Road at Manali. Had the last plate of momos for the trip and satisfied ourselves with fingerlicking good momos. Called it a night at the bustling and the much commercialized town of Manali.
Manali-Chandigarh
Woke up early as usual went to the Hidimba temple which was at a walking distance from our hotel. Located amidst the snow-covered hills of Manali, the Hadimba Temple is a unique shrine dedicated to Hidimba Devi, who was the wife of Bhima and mother of Ghatothkach. Surrounded by gorgeous cedar forests, this beautiful shrine is built on a rock which is believed to be in the image of goddess Hidimba herself. The construction style of the Hidimba Devi temple is entirely different from that of any of the other temples, with its wooden doorways, walls, and cone-shaped roof.
Went back to the hotel and had our last cup of tea in the mountains.
Left for Chandigarh, bidding adieu to the mountains with a promise to come back, to a great memorable trip with all possible adventures and thrill. Thanking god and the mountains to bring us back safely. Ahhh! I miss it already 😭
Booked ourselves in an OYO room for 5000 for 10ppl. Had our last dinner at Domino's because everything else was shut.
Chandigarh-Mumbai
Took a 11:30am flight to Mumbai, our parents waiting for us like Jaya Bacchan waited for Shahrukh in K3G. Tears of happiness of seeing her children back. Had ghar ka khana and how can I forget it was our Dad's 50th Birthday that day is the reason it was even more important to reach on the same day.
Ganpati Bappa Morya 🙏💕
