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Published: January 22nd 2015
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I was hoping to see the same enthusiasm in my fellow travellers who had come from all over the Country to embark on this mystical journey with me. Another aspect of traveling that I look forward to is interacting with people who are in the same boat as you, carrying stories with them and somehow wired similarly to you. The bonds you develop with people you meet on your travels is profoundly strong. It's so overwhelming to see how you just assimilate yourself with people so effortlessly without any facade and layers of pretence. You learn and discover so much together and even individually, you realise you are so much more than just what you think you are which otherwise you cannot get to know half as much in your ordinary mundane life.
I was introduced to my Tour Leader and to a few of the other co-travellers who were in the same Tour as me and I got a positive vibe. We started off from New Delhi in the evening around 6 p.m in our Volvo Bus. It was an overnight journey to Manali and enroute, we stopped at a few places for our tea/coffee and for attending nature's
Enroute Tandi
Brown and arid mountain slopes on the northern side of Rohtang Pass. call. We reached Manali, the next morning at around 7 a.m and our Hotel around 9 a.m. The hotel that we stayed in that is Hotel Rishi Palace was situated a bit off main Manali, away from the hustle bustle of the tourists, the market and the mall. It was an idyllic location...nestled between the hills, drowned in tranquility and nature personified. And all this while, only one thought was consuming me. That was catching a glimpse of the rugged vast expanse of the humongous mountains in myriad colors overlooking from every corner, every side as if almost taking in on us. I couldn't wait to start off the journey the next morning at 3 a.m. From Manali onwards, it was a new hurdle to overcome every day. We were to cover the journey to Leh in two days by breaking the journey at Jispa for an overnight stay. We were told by our Tour Leader that it could take us more time depending upon the weather conditions (it's pretty unpredictable, trust me), damaged stretches of roads, water crossings due to glacier melts and occasional landslides. But we were not complaining a tad bit because the real fun lies in
Tandi Village
Confluence of the Chandra and the Bhaga River which merge to form Chenab. the journey itself and the breath catching scenery and not-even-thought-of surprises should be savoured leisurely.
Passing the cold winds and a little snow, we were en route Rohtang la, the first pass that we crossed at 13,050 ft. What we noticed thereafter was, as we continued our journey along the Leh-Manali Highway, soon after we got past Rohtang Pass, the landscape changes, the greenery disappears and the mountains on the other side become brown and arid. It was a pretty smooth ride up until now. All of us were on a photography spree trying to capture every frame and the transformation. We were just a couple of miles away from Jispa past Tandi and Keylong.
We reached Jispa (second pit-stop after Manali), a very small village in Lahaul district and checked into our Hotel Padma Lodge around noon. Jispa Valley made for a very pretty picture, straight out of a canvas and flanked by mesmerising Himalayan mountains. It offered excellent food and a very decent and clean accommodation. By the time we reached, most of us had passed out. Whereas, a few of us including myself explored the village sometime later in the evening accompanied by our Tour
Leader on foot. What we discovered was that the village consisted of only about some 23 families, had vast expanse of good juniper plantation and a big camping ground. We were also told by our Leader that since Jispa is located on the bank of Bhaga River, sufficient fish can also be caught in the river during summers. Later in the night, post dinner, we did a bonfire, chit chatted, exchanged notes and prepared ourselves for the rest of the journey the next day, over french fries and chicken tikkas. Whereas, the boys from our group and some other group bonded over Black Dog. Men will always be men.
The next morning, we started at 5 a.m. Surprisingly, I was the first amongst all to get ready on time with my bags packed. This is what dreams do to a person who had never witnessed early mornings in her life as early as 5 a.m save maybe only for a couple of times in her 29 years. You meet a person you've never met before. The rest of the journey, as we were told, was only going to get tougher on us, from hereon...
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Wonderstruck
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Good travelogue
Nice pictures, well articulated. Looking forward to know how you guys underwent the acclimatization process...