Blasting? Shouldn't that say "Road Closed"?

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Well, I finished up the internship and Keif and I decided to head for Himachal Pradesh, another state in the Himalayas. We made it to Shimla, a famous hill station with relics of the British in the architecture and open walking malls. It is a really interesting area perched on top of the hills and Keif is happy because there are bizarre looking yaks that you can ride through the mall.
After spending a day in Shimla we decided to rent a car and driver and head up the Indo-Tibetan highway into the Kinnaur Valley to see more of the Himalayas. We had read that the road in parts was a little scary, but it didn't sound terrible.
It turns out the road is TERRIBLE. This was due to landslides, construction, and blasting, though none of this is common knowledge before you begin the trip - you learn it all along the way. When we were three quarters of the way there and going along a one lane strip of road cut into the side of a cliff 2,000 feet above the bottom of a gorge I commented to Keif "Surely this must be the worst section of this road." But, c'mon folks...this is India....I was sooooooooo wrong. The road got much worse, I will spare you the details (mostly because I don't want to think about it all again) but suffice it to say that a 7 hour trip took 11 hours, we needed a tow, I shed some tears and Keif hardly said a word for hours....yeah, it was that bad.
Apparently though, the worse the road the more beautiful the valley. We ended up in the little village of Sangla with beautiful mountain views near the border with Tibet. The people who live there - both Kinnauri people (an ancient Aryan tribe with their own dialect) and Tibetans, were incredibly friendly and we had a really nice time. There were quaint houses built from slate and wood, orchards all around, and some interesting Hindu and Buddhist temples.
We stayed for two nights but got a little nervous when it started snowing our last night in town. I just kept thinking that with even the smallest amount of snow or rain the roads were likely to slide clear off the mountian (which apparently they do from time to time). Fortunately, things cleared up and we were able to get out of the valley with the help of our incredible driver, Preetham. We took him to be a very devout Hindu - we stopped at temples along the way and he would honk at the ones we couldn't stop at!
So, after making it out of the Sangla valley, we headed to Sarahan, a village with a famous Hindu temple. It turns out the Bhimakali temple is famous because they used to do human sacrifices there...a little creepy. I couldn't stop thinking about Indiana Jones. The valley was beautiful with more views of the Himalaya and we were able to relax a bit more knowing the worst of the roads were behind us. So, we are hanging out in Shimla before heading to McLeod Ganj for the Dalai Lama's annual teachings. More soon!

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Photos

Need we say more?
No...but we will...this was the safest part of the road the entire trip. Scary eh?

Goat man
Probably a much better way to travel on the Indo-Tibetan Highway!

Sangla Valley
View from the temple courtyard.

Sangla architecture
Some slate roofed houses in Himachal Pradesh style.

Bhimakali Temple
Sarahan's famed temple.

Himalayan views
From the deck of our hotel!

Big ol' Dosa
Blythe wondering how we will finish the three foot long masala dosa Keif just ordered.

Comments

[E]

Dude....sick.