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Published: March 29th 2009
Shimla view from hotel
Houses on the slopes !May 2005 and this time it was Shimla, Kulu & Manali. Though I had seen snow and snow fall , my daughter was very particular to see snow clad peaks and enjoy the weather.
We then planned for this lovely trip to Shimla, Kulu & Manali. The starting point was Chennai. We flew down to Delhi and took the early morning Shatabdi express to kalka the last rail head to go to Shimla. There is a toy train running from kalka to Shimla but since it is too long a trip we took a cab to Shimla keeping in view of total holidays on hand.
It was around 11 am by the time we reached Shimla. The hotel Himdev where we had booked was perched at an higher altitude and the narrow road to the hotel was scary. We took some rest had good lunch and then set off for the evening local sight seeing. The road adjacent to the hotel leads to the shopping mall and then to the church on the top. Busy roads and market palce were typical of hill station.
ELEVATOR ON ROAD - THE MALL.
We walked up to the road end
The majestic Beas
Gushing waters of River Beas. Accompanying us all through the 8 hours journey ! and were surprised to see a lift being operated to reach the top most road of the mall. Perhaps this is the only place where a lift is used for public transport by the side of the road. We took a ticket to the top , around 10-12 persons per trip and the ticket is valid for return also. After we reached the top of the road we went around the shops displaying the wollen dress, toys, chains and lots of trinklets. We did buy some to give gifts to friends back at chennai. There was a bakery displaying varieties of cakes and buns. We got some cakes sat on the mall road corner and thoroughly enjoyed.
BRITISH LEGACY - VICEREGAL LODGE
The next day was also for the local trip .We started off with the visit to the Viceregal lodge which is the British period building, a massive structure with lovely sprawling lawn. The Viceregal Lodge is located on the Observatory hill at the western end of the Shimla ridge, its is a majestic, sprawling, grey-tinted structure ringed by tall pines. It was built in 1888 as the residence of Viceroy Lord Dufferin. Now called Rashtrapati Niwas,
The viceregal Lodge
The imposing structure. the Lodge houses the Indian Institute of Advanced Study (IIAS). It is quite befittingly the only building in Shimla that occupies a hill by itself !
It has a six storied building which is surrounded by beautiful lawns. It is said that every brick needed for its construction was carried by the mules. In addition to the beautiful lawns, it also has a botanical garden and a small cafe. Opposite to its entrance is the Himalayan Aviary. This building has a rain water harvesting system and the water is collected at a place and used for various purposes.
MONKEYS ALL THE WAY - JAKU TEMPLE
The next spot was the : "Jaku temple" which is the highest point in Shimla and the road which leads to the temple was damn frightening. It was such a narrow road uphill that the cab driver had to reverse the car every time he reaches a turn and while he was going back to gain some space to turn on the slope we were holding our breath as the sight below was deadly. We reached the temple and it was full of monkeys.
Kids were scared and every tourist is
Elevator on road
At the entrance of the lift required to take a long stick on hire to chase away the monkeys. We formed a line and I lead the group with the stick chasing away the monkeys when they came near, of course I was scared when they neared.Imagine the sight dozens of monkyes looking at you and you are trying to keep them away.
HILLS AND DALE - SHIMLA TO MANALI.
The best part of the trip was this 8 hour drive from Shimla to Manali. The temples on the way, the hot water spring at Vashisht kund, the vaishno devi Mandir, the hanging bridge, long tunnels, winding roads and overall a fanastic experience. The gushing river Beas was following us all the way. We also stopped over on the way brought some fresh strawberries from local road side vendor. It was a nice time at the banks of the river sitting on the rocks and relishing the fresh strawberriies.
We did stop over on the way for some shoping and for lunch at the " DHABA " a restaurant found in most of the highways in Northern India mainly for the travelling groups. The food was good. As it is prepared fresh normally
The jaku temple
Temple invaded by monkeys. it tastes good and we had a good lunch and were back on the track.
HOT WATER SPRINGS - BATH AT VASHISHT KUND
The hot water spring at the Vashisht kund was superb and we had a steaming batch here. We also saw some sadhus sitting along the temple rooms chatting with some foreign tourists. The temple was too good.
The long hanging dridge near the Hanogi devi Mandir was a break point where we halted for a hot tea and some snacks. We soon touched down Solang valley the fantastic lush green mountains slopes with the silver cascading rivers in between were a feast to the eyes. The sight was awesome and i did click some great snaps here as you can see in the blog.
SOLANG VALLEY - THE LOVELY VALLEY
A beautiful valley between Manali and Kothi which offers views of the glaciers and snow covered mountain peaks. The plateau is frequently used for holding camps by the trekking parties. The surrounding areas of Manali from 3 to 20 km. are suitable for rock climbing. The winter skiing festival is organised here as well as training in skiing is imparted at this
place. We also saw a groupd of persons on the top of the cliff preparing for a paraglide .Though I was tempted for a paragliding ride as the weatehr was rough we did not attempt this.
It was almost 6 pm by the time we made it to Manali.. The kids were eager as to who will spot the snow covered peaks at the first instant, very soon teh majestic snow capped lofty peaks were visible and the sight was thrilling.The hotel room at Sagar resorts was good and the view from the room we terrific as we could see a part of the range of the peaks.
The place Manali was named after the ancient lawmaker MANU. Natives of Manali believe they are descendants of Manu.
LOCAL SIGHT SEEING - TEMPLE AND GARDENS.
We spent one day at Manali visited the Hidimba temple an ancient temple dedicaetd to Ghadodgaja's wife.
Tried a bizon ride and a snap. Other places were the skating rink, gardens and buddhist monastery. The next day was for the ultimate and much awaited trip to Rohtang.
FREEZING COLD ANDTHE BLIZZARD - AT MARHI ON WAY TO ROHTANG
It was
At Hidimba temple.
The 1000 year old temple. the next day we were all getting ready for the thrilling trip to Rohtang. At an height of around 13,500 ft this was the highlight of the trip. We did equip ourselves with some hermal wear and sweaters to beat the cold. We set off at 8 am after breakfast and the climbing started and we could see the majestic snow peaks. The route was enchanting. We also took some jackets and fur coats on hire on the way as we were informed it will be freezing cold at the top. We halted at the falls on the way at Rohla falls.
ROHLA FALLS :
On way to Rohtang pass. If one goes to Marhi from Kothi from the old road, the sight of the falls is fascinating. It is a good picnic spot as well. We did spend some time here.
I clicked some snaps of the awesome location. The climb was steep with winding roads each of them opening to a lovely scenery at very turn of the road. An unforgettable experience.
MARHI : We made it to Marhi , a barren landscape offering extensive views of the valley and the mountains. 15 km.
short of the 13,050 feet high Rohatang Pass on the Manali-Leh road lies one of the most picturesque places in Manali region. This is a mountain plateau surrounded by lush green meadows strewn with myriad wild flowers. The place remains a stopover for transit visitors and tourists during summer and autumn seasons and a transit place for the people to wait for the ferocious weather to improve at Rohtang Pass to cross over to Lahaul and Spiti valley, during the winter months.
our van driver said he would prefaer to stay in the van and we can go around and come back for the further onward journey. He was not very friendly and just replied only to our questions We spent a good 45 minutes to one hour, playing in the snow, making a snow man perhaps the smallest snow mand made ever at this palce. We could not gather much snow as it was falling in to the sleeves of the jerkins and as such we were shivering.
The kids had a sledge ride and I made a sliding from the slope on a tyre and my wife was just watching us shivering as she was feeling
Snow man getting ready
Soft snow and the little snow man. too cold in spite of the clothing. The problem started now as we could feel the cold breeze and already we were freezing. The breeze intensified to a strong blizzard and we could feel the chill down the spine and breathing was becoming slightly diffficult. We then found we were quite away from the van where our driver was sitting pretty warm inside. We could not call him as the doors were closed and the wind was strong and it ws not a audible distance. I signalled all to assemble and to move to the van. The worst started as the cold breeze along with snow storm was almost pushing us down and I started worrying as to how all of us will ever reach the van. The weather was plumetting down to some where at 3-5 degrees The breathing was becoming more difficult. The snow under the feet was soft and our boots were sinking and making it more difficult to walk. This was a terrifying experience.
We made a chain and slowly started moving but all of us were gasping for breath, I tried to do deep breathing and also asked others to do so. I just
kept them engaged in some conversation to bring down the fear We manged slowly to reach the narrow path way . We then approached the tea shop at the corner and none of us could speak as we were trembling as I signalled for four tea's. We had the hot tea and there was a slight relief. We all had a big sigh of relief and it was indeed thrilling We ran towards the van. This was the second time I had tea immediatly after taking it off from the stove after I had at Badrinath as normally we wait for the heat to come down.
The further road to Rohtang was blocked with heavy snow fall and eight feet snow on road so we were not allowed further by the army. After settling down for warming up we were off on the road to climb down hill with an experience we would not forget for life time.
Though quite frightful at times it was a awesome experience and I would like to visit again and go to Rohtang Pass to cross over to Lahaul and Spiti valley the final point on this route.
Bye,
Ramz
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kiran
non-member comment
hy,
HY, MY NAME IS KIRAN AND YOUR FAMILY SNAP IS VERY BEUTIFUL. I HOPE YOU WILL ENJOY YOUR TRIP. THANK YOU BY BY HAPYY FAMILY