Why I love India #2 (or a funny thing happened to me on the way to the castle ruins!)

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End of March 2009: So as you do, I followed a tip given to me by some fellow travellers I had met in Madhya Pradesh (Om Kareshwar) - about a tiny village in Kulu District, Himachal Pradesh among the foothills of the Himalayas on the Indian side.

I only had a week left before I had to make my way back to Mumbai for my trip home - but the tip proved to be a gem. Jibhi is a village in the Bangar Valley in Kulu District - a couple of local bus trips up from the town of Aut. After settling in to the local guest house, I got into a pattern of starting my day walking 2klms up the narrow road alongside idyllic running streams - to a small eatery that catered for the daily bus meal stops at that spot. The family running this place made excellent stuffed paranthas (a flat bread which has had vegetable rolled into it) with dahi (curd) and pickles. This is the mainstay local breakfast and a very good one for the mountains.

From there I would do a walk - either higher up through the villages or searching for some place or other that my guest house owner had told me about.

On this particular day - my ‘plan’ was to find a castle ruin on a ridge that ran along from the high pass where the bus travelled over into the next valley. So after breakfast I took the bus for the 10 kilometre trip to the top of the pass. That cost me 10 rupees - a very simple pricing system in this part of the world, 1 rupee for every 1 kilometre travelled! How long does it take to travel 10 klms on these roads going up these hills? About 30 minutes to be sure! On a good day that is - when there are not too many buses or trucks coming down from the opposite direction - which means a manoeuvring game that one might think impossible on a road that hardly fits one vehicle alone.

So off I set. Now to my shame, I had no map or compass and certainly no mobile phone. However, not being a complete idiot - I did realise that there was a time factor in the mountains for this time of the year beyond which one must certainly be able to retreat back to lower climes or risk being clouded in and possibly caught off guard with inclement weather (by about 3.30 or 4 in the afternoon). So setting off at about 11, I knew I could afford to walk at least 2 hours before I either had to turn back to get back to the pass in time OR have an alternate escape route from the higher altitude.

Now the thing about Indian tracks is in these parts is this: while you can just about make out the track and stick to it - when you get to an open grassed area (which happens every so often) - there are at least a dozen possible tracks leaving that area in many directions and of course NO signage saying “this way to the castle ruins” (as if!).

So I decided to a) use my intuition = first mistake and b) trust that I could actually find the same way back = quite a degree of trust.

There was a great moment on the way when I looked back to the north east and had a quite clear view (not common for this time of year) of several of the Himalayan peaks in full glory - something that really does take the breath away! So I thought - if nothing else this alone has made my day!

After walking for about an hour and half and still no sign of any castle ruins - I knew I had a decision to make about what to do next. I was not really enamoured with the prospect of retracing my tracks and I was so sure (from looking at a map before I left the guest house and from logic !!! about the fact that the bus goes down somewhere after crossing the pass where I got off) that the valley I spied from on high must be the next valley across from Jibhi and that I would be able to intercept the road down from the pass and catch a return bus home.

Suffice it to say that after another 40 minutes I had made the decision to descend into this new valley - I could see signs of civilisation way down below and even what I was sure must be a main road!

Then - not far down the slope - I hear a heavy ‘tap tap tap’. I follow the sound and there high in a tree is village woman chopping branches off for firewood! What she was doing this far from civilisation I have no idea.

Now - lesson number one that someone who has travelled at all ought to have known: Never ask someone in a remote place a question that might have importance that requires a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’ answer!

Pointing down to the new valley I ask “Road to Jibhi? Bus going to Jibhi?”. Guess what - she said “yes”. AND I took it as reliable affirmation!

So on and on I descend. It’s amazing how distances can fool one in the mountains looking down. What I though was a village on the valley floor was in fact a remote village perched atop a ridge a very long climb up from the valley floor!

However - the really great discovery walking down towards this village was coming across the most amazing small Hindu temple perched high above the valley (picture supplied). I stopped dead in my tracks at the sight - just beautiful.

I am pretty sure that the village I then walked through might not have very often if at all had a western visitor (not to say they were not familiar with the world as they had electricity and TV and who knows - probably the internet!).

I walked about 18 kilometres that day - down and down and down then only to be told by some locals that ‘no’, that was NOT the road to Jibhi - in fact that road really gets very little traffic and certainly not a bus. I walked down a river valley until I did reach a junction where there was a bus coming. I then made it back to a totally strange place (called Ani) where I lodged for the night (having finally arrived there at about 8pm). I made an instant friend in the local eatery who had enough English for us to have some good conversation about this that and the other - I had a meal there and returned the next morning for breakfast. He also assisted me to locate the only guest house in town.

Now I was concerned that Rana - my guest house owner - would worry about my safety - but I also failed to bring with me his mobile number and had no luck finding his number through any organised form of directory assistance (actually I don’t think it exists in India??). I did recall that he had a website - so I was able to ring Raj (my friend in Mumbai) and ask him to look it up and ring Rana and tell him I was fine and would be back the next day. Unfortunately Rana had not kept the site up to date and the number had changed!

So by the time I wondered back into Jibhi having caught a bus from Ani the next morning - Rana was just about to call the police for a search! Yes - I felt foolish about it all but….

I did have a really great day - a fantastic adventure - was able to just adapt (having at least had the foresight to take enough cash with me for buses and lodgings and meals) AND found the most beautiful Hindu temple tucked away in the Himalayan foothills.

This is why I love India.

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Photos

Himilayan Hindu Temple - Kulu
This is the temple I stumbled upon on my descent from the mountain on the day I got lost!

Remote village high on a ridge
A scene in the village I passed through on my descent the day I got lost

Comments

[Sunshine]

Gotta love the logic
Love it - love the unfolding of this story with a beautiful gift nestled in the middle in the way of a temple. And the logic and self deprecation in a warm and funny way. Slightly reminiscent of bush walks and assurances of water at the top etc but always optimistic - thanks xx