The enchanting drive to Chitkul

"You can go to Chitkul tomorrow", said Bishnoi, the manager at Banjara Camps. "The drive is very scenic". He turned out be 100% right and probably more. It was an enchanting drive with the scenery changing constantly and you gasping for breath after seeing so much beauty at one place.

The early morning tea was something all of us welcomed given the cold weather. The tea is served outside under a large tent. We met people once again and most of them were going to Chitkul. Infact, _all_ of them were going to Chitkul. After breakfast we started our drive leisurely.

The car climbed up from the camp site and joined the main road. Initially you get no clue of what is in store for us. The scenery remains unchanged for the first few kilometers. Then slowly you see that you are travelling on a very narrow road which curves around the mountain and far below you pure white water of Baspa river runs over the rocks. As you are enjoying this scenery you reach the small village of Racham and the scenery suddenly becomes more beautiful by a large factor (if there is some way to measure the beauty of a scene).

The narrow valley through which Baspa has been running suddenly widens up and lets you experience the vastness of this area. In front of you is the wide valley and all around the gigantic mountains. As you stand there staring at the scene, you get the same feeling when you stand alone and stare at the stars on a clear night. You are encompassed by vastness on all sides and you realize that nature can be overpowering. I asked the driver to stop and we got out and took some pictures. There was no way that any wide angle lens would do justice to what I was experiencing but it is always good to capture some memories for future 'chewing of the cud'.

The road further was equally beautiful. Suddenly coniferous trees started appearing and with them appeared round white boulders. It was fascinating to see so many boulders strewn around. Added to this were the streams which ran over these boulders forming tiny waterfalls. At one place the water stream was running on the road for some length. Gayathri and the kids were sure that they wanted to stand in the waterfall and wet their feet on the way back, little realizing that it was not an option !!

After some time, the trees disappeared. We were in barren land with the mountains around us barren and with lot of boulders and small stones all around us. The beauty of the scene made us stop again and take some photos. The wide area strewn with white round rocks, the distant barren mountains some of them covered with snow, the deep blue sky with a fluffy cloud or two, everything seemed to be made only for photographers. It was difficult to move away from the beauty but as they say 'Woods are lovely, dark and deep'. I guess you know the rest :)

We then reached the village of Chitkul. On this side of Himachal, this is the last village. Three kilometers from here is the last Indian outpost, which is manned by the Indo Tibetian Border Force. After that, when you cross the mountains, you get into Tibet.

The car stops at Chitkul and we need to trek for 3kms to reach the last place that you can go as far as Himachal is concerned. We started walking and the sky started turning dark. The air was gathering water and rushing all around. I met a local old man as I was walking and we started talking.

Old Man: You enjoying youself here
Me: Yes. The scenery is wonderful
Old Man: You should come a few months later. This whole area will be green and it looks even more magical !!

(Well, those who have kids whose school starts in June cannot think of going anywhere during the months June to Aug. All you can do is to imagine how much more beautiful this area would be in those months !!)

The old man had a Pomeranian dog. Needless to say Ranjani and Harini immediately went and patted the dog and took photos with it.

By this time the sky was fully dark and a light drizzle had started. We had no option but to return back to some shelter. We were each wearing one sweater and we had no spare. If that got drenched we were in serious trouble. So we rushed back to where our car was parked and took shelter in a small shop which was selling almost anything. The rain had intensified and those who had gone earlier than us for the trek came back fully drenched. There is absolutely no shelter once you start trekking.

Gayathri was very upset that it was still raining and that we may not have a chance to stand in the small waterfalls. Luckily for her the rain had almost stopped as we were going back and I asked the driver to stop at a place where the water was running on the road. Gayathri and kids got down to go and stand in the water and were back inside the car almost immediately !! "The water gives a shock" said Ranjani and Harini, with lot of excitement. The water was probably a glazier melt and it was must have been freezing cold. Gayathri was upset. "This is injustice. Such beautiful flow of water and you cant keep your feet in this even during summer !! How will anyone enjoy this?"

We came back to Banjara Camps, had a great lunch and relaxed for some time. Then we went down in the evening to sit on the banks of Baspa. The bank here is full of pebbles of different sizes, shapes and color. The river water is cold and crystal clear. The river rushes with a good force over the boulders. It is not very wide here but you cant think of walking across the river due to the cold and the force with which the river flows. I took some snaps of the pebbles and was cursing myself for not having got my polarizer which would have been very useful here.

The river flowing continuously, the mountains in front of us with green trees, the distant horizon with the sky a deep shade of blue, the white clouds floating around, the calmness of the area and absolutely no trace of any humanity around can put you into a philosophical mood !! As I sat next to Gayathri I realized this as she asked me, "Just like the waves of the ocean, the river keeps running on and on, without ever tiring". True. The mysteries of nature are many and in times like this we can feel a calm descend on us as we take in the scenery and forget our trivial worries. The water cold but not very cold. This allowed us to put our feet in the river water for some time, withdraw it and put it back after some time. We sat there till it was starting to get dark and came back to the room.

An elderly couple who we had met in Shoja had come to Sangla that evening. We were talking with them for some time. Then we had tea and the kids started playing. The bonfire as usual happened at 8 o clock. After that we had dinner. The cook had decided to go continental that day, which meant baked vegetables and lots of dishes whose names you cannot pronounce !! Gayathri had a look at it and said that she cant eat any of it. Where were the chapatis? The day was saved by another family which had ordered Jain food. Gayathri got her strength back when she saw rice, dal and chapati. It was important that she got her strength back. She didnt realize it at that point in time but the next day, the Racham walk, would make her realize it !!