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 !!

On the banks of Baspa - The Amazing Sangla Valley

We started from Shoja around 10 o clock after a nice breakfast. The kids were not very happy to leave as they had fallen in love with the place and with the dogs there. We drove through the Jalori Pass, got to the other side and proceeded further. The landscape initially is one of coniferous forests, pines, firs etc. After some time the terrain changes and you start seeing mountains with no trees on them. Only grass grows on them. We saw a charming mountain stream running alongside us and we stopped and wet our feet in this stream. It was a nice experience.

Right from Shoja till we came to this place, there was no river or stream around and I was missing that. Then the stream appeared and after some time we were in the Sutlej Valley. Sutlej appears here and it has a muddy color to it. The crystal clear streams of Tirthan or Baspa, which we would encounter later, it wasnt. I told Gayathri that it could be that the river was flowing over a muddy area which gave it this color. The terrain around it also becomes a bit barren with mountains having nothing on them. The whole area has a muddy look to it. There are a few towns on the shores of Sutlej and we stopped in a town called Rampur for our lunch at a HPTDC hotel. Our driver went off to fix some problem which he had discovered in the Scorpio. He said he would be gone for atleast an hour. We told him that we would have lunch and wait for him. We neednt have worried. The hotel guys served us so slowly that the driver fixed the defect, came back after an hour and waited for us !!!

We started around 2:30 from this place and our progress was OK for the next hour or so. After that we hit a dam site where lot of work was going on. The roads were mud roads and with the traffic around it was difficult to keep the window opened here. It was so dusty that it reminded me of the city !! Around this area is where the Baspa river merges with Sutlej and loses its identity. We had to take a right turn from here in order to get to Sangla. The progress till this place was painfully slow and once we turned right our speed picked up a bit but we got into othe problems !!

The road leading to Sangla is narrow and as I had said earlier all roads here are ghat roads. So there were times when a vehicle would come in front of us and depending on the mood of the drivers, one of them would have to back up so that the other can go thru. We thus played 'pehele aap, pehele aap' with a few vehicles !! On the way we saw a bunch of 'chirus'. These animals are a cross between yak and cow. Initially I thought they were yak but the driver said they werent and upon closer inspection could see there werent yak. We also saw some wild horses. They looked like a cross between horse and donkey !!

We crossed the Sangla town and were going in the direction of another town called Racham. On this road, you need to take a deviation, which goes to your right and downhill and this leads to the Banjara Camps tents which are on the banks of the river Baspa. It was around 7:30pm when we reached here. We were shown our tent. It was a spacious one with three beds in there. They also provided me with an additional mattress as we were four of us. These tents have attached restrooms and also have a water heater. It is a bit cold in the tents compared to a normal room but they give hot water packs to keep yourself warm in the night. Added to it you have a razai and a woolen blanket. So if you cover yourself with a razai and keep the hot water pack next to you, you will end up sweating in the night.

The Banjara Camps at Sangla is located at an outstanding place. The tents are on the banks of the river Baspa. (You neednt worry if the river will overflow and enter your tents !! The tents are at an elevation compared to the river) There is a path which leads to the river. One one side you have the mountains with lot of greenery and on the other side you have black mountains with snow covered peaks. Once in a while these mountains are covered with white fluffly clouds which add to their beauty. All through the night you will hear the gentle murmur of the Baspa river as it glides over the smooth pebbles which lie on its path. You can also see a couple of glaciers and a small village at a distance.

The bonfire was started around 8 o clock and I went to join it. People were playing anthakshari and I started singing some songs that I knew. Anthakshari is a good way to make friends. People are united quickly in music that anything else. If you sing a couple of songs which they like, they tend to like you as well. This had happened in Sikkim last year and it happended here on two nights. Another hint: Sing Kishore Kumar + RD Burman songs and you will be a well liked guy almost immediately !!

In Banjara resorts the food is generally served in a central dining hall, which allows people to interact with each other. During dinner, which was very tasty, I spoke to people who had come from far and wide and realised that most of them have come from the same far and wide place, Mumbai !!! This trend continued for the next couple of days, of people arriving from Mumbai. For a second I felt like a Mumbai duck out of water !!! There was one family from Banglore and they, Sunil and his wife, happened to be close friends of my former boss. As can be expected, we wondered what a small world it was !!!Sunil gave a monkey cap for Gayathri and it proved very useful. Thanks Sunil.

The next day would be the wonderful ride to Chitkul.

Trip to the Land of Mountains - Himachal Pradesh

Shoja - A Naturalist Delight

When I tried switching on the A/C in the Scorpio, it wouldnt work. So tried to down the windows electronically. That wouldnt work either. As there was no mechanical option to down the windows, we were now in a car which had literally become a furnace with the Chandigarh sun blazing fiercely. Not a great start to the journey!!! Our driver managed to find a mechanic, who checked the fuse, realised it was blown and replaced it. We started off at around 10:30 from Chandigarh on the way to Shoja.

We had arrived the earlier day at Delhi from Bangalore. We were met by the driver of our vehicle arranged by Banjara Camps people. He first drove us to Chandigarh, where we halted for the night and had food at a South Indian restaurant which was charging sky high rates !! The plan was to leave by 9 o clock the next morning to this place called Shoja but due to the aforementioned troubles, ended up leaving only around 10:30 am.

The drive was along the road to Kullu. We passed the towns of Bilaspur and Mandi. On this road, instead of taking a left and going into a tunnel towards Kullu, you need to go straight to reach Shoja. The scenery till this point isnt really breathtaking and doesnt prepare you for what lies ahead. Only after we cross this place, Himachal started to slowly reveal itself. We went into the Tirthan Valley. The river was crystal clear and lot of pine trees started appearing. The sun was on the last leg of its descent and the air was slowly cooling down. Around 6:30pm we stopped for some tea and it had become real cold. The air was chill and the cup of hot tea was very welcome. The place where we had tea, was surrounded by mountain ranges filled with pine trees and there was a small mountain stream flowing nearby. After the tea, we proceeded to the Banjara Camps resort at Shoja.

The setting of the resort blew us off and the scenery around the area casually brushed aside the tiredness we were feeling till then. The room we stayed was on a ledge of a mountain. From your verandah, which is covered with glass windows, you have the view of a pine covered mountain opposite to you. You also get a great view of the valley beneath and the snaking road which gets you up. You get to see a whole range of mountains, some of them covered with the coniferous forests, some of them on which some agriculture is taking place, some which have meadows on the top and some of which, at a distance, are snow covered. Gayathri and I, after seeing the place, simultaneously exclaimed, "Lets not do anything. Just lets sit and relax". Shoja will have this sort of impact on you. An extremely calm place, with very less of civilization around, no distractions like TV, this is the best place to be if you want to get away from all the urban sounds !! We did exactly that, which is to relax, on the day we landed. They had a bonfire going and we had some nice soup around the bonfire. After this we proceeded for dinner, which was delicious.

We decided to start the next day leisurely and we implemented the plan. After a leisurely breakfast we set off to a place called Jalori Pass. Preetam, who was our host, drove us there. The drive to Jalori pass was a short one but within those 5 to 10 mins, I could see a variety of trees around. I have no clue of their names but the brouchers mention names like Deodar, Pine, Fir, Cedar etc etc. I am sure all of these were around and lots more !! A naturalist would have died of sheer delight here. Added to this, we also were blessed with cloudy and pleasant weather.

The Jalori pass has nothing great around but you can trek from there to the Servalsar lake. We went to the meadows nearby and saw some shepherds coming down from the mountains with their mountain goats. Looks like these guys dont stay at one place and keep moving to lower altitudes in winter and go the other way during summer. Ranjani and Harini loved the goats and kept touching them. The goats were of a different kind and had a covering of wool quite different from what we would see around here. We took snaps of the shepherds and showed them the photo on the digital camera's display.

On the way back from Jalori pass, we stopped at a place were there was some snow, not lots. Ranjani and Harini played with snow for some time while I took photos of the mountains around. Again I was stunned by the range of trees around and was able to get some shots with trees of different colors in the shot. I am sure this area will be superb during autumn when the leaves change color.

A small distance before the resort is a trail through the pine forest which leads to a waterfall. The trek is supposed to take around 45 mins to 1 hr. We started and went around 500 mts when we saw lightning and heard the thunder. It was quite dark and the prospects of rain were bright, while the weather was not !!! So we decided to head back to the camp. As we were coming back, we encountered two dogs, one of which the kids had seen earlier at the resort and had made friends with. Ranjani and Harini were very thrilled to see these dogs and wanted to get the dogs back in our Scorpio so that they didnt get drenched in the rain. We had to explain to them that dogs took much better care of themselves and knew how to protect themselves from the elements. They half heartedly left the dogs behind and got into the car. As soon as we reached the resort, it started pouring. For once we had made the right decision :)

Had a nice lunch, rested for some time and then Preetam took us for a village walk. By this time some more families had come in and all of us went to this walk together. This walk took us to the village which is adjacent to the Banjara property. The trail we were walking threw up some amazing scenes of beauty around that it would have been very easy to exhaust the memory of your camera in a matter of few minutes. The lush green fields, the garlic plants, the various trees, the setting sun lighting up the mountains beautifully and the charming village. It was a small but memorable walk. The kids in the village were playing cricket with a ball made of thick rubber bands and paper !!! I tried my hand at bowling to a kid. I tried my off spin but the ball wouldnt spin !! Most of the people went back but Preetam, I and another gentleman trekked up a small hill nearby. A steep but a nice climb.

At Shoja, there are quite a few activities that you can indulge in. There is a mountain with meadows on the top offering a 360 degree view of the whole place. This takes around hour and half trek from Jalori pass. Looks like there is a steep climb for around 20 mins to reach the summit. The other option is to trek to the Servalsar lake from Jalori pass. Or trek to the waterfall from the resort itself. Ofcourse there is also the village trek that I spoke about.

When we got to Shoja and to the Banjara Resort, we met Rajesh Ojha, who is the co-founder of Banjara. I can only describe him as a very natural person. He is very casual, knows a lot about the area and is extremely friendly. My daughters took an instant liking to him. He can give you a lot of information about the areas there and also about the Himalayas.

The other thing the kids love here are the dogs that keep coming in. Lot of them seem to be some sort of sheep dogs. They belong to someone in the village but they keep coming to this resort and are extremely friendly. The kids love playing with them and feeding them. My kids were constantly asking for the dogs and when we were about to leave they didnt want to leave till they had said their goodbyes to the dogs.

There was a bonfire that night. The kids enjoyed themselves by playing dumb charades and by feeding the dog, named Johny. (The dog that met us during the trek was called Roney). They also played carroms, which was kept outside the dining room. After a nice dinner, we went to sleep, preparing ourselves for the drive to Sangla the next day.

Western Karnataka Coast - Place to Stay and Eat

Here is some info on places where you can stay and places to eat at Gokarna, Karwar and Udupi

Gokarna: If you dont want to shell out a huge amount to OM Beach resort, the only other decent option is Hotel Gokarn. Ph No: 8386-256622, 8386-257368. (www.geocities.com/hotelgokarn/ ) This is not a fancy hotel. A basic hotel. The small Darshini type hotel attached to this doesnt look to0 great but the meals were quite good.

As far eating in Gokarna is concerned, it is better to head off to the beach and eat at Prema's place there. It is a small joint but serves some very good food.

Karwar: I stayed at Hotel Bhadra. Ph: 08382-225412, 225613. Decent value-for-money place on the highway itself. The Jungle Lodges office is situated opposite this hotel and you can do a day trip to Devbagh resorts of Jungle Lodges. The other staying option is at the Jungle Lodges resort in Devbagh. A nice place but will cost you much more.

Food at Hotel Bhadra is quite good so you can have it there. You can also check with the Jungle Lodges folks and go to Devbagh resort for lunch

Udupi : In Udupi we stayed at Hotel Srirama Residency (0820-2530761). A very neat place, good value for money and very close to the temple. There are a couple of more hotels around this place which also looked good. Hotel Karavali on the highway is also a good hotel, though it is a bit far from the temple. (http://www.karavaligroup.com/ Ph:0820 2522860)

Udupi has lot of eating options if you are a South Indian. We ate at Hotel Srirama and Woodlands, which was near to Hotel Srirama. You can always try lot of other good hotels around.