Himachal Pradesh 2015

The snow capped peaks of the Himalayas always stood as the sentinel of India in the north. It demarcated Indian culture and way of life as sharp as a divider. Himalayas had been a profound source of inspiration for poets, artists, devotees, statesmen and thinkers alike. I always dreamed about it, the moment I could catch a glimpse of a snow-capped Himalayan mountain peak with my own eyes. The opportunity presented itself only now, in the form of a trip to Shimla, Kullu and Manali

Day 1 (Oct 18, 2015)

Our Indigo Airlines flight to Delhi took off at the right time at 7.05 am from Kochi Airport. After an eventless travel of three hours, it touched down at Terminal 1 of IGI Airport at Delhi. Our Tempo Traveler was ready at the airport. Without wasting much time, we proceeded straight to Shimla at 12 pm. The travel to Chandigarh is through the prestigious six-lane NH-1, but our driver was a very uncooperative person who continued to move very slowly through the highway. Had lunch near Karnal on ‘Haveli’ on the roadside. We lost the beauty of the ghat roads ascending to Shimla as it was already very dark when we reached the foot hills. At last, we reached the hotel at 9.50 pm, just in time when the restaurant was about to close. We had a peaceful sleep at night – the hotel is so calm and quiet.

Day 2 (Oct 19, 2015)

At about 9.30 am, we went to Kufri. The roads in Shimla are very narrow and extremely congested. At the slightest hitch, long lines of vehicles pile up on either side of the road. The moment the vehicle reached Kufri, horse trainers and photographers gathered around us with solicitations of horses and photo opportunities. Rs. 380 was offered for horse ride to the top and for sightseeing. We accepted and the rough 15-minute ride to somewhere that looked like a fair ground felt like an hour. It is very risky to ride on the horse, as the road is very narrow and when two or more horses come abreast, they try to bite each other. This causes a commotion and sometimes it so happen that the animal may be walking very near to the edge of a small ravine. The horse trainers seem to be enjoying the sadistic pleasure in making the horses prance or canter unnecessarily, just to tease the hapless riders. At last, we reached the top where nothing except a view point having a telescope welcomed us. The operators offered a rate of Rs. 150 per person just to have a glance through the telescope which was claimed to be able to peer at the border hills of China. We thought better of it and declined the offer. Tibetan yaks are also positioned there, and it is a good idea to have a photo taken sitting on them.

Every tourist spot in India is riddled with cheats and petty thieves. We fell to the tricks of such a man named Sanjay Sharma. This man approached us totting a camera and introduced himself as a professional photographer who is a member of the local photographers’ group. He offered Rs. 60 per piece and even though very much on the higher side, we accepted the offer. He came along with us and took many snaps in various poses, sitting on the Tibetan yak, donning Himachali costumes and a gesture of stepping for a folk dance. After taking 47 photos, he very kindly offered a discount and demanded Rs. 2500 up front. We protested at the full amount to be paid as advance, but he earned our confidence with such tricky acting that we paid him the money. He told that he will deliver the package at our hotel between 7 and 9 pm. When nobody was seen, we contacted him. He kept telling that a person has started from his place and would reach the hotel within half an hour. Our wait was in vain. It became clear to me then that this rascal had cheated me. Travelers beware of crooks of such type. (Also see postscript to this post).

We drove straight to a local restaurant on the wayside for lunch and then moved to Mall Road. There is a lift operated by Himachal Tourism at street level for carrying tourists to Mall Road at a fee of Rs. 10 per person. Normally, vehicles are not allowed on Mall Road. This street is ideal for shopping freaks as you can see a wide array of merchandise put on display. We went to Christ Church at The Ridge, which is the oldest church built by the British in Shimla. We had a quiet walk on the road till Kali Bari Temple. The abandoned Bantony Castle on the wayside loomed like a ghost house. At about 5.30 pm, we returned to the hotel, but due to a heavy traffic snarl, we reached only by 7.30 pm and settled for a peaceful night.

Day 3 (Oct 20, 2015)

Since this day included a long journey to Manali, we took off at 8 am. Had lunch at Mandi. The ghat road with river Beas on the right side begins after Mandi and is quite an experience. The hills on the left looked so fragile, with granite boulders showing a striated pattern. Somehow, it appeared weak, familiar as we were with the hardness of Deccan rocks. The Aut Tunnel having a length of 3.5 km gave an eerie feeling when we fled past the moist interior covered with smoke and dust. Just after Kullu town, we had the first glimpse of the snow-clad Himalayas. We reached the hotel by about 7 pm and retired for the night.

Day 4 (Oct 21, 2015)

Our driver, Mr. Parvesh Kumar from Delhi was an imbecile. We dropped the journey to Manikaran, which is about 80 km away, as that useless fellow might take an entire day for the trip. So we decided to sample the local attractions. We drove to Vasisht, which houses a hot water source inside the temple. The water is scalding hot, but a few people were bathing in it. The street to Vasisht is full of merchants dealing textiles and souvenirs. At about 11.30 am, we returned to Manali town and had lunch in a government-owned restaurant at Mall Road.

Manali is very picturesque from the banks of River Beas

Our next point of call was Hadimba temple. This is an isolated shrine decorated with trophies of wild animals along its outer wall. In all probability, this might have been the place of tribal worship. It stands in the middle of a clutch of dense and tall deodar trees. We spent almost one hour there. Locals throng the path to the temple with offers of taking photos with their rabbits that looked like large white bags of fleece. We returned to the hotel when it was quite dark.

Day 5 (Oct 22, 2015)

This was the memorable day of Rohtang Pass. Vehicles from outside Himachal will not generally be allowed to the pass without taking a permit. The most practical option is to hire a local vehicle which charges a hefty fare. In our case, it took Rs. 8500 for a tempo traveler with 12 seats. The driver was young but very bold. He was rather reckless by using mobile phone even while negotiating difficult, narrow curves on the hill roads. The cold was just bearable for us, but warm cloths can be obtained on rent from the wayside at Marhi. We wore these dresses high on the hills for Rs. 250 apiece, whereas these may be obtained for Rs. 200 in Manali. Rohtang Pass is situated at a height of 13,000 feet – Manali is at 4,000 feet. Oxygen deficiency was not experienced at that altitude, though two among us appeared rather deflated at the top of the pass. The small hill on top of the pass covered in snow was a memorable experience for us who had never felt the touch of snow. By about noon, we descended back to Manali and had lunch. Nothing was planned for the afternoon, so we went back to the hotel and rested for the day.

Breath-taking Rohtang Pass

Day 6 (Oct 23, 2015)

We started from Manali at 6 am. It was a very long drive of 560 km back to Delhi. Apart from time lost on traffic jam connected with a Dussehra procession and with a flat tyre of the vehicle, the drive was tiresome but smooth. The driver was clueless about the location of the hotel, so we had to spend nearly an hour looking for it. By about 11 pm in the night we were back in bed.

Day 7 (Oct 24, 2015)

We left at 3 am from the hotel to the airport. The Air India flight took off at 5.35 am and landed at 8.45 am in Kochi.

Tour Operator

We booked the tour package at Intersight Tours and Travels, Kochi. The hotels arranged by them were very good, except the one at Delhi. But on the vehicle and driver, they disappointed us. Even though they had promised an English-speaking driver, the allotted one could not understand even a word of it. If that was the only problem, we wouldn’t have minded. He was arrogant and vengeful. If he felt that he was slighted in any way, from that point onwards he drove very slowly as if to upset our schedules. We had to cancel many places like Manikiran just because such an imbecile was allotted to us as our driver. We notified the agency about this after our journey, but apart from a cursory call of apology, nothing was observed from Intersight. The rate was Rs. 13,500 per person for 6 nights and 6 days including accommodation and breakfast-dinners.

Accommodation

In Shimla, we stayed at Hotel Sukh Sagar Regency at Taradevi, which is a good 8 km from the city centre. The place is very calm and quiet, but travel to the city is a torture due to narrow roads and heavy traffic. The rooms, hospitality and food were very good. We had breakfast and dinner as part of the MAPI plan.

In Manali, we stayed at Sun Park Resort on the left bank of the river. This hotel has some excellent mountain-facing rooms, from which we had a breath-taking view of the snow-capped Himalayas that was unforgettable. The rooms, hospitality and food were excellent. We had breakfast and dinner as part of the MAPI plan.

In Delhi, we were put up at Hotel Metro View, Karol Bagh. This has very modern amenities like door locks with smart card keys, but the hospitality was mediocre. The guy at the Reception was glad to know that we would check out in four hours’ time. Presumably, in order to get rid of room cleaning after our exit, he told that dinner will not be served in rooms and we have to be present in the restaurant on the ground floor.

Mode of Travel

We took Indigo flight to Delhi and Air India on the return flight to Kochi. A 12-seater temp traveler was used for travel between Delhi, Shimla and Manali. Another 12-seater tempo traveler was hired at Manali for the trip to Rohtang Pass.

Postscript

I had written about the crook who swindled us Rs. 2500 by promising to given prints of photographs. When we returned, I sent a complaint by post to the District Superintendent of Police, Shimla, detailing all the points. Fortunately, unbeknown to him, one of our team had taken a photograph of that person. His mobile number was already with me. So, in the written complaint, I included all these details. Himachal Police responded with astonishing speed and effectiveness. Hardly a week later, Sanjay Sharma contacted me on my mobile and apologized. He readily sent the photos and CD via speed post to me. Sincere thanks and appreciation to Himachal Police!