A Trip to the Himalayas
Some days in life just pass by and are quickly forgotten by us because they are no different from the daily routine while, there are also days which stand out in our memories because they are different from our ordinary every day life. One such day was 14th of November when my friend came from abroad. I used to work in Delhi during those days and the two of us went sight seeing to a few places there. I've already posted that story on this site. If you haven't read it, please click here.
While my friend stayed at my place for a few days, the two of us also went on a, small trip to the Himalayas. Yes, you hear that right, the mighty Himalayas. Here is the whole story, I'm sure you'll like it, please read on.
Our address was a place called Kalpa, situated at the south-east corner of the state of Himanchal Pradesh. It is just about 260 Km from Shimla, the capital of Himachal Pradesh. The main drawing card or prime the reason to go to Kalpa which stands tall at 3000 meters was the splendid view of Kailash Parbat which is more than 6000 meters high. Everyone cannot be lucky enough to go for the Kailash Maansarovar Yatra however, one can surely go to Kapla to see the divine Kailash Parbat from a distance though. Hindus believe that Kailash is the home of Lord Shiva.
We commenced our journey from Delhi on 21st of November, Saturday, by a Volvo bus of the Himachal Road Transport Corporation. Online reservation of tickets can be made for this. For more details, please visit the website of Himachal Road Transport Corporation. We passed a couple of days in Shimla as my friend liked the place very much. On the first day we reserved a motorcar to go to Kufri and Fagu. These are wonderful places I must say. The next day we spent in Shimla, my friend was on a shopping spree. Apart from other places, we visited The Ridge and The Mall. We went to the Church and and also mounted all the way way up to Jakhu temple. The onlything I disliked was the touts in Shimla who are ever ready to blow up your mood. They are such big spoil sports, nevermind, they do it for a living.
We took an overnight passenger vehicle from Shimla to Reckong Peo on the 24th, Tuesday, evening at 8. It was a standard bus, again of the Himachal Road Transport Corporation which makes it at Peo at 5 in the morning. The tickets for the buses opening from Shimla can be reserved in advancement. For information, you can refer to the schedule of buses between several points on the website of Himachal Road Transport Corporation. We commited a small error in reserving our tickets at 6 pm, around two hours before hand and we realised the error when we got our seats in the last row of the bus. We should have made the reservation much earlier but all because of my friend for she kept me busy in shopping.
The travel was quite a bumpy and mountainous one, obviously because of the terrain but also owing to the fact that we were seated in the last row. My friend said it was like a camel ride. The routes after Rampur is not good at all because of bad roads. Inspite of that I managed to take a nap for a short while but my friend was a lot uncomfortable in middle of all this, she felt vomity, thank God she did not throw-up.
When finally we made it to Peo we hired a taxi to Kalpa, upward which costed Rs. 150, pretty cheap indeed. There was another alternative as well, during daylight from 7 am trough 6 pm on that point, regular maxi-cabs are accessible. These are 12 seater small buses running between Kalpa and Peo, from the main marketplace and not from the bus adda. They charge Rs. 10 per head. I wanted to take the maxi-cab but as the lady was not feeling well, we decided hire a taxi. Upon reaching Kalpa we were exhausted and made up our mind to expend the entire day catching our breath. We did not travel much and just took a stroll round the Kalpa village and returned to our hotel. Just sitting outside your hotel board itself presents you a full-blown catch of the Kailsh Parbat and the holy Shivling which is a 79 feet high standing rock on the summit of the hill. The following day we chartered a guide and resolved to go onto the peak of the hill where Kalpa is situated. The guide who was a very nice person, stated that on that point, on the peak of the hill, there is a small lake and we can aim to see that. The day before it had rained down so we will experience a good deal of snow on the hill, the guide said. For people like us, one of the objects to go to the Himalayas is to at least feel and experience the snow-fall. Shimla, in the recent past, has not received any snow-fall. Needless to say, once we mounted uphill we got a splendid view of the Kailsh Parbat and different surrounding hills.
Kalpa is near about 3000 meters high and to mount further was sure to call for a good deal of endeavour. However, we traveled up to the point where we found snow. My friend and I savoured walking on snow a great deal, the sight of the Kailesh range hills was simply spectacular, where the trees end, everything looked white, snow white, it was such a brilliant scene, nature at its best. The experience was so pure and fulfilling that it cannot be described with words, immaculate I must say.
From there forwards, the guide stated, the move around would be tough. We too could sense that it was starting to get harder for us to go any further and my friend was already drained. We sat around at that place and unstrained ourselves for a while and then bound back to the village where we started from.
With the next daylight we went downhill to a place called Kothi which is round about 3 kilometers from Peo. At Kothi we visited the famous Durga Devi temple and then went to the Peo market. You know how shopping frenzy these women get once the enter the market place and my friend was no different. Her shopping continued till afternoon and finally when the two of us were back to Kalpa, it was half past three. We quickly had our lunch at the hotel and then went for a walk along the narrow lane leading to the woods. Together we spent some unforgettable moments of our life. The road covered with snow on both sides, the pulchritudinous apple orchards, the picturesque view of the distant Himalayan hills and the company of each other, those blissful moments will remain treasured deep down the memory lane forever.
That night it snowed quite a bit and with the next sunrise we were all set to return to Delhi. Again it was a long and tiring bus journey. It took 10 hours from Kapla to Shimla and from Shimla to Delhi, another 10 hours. We were fortunate enough to get a bus at Kapla at half past 6. On the Shimla to Kalpa route, a dam construction project was in progress at a place called Karcham and for that reason the road had gone bad as a lot of trucks carrying construction material were plying on that road. When we arrived at Shimla at around 5 pm, we had a good deal of time to kill ahead of boarding the Volvo to Delhi at 10 pm in the night and again, my friend got a chance to catch up on her shopping. That evening we had our dinner a bit early and went for a stroll along the main road to feel the fresh Himalayan air for the last time. At about half past nine, we had coffee and then onto the bus to Delhi.
While coming back I made up my mind to go back to Kalpa once more and mount further up to Kaza no matter what. I don't live in Delhi any more and really don't know if ever will get a chance to accomplish my wish. Another wish that I haven't been in condition to accomplish so far in all my trips to the Himalayas is to view a Himalayan Lake. Last time when I had been to Keylong I did plan to visit Chandratal which is a beautiful lake but could make it only up to Batal as the road was blocked due to heavy snowfall and landslide. Nonetheless, the trip to the Himalayas was for certain a red-letter which will remain afresh in our memory forever and a day. If you liked this story, please feel free to post a comment. Thanks!
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