Year 2016 was an absolute Himalayan invitation, a little account
of my first travel for the year.
I also regret for my incapability to write for a long time
and feel excited to narrate my journey to Himalaya!
A lazy day of last winters, it was snowing heavily and we
were enjoying bonfire and a mail popped in the mail inbox. The query was about
a proposed Mountain Biking tour into Kinnaur and Spiti and soon it was finalized
for April 2016.
On 05th April 2016 the toy train slowly hushed
to its final destination Shimla, Mrs. & Mr. Corban were smiling from the
compartment as they recognized me.
The following day, on 06th April, after exploring the
Colonial Miles of Shimla, our car roared through the dusty countryside roads
and reached a countryside home stay near Shima. As the sun was setting behind
the horizons, riots of colors were framed on the valleys.
On morning of 07th April, after an early breakfast and under
a mild drizzle our bikes plunged down the valley. The blossom covered the
entire valley and every gush of wind introduced us to even better aroma!
As our bikes touched the uphill section of ride, the
drizzle turned into heavy downpour and our enthusiasm was on highest level. The
entire ride was dotted with tiny villages surrounded by terraces running down
the valley. Soon the rain halted and the sun glanced on the valleys turning
them into golden. The last stretch of the ride was steep uphill and Mrs. Corban
led the way to complete the 33 km on the day one as Mr. Corban and me followed
her.
Jagdish, packed the bikes and drove us to Narkanda. This
place use to be an important stopover on the Old Hindustan Tibet Road, a
promising route leading into Tibet. Thrilled with the day’s effort we stayed
overnight at Narkanda.
A lovely morning of 08th April welcomed us and
the ride passed down through Kotgarh valley.
Our bikes buzzed down through the ocean of apple blossom and we halted
at Tani-Jubbar Lake. An ancient serpent temple by the side of the lake and
lofty snow capped mountains added to it like a ‘Jewel in the Crown.’
Continuing the ride we stopped at the village of Kotgarh to
visit the chapel built by an American Missionary in early 1900’s. Samuel Evans
Stokes was engrossed in the beauty of the place that he decided to live here
for the rest of his life. He also got concerned with the life of people, whose
farms could barely feed them. Mr. Stokes took the soil samples back to his
country, tested them, brought apple saplings and distributed them among the
villagers. This all turned the life of people and today Himachal is a leading
apple producer in the country.
It turned warmer with descend and we soon touched the floor
of the valley. From here we packed the bikes and drove upstream of River Sutlej
to reach Rampur. Post lunch, the drive further passed through some adventurous
roads in Himalaya and reached Kalpa. Favorite summer retreat of Lord Curzon, one of the British Viceroy in
India, who wanted to make it as next British Summer Capital of India.
Perched at an elevation of 2960 m, before independence
Kalpa was named as Chini. Right opposite to Kalpa is Kinner Kailash range,
snowcapped mountains ranging up to an elevation of 6400m. Kinner Kailash
(6050m) is sacred mountain and is believed to be the winter abode of Lord
Shiva.
District Kinnaur portrays a mingling of culture as Hindu
religion merges with Buddhisim. Buddhist Gods are worshiped in Hindu temples
and Hindu Gods gets place in Buddhist Monasteries.
The whole valley below our hotel was lit by tiny lights
scattered all over. Glare of the moonrise could clearly be seen on the
snowcapped mountain range.
Dawn of 09th April was breaking behind the
mountains and very soon the whole valley was bathing in morning sunlight. We
started the day with a hike above the village of Kalpa. Soon there was carpet
of snow under our feel as we ascended up the hill. And it kept on mounting as
we geared up, fresh snow flakes welcomed us.
Kinner Kailash range was a beauty as we saw it above the
village. For lunch we descended down to Kalpa. Evening was a leisure to observe
the changing colors of Kinner Kailash Range.
On 10th April we decided to explore the area on
our mountain bikes and we rode to the village of Roghi. The 05 km stretch of
the road is built on a sheer cliff that plunges down almost 2000 m to grueling
Sutlej! Making a brief stop at village we tried to ride further on the traces
of Old Hindustan Tibet Road. However, we abandoned the idea further as the
trail was washed at certain sections.
We rode back to Kalpa, explored the ancient temples of
Goddess Chandika Devi and Lord Vishu and finally pushed our bikes back to hotel
and the evening was at leisure.
On the morning of 11th April our journey
proceeded further to Tabo. Under a mild drizzle we drove to Nako. At an
elevation of 3600 m, the village of Nako is laid by the side of a sacred Lake.
Still upper Kinaur district, offer enchanting views of looming Hangrang
mountain range, Reo Purgial 6816 m and groove of Willows which circles the
Lake.
While entering Nako snowflakes welcomed us and we started downhill
ride followed by a flat section to Sumdo. The thrilling ride passed through
barren mountains loaded with snow. As our bikes passed through village of
Chango, suddenly the dry valley was replaced by apple orchards! This fragile
section of the road is prone to the shooting stones from the mountains above,
however, we safely managed to reach Sumdo. Here, Pare – Chu, (discussed in
earlier posts) amalgamates with River Spiti. Also, inner line permits issued by
administration are verified at the police post here. We drove from here and
reached Tabo for the evening.
The morning of 12th April welcomed us and after
breakfast we went to visit the ancient monastery of Tabo. The walls are
decorated with beautiful paintings depicting the life story Buddha. The upper sections
of walls are adorned with sculptures of 32 Bodhisatvas, each in their unique
mediating postures. We were being offered a detailed introduction to the
monastery by the resident Lama.
Continuing our Himalayan exploration, we drove the valley
upstream, which all of a sudden opens here in Tabo to visit Dhankar monastery.
Dhankar means a cliff and the monastery is built on the cliff. Dhankar used to
be the ancient capital of Spiti. Getting blessed from the monastery, we enjoyed
a lovely ride from Dhankar to Kaza. The opposite winds on the Dhankar downhill,
were almost limiting Bikes to halt and we pedaled the thrilling downhill!
After lunch, we drove to visit Kee Monastery, a fortified
monument built on a hillock. These monasteries were built on the elevated
platforms due to the possible fear of invasion. As ancient schools of Buddhism,
these places certainly hold a divine Charisma.
Since it was too early to enter Manali so we retraced our
journey back to Tabo for a night and another to Reckong-peo and finally to
Shimla!
Absolutely a memorable Himalayan experience!
