Ever saw the clouds above and wonder where do they come from and how it would be to rise above them? You must pay a visit to Cherrapunjee, the place we knew as the wettest place on earth. (It may no longer be the wettest one but it can do wonders for you if you are looking for a quiet and adventurous gateway but still not in the mood of suddenly discovering your next door neighbor vacationing in the same spot). We just came back and I thought I better write it down and pay the place its due it truly deserves.

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“Outside of a dog, a book is Man’s best friend. Inside of a dog, it’s too dark to read.” - Groucho Marx.

Had it not been for the Outlook Traveller Gateways (on HP) , Naggar would not have happened.

A note on books and blogs Books (e-books or paper bound) are still much superior as compared to host of blogs and websites. Online forums, at best, are good for an  ”occasional tip” and that too happens cause people “speak” about the content which is quite recent. Books, on the other hand, need to re-published. The Outlook Traveller Gateways (on HP) which I referred to was published in 2008. Two years down the line nothing much had changed….

And Naggar did happen…thankfully.

This last part I have covered in following three phases: –

Phase One- Manali-Naggar, stay at Naggar.

Phase Two – Road back Home - Naggar-Chandigarh-Rock Garden-Rothak-Ajmer Road trip and a quick visit to Ajmer-e-Sharif.

Phase Three – Road back Home continues…Ajmer-Ahmedabad-Mumbai Road trip
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Off late, courtesy brilliant travel experiences at Ghumakkar, I have been shying away from writing my own. But to remain relevant, I am rather writing hotel reviews now. There is a lot of good ‘room’ there, pun intended, so let make some hay while I start to find another category. Of course road reviews remain my favorite but for this particular travel, Delhi-Manali has been penned multiple times.

Parvati Kuteer is a small mini hotel-cum-resort right on the banks of river Parvati, 2 KMs before of Kasol, the town popular for green reasons.

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Pure Himachali Fun

This part of the trip is covered in the following two phases

Phase One –  Shimla-Manali Road trip

Phase Two – Stay at Manali and visit to Rothang Pass

Phase One –  Shimla-Manali

0700 hrs, at Hotel Holiday Home

2082 kms from home

If Shimla was adultared , the this was to be pure Himachali fun.  Outlook Gateway book on Himachal Pradesh had suggested NH22 TO Sainj via Kurfi, Theog, Narkanda, …. Jaroli Pass ….. Aut and NH21. On enquiring with every local we were told that the NH 88-NH 21 route was the best. The road via sianj, was single lane and unreliable, in any weather. Much to my dismay, I took the route as suggested. This required us to traverse NH88 for around 70 kms and thereafter, near Bilaspur join NH21. Though this route was certainly very good with excellent scenic roads and also had much other benefits such as hotels and tyre repair shops, something tells this roadie that true himachal was missed.  I have made my mind. In my next visit, after obtaining more reliable information, shall certainly route via Jari Pass.

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1000 hrs, at Hotel Sagar, Bilaspur, 93 kms from Shimla, averaging 31 km/hr

2175 kms from home

Breakfast came at Hotel Sagar, Bilaspur, at the “table with a view”. Just post the junction wherein the NH starts the route for Kangra/ Macleodganj we stopped for a quick bite. The loo-good, food- average but the view – Wow.

The Restaurant Table With A View

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