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A few of my friends got together and this trip happened. But then, that is how it is with friends. I read it somewhere “One should go on unplanned trips”. Well, this was partially planned as we had to book the place at our destination, Jenkal near Sakleshpur.

Sakleshpur is about 230 kms from Bangalore and is full of coffee estates and scenic mountain slopes and brooks. The altitude is around 3000 feet and weather is more or less pleasant through out the year.

The six of us started from Bangalore late on a Saturday, around 12 noon from Bangalore. The route goes through Neelamangla ( take a left here, straight is Pune Highway), Chanrayapatna and then a big industrial town, Hassan. After Hassan you take a diversion towards Sakleshpur. The highway is a single lane and it does slow you down. But, the road is good enough. We reached Sakleshpur around 5 pm and stopped at Munzerabad club. One of the owners of the bungalow at Jenkal, Karthik, is a secretary of the club. This club is of the British times and retains that charm. We were treated to some nice coffee. Karthik also gave us a baked dish to carry to the bungalow at Jenkal.

The Gang at Munzerabad club
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There was some work to be done at Dehardun, the capital city of Uttranchal and it could be done over a weekend. I had an opportunity to take a chopper ride in the morning so morning was gone in any case. Doon is not too far (5-6 hours from Delhi) away so we decided to make use of afternoon by driving and probably get some more time at Dehradun. We planned to be there before it gets too dark. We took NH1 and went till Karnal, took a right turn at ‘Liberty Chowk’ towards Yamunanagar and after crossing Saharanpur, Chhutmalpur, we were at Doon by 8ish. We had booked ourselves at ‘Hotel Ajanta’ and did nothing much that evening.

Dhanauti Rocky Mountain High
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After the futile effort of sightseeing in Leh due to the bike troubles and all that pushing & pulling, I had decided to crash out and enjoy my drinks in relative comfort of the hotel confines… Well that did not do much of good to me… woke up at 0530 hrs to a splitting headache… Not a very pleasant feeling if you ask me.

A whole bottle of water and several cups of tea later, I felt like I was bordering on feeling like a human and decided to get ready for the big ride… 52 kms of high altitude extravaganza which would see me, a normal run of the mill bloke, at 18380 Ft ASL…  the highest I could go… I mean an out of shape, physically unfit individual like me… Many of you might disagree by saying “I am in shape. Round is also a shape.”  I would counter by saying “The round shape is only good if you fall… loads of padding to keep the injuries to a minimum” (Have a blast figuring out how I know about shapes and injuries ;-))

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Himachal is an interesting place. Isn’t it? I would like to post my writings on unexplored Himachal to give a off the road view and a different Himachal to let you all see. Shrikhand Mahadev is one such place. Its hidden. Its unexplored. Not many people know it or visit here. Its purely natural. No hick ups. Best place for people who enjoy trekking. Actually i love to go to such places.

Shrikhand peak is sited along side the Great Himalayan National Park of Himachal. It is in Kullu region, but near to Shimla.

Shrikhand Mahadeva
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