Himachal Pradesh

In the lap of the great Himalayan Ranges lies this mesmerising state of Himachal Pradesh. Possessing an enviable diversity of natural beauty, Himachal Pradesh cradles snow capped mountains, snow fed rivers, dense deodar forests, cultivated terraces and apple orchards within itself. Fondly called as “Devbhumi” or land of the Gods, this land welcomes visitors to enjoy the natural splendour of Rajgarh Valley, Chail, Great Himalayan National Park and Pin Valley National Park. For a peek into the past, there are historical sites like Sujanpur Tihra and Kangra Fort.
Bird watchers would love the Maharana Pratap Sagar Lake Sanctuary, which attracts multitudes of migratory ducks from the Siberian region during winter months. Himachal Pradesh has pleasant summers and cold winters with snowfall in some places. Many favoured destinations for those who wish to get away from the heat of the plains are the hill stations of Simla, Dalhousie, Kasauli, Manali and Chail.

The twin beauty of Dalhousie and Khajjiyar

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The best thing he told us was that zorbing and paragliding takes place 1km down the road. So we headed there straight and yeah it was happening. We could see the zorbing ball but no gliders. After talking to the organizers we came to know paragliding happens early morning 9-10am as winds speeds are less at that time.

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नोएडा से चन्द्रताल वाया मनाली – भाग 2

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Tenzin और balli ने मेरा मोबाइल नंबर लिया। मैंने भी उनका नंबर माँगा तो उन्होंने कहा ये नंबर तो हम अब बंद कर देंगे। अब तो सीजन खत्म होने वाला है। हम लोग नवंबर-दिसंबर मे दिल्ली चले जाएँगे। Tenzin दिल्ली ISBT मजनू का टीला के पास Tibet Colony जाने वाला था। balli नोएडा मे सेक्टर-34 मे Tibet market मे दुकान लगाने वाला था। balli ने कहा दिसंबर मे मार्किट आना वहीँ मिल जाऊँगा।

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नोएडा से चन्द्रताल वाया मनाली – भाग 1

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कुल्लू से बस मे भीड़ हो गई। मैंने भी शराफ़त से सीट छोड़ दी और खिड़की वाली सीट पर बैठ गया। वैसे तो कुल्लू से मनाली करीब डेढ़ (1hr 30mins ) घंटे का ही रास्ता है लेकिन भीड़ देख कर मैं समझ गया था कि टाइम ज्यादा लगने वाला है। मेरे आगे वाली सीट पर स्कूल के बच्चे बैठे हुए थे। मैंने उनको कैमरा दिया और मेरी एक फ़ोटो खींचने के लिए बोला। कैमरा देख कर बच्चे खुश हो गए और झट से तैयार हो गए।

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घुमक्कड़ी — कुछ खट्टी-कुछ मीठी (सुरक्षा)

घुमक्कड़ी — कुछ खट्टी-कुछ मीठी (सुरक्षा)

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We were enjoying the trekking.  A group of Rajasthanis were also going with us.  They had  drums with them and they were loudly singing bhajans and going fast.  My father said – it is not good to sing while trekking on steep slopes, their songs will be stopped soon. ..and it happened too.  In the way there was a small tea shop where we enjoyed our tea with Neemari Pakoras.  The shopkeeper showed us some wild elephants, who were grazing in the valley below.

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Jalori Pass !

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JALORI JOT (PASS)  Till now you read that after visiting Jwalajai, Rewalsar, Parashar, Manikaran, we stayed at Pandoh.  Everyone was happy that we were…

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Manikaran !

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The night was spent nicely at Bajaura and next day we were fresh to start our journey further.  From Bajaura we reversed towards Kullu…

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Road to Chandratal

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We reach Kunzum jot, slightly off the main road and where vehicles take a customary loop to offer prayers. It is an overcast morning…. has continued to be so since Losar. More clouds come rolling in and almost obscure the Stupas at Kunzum Jot. Behind the Stupas and to their right, the track is clearly visible going to Chandratal. As our three vehicles halt there, we see no sign of the advance party. After mulling our options, we decide that one vehicle will go down the Kunzumla towards Batal and check out the motorable road to Chandratal since that is the only other place the other Scorpio could be. Sure enough, in a while we get a message from a tourist vehicle coming from Batal that our two Scorpios are at the motorable road and for us to join them there.

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Parashar Lake

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The journey was started with a visit to Bheemakali temple.  The temple was looking maginificent from the hotel itself but when we reached the…

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Chandrataal – the Moon Lake

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As we moved ahead, we crossed more and more nallahs. To our surprise they were even more dangerous now. The water flow was huge, it was so violent, we thought as if we were going to flow away with the water down to the Spiti river.

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Spiti…. journey through ‘The middle land’

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Bypassing such quaint villages as Yangthang, Chango and Leo, we press on for Nako. I have great hope that the cloud cover will disperse enough for Reo Purgyal, the highest peak in Himachal to be visible. Unfortunately, the peaks are all shrouded in thick clouds. We have a very long way ahead and no time to tarry. We do not even swing by Nako Lake consoling ourselves that we would see the Chandratal anyway today and hurry ahead. Far, far below us is the meandering Spiti and the beautiful Leo village is visible low down across the valley.
The route takes us through barren, crumbling mountainsides and the presence of a BRO detachment alerts us to the proximity of the Malling Nallah stretch which is infamous for being a perpetual landslide zone. It does not disappoint. We cross the Malling Nallah and come to a halt behind two other vehicles. A JCB is busy clearing an enormous few ton boulder in the landslide while a steady rain of shooting stones continues. It is scary, to say the least. I guess the BRO knows how dangerous it is and has concluded that this is minor enough for the work to continue. Hats off to these sentinels of the roads in these remote areas!

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Himachal Revisited (Aug,14)

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This time, while in India, visit to Himachal was more of necessity than tourism… leaving behind Iceland, Landing in Delhi full of heat and humidity was not a joke…. at the airport itself, we were almost fainted and without waiting for my friend to come to pick up, hired a taxi and went home…the heat and humidity was unbearable as the body had tuned to climate of Iceland…. so to go back to Iceland settings, Himachal trip was mandatory

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हिमाचल डायरी : रेणुका जी झील और पाँवटा साहेब की तरफ… भाग 4

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झील शब्द तो स्वयम में ही स्त्री लिंग है, इसलियें रेणुका नाम तो अपेक्षित है, परन्तु पूरे रास्ते भर हमे जो भी साइन बोर्ड दिखे, सभी पर झील का नाम रेणुकाजी लिखा हुआ है, हमे आश्चर्य तो है, परन्तु इससे एक अंदाजा भी लग जाता है कि सम्भवतः इसका कोई धार्मिक कारण अवश्य होगा, परन्तु इसके मिथकीय इतिहास से अभी तो हम सर्वथा अनभिज्ञ हैं, हमने तो केवल इतना भर सुना था कि इसकी आकृति एक लेटी हुई महिला सरीखी है और इसके काफी बढ़े हिस्से पर कमल के फूल खिलते हैं |

इधर हमारी यात्रा जारी है और अब जिस जगह पर पहुंचे हैं, वह परशुराम और रेणुकाजी का मन्दिर है | एक ही प्रांगण में रेणुकाजी के मन्दिर के साथ ही परशुरामजी का मन्दिर…, मस्तिक से स्मृति का धुंधलका मिटने लगा, याद आया कि रेणुका जी तो परशुराम की माता जी थी, कुछ हमने याद किया, कुछ इस मन्दिर से पता चला, तो कुल मिलाकर जो जानकारी इकट्ठी हुई, उसका सार कुछ इस प्रकार है-

हिमाचल के इसी पर्वतीय क्षेत्र के जंगलो की कंदराओं में ऋषि जमदग्नि अपनी पत्नी रेणुका के साथ एक आश्रम में रहते थे | असुर सहसत्रजुन की नीयत डोली और ऋषि पत्नी रेणुका को पाने की अभिलाषा में उसने ऋषि जमदग्नि का वध कर दिया | रेणुका ने अपने सत की रक्षा और दुष्ट असुर से बचने हेतु स्वयम् को जल में समाधिष्ठ कर लिया, बाद में परशुराम और देवतायों ने असुर का वध किया, और ऋषि व रेणुका को नव जीवन दिया और फिर ठीक उस जगह से एक जल धारा फूटी जिससे इस झील का निर्माण हुआ | मिथक कुछ भी हो, परन्तु आस पास के क्षेत्र के निवासियों में इस जगह का धार्मिक महत्व है और वह इस दंत कथा को मानते भी हैं इसका सबसे बढ़ा ज्वलंत प्रमाण तो यह ही है कि स्थानीय निवासी जब इस झील में नौका विहार के लिये जाते हैं तो अपने जूते-चप्पल किनारे पर ही उतार देते हैं |

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