In the last & the highest village of the Baspa Valley – Chitkul…..

02 Oct 2011

And there i was at 11, 320 feet above sea level standing in front of the gate welcoming me to the last & the highest village in Baspa before the Indo – Tibet border – Chitkul. I made my way in and on my left saw the govt. owned guest house but i didn’t stop there. I wanted to see that where the road would finally take me to, so i made my way through the Chitkul village and another half a kilometer drive took me to the point where the road ends. And in front of me was the valley in its full splendor. I stopped the bike there and now i needed a place to stay for the night. I looked around and saw a guest house on my left. As i noticed they were busy laying the cemented floor in front of the guest house. I asked one of them that if i could get a room for the night and he said ‘Yes’….

I made my way up to the first floor and counted 4 rooms of which 3 were already occupied. He showed me the room and owing to the remoteness of the location i would rate the same as nice and cozy. He told me that the room was available for this night only as from tomorrow onwards they were booked as the Bengali’s were coming. Oh yes! How can i forget its the Bengali Season. Thank God! It was not today. I took the room as 1. I had no more energy left to search further, 2. I had a clear view of the valley from the first floor, 3. There was enough space for me to sit outside and take pictures. The guy then helped me to untie the bag from the bike and took the same to my room. I on the other hand went in and came out with the camera.

The evening was setting in and the clouds still blocked the view in the front. I was hoping for the same to get cleared as the night falls. I came downstairs, had a casual chat with the care taker as they were busy laying the cemented floor. Their objective was to finish the same tonight and everybody there was pitching in.

Tip: The only network that works here is BSNL. If you are planning to stay in Chitkul, carry plenty of money as there is No ATM and Chitkul is bit on the expensive side. Electricity and water is not a problem in Chitkul. Carry heavy woolens as the night falls the mercury dips very quickly and being October the temperature generally goes below 0 degrees. And to avoid any hassles get a reservation if you are going in the peak season.

They told me that they would start serving dinner by 8.00 pm, so i went back to the room as it was dark already and planned for the next day. After a brief amount of rest, around 7.30 pm i went out again, by now they were giving the finishing touches to the newly laid floor and the dinner was ready too. What is it with the food in the Himalayas? Whatever you eat tastes delicious. Stuffed Parantha, Potato Curry and a hot cup of tea, Aah! I couldn’t have asked for more. And for the dessert i bought the chocolate cake from the shop nearby and retired back in my room. Now it was a waiting game. I checked the Google sky maps application on my mobile. Thank God! It required only GPS to work as the airtel network was not available and so no internet connectivity. The moon set as i calculated was around midnight and that was the time when i would be getting a clear view of the sky, provided if there are no clouds. So, i set the alarm for the midnight and slept.

 

03 Oct 2011

There are times when no matter how much you try, you just can’t level down the pleasure, the joy that you are in. The valley had cleared up, not a cloud in sight, and the moon was set too. I was in for a treat. Oh My God! the night sky here was amazing. It was so clear and absence of any ambient light resulted in showcasing the thousands of stars illuminating the night sky. It was a sight to remember. Now it was time to do some experiment. The experiment for getting Star Trails. I tried the same in Noida a couple of times but couldn’t get the desired results. And ever since i was looking forward for this. It was cold for sure but the excitement kept me going. So, i made the setup i.e mounting the camera on the tripod, attaching a wired remote shutter release button to the camera (to avoid camera shakes), took a few test shots to get the frame, the angle, the exposure right and the outcome for the next 2 hours is yours to see…. Voila!!! My very first Star Trails……

Look closely and you can see the trails of the stars that form the Orion Constellation. No, Just look above the snow capped peak, a bit on the right from the center of the pic and you will see the trails of the three stars that are in the middle of the Orion Constellation. And you can also see a pink colored streak just a little bit on the right of the peak. That is Orion’s Nebula. Didn’t i tell you, i also spotted as much as 9 shooting stars and 1 satellite while capturing the star trails.

After the exploits of the night, i again woke up early in the morning to walk around and explore the Chitkul village. The Morning’s in Himalayas are always cold and Chitkul was no exception. I could see the frost everywhere, in the fields, on the flowers and the seat of my bike was also not spared. I continued my walk basking in the essence of the beautiful morning which took me past the fields revealing the valley on both sides. At the same time the altitude was also showing it’s effect and i was subjected to a constant headache on going further up thus making the walk a bit difficult.

So, i returned back to the village and took the path going towards the Baspa river. Along the way i saw a Bengali Guest House, i guess as the banner and the signs were all in Bengali and stopped to get some pictures of the sunflowers. I saw an elderly gentlemen taking a stroll in the garden of the hotel and upon seeing me he came towards me and we struck a conversation. It started with praising the beautiful and clean environment in Chitkul and soon i got to know that he had came along with his entire family and the trip was mostly similar to mine.

The Sun now was also rising above the snow capped peak and moments later it illuminated the entire valley. It was a riot of colors out there, so beautiful, so serene. I walked past the building of the Govt. High School, Chitkul which teleported me back to my school days studying in the closed concrete building’s. I could have studied here as well by the river, growing up seeing the ever changing colors of the valley.

I spent some time by the clean and clear water of the Baspa river and clicked my way back to the Guest House. Upon reaching, i got all lazy and slept forgetting that i had to go to Kalpa the same day. It was in the atmosphere i guess. It was bliss….

It was close to 11 a.m when i woke up again, saw the time and quickly jumped out of the bed. I packed the bags and by 11.30 a.m i bid farewell to Chitkul only to move to my next destination – Kalpa…..

 

Contd….