Hills

With Love from Kashmir…

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Continuing my exploration of the beautiful valley of Kashmir, my second visit was more like returning back to my second home. The enthralling beauty and the warmth of the people haunted me long enough to make me revisit Kashmir and I boarded the indigo flight for a 5 day visit.

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Trek to Goecha La – Yuksom to Dzongri

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We gathered in small groups in the tents to chat and while away the time. Dinner was served at around 8 p.m. at the one- room camp house which was occupied by cook Sumit Rai and his men. When I had ventured out of my tent around mid-night to go to the toilet-tent, I was awestruck on seeing small silvery snowflakes dropping from a clear sky. The moon shone in its silvery best.

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Himachal – Spiti Valley – Kaza, Kibber

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At Kibber we stayed at Tashi Zom guest house which was just before the village separate from the rest of the village. It was really sunny, windy and chilly outside so most of the time we stayed indoor. I went out a little to take a walk around the guest house and inside the village. This is a proper village with a school and a game of volleyball was going on. There are other guest houses and this village witness some tourists. Here I met Mr. Anurag Jately and his assistant. He is ex-NGC, ex-Fox Traveller head of programming for them and he was shooting night sky in timelapse, phew!! I was just awestruck listening to his anecdotes and watching some of his work on his laptop.

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Himachal – Kalpa, Nako, Tabo, Dhankar

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We next stopped near Khab where Sutlej river coming from Shikpila pass towards the east meets Spiti river from north. Spiti has much cleaner water and it can be seen distinctly at the confluence. Shipkila which is a pass to Tibet/China is only around 40 km from here. One of the high peaks of Kinnaur district Reo Purgyil (6800+ mts) is also situated here.

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Himachal – Shimla, Sarahan, Sangla Valley

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Sangla is also famous for Kamru Fort. This fort is like a tower dedicated to Kamakshi Temple. The Goddess idol was brought from Guwahati (Assam). We braced ourselves and took to steep climb of stairs. The climb took us through houses of Kamru village and get a peek into their life. First there is a temple which has couple of shrines in the small courtyard in hill architecture. Their sloping roofs are lined with flat chipped stones tiles and the distinctive cone as the top. The main Kamru fort was still some climb away. Thankfully, it was quite sunny and pleasant for the climb. After some time, the Kamru fort came into view perched right at the top of the village. One has to tie a cloth around waist and wear a cap which is available in the fort to enter the precincts and go around.

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To Chakrata, with my family and two dogs

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We , walked uphill and reached a lonely, newly built cottage which was uninhabited at that moment. We sat on the porch of the cottage and watched the color of the sky slowly changing as the sun started descending. The valley down below looked so beautiful. Smoke was coming out of the chimneys of some mud huts. The villagers have lit up the chulhas

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Himachal – Kalpa, Shimla

Himachal – Kalpa, Shimla

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I have lived in Shimla long back in early 90s when my father was posted here. I used to come in summers for 2 months for 3 years, so I was keen on visiting places where I had lived and visited during that time. We lived in a suburb of Shimla there called Kelti. The route to it is from Ridge to Longwood and then towards Kelston and then bifurcate at one point towards Kelti. It was nostalgic to walk on the same road which I used to frequent 20 years back as child. To my surprise, road was just like what it used to be. Same road barriers painted green and white, the rain shelters where I took refuge many times in rains, the ascent, descent. The final leg to Kelti was still unpaved like it was at that time. Though this time saw more people crossing me with phones in their hands, hoardings and presence of vehicles.

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BRO Board

Rohtang Pass And Manali – Rohtang road review

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A plate of Maggi for 50 bucks and a chai at 20 bucks may be a bit steep, but so is the place. Admittedly, the rampant crowd, jostling vehicles, hordes of animals, irrepressible mob of shilajeet sellers and such other elements do rob the place of exclusivity befitting a Himalayan pass at 3900+ mtrs – but that is how it comes,

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Top reasons to visit Kashmir

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Other Other famous cuisines include: Kahwah (GreenTea) and Noon Chai. Kashmiris are heavy tea drinkers. Over 20 varieties of Kahwah are prepared in different households. One must taste the unheard “Kamal Kakri ke Pakore” near Nishat Gardens in Srinagar. Kashmir offers a vast variety of Kebabs. Non-Vegetarians must enjoy the mouth watering Chiken,Kebabs etc. But then, Nothing can beat the very own Lucknawi Kebabs! (Seriously),

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ब्रह्माकुमारी आश्रम की यात्रा व आध्यात्मिक ज्ञान के पल….!

ब्रह्माकुमारी आश्रम की यात्रा व आध्यात्मिक ज्ञान के पल….!

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अब मैं मध्य बर्थ पर था और पत्नी लोअर बर्थ पर. वह महिला जिससे बर्थ एक्सचेंज की थी वह ट्रेन चलते ही ऐसी निंद्रा में लीं हुई कि सवेरे चाय- नाश्ता की आवाजों के कोलाहल और चलकदमी से ही जागी. जैसी मुझे चिंता रहती है मिडिल या अपर बर्थ की ऐसी कोई दिक्कत तो नहीं हुई क्यूंकि एक बार सोने के लिए बेड पर जाने के बाद फिर तो मैं सवेरे ही उठता हूँ चाहे नींद न भी आये. बस बर्थ में शरीर को घुसाना और फिर स्वयं को समेटना– इन दो क्रियाओं के खतरों के कारण मैं लोअर बर्थ को बेहतर मानता हूं। यदि पत्नी के सहमति नहीं होती तो मैं उन महिला को उपकृत करने वाला नहीं थ. लगभग एक महीना पहले बुकिंग कराओ, लोअर सीट के लिए, और एक क्षण में एक आग्रह पर वह बर्थ आप किसी और को सौंप दें, यह तो कोई बात नहीं हुई. हालांकि पत्नी का सोचना इसके विपरीत है, चूँकि वह भी समय-समय पर अपनी यात्रा में लोअर बर्थ को हथियाने में निपुण है, तो उसके लॉजिक के अनुसार उस बर्थ पर किसी महिला को सोने देने में कुछ भी असहजता नहीं है. और यह कि लोअर बर्थ पर महिलाओं का पहला अधिकार नैसर्गिक रूप से बनता है (रेलवे के नियम चाहे जो कुछ हों).

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Bhutan : The Land of Thunder Dragon!

Bhutan : The Land of Thunder Dragon!

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Perched on a cliff-top, Bhutan’s Taktshang monastery, also known as the Tiger’s Nest, is one of the most breathtaking temples in the world. The Buddhist place of worship is built on a rock around 3,000m (10,000ft) above sea level and stands above a beautiful forest of blue pine and rhododendrons. The main temple complex was built in 1692 and is considered to be one of the holiest for the Bhutanese people. There are no proper roads and visitors have to trek for hours to reach the temple. Legend has it that Guru Rinpoche flew to this site on a tigress’ back to subdue a local demon. Thereafter, he meditated here for three months. It is blessed and sanctified as one of Bhutan’s most sacred religious sites.
Apart from monastry, we visited old fort of Paro and museum and then started for next destination, i.e. Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan Royal Kingdom and power centre of the country (around 50 K.m. away from Paro) taking with us wonderful memories of beautiful Paro. Again following the same pattern, we reached Thimphu in the evening and stayed in hotel to get ourselves recharged for next day’s tryst with the capital city.

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