Pheww…. Needed a break from this office grind and the Himalyan ranges were beckoning us. My husband and I love road trips. Once we decided to go uphill the research started on places to visit.

From one of our friends we got to know of Landsdown but it did not sound that interesting (actually adventurous). Then we came across Thanedar – the apple orchid center of Himachal, as it is said that this is where Strokes (name of the gentleman) planted apple trees. And then we yahoo searched other locations to visit around Thanedar. That’s when we decided on Narkanda being our first stop of this exciting drive and Sangla, Chitkul thereafter. We came across some stories of how beautiful the Sangla valley is (it’s compared to Pahlgaon in Kashmir) and decided to see it for ourselves.

Well the trip was planned and here goes the itenary –
Day 0 (Delhi - Chandigarh) – leave in the evening for Chandigarh and use it as a stop-gap destination (but unfortunately that was not to happen due to workload, so we left early next morning – 5 am and reached Chandigarh in 4 hours)
Day 1 (Chandigarh – Narkanda) – Left around 9 in the morning and drove up to Narkanda from Chandigarh. This is a 4-5 hour of drive, while crossing Shimla en-route.
Day 2 (Narkanda – Sangla) – Left around 9 for Sangla; a 7 hour drive due to some bad patches
Day 3 (Sangla – Chitkul – Sangla) – Visit Chitkul and discover the land around on foot
Day 4 (Sangla – Shimla) – This would be a little hectic as we would need to drive for 8-9 hours but it should be worth while as we could have a relaxed drive on the last day
Day 5 (Shimla – Delhi) – Back to the city grind on the 5th day; can be done in 7 hours.

Looking at the long mountain rides our choice was the Fiat Palio – there is definitely not much of an option between a Wagon R & Palio (am sure enthusiasts would agree). This is a Palio GTX that my husband drives around Delhi. We saw this as a good opportunity to open up its lungs or cylinders as they say in the world of auto. And definitely a sturdy and safe bet in the mountains though high on consuming, you know what.

Remembering of Petrol – we read that petrol pumps can be scarce in the far of hilly regions so we arranged for a JerryCan which can hold upto 10 litres of petrol as a back-up. This is also a learning from our previous trip to Manali – which was an unplanned adventure because of land slides (that’s another story guys), where the petrol pumps were not only located far from each other but the quality of petrol can be a concern too. Here is a mandatory pre-drive checklist –
Breaks – this is a life saver / giver in the hills
Tyres – ensure that they are not reaching end of life as the road conditions can be really demanding in some sections and especially the long running time.
Tool Kit – with all necessary essentials (this happened with my husband once in his friend’s car. His friend had gotten alloys fitted and forgot to change the tyre nut opener (paana) as per the new alloys set and they had a punctured tyre – rest I leave it to your imagination)
Radiator & Coolant – the hill driving is on high-revs

Day 1: We left Delhi at 5 am with an aim to stop over at Narkanda; ultimate destination being Sangla. We were lucky to miss the early morning traffic and reached Simla in seven hours flat. It took us another 2.5 hours to reach Narkanda. The last few kilometers to Narkanda took longer since the road is being repaired.

Our resort, Agyaat Vaas (www.agyaatvaas.com* – The Himalayan Retreat near Hatu Peak) was a 5 km steep (refer picture 1) and narrow uphill road from Narkanda - Sets the adrenalin rushing.  We reached the resort at 4:30 pm after two stops for snack time. One of these was at Café Coffee Day after Kalka – the cold coffee was really refreshing and best of all I could use my Sodexho coupons. The directions to the resort are that from a point on the main road where you see three path-ways ahead, with the middle one going upto our resort and also to Hatu Peak. This road is an experience in itself as the road is only wide enough for one car and fall on either side at the initial part. OK…. I agree you can’t expect any traffic on this road but still it is scary. Then there is a small plateau mid-way on this road with a big water reservoir in the land and wild horses grazing alongside.  Ahh, we finally reach the resort after a hectic last 2 hours. 

The car was doing well. We had gotten petrol filled near Chandigarh in the car and the Jerrycan for Rs.1000 (the car has given good average in the combined cycle)
 
There are about 7-8 cottages (refer picture 2) and a dinning area with a bonfire. It was so cold that our hands turned blue the minute we put them in water. The Owner (Mr. Pratap Chauhan; his brother was there when we went) and staff were very courteous. The staff went out of their way to make us feel comfortable. After freshening up we were served hot pakoras and steaming chai (tea).  

Since, Narkanda was meant to be a stopover only; we made the best use of our time. We trekked uphill towards Hatu Peak. Though it was just a 1-2 km uphill trek, it was a stamina testing experience. People – you really need to practice walking at least 10 days before a trekking trip. We were at 11,000 ft above sea level at the top of Hatu peak and the view was spectacular. A beautiful Mata ka Mandir (refer picture 3) is located at the top, which was a soothing visit. There are 3 big boulders 500 mtrs ahead which is said to be Bheem’s Chulha (So that you don’t get confused - this is the Mahabharat-Pandav wala Bheem). After relaxing there for a while (was very windy and chilly), we trekked back to our resort through another forested area. There is not much to do once night falls, so we had a quite bonfire and dinner. We hit the sack by 11:00pm. * Per day cost was approx. INR 3,400 with all meals and one snack

Day 2: Got up at 8 am. It was a torture to even brush our teeth in the cold water provided to us; luckily we had hot water for bathing. We were treated to hot aloo parathans and tea for breakfast. The owner advised us to go to Sangla via Thanedar (a 30 min extra drive) so we could also visit Tanni Jubbar lake (refer picture 4) on the way. Nothing much near the lake, but the lake view with pine trees alongside and a Nag Devta temple were very scenic. It is about a 30-45 mins drive to Thanedar from Narkanda (all depending upon number of photo stops you take). We left Thanedar at around 11:00 am for Sangla.

From Thanedar we drove downhill to Rampur and though the roads are narrow, it has very little traffic and mostly smooth except for 2-odd patches. While going down you can miss the right-turn to Rampur. I say it with confidence because we missed it. We drove 7 kms from that point before we found people who could confirm directions. We drove a few meters ahead before we found clearance to take a u-turn and from this point onwards we confirmed our route at every possible chance. This is a different route from the NH-22 which we could have taken had we started straight from Narkanda but it was no point going back there.
 
On hitting the NH-22 before Rampur, it was a driver’s paradise as the roads were as smooth as glass (only not that slippery) (refer picture 6). We drove full throttle from Rampur with the Sutlej river flowing alongside, a truly beautiful drive.

From Rampur onwards it’s all uphill drive with flat sections in between. One needs to really love a road strip to enjoy the travel to Sangla (refer picture 9), as the steep roads uphill is not always a smooth drive. We crossed villages like Jhakri, Jeori, Wangtoo and Karchham on the way (refer picture 7) and got glimpses of snow peaks (refer picture 5) once we entered Kinnaur.

We reached Sangla at 5:30pm and our camp – Kinner camp** www.kinnercamps.com (refer picture 10) was another 4 kms ahead. We drove non-stop to Sangla with just taking a loo break and munching biscuits to keep hunger away. Once you clear the bad sections after the Katchham hydro-project, it is truly an amazing view with the proximity of snow covered peaks increasing every time we looked up.

Our camp was 4 kms ahead of Sangla village. We drove downhill on a kuccha road into the valley on the banks of the river Baspa. Two partners started this camp about 7-8 years ago – Pradeep Negi and Vijay Kumar Negi. We were greeted by Vijayji who led us to our tents; a colorful tent with attached bathroom (refer picture 11) where we freshened up before heading for our evening snacks.

We later walked down the pine forests (a 5-10 minutes walk) to relax at the Baspa river. The cold waters chilled our Beers in less than ten minutes. We sat by the river side and relaxed. In our moment of peace and star gazing, we forgot that it was getting dark and the return walk through dense pine trees could be an arduous task. Luckily, we had a torch handy (one of the must things to carry on such trips apart from a candle). With some help from the Kinner camp staff we managed to reach safely.

The night was again bonfire, dinner and chatting with Vijayji on how he knew his partner since school days and set up this camp. Vijayji informed us that May and June were peak seasons and he was expecting a group of 70 schools student from Solan on 2nd May. Their staff worked day and night to set up new camps to accommodate the large group, yet they had time to cook for us and make us feel at home. *** Per day cost was approx. INR 4,000 with all meals and one snack

Day 3: We had a yummy breakfast of cheese omelets, bread-jam and honey-lemon tea, before heading for Chitkul; the last village on the Indian side, after which Tibet starts. Chitkul is about 20 kms from our camp and the road was a smooth metal road. On the way, we stopped by mini streams trickling across the road and clicked some pictures of the nearing snow peaks (refer pictures 13 & 14).

At Chitkul, one needs to park the car at the village (refer car picture for the village) and then walk downhill to the Baspa river or can go to a nearby border police camp (don’t remember the name), which is about 3 kms from Chitkul. We walked alongside the river and could see patches of snow near the river banks which we were eager to play in. We crossed the river via a temporary bridge to reach these snow patches, played around for a while and then chose a spot at the river side (refer pictures 15, 16 & 17) to have packed lunch provided by the camp. We lazed around for a while and then headed back. It was 3:30 pm and the walk up-hill took some time. We reached the camp by 5:30 pm and relaxed in our tents before having dinner. We had a couple from Kullu for company today.

Day 4: Next day, we decided to take a break midway to Delhi, as we could not do a continuous 16 hour drive home. We left the camp around 10:30 am and Vijay Ji advised us to stop over at a small Dhaba (refer picture 18) just as you cross “Kinnaur Welcomes you gate” (refer picture 8) where they serve delicious Rajma Chawal just for Rs. 30 – all you can eat. The staff was very courteous and kept feeding us till we could take no more. Mind you, this is a dhaba frequented by truck drivers so don’t have high expectations in terms of cleanliness and be ready for some ogling if you have girls in the group.

While returning from Sangla, a little further than Rampur, it is again uphill to Narkanda. This is a different mountain range from the one where Sangla is situated with Rampur being the low point between the 2 mountain ranges. By the way the Sangla mountain ranges are called the OUTER HIMALAYAS.

The NH-22 is a really good drive with smooth roads which had been patched to cover all potholes (though no shoddy patch work like here in Delhi). We again left the Sutlej down below with each bend in the road.

At Narkanda we took a break to stretch our legs and freshen up at “The Hatu” Hotel. Saw a g\Goddess procession walking down, where my husband donated some money and got un-cooked rice as Prasad (which he very eagerly shared with me to finish it fast). Took some snaps around and then prepared for another 2 hour drive down-hill to Shimla. Narkanda is the high point of this mountain range.

We reached Shimla around 6pm and decided to spend the night there. One can easily find a hotel between INR 1,000 to 2,500 per night. After freshening up we had dinner at a small Chinese joint (I think it was called Little China) at the Mall road – nice food. We went to bed by 11 mentally preparing ourselves for another 7-8 hour drive to Delhi the next day.

Day 5:  We left Shimla at 10:00 am to reach Delhi by 6:00pm taking 3 stops for eating and relaxing. We were exhausted but what a memorable trip! If only, we had one more day at Sangla – how one wishes that the adventure never ends 

Our learning’s from this trip. One, have atleast two drivers in your group so that each one can drive in turns or else it gets very tiring. In the 1,300 km drive, I drove for about 300 kms and my poor husband had to bear the brunt of driving longer. Two, treks and bon fires are best done in groups so group size should be between five and ten. Three check your car before you go for a long drive like this. Four keep a road map handy. This map could help - (refer picture 19) Bon Voyage!

For more gyan (information) write to us at:
richa.bansal@evalueserve.com, parry_gill@yahoo.com