Travelogue: Kalpa-Sangla-Sarahan-Rohtang

lordofgondor · 7th August 2008, 14:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by mobike008

We had gone up to Rohtang during peak winter late december and it was a dangerous experience. Also, isn't having Maggi in those chill environs an awesome experience?

Please post as many snaps as possible. Also, it would be nice to see pictures of the trecherous roads while going from Manali towards Rohtang.

Btw, even i thought two words were quite prominent in your travelogue( Boozing & Rum)

Yeah man, having a plate of steaming masala maggi felt good amidst all the rain and wind. Me and wifey picked a corner with couple of chairs and a table and just sat there enjoying. And hey, both man and machine need their fuel, the car got petrol on time and I got my rum!

I never got an opportunity to click pictures while going to Rohtang as it was raining all the way.

lordofgondor · 7th August 2008, 14:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by akroy

Amazing pics lord !! That is the scenary to die for.

Nice writeup as well

Abhi

Thanks man! Some of the pics came out even better that I had expected. And I just wrote my heart out while writing the log.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DKG

Seeing all the fabulous pictures of travels in India I am now feeling there's too little time and way too much to do

Thanks for sharing the pictures. The Himalayas truly are aweinspiring

You said it!

The Himalayas are just too good. The more you explore them, the more you want to keep coming back and explore some more. I'll be posting more pics in time (mods please lemme know if I become too overenthusiastic going about that!), so watch out this space.

salvation · 7th August 2008, 15:02

really nice pictures!!.
i was in narkanda with two of my friends on 12th and 13th of july and stayed at same HPTDC hotel whose front grill pictures you have clicked. really nice place.i had one of the best dinner, breakfast i ever had in himachal in this hotel only. I never had such a tasty food else where in HPTDC HOTELS.
On 12th we made a failed attempt to trek all the way to Hatu Top which is 8kms from narkanda because of rain.
On 13th morning power window of rear door of my esteem( same colours as yours

) once slided down refused come up because of some wire cutting

.
We got it done at maruti service center theog while on our way back. Maruti has service stations even in the remotest part of himachal.

Ramkumar · 7th August 2008, 16:36

WOW!!! beautiful. your travelogue has kindled my interest to drive to HP. Last year i had been there but by train from Delhi.

phamilyman · 7th August 2008, 17:00

Lovely and amazing it is. I really think you missed the basic funda of water crossings. Any stream is a whimper in the morning and picks up fury as it melts and day passes.

That said, lovely pics. I so so so so need to get my *** out there.

dwaraka · 8th August 2008, 10:48

Hi Lordofgondor,

Very nice narration and pictures are crisp. 4th snap is amazing with blue yonder.

Dwarak

pjay_in · 8th August 2008, 14:15

Wonderful stuff!

Lord, how well connected are these places? For people from down south, getting upto delhi is no problem. After that what would be the best option? Hire a cab? Take a bus? Are the buses good?

snaronikar · 8th August 2008, 15:52

Super pics Lord. Thanks for posting...

hvkumar · 8th August 2008, 16:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by pjay_in

Wonderful stuff!

Lord, how well connected are these places? For people from down south, getting upto delhi is no problem. After that what would be the best option? Hire a cab? Take a bus? Are the buses good?

You can easily reach Shimla by train, Volvo bus, but from there hiring a car is the best option. Buses run to Rampur, Recong Peo etc but they are the ordinary local bus variety, which may not be very comfortable and also crowded. Besides, you will have to interchange to local buses/ shared jeeps at the nearest big towns (like Rampur, Recong Peo) to travel further to Sarahan, Sangla and Kalpa.

tsk1979 · 8th August 2008, 16:54

There is a deluxe bus from Chd to Recong Po around 5:30am from chandigarh. Takes around 8 hours to reach Kalpa

anupmathur · 8th August 2008, 17:49

lordodgondor, what a lovely log and photos!
What a pity about the road to Chitkul.
Seeing your photos, and I think there are too few, of Kinnaur, I'm really getting to itch to head out soon.

The route you took to Kullu was very desolate? By any chance did you go via Chindi & Rohanda to Pundoh? What a beautiful route, especially during the monsoon!

lordofgondor · 11th August 2008, 11:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by phamilyman

Lovely and amazing it is. I really think you missed the basic funda of water crossings. Any stream is a whimper in the morning and picks up fury as it melts and day passes.

Thanks for the tip mate! Will definitely keep in mind for future trips.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dwaraka

Hi Lordofgondor,
Very nice narration and pictures are crisp. 4th snap is amazing with blue yonder.
Dwarak

Yeah man, I really loved gazing into those lovely clean blue skies.

Quote:

Originally Posted by pjay_in

Wonderful stuff!
Lord, how well connected are these places? For people from down south, getting upto delhi is no problem. After that what would be the best option? Hire a cab? Take a bus? Are the buses good?

If you hire a cab, I would recommend that you take some decent SUV like Scorpio/Gurkha/Force Cruiser and not an Innova. We saw some Innova's on the climbs and all they were doing was blocking the vehicles behind with their sluggishness.

Quote:

Originally Posted by anupmathur

The route you took to Kullu was very desolate? By any chance did you go via Chindi & Rohanda to Pundoh? What a beautiful route, especially during the monsoon!

Yup it was real destitute of inhabitants for quite a while.

The road was in a bad shape and a sharp incline for a long distance. All around we saw clouds, greenery and a man or two once in a while. Can't recollect any of the places you have mentioned though.

rkbharat · 11th August 2008, 11:46

beautiful pics. I wish to plan this trip once again, but its difficult to do that with 1.5 year young kid.

ramkya1 · 11th August 2008, 13:22

Hai Lord,

Enjoyed your pictures and exciting story.... so spontaneous and colourful.

Thanks for sharing.

Happy Driving,

--Ramky
-----------

Vikrocks · 2nd September 2008, 20:25

Really intersting write up and pretty good picks. I was there in Sangla and Chitkul the August last year and will be there this September too. Just love that place.

I had a couple of weeks long trip and just stayed at Sangla....drove from Hyderabad to Sangla with my friends and my babies (my labradors).....the road to chikul was cut at that time as one of the villages got washed away and there was no road for about 50meters in between Sangla and Chitkul. We had a pretty amazing experience going to Chitkul where we first hired a jeep and then were helped by army trucks.

7th August 2008, 15:02	#18
salvation BHPian Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: chandigarh Posts: 117 Thanked: 11 Times	really nice pictures!!. i was in narkanda with two of my friends on 12th and 13th of july and stayed at same HPTDC hotel whose front grill pictures you have clicked. really nice place.i had one of the best dinner, breakfast i ever had in himachal in this hotel only. I never had such a tasty food else where in HPTDC HOTELS. On 12th we made a failed attempt to trek all the way to Hatu Top which is 8kms from narkanda because of rain. On 13th morning power window of rear door of my esteem( same colours as yours) once slided down refused come up because of some wire cutting. We got it done at maruti service center theog while on our way back. Maruti has service stations even in the remotest part of himachal. Last edited by tsk1979 : 7th August 2008 at 17:16. Reason: do not use more than 2 smileys per post
	() Thanks

7th August 2008, 16:36	#19
Ramkumar BHPian Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Mysore Posts: 58 Thanked: 0 Times	WOW!!! beautiful. your travelogue has kindled my interest to drive to HP. Last year i had been there but by train from Delhi.
	() Thanks

7th August 2008, 17:00	#20
phamilyman Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Gurgaon Posts: 5,975 Thanked: 4,673 Times	Lovely and amazing it is. I really think you missed the basic funda of water crossings. Any stream is a whimper in the morning and picks up fury as it melts and day passes. That said, lovely pics. I so so so so need to get my *** out there.
	() Thanks

8th August 2008, 10:48	#21
dwaraka Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,238 Thanked: 229 Times	Hi Lordofgondor, Very nice narration and pictures are crisp. 4th snap is amazing with blue yonder. Dwarak
	() Thanks

8th August 2008, 14:15	#22
pjay_in BHPian Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Melbourne Posts: 396 Thanked: 22 Times	Wonderful stuff! Lord, how well connected are these places? For people from down south, getting upto delhi is no problem. After that what would be the best option? Hire a cab? Take a bus? Are the buses good?
	() Thanks

8th August 2008, 15:52	#23
snaronikar Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Bengaluru Posts: 2,845 Thanked: 31 Times View My Garage	Super pics Lord. Thanks for posting...
	() Thanks

8th August 2008, 16:54	#25
tsk1979 Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 23,695 Thanked: 23,484 Times View My Garage	There is a deluxe bus from Chd to Recong Po around 5:30am from chandigarh. Takes around 8 hours to reach Kalpa
	() Thanks

8th August 2008, 17:49	#26
anupmathur Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: New Delhi Posts: 3,095 Thanked: 311 Times	lordodgondor, what a lovely log and photos! What a pity about the road to Chitkul. Seeing your photos, and I think there are too few, of Kinnaur, I'm really getting to itch to head out soon. The route you took to Kullu was very desolate? By any chance did you go via Chindi & Rohanda to Pundoh? What a beautiful route, especially during the monsoon!
	() Thanks

11th August 2008, 11:46	#28
rkbharat Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Gurgaon/New Delhi Posts: 1,603 Thanked: 724 Times View My Garage	beautiful pics. I wish to plan this trip once again, but its difficult to do that with 1.5 year young kid.
	() Thanks

11th August 2008, 13:22	#29
ramkya1 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Palakkad, Keral Posts: 1,829 Thanked: 434 Times View My Garage	Exciting Story Hai Lord, Enjoyed your pictures and exciting story.... so spontaneous and colourful. Thanks for sharing. Happy Driving, --Ramky -----------
	() Thanks

2nd September 2008, 20:25	#30
Vikrocks Newbie Join Date: May 2007 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 12 Thanked: Once	Great!!! Really intersting write up and pretty good picks. I was there in Sangla and Chitkul the August last year and will be there this September too. Just love that place. I had a couple of weeks long trip and just stayed at Sangla....drove from Hyderabad to Sangla with my friends and my babies (my labradors).....the road to chikul was cut at that time as one of the villages got washed away and there was no road for about 50meters in between Sangla and Chitkul. We had a pretty amazing experience going to Chitkul where we first hired a jeep and then were helped by army trucks. Attached Thumbnails
	() Thanks