Travelling in Himachal in June – 2007
Shimla >> Manali >> Rohtang >> Chandratal >> Ki/Kibber/Tabo >> Kalpa >> Shimla
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The journey beyond Nako was hardly exciting. It was a descending road all the way and landscape changed considerably after driving for a few hours. Mountains got smaller and a few trees started appearing here and there. Sun became bearable as we progressed. Once we left Spiti behind and drove into Kinnaur region, mountains became greener and apple orchards could be seen on the slopes. Prosperous villages with large houses that flourished by farms of exotic fruits and vegetables could be seen on the top of the hills. Sutlej grew wider as we descended but never lost steam. A few things worthy of mention.
* Roaring Spiti meets an equally wild Sutlej coming down from river. Together, they become a force that deserve fear and respect. Our road followed Sutlej for many many hours from here on and she doesn’t loose her energy one bit all through the journey.
Confluence of Spiti and Sutlej
* It is too fearsome and fast for boats. At places far from bridges, people crossed the river in manually operated cable cars. What do they call them?
* Mountain walls were no longer loose sediments but were solid and rocky. Fear of landslides here would be lot less than Spiti but not completely alleviated.
* The road cut from near vertical rock cliffs at places. A narrow groove in the rock, a couple of hundred meters above the river forms the road just wide enough for two small vehicles to pass.
* Sun mellowed down as we descended and reached tree line. It was pleasant weather in Rekong Peo and Kalpa village. But we no longer had clear deep blue skies that were characteristic of Spiti. It was cloudy or hazy most of the time.
* The road to Sangla and Chitkul were blocked by a landslide. Another disappointment after missing out Dhankar Monastery. Just the way people told me that Dhankar is one of the most beautiful places in Spiti, I had to hear ravings on Sangla and Chitkul that were supposed to be prettiest region in Kinnaur. Murphy’s law was working.
* There is a large hydro-electric project under construction beyond Rekong Peo. They have drilled large tunnels all over the mountains, probably to pass water. In one such place where a dam was already commissioned, water gushed out from a tunnel in full force into Sutlej.
* Unlike deserted and forbidding Spiti, Kinnaur’s weather is much pleasant and favourable to horticulture. In effect, population density is also much higher. You never have to worry about getting lost anywhere.
* Landscape becomes prettier again and the slopes are filled with dense deodar forests once the road leaves Sutlej valley and climbs up towards Shimla.
Continued at Kalpa Village
The landscape of last but one picture looks son much like Leh’s . Also the water flowing looks like that of River Indus.
@indicaspecies, infact a lot of the landscapes and rivers of Lahaul and Spiti look similar to Leh’s. You would not have realized it from my earlier posts, as I have not posted many such pictures.
[...] Highlights of Kinnaur* Kalpa [...]
[...] Rohtang >> Chandratal >> Ki/Kibber/Tabo >> Kalpa >> Shimla+ Previous: Highlights of Kinnaur+ Next: Infomration on Lahaul, Spiti and Kinnaur+ Go to beginning of the story or index [...]