Travelling in Himachal in June – 2007
Shimla >> Manali >> Rohtang >> Chandratal >> Ki/Kibber/Tabo >> Kalpa >> Shimla
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The later half of the title is borrowed from an Eric Clapton number in City of Angels OST.
Leaving Manali, we made our way up to Rohtang, and beyond to Lahaul Valley.
Manali nearly has the feel of end of civilization, beyond which one would expect higher inaccessible passes and plateaus that are referred to as the roof of the world, where no one but the most adventurous would make his mark. The upper regions have an aura that brings in the souls seeking the road less travelled and the ones looking for an escapade to timelessness. Numerous adventure companies on the streets of Manali, and the knowledge of the fact that there is little habitation beyond here reinforces these feelings.
As we took off from Manali a little late in the day, it was anticipation and excitement of heading into these esoteric lands that occupied our minds. What was in store was far different from the picturesque world created in dreams. Yes, the valleys and the mountains were pretty and of a scale seen nowhere else, but we were not the only ones on the roads. Big mean SUVs, Tata Sumos and even tiny tinny Marutis crowded the road in numbers that could match peak hour traffic of our cites. We progressed slowly like a caravan in bumper-to-bumper traffic that probably stretched all the way to the pass, drinking fumes belched from the engines that half-burned the fuel in thin mountain air. It was no way to head to heaven; undoubtedly there were many of us in quest of something more than the everyday grind.
Traffic Jams on the way up..
It was the shops on the way that had me amused. In the two hour journey, located every hundred meters were shops renting out thermal wear for those unequipped to be up in the cold at 13,000 feet. And they successfully found customers from gullible travellers who had no knowledge of the warm day and the pleasant t-shirt weather on the top. The shops were numbered and not named, and so numerous they were, I recall seeing the numbers go above 400.
‘Why do they have numbers for the shop,’ I asked our driver Mangal.
‘There are so many shops along the road, it is hard to remember where you rented the clothes from,’ he said, ‘but a number is unique and much easy for the drivers to keep in mind and return the wears. Names can be duplicated and can get confusing very easily.’
As we passed each shop, someone would raise and hold up a long jacket with furry outer lining and look at us hopefully of finding a customer. We stopped on the way for lunch and I bought a pair of cheap goggles in one of the shops to compensate the expensive ones I had lost on the way. The fifty rupees plastic piece apparently made me look better than the one I earlier had, which cost me a few thousands.
It was several traffic jams and long waits before we made it to Rohtang. Up there, it was like being in a big mall. Thousands of people, a good number of them who have never seen snow before, were running, sliding, jumping and playing in two-meter thick snow and having the time of their lives. And the whole pass had turned into a supermarket with shops selling breakfast-lunch-dinner and renting out jackets, sleighs, horse rides and even basic skiing lessons. If mall hopping is something you love, Rohtang is the perfect place for holiday.
Up on the pass
But a short ride beyond Rohtang and we were suddenly in no man’s land. The traffic, people, vendors were all past and it was pure silence that accompanied us. It was the silence of joy and the silence of beauty – a feeling that hit us on visualizing the magnitude of the beautiful mountains, the thoughts of Chandra river flowing far below in the valley, feeling the presence of beautiful purple and yellow flowers carpeting the mountain floor and tiny streams flowing down from the snow melting on the white peaks and into the valley floor. Valleys of Lahaul and Spiti perfectly matched our dream of the mountains.
Continued at Our Driver Mangal
Wow. A jam on the way up, 400 stalls for borrowing thermals, and nowhere to step at 13000ft! Wow.
Indians Are venturing out now. I am not sure how long Lahaul will remain what it is. Himachal effectively banned plastic bags some years back, what was it like on Rohtang? I hope not too bad. I remember a time when you could be the only person walking on snow there, and look at all the passengers on a passing bus staring at you as if you were mad.
Last year when I visited Lahaul, I was one of the early birds of the season, but I was told people do come in good numbers. Sometimes I wish I was born earlier than I did. But then I know, in such case I would not have the economic advantage to travel.
I regret missing Manali ..even my inlaws went there last year …anyway its not in my agenda this year .
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yes i visited the place recently it was nice the who resides there said we could not see snows at september but scattered. wholly it was a wonderful place once in a life time we should visit and enjoy.