Himachal Pradesh – March 2020.

Winter Spiti – A Fiasco.

Spiti is a cold desert mountain valley located above tree line in the north-eastern part of Himachal Pradesh. The name “Spiti” means “The middle land”, i.e. the land between Tibet and India. To enjoy winter Spiti by public transport March is considered as the best month because in March chances of road block is less due to snowfall. Though temperature remains subzero but not as severe as January/ February. Buses keep on plying on the routes regularly. There is plenty of snow around. I went Spiti in the previous year during September to Visit Chandratal crossing Kunzum pass. This time my target was to go to Mudh Village, enjoy the beauty of Pin Valley National Park, and on the way back visit Nako lake and Kinnaur Valley.

When I booked train tickets, four months before the journey, in the month of November 2019, I had never ever heard the word “Corona”, probably no one in India. Gradually situation changed and a deadly disease named Covid-19 started coming into the news. But still it was far away from West Bengal or Himachal Pradesh. I was dissuaded by few people but I followed that the disease had been transmitting to those who travelled through airports. I am crazy about traveling, gets broken heart if any tour is cancelled. I thought I could manage the tour by train. If I would find any problem at any point of my journey I should come back immediately.

I boarded Kalka Mail on time and reached Kalka. My plan was to go to Shimla and proceed for Rampur. But for some reason I felt nausea and did not get the courage to undertake another road journey after reaching Shimla. I settled in a hotel near the old bus stand where the taxi dropped me. I visited the mall and the market and came down to have lunch. Though it was decently cold in Shimla but the weather was quite hot due to clear sky in the noon time. In the afternoon I went to Kalibari. Watching sun set was overwhelming from Kalibari. I felt nostalgic and remembered my visit to Kalibari with my parents thirty eight years ago.

Next day I went to Recong Peo, early morning, by a taxi from the old bus stand, which was carrying news paper. Local people avail these cars to save time as buses run slowly. I reached Recong Peo at noon. Mostly hotels were closed due to off season and the terror of Corona had let many people cancel their trips. It was pretty cold. I sneezed 2/3 times, so I got afraid and did not take shower. In the afternoon I took a stroll in the market to buy vitamin capsules and took some photographs.

Next day in the morning I went to the bus stand to catch bus for Kaza. But unfortunately or perhaps fortunately I did not get the ticket in Kaza bus. It was filled with students who were going back to Kaza from Shimla due to sudden vacation, announced by the authority. I did not want to waste time however and I caught the Samdoo bus at 11 -30 am and reached Nako in the evening at 6 o’clock. There I came to know that the local administration and the group of hoteliers decided to close all the hotels and home stays for tourists in Spiti due to Corona terror. I came across 4 bikers who was going down not getting any accommodation in Kaza.

There was a home-stay at the bus stop. I asked for accommodation there. The landlady informed that they were going to close the establishment from next day onward, so I have to leave by next day. It had been decided by all hotel and home-stay owners of Spiti that all the hotels and home-stays would remain shut for the tourists from the next day onward.

I got into the allotted room. Room was cozy and almost clean, but the toilet was locked. I asked the lady about the toilet, she informed that it was not functional because the water pipe and sewage pipe both were choked with ice. There was a bio-toilet outside the building. I requested her to open the toilet for at least at night and to give a bucket of water. She firmly disagreed. I could neither eat properly nor drink as I was afraid to go out in the mid night in such freezing cold and I was afraid of the hill stray dogs too.

At night I realized that I was quite unfit for doing winter Spiti. In -7/-8 degree temperature It was nor possible for me to go out for toilet, neither use bio toilet without water. Next morning I woke up at 6-30 AM. It was pretty cold, my fingers became blue as soon as I took off my gloves to take a snap of sunrise. When I asked about the lake to the land lady, she informed casually that there was nothing much to see because the lake was frozen, but it did not lower my spirit to visit the lake. After taking a cup of tea I went to visit Nako lake.

No one was there on the road. I asked a small local girl to show me the way to the lake. She took me near the lake. There were three guys who also came to visit the lake. I am a person from plain-land. The beauty of white frozen pristine Nako lake in the morning was mesmerizing to me. I took few photograph of the lake. I requested those visitors to take few snaps of mine. Then I came back and had breakfast. In the cafe I met three bikers who stayed at Dhankad as they were refused accommodation in Kaza the previous night.

I caught the morning bus for Recong Peo. Reaching there, I took a local bus for Kalpa. When the local bus dropped me at Kalpa bus stand in the afternoon I saw no one in the road. All hotels were closed. I saw an old lady working in their cowshed, collecting cow-dung for making fuel. I tried to draw her attention but either she was deaf or she did not understand my language, she kept on muttering something that I could not hear.

I felt puzzled and started walking slowly towards the market. On the way I saw a traveler bus full of tourists. I asked them where they were going to stay, they were also in search of a hotel. Suddenly I saw 2/3 people in a balcony of a building. I proceeded towards it, it was a hotel, named Hotel Destination. I went up and asked for a room and got one. Those tourists in the traveler bus also came there later. They had ladies and kids with them. They were a group of 13/14 people including kids.

My return train ticket was after eight days, though it was not difficult at all to spend a few days in Himachal Pradesh, I thought to spend rest of the days in Kinnaur and then gradually went down to catch the train. I got a comfortable room in Kalpa, with a balcony facing Mt Kinnaur Kailash . I thought to spend 2 nights there and take rest. But taking rest was not in my fortune this time. I came to know that Himachal Pradesh Government announced tourist ban after a day. So all the hotels were going to close and tourists were requested to leave. I saw the orders of the local administration as well as Himachal Pradesh government, through a local hotelier friend. I asked my son to buy return flight ticket immediately. Direct flights tickets were sold out. I got a flight ticket via Lucknow from Chandigrah to Kolkata.

At night there was light snow fall. In the morning when I woke up there was fresh snow all over which started melting with the rise of sun. Next day early morning I visited the local temples and monastery. Narayan Nagini temple was built up of wood and its carvings were unique. After breakfast I went to the bus stand to catch the bus for Recong Peo.

There was a bus for Shimla at 11 AM. The group of people that came by traveler bus remained there. Their leader informed me that they would continue their journey to Manali and then Amritsar and would not give up the tour in any case. He was looking very confident. I reached Shimla in the evening and spent the night in the same hotel where I stayed previously. They gave me a warm welcome. I still remember that group and wonder when they did manage to come back and how?

Next early morning, I caught a taxi and reached Chandigrah airport three hours earlier than my flight time. Before that I equipped myself with mask, sanitizer and gloves from a medicine shop. With the help of the driver I went into a good restaurant where I took sumptuous breakfast of two aloo parathas. At Lucknow air port all shops were closed including food outlets. So I could not have lunch. I landed kolkata on 21 March evening, in the nick of the time before lock-down. From next day onward there was complete lock-down.