Manimahesh Kailash is a pilgrimage in Himachal Pradesh which is considered as the abode of Manimahesh Shiv, it is not so popular like Kedarnath for its difficult accessibility. The altitude of the Manimahesh Peak is 5653 meter and the height of the Manimahesh lake is 4040 meter ( 13, 390 ft) which is a high altitude lake situated at the foot of the peak. The lake is the venue of a highly revered pilgrimage trek undertaken during the month of August/September. Hadsar is the last motorable point, after that it is a 17/18 km (app) trek. Pony is also available. But one has to walk time to time on the way because at some places slopes are very steep.
Khajjiyar
When I planned the trip I planned for visiting Kugti Village. It’s an Eco village. There is Kathik Swami temple 7 kilometer up hill from the village. There is no motorable road up to Kugti. It is 10 km from Hadsar. Shared jeeps ply from Hadsar to Kugti. One has to walk 2 km to reach the village. There is no hotel, only one forest rest house is there but locals give shelter for night.
Chamara lake
I also planned to cover a major part of Dhauladhar circuit of Himachal pradesh. After visiting Kathikswami I went back to Chamba to complete the circuit. I could not see Dhauladhar range in this trip because it was all covered with cloud and mist. From Chamba I went to Khajjiyar. Kajjiyar looked mystic with clouds. Dalhausie is a typical Himalayan hill station established by British. In dalhausie I did local sight seeing in a car sharing with another tourist. Then I went to Dharamsala. Dharamsala is a large town. One has to hire car to go to Masroor rock cut temple, Kagra Devi temple, Kangra fort, Chamunda Devi temple, Jwala devi temple etc. McLeod-gunge is very near to Dharamsala and a very beautiful place to stay. There also I had to hire car sharing with another tourist for sight seeing and visited Dahl lake, Vagsu nag, Vagsu Nag falls, Dalailam’s house etc. The market of McLeod-gunge is alluring for those who love shopping.
Kangra fort
The end of the trip was a fiasco for me. When the car reached near Pathankot, the driver informed us that all the trains had been cancelled due to political chaos. On that day the verdict against Baba Ram Rahim was announced, he had been accused for several crimes. His disciples started breaking government properties, attacked press and media people. Curfew was declared in several places, transport services were detained for unlimited time. Communication services were withheld. I became too much worried and called my son over phone. He was in Bengaluru then. He asked me which was the nearest airport. The nearest airports were Chandigarh and Amritsar, but it was not possible to travel within Punjab so I preferred Jammu airport to get flight to come back to kolkata. I went to the interstate bus terminus to inquire about the bus service to go to Jammu from Pathankot. When I came back the flight tickets of next two days were already sold, so I went to Jammu and waited there two days to get the flight. It was my 4th Jammu visit, so there was nothing much left to see. I went to the Raghunathji temple and roamed around the market, and had Kebabs from Papa Di Hatti.
Tirthan is a beautiful valley in Himachal Pradesh near Kullu. Normally I read a lot before planning a trip. But sometimes those information do not work. It happened in the Tirthan trip also. According to the information, which I received from a travel forum, I took HP tourism’s Volvo bus “Himsuta” from Delhi ISBT for Manali to get down at Aut. It was instructed that one should get down before Aut tunnel, where the road bifurcated, to get a bus for Banjar. The Volvo started at 6 PM from Delhi. My co-passenger was an old man from Bhuntar. When I informed him that I had to get down before Aut tunnel he discouraged me to do so saying that it would not be wise to get down there as the place would remain absolutely deserted at 5 AM in the morning. He instructed the conductor to drop me after crossing the tunnel where there would be light and locality.
Magpie at Sairopa
It was completely dark when the bus dropped me on the highway at Aut at 5 o’clock in the morning. It was drizzling. I found an ATM booth where there was light. I walked in front of it with my luggage. Three dogs came running towards me. I had an old newspaper in my hand. I thought to sit there spreading it on the floor in front of the ATM booth. One of the dogs snatched it and two others started sniffing my bags. I felt scared. I entered into the booth to avoid them. Then suddenly the burglar alarm of the booth started ringing. I felt completely bewildered. I came out and became victim of the dogs again There were vehicles on the highway which passed by very fast.
Jalori pass
After sometime I saw a car was coming down slowly along an unmetalled road. As soon as it slowed down to take a turn in front of the ATM booth I shouted desperately for help. If it was a big city I would have preferred to be bitten by the dogs than to ask help from two strangers. But it was Aut, so without any hesitation I accepted the lift. They took me to a nearby tea shop, offered me tea. They were two civil engineers who were on duty for some construction work. They came down to the tea stall to have morning tea and snacks. They knew it opened early.
Sojha
In the shop there were three men sitting and having tea, two of them also experienced the same like me taking shelter in the ATM, and later came to the tea stall. I waited there for the local bus to go to Banjar. In the mean time I had my breakfast there. Then a taxi came for distributing news paper in the morning which would go to Banjar. The tea stall owner negotiated with the driver and managed a lift for me up-to Banjar instead of hundred rupees. The taxi driver dropped me at Banjar bus stand. He suggested me to stay at Sairopa instead of Nagini. I boarded a local bus and reached Sairopa. It was a nice place.
Banjar
There is Himalayan National Park in Sairopa. It is also famous for trout fishing. One has to get permit for fishing and to trek in the forest from the Forest office. There is a Forest Rest house in Sairopa. Himalayan Magpies are in plenty in this valley with other species of birds. I enjoyed the serenity because there was no tourist at that time. I roamed around, watched beautiful birds and blooming plum fruit trees and Tirthan river.
Next day I went to Banjar by local bus and from there I went to Sojha and Jalori pass by shared jeep. Sojha is also a beautiful small hamlet in Tithan Valley. I wanted to trek to Serolsar lake from there but locals dissuaded me because there was 5/6 feet high snow. Jalori pass was also blocked due to snow. I could not reach Jalori Mata temple. So I decided not to waste time in Sojha staying there another day. From Tirthan Valley I went to Bhuntar by bus to go to Parvati valley.
Gangotri and Yamunotri are two important pilgrimages of Uttarakhand. The temples there normally open on the day of Akshay Tritiya. In the year 2016 it opened on 9th May. According to that I planned my trip in the next week to avoid opening rush. But then summer vacation already started. This was my second solo trip. I did not have much idea that how much the rush would remain during summer vacation.
On the way to Gaumukh
I reached Haridwar in the evening by Kumbh Express. It was 3 hours late. I kept my luggage in GMVN tourist rest house near the railway station which I booked from kolkata. Then I went to the bus stand to know when could I get the bus for Barkot. I came to know that no bus was going to Barkot from Haridwar then. In the season getting public transport was quite difficult. Jeeps and buses were mostly hired by the pilgrims. Only one bus plies to Barkot from Dehradoon which leaves at 7 o’clock in the morning and the first bus for Dehradoon leaves at 5 AM from Haridwar.
Shiv Kund, Gangotri
I woke up at 4 o’clock and got myself prepared to catch the first bus. when I went to the bus stand and was asking for the bus, a guy, who seemed to be a conductor of a bus, was clearing his account there. As I told the attendant in the counter that I must not miss the first bus for Dehradoon because I had to catch the bus for Barkot from there, then that person said that his bus would go to a place which was just 10 km away from Barkot. I could easily go to Barkot from there by shared jeep. I went with him and he offered me his seat just beside the driver as all seats were already filled up. I started the journey. As soon as we reached the destination the driver showed me the bus from Dehra also reached there. He shifted my luggage and asked the other driver to drop me at the proper place.
Harsil
At Barkot I stayed in GMVN annexe. There I met an intellectual happy couple from Chennai, Sunil and Swati. The former was an IAS officer who was also an engineer from IIT Madras and his wife, a professor of Hindi. They had two daughters and their parents with them. I had a nice chat with them. Next day I went to Yamunotri by Shared jeep. There I hired a pony, did darshan and came back. What really hurt me was offerings of saris in the river Yamuna, which I considered not only a cause of water pollution but also a wastage of money, in a poor country like ours,, which could be utilized in a much better way.
Yamuna river at Yamunotri temple
I spent the night at Hanuman Chatti as I did not get accommodation at Janki Chatti. Next early morning I went back to Janki Chatti by a matador truck to catch the bus for Uttarkashi. It was the only bus of the day to go to Uttarkashi. In Uttarkashi I visited Viswanath temple. Then in the next morning I went to Gangotri. In the afternoon I booked a pony and made my permit with the help of my guide for Gaumukh and watched Ganga arti. I started for Gaumukh next day by pony upto Bhojobasa and rest part I covered by foot with the help of my Nepali guide. I spent one night at Bhojobasa GMVN rest house. Next day I came down to Gangotri and took a shared jeep to reach Harsil. Harsil is a beautiful hamlet on the way to Gangotri from Uttarkashi, established by an absconded British army officer Mr Wilson.
Tehri Dam
From Harsil I went to Chamba via Uttarkashi. I went to Tehri dam hiring a jeep from Chamba. Tehri dam had a huge reservoir cum lake where I had a water scooter ride. The same jeep dropped me at Dhanaulti. I visited Sarkanda Devi temple and came down to Mussoorie and then caught train from Haridwar.
Mussoorie
The trip was full of incidents. I enjoyed all of them whether good or bad, they enriched my experience. I saw forest fire while going to Uttarkashi from Barkot. One can not imagine it without watching the destruction caused by the nature. For more than an hour the bus went through the hghway where in both the sides forest was burning. The heat could be felt and there was burning smell all over. After Harsil I wanted to visit Nelang valley but could not manage it alone, instead I went to Dhanaulti.
Valley of flowers is a unique place in the Garhwal Himalaya at the altitude of 3658 meters from the sea level where hundreds of variety of flowers bloom only in the monsoon season. They start blooming in the month of July. They bloom in different phases and wither away gradually till the end of September. Rest of the years the valley remains covered by snow. It is a world heritage site and no camping is allowed there. One has to trek 7 km up hill to visit the valley from Ghangharia.
Broken bridge on Laxman Ganga
Hemkund Sahib is at the altitude of 4,633 meters which is a famous Sikh pilgrimage. It is 10 km from Ghangharia. Ponies and porters are available for them who can not trek.
I booked a package of GMVN for Valley of flowers, Hemkund Sahib and Badrinath in July 2015. Unfortunately, or I can say now fortunately, the package was cancelled due to natural calamity. I decided not to cancel my train tickets and try on my own. So I boarded the train on time . It was a great experience for me. I realized that in Himalayas no one is alone and if one comes out alone on the roads of Himalayas with a bit of courage the path automatically opens. I did not expect I could make it but when I came back from the valley tears came rolling out unceasingly with joy from my eyes. I felt the blessings of Almighty.
On the way to Badrinath
From Haridwar I went to Joshimath by a shared jeep. At Joshimath I stayed in GMVN tourist rest house. Next morning I took another shared jeep from jeep stand and reached Gobindghat. I was quite late to reach there as it took almost 3 hours to get 10 local passengers. Normally those who go to VOF reach Gobinghat directly from Haridwar and stay there at night. They start early morning for Ghangharia. I felt quite fortunate that there was one pony-owner with his two ponies. I had to hire both because there was none to share. I reached Ghangharia at 3 PM and lodged in a hotel. I arranged a porter cum guide for VOF asking the hotel manager.
First I visited the paradisaical valley because I had to walk there and I wanted to go there with full energy. Second day in the early morning I went to Hemkund Sahib by pony. I came down from there at 1 PM and happened to meet the same pony owner boy in front of my hotel. He asked me whether I wanted to go back to Gobindghat. I went back with him and spend the night at Gobindghat. Next early morning my hotel owner arranged a jeep for me who took me to Badrinath. I did my darshan very peacefully, watched morning aarti and got kheer prasaad as there was hardly 15/20 pilgrims there. I did “pind daan” for my late parents. Actually it was a tribute to their memory. As it was my second time Badrinath darshan I did not want to stay there. It was raining also, so there was a fair chance of land slide again. I came down to Joshimath.
Glacier onthe way to Hemkund Sahib
After covering the places planned by GMVN I found I had few days in hand which I utilized staying in Auli, Karnprayag, Rudrapayag and Rishikesh. I went to Auli GMVN rest house by Gandola and chair car.I spent one noght there and came back in the same way. It was a divine experience staying there.Then I went to Karan Prayag. I stayed one day there. It is a place where Alaknanda and Pindar river meet. I stayed another day in Rrdraprayag. There I visited Jim Corbett bark where he killed “Man eater of Rudraprayag”. Then I spent one day in Hrishikesh and one day in Haridwar. When I came back successfully my confidence increased and I decided to travel alone in future.
I always wanted to visit Amarnath since my teenage years. When I got the opportunity in July 2014 then I crossed 50. I was hesitant to plan this trip alone. So I took help of a reputed travel agency of Kolkata. Vaishno Devi was also included in that package. I liked their plan because they had been starting from Chandanbari and ending at Baltal. I was happy that I could be able to travel both the routes.
That was the first year when medical checkup from fixed nominated government hospital and issuing of fit certificate was introduced and the yatra permit had to be taken from the assigned bank paying a nominal sum as fees for yatra. We reached Pehelgham. The manager of the tour arranged doli and pony for us. But they took Rs 7500 from us though they only paid 5000 to the pony owner, they made profit of Rs 2500 for each horse. Everything went fine otherwise. Reaching the cave at the height of 12,756 ft was a unique as well as spiritual experience. I was fortunate to witness not only the huge ice Shiva but also natural ice made Sri Ganapati and mother Parvati beside Him.
On the way back to Baltal I fell from the horse 4 times due to the negligence of my syce who did not tie the saddle on the horse back properly, it was really a terrible experience. I became very much scared and panic stricken. The last time I started shouting as soon as my saddle tilted from the horse back. Indian army, everywhere on the way to Amarnath, was very active and helpful. They rescued me in the forth time and threatened the syce to take care of me. Then he checked and tightened the saddle properly.
We rested two nights in Srinagar and enjoyed local sightseeing, boating on Shikara in the Dal Lake, and shopping as well. Then we went to Katra . Vaishno Devi trip was nice, though the day was quite rainy. After that we all came back to Jammu and caught our train.
Traveling through an agency gave me some good and bad experiences. I got few good friends from that package though they are not in contact now. It is beneficial for them who can not make a trip on their own, specially aged people. One doesn’t need to bother about hotel booking or arranging food when one is dead tired. There are few members who are always discontented and complaining even on trivial issues which is disturbing. There are always few people who are very curious and keep on asking personal questions which is annoying. These travel agencies normally provide trips to conventional places. For off beat places one has to take initiative on one’s own.
Kumayun is famous for its natural beauty and attracts tourists from different parts of India. One can see many peaks and ranges of Himalayas from many tourist destinations of Kumayun like Chaukori, Almorah, Kaushani etc. Mayavati and Almorah were the places I planned to go with my father many years ago. My father traveled Mayavati, Almora, Ranikhet, Kaushani, Nainital etc twice with my mother but unfortunately I could not join them. It was a long desired trip that I planned in 2017 March. I preferred Lalkuan Express than Kathgodam Express because it took less time though it was a weekly train.
I did not have any idea that to reach Tanakpur , Berily was the better option to get down from the train than Lalkuan. Buses ply in regular intervals from Berily to Tanakpur. When I was telling someone of my co passengers about my itinerary before reaching Lalkuan, the two TTE were doing some work in the next cabin of the train. They overheard the discussion and called me : ” Come here Madam. Sit here . You want to go to Tanakpur from Lalkuan? You are alone ? Why didn’t you get down at Berily? ” I expressed my ignorance. One of them suggested me to go to Haldwani Bus stand to get the bus for Tanakpur. Another passenger from the next cabin became interested and came to advise me. He was a local. He instructed me to go to Kichha by a tempo auto from where I could get the bus for Tanakpur. When I reached Kichchha bus stand I came to know the bus for Tanakpur would leave late. They asked me to go to Khatima and take another bus from Khatima for Tanakpur.
Khatima was a transit where two roads met and crossed each other. After getting down at Khatima I stood in front of a shop according to the direction of the conductor of the bus. A person was standing there. Seeing me with my rucksack, he asked me where I was going. When he knew my destination he informed that he was also going to Tanakpur and ordered me to follow him. He caught a car which was going back after dropping someone in Lalkuan, and I went with him. He directed the driver to drop me in front of KMVN guest house and asked me to pay the driver 30 rupees. I reached Tanakpur at 12-30 PM.
At Tanakpur I visited Punyagiri Mata temple which was 3+3 km trek from the jeep-stand, where the shared jeep dropped me. I visied the temple. The view of Kaligandaki was spectacular from the top. Next day I went to Lohaghat by a shared Alto which dropped me at Mayavati Ashram after dropping other passengers at Lohaghat for extra 200 rupees. Staying 2 nights in Mayavati Ashram was a unique experience. A local school teacher who was at that time staying there advised me to take bus for Gangolihat from Lohaghat and then to take a taxi for Patal Bhubneshwar would be convenient for me to reach there. I had accommodation previously booked in KMVN guest house at Patal Bhubneshwar.
Patal Bhubneshwar is a natural cave in the under-surface of the mountain. There are different formation of stalactite and stalagmite within the cave. It is said that there are many such caves in that region and many mythological stories are related with them. From Patal Bhubneshwar I wanted to go to Munshiyari. But in Kumayun local bus service or shared jeeps were not available everywhere like Garhwal. So I paid the same taxi driver to take me to Raiyagarh, a nearby transit town next morning. From Raiyagarh I went to Berinag by a shared jeep. From Berinaag a person who was going to Thal, a larger transit town, by his own car, gave me a lift instead of Rupees 100. Later I realized that this kind of service was common there because of the lack of public transport. Those who own cars give lifts in their cars while going to their work places and take few bucks instead, which is helpful for both parties. From Thal I got a shared jeep, and reached Munshiyari in the afternoon at 4 O’clock. There also I stayed in KMVN guest house. Munshiyari is a spectacular place with Panchachulli peaks visible from everywhere. I stayed there 2 nights and visited Nanda Devi temple, Maheshwari kund and Thamri kund. KMVN manager arranged my shared car to go to Almorah.
Almorah is a large and famous town in Kumayun. I stayed in R K Mission guest house being a member of Ramakrishna Mission disciples family. It is located at one end of the town called Bright End Corner. Maharaj arranged a car for me to visit Goludevta temple, Kasar Devi temple and Sarada Math near Kasar Devi temple. While coming back in the afternoon from Golu Devta temple I asked the driver how could I get a bus for Nainital next morning. He informed me that the morning bus would pass through Bright End Corner at 6 AM. He would inform the driver to pick me up. The next morning the bus came and picked me up for Nainital. At Nainital I stayed at KMVN guest house. I had to hire a car here also for local sight seeing. I did paragliding too here. It was a memorable moment of my life.
I went to Kathgodam by local bus from where I caught train. As Kathgodam Express was too slow and did not have pantry car so I preferred to make a break journey. I got down in Lucknow, stayed there one day, visited Bhulbhulaiya, Bada and Chota Imambara, British residency and museum, ate Galawati kebab and biriyani, bought few Lucknow chikon kurtis and caught Kumbh Express next day and reached Howrah.
Kartikeya is not very popular like his brother Lord Ganesha and not frequently worshiped by everyone. He is the Hindu god of war according to Indian mythology. There are very few temples of Kartikeya in India. One of them is in Uttarakhand. It is a 3 kilometer uphill trek from Kanakchauri village of Rudraprayag district.
I reached Kanakchauri from Rudraprayag by bus in the month of April 2018. There were very few hotels in Kanakchauri. I stayed in Mayadeep Holiday Home. There was no other tourist at Kanakchauri then. I talked to the attendant of the hotel. He arranged a local guide for me who was a boy of 18 years, and had just appeared in the State Board Higher Secondary exam then. For watching sunrise from Karthikswami temple we started at 4 o’clock in the morning.
The sky was starry. The Milky-way galaxy and innumerable known as well as unknown constellations of stars were clearly visible. I felt spellbound watching the sky. It was absolutely dark. We were going through the dense woods. Different types of eerie sounds could be hard. Unknown nocturnal birds were making strange sounds and insects were shrieking. I asked the boy if there was any chance of ferocious animals to come across on the way. He replied very casually that cheetahs and bears could come out. I asked with doubt if they were deadly, he informed occasionally they attacked. I got very much scared. I kept on talking with him and made sounds with my walking stick so that no animal did appear. I had heard that all animals were afraid of human.
My guide
Gradually the day light started coming out behind the mountain range of the eastern side. I could not reach the top on time due to my weak legs and heart. But I saw the first rays of sun from the staircases of the temple. There was haze but still the mountain range was visible all over. I felt very much grateful, I bowed Lord Kartikeya for appearing in front of me, took few snaps, then came down. Coming down was easier, and we met few local devotees and ponies carrying loads who were going upward then.
Nubra ( Diskit Monastery – Hundar )- Shyam Valley ( Shanti stupa – Hall of Fame – Magnetic hill- Gurdwara Pathar saheb – confluence of Indus and Zanskar river-Alchi monestary – Likir Monastary – Lamayuru – Pangong – Thiksey Monastery- Hemis Monastery-Chumathang – Tso Moriri – Leh .
In 2011 when I was planning for Lakshadwip trip, I joined a travel forum named INDIAMIKE to collect information. There my eyes were caught by few beautiful posts of Ladakh. My mind felt a wild attraction for that place. I started planning for Ladakh. For that I found Devil On Wheels Travel blog very informative. I planned for this trip in April 2013.
Going by road, that is starting from Srinagar and end at Manali or vice versa, and at the same time spending 10 days within Ladakh to cover the main points, takes at list 18 to 20 days. Taking so long a vacation was possible for neither my son nor for me. Secondly fare of Delhi -Leh flights remain quite affordable from November to April . Renting car is also 15% cheaper during this period. Hotels do not open till the end of May but there are few home-stays that remain open all over the year. Within Ladakh roads are kept open all over the year. There are several military camps in different strategic places and being a border region army trucks ply all over the year from those places. One can see plenty of snow and a different kind of beauty this time. I planned for April because temperature would remain bearable for us two.
Diskit Monastery
The home-stays that remained open all over year, Sia-La Guest House was one among them. In 2013 it was affordable for us. The home-stay owner and his wife were very congenial. Being off season, there were only two foreigners there in their home-stay. So they gave us a lot of attention. They arranged our SUV car. The driver was very good and helpful. My son had primary altitude sickness, he had to take Diamox 200 tablet thrice a day and kept on drinking a lot of fruit juice. We managed the trip comfortably with the help of our driver Samath and the local people also, wherever we went.
Double hump Bactrian Camel. Nubra.
After reaching Leh in the early morning Air India flight we took a little rest in the home stay. We chose Air India because other flights were though cheaper, could be cancelled due to lack of passengers. After taking a little food at around 11 o’clock we went to the DC office, which was a kilometer away, to make permit. We had print out of our forms. We filled up form, attached ID proofs and photographs and got permit. There was not much rush. We made quite a few Xerox copies of the permit as per the instruction of our home stay owner.
In the evening I loitered around the market and my son kept on sleeping. Next day we had plan for Nubra, but as my son was not feeling well at all we decided to rest another day. Our home-stay owner suggested to take him to hospital for high altitude sickness, but at his wife’s advice I started medicine for mountain sickness which I took from home.
Next day, though my son still had fatigue, nausea, but he did not want to spoil my long wished trip. So we started for Nubra Valley. Our driver was very good, he brought food for us, he knew my son had uneasiness. On his advice I took fruit juice and biscuits etc so that his stomach would never get empty. The road was full with snow. We crossed Khardungla Pass. the highest motorable road.
Sangam. Zanskar and Indus
We reached Diskit monastery in the noon. It seemed very strange to me that how did the Buddhist monks made these monasterys centuries ago in such remote places. When we reached the monastery, our driver informed that we have to stay there for some times because dust storm was coming, and it was difficult for anyone to stay outside at that time.
After spending some time at the monastery we reached Nubra Valley. Sayak river flows through Nubra Valley. The surrounding mountain ranges and the river valley was mostly grey colored. We had a plan for going Turtuk but I abandoned our plan for my son. Instead we stayed in Hundar in a very good home stay. Our home stay owner was very happy that day because one of his Bactrian camel got a baby.
Next morning after breakfast we went to see the valley. I did not feel to ride camel neither my son, but we took photograph. There were few other tourists too. Then we started for Leh again. It was a long journey, crossing again the pass. There were army convoys everywhere with huge trucks full of soldiers. Due to heavy snow, the traffic was slow. We reached Leh in the evening.
Apricot Flowers
Next day we went Shyam Valley which includes War Memorial, Sangam of Zanskar and Indus river, Gurdwara Pathar Saheb, Alchi and Likir Monastery, Magnetic hill and Lamayuru Monastery. The war memorial not only creates awe but also made our eyes wet learning about the sacrifices of our brave soldiers.
Gurdwara Pathar Sahib was run by army. We had prasad there and learned the story of Pathar Sahib. Sangam was unique with blue and grey coloured water of the two river that meet. Alchi, Likir and Lamayuru monasteries were smaller monastery but Apricot trees with blooming flowers made the places beautiful.
Next day my son felt not to move at all, but our lady owner cheered him describing the beauty of Pangong Lake. We started a little late. On the way we faced road jam due to land slide. After an hour waiting the jam gradually cleared. I managed few packet of chocolates from an army truck after a little conversation with the jawans.
Clearing of Road.
We reached Panggong Lake around 2 pm. As we were hungry, we had our lunch first with noodles. Then we went to visit Pangong. It was semi frozen. People were walking on it though the ice was too slippery. There were few migratory birds. The lake covers a huge area. It was spread within China too. Like all high altitude lake areas, it was very windy.
Pangong Lake
Our driver asked us to leave because we were getting late. We reached Leh just in the evening. On the way back we visited Rancho’s School at Shey village. Then we went to the bank of Indus river too.
Inside Thiksey monastery
Next day we took rest again as we did not stay at Spangmik. In fact in this trip my plans to stay at Spangmik and Korzok failed due to two reasons. First was my son’s health, second was, due to cold, in the interiors of Ladakh, no toilet was functional. There were bio-toilets out side the buildings which were in use. I found that very inconvenient for us.
At Hemis Monastery Gate
Next day we went for Tso Moriri. On the way we visited Thiksey and Hemis monastery. Hemis monastery was like a big fort. Inside the monastery there was a big underground museum where so many precious things like ages old documents, books, heavy silver furniture like thrones, tables, huge elephant tusks and things made of ivory, were kept.
Hot Spring at Chumathang.
We reached Chumathang in the evening. No hotel or home-stay was available. Our driver requested in a motel beside the hot spring to accommodate us. They had four rooms for tourists which were closed since October. They opened one room and cleaned, and made it habitable for us. As sewage system was blocked there was no water in the toilet. The owner comforted us saying that they would supply water as much as we needed from the hot spring in buckets. They did so, but water was always too hot to use immediately. The room was cozy and the food, they served, was good. They informed that we were their first guest of that season.
Leapard
In the early morning we started for Tso Moriri as our driver told us that there would be more slush and mud on the way back if we delayed. The road was empty and mostly covered with snow. No one was there. Neither tourists nor local people. We were spell bound to see the white snow all over and the clear blue sky.
Tso Moriri
Reaching Korzok we saw frozen Tso Moriri. I was feeling blessed. It seemed to me that all those beauty was only for me that nature had unfurled there. I felt mesmerized in such unexpected serenity and tranquility. There was no sound, it seemed that life has stopped in the midst of the frozen valley. My son, our driver and I were only there, no one else. Far away from the place there were few local nomadic people on their horse back could be seen.
Leh Market
Next day we spend another idle day. I bought few gifts and apricot. We had dinner in a authentic Tibetian hotel. Next morning we had our flight. My son was very happy after boarding. He was back in normalcy.
Lakshadwip was my childhood dream destination. I made a contact with the local agent of SPORTS, an agency that conduct cruise package for Lakshadwip. We bought train tickets to reach Cochin and air tickets for coming back from Cochin to Kolkata. I included Munnar and Periyar in the same plan. I wanted to go to Aleppy by backwater but my son was not interested in it as according to his opinion after a cruise tour to Lakshadweep it would not be a worthy one to enjoy.
Nilgiri Thar
After finishing our Lakshadwip package we went to Cochin Inter-state bus stand and caught a bus for Munnar at 3 PM and reached there in the evening .There are quite a number of hotels in the mall and road side food stall. Munnar is a small hill station in Western Ghat range. Anaimudi is the highest peak of Western ghat. There is Eraviculam National Park. There are several places to visit. The whole area is covered with tea gardens and Sandalwood forest . We stayed 2 nights in Munnar and booked a car for local sight seeing.
Then we went to Periyar. There was local bus service from Munnar to go to Periyar, but we hired a car. The journey from Munnar to Periyar was pleasant due to the scenic beauty. Periyar is also a very nice place with a reserve forest, lake and spice market. We stayed in a home-stay there.
I love to travel since my childhood. My parents were also fond of traveling. I started traveling with my parents at the age of 4. Every year I would travel in different parts of India. I traveled most of the tourist destinations with my parents which are now very common like Kullu-Manali- Shimla or Andaman or Kashmir or Kedar-Badri etc. My father used to bring brochures from different states’ Tourism Development Corporation and made plans accordingly. At that time there was no internet facility. I used to be his assistant and adviser in this matter. After 1984 I could not travel due to some unavoidable circumstances.
As soon as I became a bit free from the burdens of life, I resumed regular traveling since 2009. The passion for travel, which had been suppressed since a long time, got a small vent. I started traveling alone since 2015. Now a days I travel once or twice a year. I can not manage enough leave and resource to travel more than that. I don’t make short weekend trips. My travel duration is two weeks normally. When I go to a region I try to cover places as much as possible not making the schedule too hectic. I have to depend on public transport and I visit mostly in Himalayas where the weather and the road condition are unpredictable. So I keep one or two buffer days. I also plan in such a way so that I come nearer to the boarding point gradually.
Corbyn’s Cove Port Blair
I do not want to travel to very difficult places and do not try to trek because of my arthritis. But if one goes to Himalayas he/she should be mentally prepared to walk a few kilometer daily because there is no system of auto/tuktuk or rickshaw for covering short distances specially in the small villages. If someone really loves to travel then it is always bearable and enjoyable.
Chatham Saw mill
I plan to travel mostly in the off seasons so that I can get less crowd and can get off season discounts making spot bookings in hotels. But some places have fixed time schedules like Valley of Flowers, Manimahesh or Amarnath. One has to visit them within a fixed period of the year. People of Himalayas are still simple, congenial and honest in comparison with plain, though I never faced any problem anywhere till date by the blessings of Providence.
Benediction 