Heavenly Himachal


21/12/2018

Neha Chatterjee*

Our trip to Himachal is one of my memorable trips that I would like to share. As the train left from Howrah our souls were filled with enthusiasm. The next day we reached Ambala cantonment. Journey towards the Himalayas begins with it. Our first destination was Shimla. Shimla, is the capital and the largest city of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. Shimla is also a district which is bounded by Mandi and Kullu in the north, Kinnaur in the east, the state of Uttarakhand in the south-east, and Solan and Sirmaur. Shimla is on the south-western ranges of the Himalayas at 31.61°N 77.10°E. It has an average altitude of 2,206 metres (7,238 ft) above mean sea level and extends along a ridge with seven spurs. The city is beautiful and clean. The main highlights of the city are the Shimla Kali Bari and the mall road.
Way to Shimla
 Then the next day we started for Sarahan which is a village in the Kinnaur district. The village is known as the 'Gateway of Kinnaur' it being near the old Indo-Tibetan Road. An excellent view of the Kinnaur Kailash Range can be spectated  from here.
Kinnaur Kailash Range
 The next day after visiting the Bhima Kali Temple we started towards the Kinnaur Kailash Range and our next destination was Kalpa, a small town in the Sutlej river valley, above Recong Peo in the Kinnaur district. The place is inhabited by Kinnauri people and famous for its apple orchards. Kalpa, being a favorable holiday destination for writers, photographers and painters, is one of my favourite among all the places we visited. It’s a very calm place where people can directly connect with nature.


Kinnaur Kailash Range-A Closer View
The day after, we started for Sangla Valley and Chitkul, the last village of India. Sangla Valley or the Baspa Valley starts at Karcham and ends at Chitkul. Sangla is a major town in this valley with all the basic civic amenities. The Baspa River flows in the Sangla Valley which is rich in apple orchards, apricot, Wall-nut, Cedar trees, and glacial streams with trout. 
Steps along the mountain
The main villages in the valley villages include Chitkul, Rakcham, Batseri, Themgarang, Kamru The Ancient & Historical village, Chansu, Brua, Shong ,Kilba and Sapni. The nearby Baspa hydel-project has been completed in 2004. It’s a very beautiful with piece of solitude, though the place is prone to frequent power cuts but it still remains one of the best place to spend our vacations.
Chitkul-The Last Village of India
The next day we stayed in Rampur as Manali was too far from Sangla. The day after we started for Manali and on the way we visited Manikaran, a hotspring on the Himalayas. Manikaran is located in the Parvati Valley on river Parvati, northeast of Bhuntar in the Kullu District. It is at an altitude of 1760 m and is located 4 km ahead of Kasol and about 35 km from Kullu. And finally on that very day we reached Manali.
Hot Spring at Manikaran
Manali is a resort town nestled in the mountains of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh near the northern end of the Kullu Valley in the Beas River Valley. It is one of the most attracting places with a lot of tourist spots like the Hirimba devi temple, Vasishtha muni ashram, Manali mall road and many more. 
Baspa Valley
The next day early morning we hired a car and started for Rohtang Pass. And after reaching our destination we realized that if we wouldn’t have visited this place we would have missed the real Himalayan beauty. It was just the perfect end to our trip. While returning from Rohtang Pass we visited the famous Solang Valley.
Rohtang Pass

View from Rohtang Pass
Overall I myself, being a travel freak, would definitely recommend everyone to visit Himachal and specially Kinnaur once in their lifetime then they’ll never regret of not going to Switzerland. That’s what our Incredible India is all about.

* Honours Second Year, 2018

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