Kalka - Narkanda/Thanedar - Chitkul/Rakcham - Kalpa - Kalka

rajeev1008

I agree, van has lots more leg space also. But with 3 people in the back, seating can be a little tight. It can be tiring, specially as they plan to be on road almost 5-6 hours everyday.
Now with the National highway being so good right into Kinnaur, I could also venture to drive myself. But would still not attempt the Karcham - Sangla section - its scary enough sitting in the back driver side window seat ).

caster

I did a similar route in May 05 with a slightly altered route. Instead of Narkanda, we proceeded for Chindi(hotel Mamaleshwar-HPTDC) and then to Sarahan through some of the best natural forests meeting the NH just before Rampur. Were lucky to witness the rare Himalayan birds breeding station at Sarahan. Proceeded for Baspa Valley and stayed at Kinner Camps, near Batseri. The manager there Mr Negi is a wonderful host.
The next destination was Kalpa via Recong Peo. The PWD Guest House at Peo was good, had no prior bookings done. On the return leg, took a detour from Rampur to Sungri where HPTDC was finishing their hotel construction. We stayed at the PWD Rest House there before proceeding to Kalka.

The total duration was 10 nights and even that seemed hectic.
I am not very sure about the 6 days trip you are planning. Should be tiring and yes,a Qualis would be a better option.
Bye

dhari

thanks guys for your replies .. i told them i need drivers who has been to that area .. and knows the area well ..

i am not comfortable with one thing though .. is i am hitting road .. more than i ought to ? Will increasing a day will help {though it is highly unlikely}

also can i travel to saharan from kalka on the day 1 ?.. or i am better to take rest at narkanda and visit saharan while returning ..

also in case 2 more people join us (making total to 6) will Qualis be comfortable in that case also .. i dont have much exp with the cars .. :-)

Khaadu . . your point taken of getting driver from shimla ..
.. one concern though .. i am asking the taxi union in shimla to send me a vehicle from there .. will the driver be from shimla or kalka .. .. also they are quoting rates in per day basis and not per / km .. is it better to get a vehicle on per km basis ..

with luv :-)

dhari ..

Save Hills .. use no Plastics ..

dhari

Guys .. i am very much persuaded to increase at least a day .. really dont want to make it a hecktic tour .. want to have some breathing space ... u guys got me thinking again .. which i always try not to .

i asked earlier also .. whether is it good to drop any place ?

also can you tell me how much chitkul will take from saharan and from narkanda resp.

thanks for all ur views .. ..

dhari

Save hills - no plastics

AvidTrekker

This is what i normally do. Kalka to Sarahan by Qualis will take 9 hours incl lunch breaks. Sarahan is one of my fav spots and i just love the bhiimaakaalii temple ambience. I return via Sarahan again, its a very pleasant place with lots of small walks even for non trekkers.

There is an alternate but longer and extremely pleasant route via Kotkhai -- Sungri -- Taklesh [hardly any traffic] and parts of the old Hindustan tibet road--- i am in a hurry and will post it at night. Or maybe Khaadu will oblige....

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rajeev1008

These areas are pretty remote, so you cannot much avoid the traveling . In fact traveling is as much part of the fun, as the destinations. I did something similar some time back, with 4-5 hours travel everyday with my family, including my 3 year old daughter. It was tiring, but enjoyable none the less.
Well, if you have another day, you can even think of making a day trip to Khab (about 3 hours, one way, from Kalpa) ) - can see some pics of the place on my homepage.

Narkanda is surrounded by lovely Deodar forests, and at 9000 ft is almost as high as Kalpa. IMO, a day there is not wasted. Enjoy the place and don't think of it as a stopover to reaching Kinnaur.

[quote=dhari;325339]
also in case 2 more people join us (making total to 6) will Qualis be comfortable in that case also .. i dont have much exp with the cars .. :-)
[quote=dhari;325339]

With 6 adults in a qualis, you would need to use the last seating row also - this one is a little tight on the leg space, but comfortable. this would leave little space for luggage inside, and you have to ask for a Qualis with a carrier on top.

[quote=dhari;325339]
. one concern though .. i am asking the taxi union in shimla to send me a vehicle from there .. will the driver be from shimla or kalka .. .. also they are quoting rates in per day basis and not per / km .. is it better to get a vehicle on per km basis ..
[quote=dhari;325339]

I believe they would send an experienced driver only, they cannot risk their vehicle with some newbie. ~2K per day is fine for a qualis, even if they quote per km, they would have a minimum km per day clause.

Rough travel times - Narkanda to Chitkul would be some 6-7 hours. Sarahan is 45 mins off the national highway, about midway from Narkanda to Chitkul. (Kalpa - Sarahan 4-5 hrs), Sarahan - Kalka 8-9 hrs. Actually a lot depends on the driver too - it could be faster too.

dhari

After all those thoughts by Avid, Khaadu and Rajeev ..

let me again post my tentative schedule ..

Vehicle : First pref : Qualis, 2nd Pref : Van
Get Vehicle from Shimla and Driver known to that area. Cost around 2000 Rs per day.

Day 1 7.00 AM Kalka Reached Kalka
Day 1 7.30 AM Kalka Leave for narkanda by Qualis
Day 1 Aftrenoon 2.30 PM - Reach Narkanda - Stay at Narkanda GH
Day 2 Morning 7 AM Leave for Chitkul
Day 2 Afternoon 1 PM Reach Chitkul - Night Stay at Thakur GH Chitkul
Day 3 Early Morning Leave for Kalpa Stay at Aucktong GH Kalpa {Stay as high as possible in Kalpa}
Day 4 Stay at Kalpa Kalpa
Day 5 Early Morning 6 AM - Leave for Saharan - Stay at saharan Bheemakali temple GH.
Day 6 12 PM Leave for Kalka , reach Kalka by 8 PM
Day 6 9.30 PM Kalka .. catch train and again in same old world ..

Points which are giving me pain is that i am not able to give enough time to Narkanda and Saharan. And if i increase a day .. where should i give .. it .... i have 2 full days at Kalpa .. so try to get to Khab as suggested by Rajeev .. i will try to do it in those 2 days.

I dont want to plan any other new thing .. just in case i manage to get one more day out .. shall i be staying more at Saharan ..?

Avid .. do you have contact no for Bheemakali temple GH .. i tried almost every link on net .. but not able to find it .. will i go there and get a room without booking considering this is a tourist season.

And do post some information on -- Kotkhai -- Sungri -- Taklesh. If i plan to stay one more day .. then do this route only, if my car operator does not give pain due to increase in km.

Also one thing i nerer asked is about FOOD .. is decent food in available on the way .. or is it better to carry some edibles and water on the way..

Also just now the shimla tour operator called me and said that he will charge extra for Kalka to shimla .. he is quoting 14000 for 6 days and 15000 for 7 days for Qualis. told me tht the vehicle will be good and driver will know all the area. He also told me 9 Rs/KM + 200 driver per day.

Expenses : 4 people : 2 rooms per day for 6 nights

Vehicle : 15000 - Qualis : for 7 days

Food : 5000 (need more info on food along the way)

Accomodations :

Narkanda - 1000 - 1 night (try to get the PWD guest house, if not hotel )
Chitkul - 800 - 1 night - thakur gh
Kalpa - 2000 , 2 nights , aucktong hotel
Saharan - 500 , assuming for now 1 nights , Bheemakali Temple

Total accomodation exp ~ 5000 appx

Gross total ~ 25000 Rs

Friends .. correct me if i am wrong ..

regards,

dhari

Save Hill - No Plastics

rajeev1008

My pick would be Chitkul or Kalpa for whatever extra time you get.
Good idea about carrying some food stuff with you - food isn't the greatest in this area - you eat whatever you get .

The temple in Sarahan is great , but I can never forget that it used to see human sacrifice till early 1900's - gives me the creeps.

dhari

Thanks Rajeev :-) .. i think the best would be to go there and see what u find good .. and stay there .. i dont hve booking for Narkanda and saharan .. hope to get it there on reaching ..

also one of my friend want to do this route as their Honeymoon .. in 7 days .. what do you guys suggest :-) .. Is this king of journey suitable for Honeymoon ..

rishabh6296

Hi Dhari,
i did A delhi-narkanda-sangla-chitkul-kalpa-shimla trip in november last year.My suggestion kalpa,chitkul-sarahan area is far better than narkanda-thanedar as far as the natural beauty is concerned.Another gud place is kafnu in Kinnaur.Narkanda is more of a stopover for people travelling to Kinnaur not a destination in the real sense in itself.Rakcham ,between sangla and kalpa is another very beautiful place.

khaadu75

Stand corrected my friend ... Rakcham is between Sangla - Chitkul and not sangla -kalpa !!

As for the travel times ... its very tough telling anyone how long a specific distance will take as it varies from driver to driver !! If you ask me how long do I do Simla - narkanda in and then ask the same question to another driver , u might get a time diff of 30-40 mins ;-) !! I cover the 64 kms in just under an hour mostly though at times I can take 1.15 mins , but usually ppl will take an hour 30 mins minimum .

Just check with ppl regarding staying options and stuff ... and every distnace is possible .

Poor chap is allready running on a super tight schedule so lets not make it tuffer for him ... maybe next time he can do that route

Cheers

rajeev1008

Wow. less than an hour!! - including that 'always under repair' stretch near Matiana - wow!! I don't remember reaching Narkanda in under 2 hours, ever. I guess i always got some super slow drivers

rajeev1008

Its a very personal choice. Some look for a honeymoon trip with high altitude treks, and some prefer to stay in a luxury hotel, 2 hours from home.
all I can say is that the area is beautiful. Drives are long with amazing views. On the other hand, food and lodging would be basic, and you know the travel times.
Personally, we did something similar in our time - went to Dalhousie, planning to stay there for a week, and ended up touring into interiors of Chamba- spending 4-5 hrs on road everyday . One of the best trips and time of my life.

dhari

Thanks thanks thanks ... for all your lovely comments .. dear friends .. now .. i will only concentrate on Saharan .. Chitkul .. and Kalpa .. for this trip .. will go directly to Saharan from Kalka as Avid, Rishabh and Rajeev has suggested .. (Will keep Narkanda/Thanedar for some other time, otherwise i am not able do Narkanda and Saharan properly) ..

Will get some food stuff along myself .. Hope no land slides occurs during my run .. i am planning this as a surprise trip for my wife .. i hope she enjoys it ..

Rajeev your thoughts on making it as honeymoon was great .. i conveyed it to my friend .. I think they will do it ..

Luv

Dhari

Save Hills - No Plastics

Outdoor Adventure

Dear All,

I am also landing kalka on 7'th May (Mornign kalka Mail) for Honeymoon trip to the same region . We have our return reservation from Kalka on 17'th May - so have 11 days in hand. Being backpacker we are planning to travel by public transport/ Shared jeep- Taxi. Going for the first time in the region, we want to cover Sarahan, Sangla, Chitkul , Kalpa and other places of interest.

Suggestions as per my googling :

1. Can experience the Toy train b/w Kalka & Shimla if interested. It's connecting train to the Kalka mail. Hire taxi for onward journey from Shimla only. (Although you may have to spent imp. time for it)

2. Prefer to stay in Sarahan while going, it's a cool place to rest and temple GH is great to stay. As you will be reaching here after a long journey from your home.

3. Prefer Qualis over the Maruti Van. (Both in comfort & safty)

4. Always carry edibles and water in mountain terrain. It can suppliment your food or work as main food in contingency

5. Since you are already running short of time, do not plan any alternate route/ destination from the scheduled one.

6. As you are travelling by private vehicle, do not worry of prior booking of hotel/ GH. You will always landing in better accomodation with fair price.

7. If possible keep one day in hand for unforseen delay in the schedule, as I suppose you will be carrying your return reservation and any delay may put you in trouble.


Can anyone suggest me good road atlas/ Map for Himachal. I am trying to get the book by Dhanu Swadi on the region.


Happy outdoor,

Outdoor Adventure.