Nagar

SarahV2

Hi. Both my LP and RG sing Nagar's (HP) praises, but RG suggests that the completion of a new by-pass, scheduled for 2006, may have an adverse affect. Does anyone know if the road's been finished yet? Has Nagar become traffic choked?

kullukid

Nagar is a very peaceful quiet village up a steep hill well away from the main road (which is also fairly quiet) to Manali. There is plenty to see & do there such as the wooden castle Nicholas roerich house/museum/& art gallery & the Himalayan Research Institute founded by the Russian artist cum mystic Nicholas Roerich. A nice peaceful budget place to stay here is the Alliance G/H run by a French guy who has lived there over 25yrs with his Indian family. Nagar is sort of on 3 levels up the hill the first level is where the castle is & there are quite a few hotels here but i would recommend the higher up the hill you go the nicer it is The Alliance is at the second level & the Roerich house/gallery etc are at the top.
Are you visiting Manali? If so check out Sunshine G/H it's verreeee Shanti! & Olde Worlde with it's English country garden orchards & a bit of a farm. Here's my photo's of the area the first 17 & last 6 are of Sunshine G/H. KK
http://picasaweb.google.com/kullukid...gNCPrFJK4Y1dzY

SarahV2

Sounds (and looks!!) fab- thanks for info and photos. All this just makes it harder to whittle down my trip to fit into my really stingy schedule. Have a very vague plan on getting up to Manali as soon after I land in Delhi as possible, then travelling up to Keylong, probably via Manali. Have been toying with the idea of travelling to Spiti from there (particularly for Ki Gompa and Kibber), but a tad concerned about the state of the road. Am looking into a couple of potential side trips, hence my questions about Nager. It's going to be a really whistle stop affair, which is a shame, but if the alternative is not going, then whistle stop it'll have to be!!

kullukid

What time of the year are you going & for how long? KK

SarahV2

Two weeks from mid- August. Is no time at all, I know, so will have to restrict myself to two or three (maybe four, if I really push myself) places- hope I'm not being too optimistic.

kullukid

I thought it might be August! you should be O.K. on the road from Manali to Spiti, but be aware that if you try & do the "full circle" via Kinnaur/Kalpa etc you may have difficulties at this time, in the last few yrs the Sutlej has flooded washing bridges & villages away & leaving some travellers stranded in the area who then had to be airlifted out by army helicopter!
Have you considered a quick visit to Parvati valley, Manikaran/Kashol & maybe doing the 1 day trek upto Malana village? KK

SarahV2

Thanks again for the info- particularly on the Manali- Spiti road; Ki, Kibber and Tabo are all on the wish list, but have been concerned about a couple of things I've read about the road. Haven't considered the places you mention, but will do now!! You obviously know the area really well- are you up there quite a bit?

monkgonemad

parts of manali are beautiful, but the place was finished decades ago. i think your issue is more logistics. if you want to stop in naggar - get off the bus in patikhul (its about 60rps i have read [will find out in a week, when i go back] to naggar).

from naggar take the top road about 70km to manali, youll have to stay over night there to catch bus onward. the trip is brutal if you go hptdc and not a great value. the other buses (i came back on) are cheap enough and allow you to break your journey. hptdc we did about 12+ hours first day and about 16++ (18?) the next. after a few hours even the great scenery mattered little. id like to do it in 3-4 days.

the hptdc office is on the main drag and you can get the other buses in the depot.


take lots of water

...naggar is great. i dont want to talk it up. there is no scene and the foreigners (long stay) are friendly. but after what kk mentioned - not much to do so come prepared. there is a good road and you can walk to the next village. lots of trails as well.


if this is a whistle stop - its not worth it i have to tell you. you can basically see much the same in manali if youre pressed for time. do get to see this pretty area (hp) ladakh is baren and very dry.

kullukid

Every year for the last 3, first visit to Manikaran/Parvati was 10yrs ago. Here's a thread on Parvati valley you may find interesting:
living in a quiet town near manali
Here's a link to my photo's of the 3-4hr trek (all uphill) to Malana village from Jari in Parvati:
http://www.theindiatree.com/forum2/i... eq=si&img=400
You can also trek from Nagar to Malana over the Chanderkhani pass, then make your way down to Jari in Parvati.Here's some info on "The Republic of Malana" & it's people.
http://www.kullu.net/culture/malana/index.html
http://www.ignca.nic.in/asp/all.asp?projectid=mln1
http://www.ignca.nic.in/ex_0055.htm
http://www.kullu.net/culture/malana/index.html
There is plenty to see & do in Kullu & Parvati valleys for 2-4wks. I wouldn't try to talk anyone out of visiting Spiti, but consider saving it for next time (you will return!)It's very tempting to rush around trying to fit too much in, i know i've done it myself. If you try spending longer in each place you will find it's a totally different more enjoyable experience IMHO. KK