Offbeat locations in Himachal

amitmishr

Hi,

Have been going through a lot of threads on the forum and was trying to narrow down to a location to visit in February with my parents and 1yr old kid. Have already been to regular places- Shimla, Kullu, Manali, Dalhousie, Kangra, Chamba, Dharmshala, Khajjiar. Since travelling with a kid and parents, don't think Lahaul, Spiti would be doable now. May visit some time later.

Would prefer visiting places which are not crowded and hence away from regular tourist getaways. am thinking about Khajjiar (yet again, but in my view the best location in HP), or may be Kasauli/Chail, or Narkanda/kalpa.

Kindly suggest a location doable with around 6 days in mind. Also, is Feb the right time to go or should i either try during summers?

sagarneel

Kalpa in Feb would be under snow...not sure if you can manage to reach! Narkanda, IMO is a good option! You can also think of Kufri/Fagu!
Lahoull anyways, is not possible in Feb, as the road is closed due to snow! (as far as I know)
Sagarneel.

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My photos: http://www.trekearth.com/members/sagar/photos/

ashwinnaagar

Solang valley is great!!! So is naggar and katrain, and it more beautiful in summers when there is plenty of greenery around.
Trip account of the kullu valley.
Go through my trip account- it was a total offbeat places kind of trip.

ashwinnaagar

Somehow i feel uttaranchal is a better bet during feb-march while may june HP is great.

amitmishr

thanx ashwin, sagar

I guess the best time to go to himachal is summers. So planning to do the same around May. Have narrowed down to Kalpa, Sangla.

right now have made the following itinerary. Suggestions would be welcome

Day 1: Delhi-Kalka-Shimla/Kasauli (night stay at either shimla/kasauli
Day 2: Kasauli/Shimla - Narkanda via kufri (night stay at narkanda)
Day 3: Narkanda-Sangla
Day 4: Sangla-kalpa
Day 5: day visit to chitkul, back to kalpa
Day 6: walk around kalpa
Day 7: kalpa-sarahan
day 8,9: stay at sarahan, local visits, relax
Day 10: Sarahan-Kalka-Delhi

I hope the itinerary looks doable. Also, suggestions would be welcome.
1. Would the number of days be sufficient or should i increase/decrease visit duration.
2. am i missing some beautiful location around the places am visiting.
3. road conditions, weather in May
4. Am planning to hire a Travera/scorpio.

amitmishr

Hey ashwin,
went through your travelogue. was intrigued about the naggar/katrain trip, but my wife is sold off on the kailash kinnar pics and is excited about going there on our next trip. will do naggar/katrain some time later. nice pics you got on the trip, especially the temple ones.
BTW which is the cottage in the picture (near manali)

ashwinnaagar

That's the upadhyay cottages, i have written about them in my triplog. A splendid place i would say.
And instead going to chitkul from kalpa, you should go there from sangla itself.
And i would also suggest you to drop the stay at kasauli and proceed straight towards narkanda so that you have one more day at sangla.

sagarneel

Hi all,
Here are some pics of my Himachal trip.
http://www.indiamike.com/photopost/s...0/ppuser/33040
Hope you like these!

sagarneel

This way the itenary looks perfect!Following this itenary, you can cover the beautiful Kinnaur+Narkanda. However, you can also think of twisting the plan of Day 4. You can go to Chitkul from Sangla and(if you dont want to stay at night in Chitkul), spend some time in Chitkul and head for Kalpa the same day. In that way you can spend the entire 5th day walking around and enjoying Sangla, and have an extra day in hand. In that case, you think of spending a day in Kufri (~30km from Shimla).
Regards,
Sagarneel.

amitmishr

thanx sagar,

yeah i made a mistake. I was planning to visit chitkul from sangla and back to sangla. i indicated the same from kalpa in the itinerary. i was tempted to stay in chitkul for the night, and am aware that there are a few places to stay as well, but would AMS be a problem at that right, especially for young ones, elders.
i know i can take diamox, but is it worth the risk.

also, if i decide not to stay at chitkul, is doing a day trip to chitkul from sangla and then on to kalpa for night stay doable. would it not be too taxing.

Derel

Dear Amit

plz allow a fuul day to Chitkul, its enchanting, may be a little too beautiful than most other places.
Reach Kalpa next morning,65kms,a 3.5 hours journey.
take a chance at PWD resthouse at Chitkul,fair amount of chance of getting it.Rai Singh Negi is the caretaker, no problem without prior booking.

You can also think about staying at Rakchham instead of Sangla.10-15 kms ahead.If u r bent upon staying at Sangla, avoid the busstand area, its pretty frustrating.
And why Narkanda by the way?

sagarneel

Mountain (High altitude) sickness can be a problem with elders and young ones, I agree. It can be managed with Diamox, but in that case you have to drink plenty of water. As an alternative to Diamox, you can go for a homoepathic (I know many would not beleive in homoeopathy) drug called cocoa 6. This drug acts well in altitude sickness if taken prophylactically. However, if you think that altitude sickness is a concern with the members of your group, you can very well avoid staying at night in Sangla. In taht case, leave early from Sangla with packed lunch, reach Chitkul in a hour and a half...spend good amount of time there, and leave for Kalpa by afternoon. Kalpa to Chitkul is ~75km, and would take some 4 hrs by car.
Regards,
Sagarneel.

ashwinnaagar

Are there any staying options in rakcham?

ashwinnaagar

sagarnell
http://www.indiamike.com/photopost/s...0/ppuser/33040
where in sangla was this pic taken?

amitmishr

thx Derel,

I just saw Narkanda on most of the itineraries for the night stay so decided on it. Besides directly reaching sangla from shimla/kasauli would have been too taxing. Any better suggestion would be welcome.

Sagar, would probably avoid one additional day by moving to chitkul and onwards to kalpa the same day. this would mean i would spend one day lazing around, doing some local walks in kalpa and sangla and two days in sarahan. Is there a better way to spend time (should i spend additional days in kalpa/sangla rather than sarahan.