Trip account of the kullu valley.

ashwinnaagar

Finally i am writing my trip account which has been pending since many days.
day 1-
Drive through kangra valley-
We went to chakki bank(from pune) and picked up a taxi booked through the himachal taxi union. The journey till kangra was through some low, brown yet impressive hills with many dry rocky beds passing by. After kangra we came across some very good views of snow capped peaks sometimes they would come very close. But i think they would look even better in spring when there'll be even more snow. I would vote for the region around kangra for the best views of the dhauladhars. The roads after palampur are particularly very very "motion sickness triggering" with huge huge hills by your side. Stopped at a dhaba on the way before jogindernagar which dished out some very good punjabi food.
The brown hills with the june heat was a bit depressing but that soon waned away after the kullu town when the beas became clear and the mountains pine forest laden.
contd.
Upadhyay cottages-Finally we landed at the upadhyay cottages at katrain. these cottages are tucked inside plum and apricot orchards far away from the noise of the main highway. Views too are good.
Review of upadhyay cottages- we could see some snow capped peaks and pine forests from their lawn area, food was also nice- home made north indian food and the best part is it's located in plum and apricot orchards. So we had plenty of tree ripened fruits which tasted the best. So visiting in the fruits season(may-oct) is a must if you are going to manali. The owner also showed us several other fruits- kiwifruits,grapefruits, apples,pomegranates,walnuts which were about to ripen.
And the owner was also really friendly and hospitable, rooms were nice and comfortable, there are several trrails running behind into the mountains, naggar is also not very far.


We spent the next two days roaming inside the orchards and believe me the fruits which have ripened on the tree and have fallen down naturally taste the best. Nothing can beat them.

Naggar
This was another impressive place. One of the best views are to be experienced from here. The highlight of naggar was the walk upto the ancient krishna mandir at Thava. The trail passes through some dense pine scented forests with views of far off peaks. This 40-50 min walk(one way) was the best part of our trip. The tripura sundari mandir too was impressive.
Jana
This waterfall 11km from naggar is actually on the explored track but the main draw here is the food served at the dhaba- excallent himachali stuff like lingad subzi, rajma, kadhi,red rice, makki roti..it's worth going here just for the food.

ashwinnaagar

Our next stop was manali of which i have little good to write about- maybe because i didn't feel like exploring the place. The temple at jagatsukh is a nice one and i feel the stremas coming downhill through manali are also really good. Rest all isn't even worth going. I would say forget hadimba temple,mallroad, vashisht and all of that stuff.

Solang valley

This was THE best part of our trip. Solang is simply the best place to stay...amazing views, the river not far away and loads of greenery and silence. It's straight out of those beautiful paintings and postcards we have seen.

Iceland hotel This place has the excellent views, good staff, excellent food(but of limited variety)..surely the kind of a holiday place.
Dhundi
The walk upto dhundi was a slightly hectic one. We found it quite enjoyable, but it's difficult to walk along the river and walking along the road is not so nice..so hire a mountain bike early in the morning, explore dhundi throughout the day and walk back by sunset. Dhundi has excellent views, plenty of streams and flowers of many kinds. The road construction project is a turn off but it's ok once you go past it. So it's best to take a mountain bike so that you have energy left to explore the place. And take packed lunch with you. It's even better to stay in a camp but it will become cold in the evenings.

Solang village and waterfall
The entire area around the village is crisscrossed by waterfalls, streams with the beas flowing through it. The walk upto the waterfall will need a guide. The waterfall was gorgeous..i won't show you guys the video as it will spoil the excitement..discover it for yourself. The walk takes 1-1.5 hours one way. There's anothe walk to the shiva temple but we missed it due to lack of time,i am told it's nice one.

Rohtang pass- i wish i could just land up on the pass without going through the hair raising bends and unending traffic jams. But the views on the top are just out of the world. I enjoyed skiing for the first time. You must sart by 4-4.30 am to avoid jams and also get the best views in the early morning light. Anything after that and it won't be so enjoyable.

Return journey-
While returning we stopped at the trishla shawl factory which had some inexpensive stuff, but not as varied as manali. And we brought a box of apricots and plums each. While selecting apricots take ones which are already ripened....never take the green ones, they'll never ripen well in our climate.
Highlight of this trip- We stopped at a dhaba after mandi 2km before Drang on the way to jogindernagar. It;s owned by subhash sharma. I was served the best himachali food i ever had- lingr madra, dahi tadka, moong, halwa. He explained me the differences between punjabi and himachali cuisines and how people today don't go in for himachali stuff. It's on the right side of the road, the dhaba doesn't have any signboard as such.
And the kangra valley looked much greener than when we had left it. I bid farewell to this enchanting land of himachal promising to return back again soon!!

Indizen

Interesting blog!

(I removed the quote of a very long previous post - Hal)

ashwinnaagar

My recommendations-
1. Solang village area- Stay at the hotel iceland. If it's full then snownest, solang ski resort are other places to stay.http://icelandhotel.homestead.com/
2.Katrain- upadhyay cottages,http://www.upadhyaycottages.com/
3. Most important- the best views and surroundings are experienced between 6-9 am..don't waste this time with breakfast and dressing up.
4. If you need a taxi from pathankot then contact this person- a good driver and most importantly he does not show attitude like many other drivers.-0981486009. We got this one through himachal taxi union.
5. Avoid manali city.(hadimba-vashisht-mall road).like plague.
6.Leave for rohtang by4-4.30 am.
7.Stay for a day at naggar also- try the walk upto krishna temple.
8. Dhaba near mandi for himachali fare.
pics coming soon..

ashwinnaagar

pics-
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ashwinb...7620770626393/

Feel free to ask any queries..

delhiwala

nice to know, that there are still some places where tourists can savour Himachali Cuisine which is fast becoming extinct even at Himachali Homes also.

__________________
Travel only with thy equals or thy betters; if there are none, travel alone. - The Dhammapada

palerider

Great post thanks. I had a good time in manali, except the hotel owner was an arsehole. But I was there in august, so no snow, and no tourists.
There was a great weekly market there, and the food was really good.
But I know what you mean, I thought Kullu was much nicer, with the Beas running through the middle of town.

__________________
I always wanted to be someone when I grew up, I realise now that I should have been more specific.

ashwinnaagar

Actually the area between katrain and manali is the best..there is plenty of place to walk along the river and the bank is quite quiet. The river bed is also not too rocky like in solang.

ashwinnaagar

I am told that there are some places in mandi and kullu which serve himachali fare. Sapna sweets in kullu is one. There's one near the palampur bus stand too. Worth trying.
Basically you have to request the cook to make himachali food for you.

THEQUEST

HI Aswhin..

I saw ur pghotos in Flickr,,,

They are great...

__________________
Cheers: --

ashwinnaagar

thanks..

jaibharatma

Ashwin, enjoyed the photos very much.