Crazy Trio: Our sudden trip to Manali
We — I, my husband and son — are one crazy traveller
trio. We love to plan instantly and just venture out on a trip. It could be
inside the city or someplace far away. And some of our most memorable trips
happened just at the snap of a finger. Sharing one such instance.
Once, on a Tuesday night, our son announced that
Thursday and Friday were holidays that week and Saturday and Sunday he had no
school, which meant four days of holidays at a stretch. He
rued he would be
bored at home without his school friends. I and Nil (my husband) looked at each
other and we all went to sleep. Next morning I drove my son to school as usual.
When I returned after dropping him, we were casually
discussing that we could have planned a short trip as there was a long weekend
ahead. And Nil immediately exclaimed, “Let’s go to Manali”! Without wasting any
time, he checked availability of AC deluxe buses but everything was booked. We
didn’t want to drive down as it was a 14-hour journey and the roads were bad. Some
seats were, however, left on ordinary, non-AC state roadways buses. He asked me
if I was ready to take the risk on an ordinary bus but cautioned that the
journey won’t be comfortable at all. I don’t remember the last time I had travelled
on one such bus. Summer was blazing at 45-46 degrees Celsius but the crazy
traveller inside me said ‘yes’.
We booked a hotel as looking for one after reaching
the spot would have been a hassle in a peak tourist week. We just had two hours
in hand before picking up our son from school. We stashed three backpacks with
minimum clothes and essentials. We ordered lunch and also packed dinner as we
were not sure where the bus would stop at night. Our son was surprisingly shocked
to hear our plan when we picked him up but was all game for it as he had
inherited our craziness. He switched to travel gear and had
lunch inside the car
as there was hardly any time left to go to our apartment. We parked the car in
the campus and boarded the cab that was waiting for us. It took an hour to
reach the ISBT, just in time to board the bus — which was not exactly the kind
one would want for a 14-hour journey during a scorching summer.
Finally, we were seated in the non-AC bus, which was almost
like an oven. For our son, it
was his first such experience as we always drove, booked a cab or took a plane
or train. Needlessly to say, the journey was not so comfortable but we killed our
time by observing all sorts of people and how they behave differently in a
journey— and gulping down gallons of water.
After half-a-dozen traffic jams that delayed our
journey by a couple of hours, we reached Manali on a chilly morning. We were
shivering as we just had thin shawls to cover ourselves. The live day
temperature was 16 degrees a day earlier and so we didn’t take any heavy woollens.
But we forgot that weather changes very frequently on hills. We walked briskly to
the hotel to warm up. On reaching our room, the view of the mountains from our
window made us forget all our tiredness of the previous night’s journey and
rejuvenated us.
We freshened up, had breakfast and quickly walked to
the famous Mall Road, which was at a walking distance. The first thing to do
was buy woollen jackets as we didn’t want to fall ill because of the icy chill.
The sharp contrast from Delhi’s heat wave made us feel the cold even more. We walked
to the Beas river side and spent some time there for the customary travel photo
shoot. We, however, could not touch the waters as restrictions were in place in
Manali to avoid accidents. This was unlike years before when we visited the
hill station for our honeymoon. When we could feel the cool waters and sit on
the rocks. A lot of constructions have taken place. Manali has grown but also lost
a lot of green cover in the process.
As it was a holiday week, there was a mad rush of tourists
who were seen busy booking taxis for other locales at a distance from Manali.
But we had gone to relax there for two days. Our routine was loitering around
the river side, eco-park, Mall Road and back to the hotel. Enjoying ice-cream,
golgappas, rolls, pakoras and whatever lip-smacking gastronomous delicacies tempted
our eyes. We thought we could indulge now and detox after returning home. And
finally it was Saturday evening and we were again in another non-AC bus,
heading back to the heat of Delhi. But this time it was better because the
weather was quite cool till Punjab. We reached Delhi early Sunday morning and
on Monday, we were back to our daily grind — all charged up after the short
trip.
We stayed put at Manali but if you love to explore
every corner of the exotic hill station, you can visit these places — Hadimba
Temple, Solang Valley, Old Manali, Manali Gompa, Hampta Pass, Manikaran, Jogini
Waterfalls, Great Himalayan National Park, Rohtang Pass, Bhrigu Lake, Manu
Temple, etc.
Solang Valley is a side valley, at the top of the Kullu Valley, 14
km northwest of Manali, on the way to Rohtang Pass, which is on the way to Leh.
One can enjoy open valleys of meadows, cobalt blue
skies and spectacular vistas. It is a great melange of nature surrounded by the
heavenly ranges of Himalayas.
During summers, tourists enjoy adventure activities
such as paragliding, zorbing, camping, rock climbing and gondola ride among
others while in winters, the valley turns into a snow territory with exciting
snow sports such as skiing and snowboarding.
Hamta Pass is a corridor in the Himalayas, between Chandra
Valley in Lahaul and Kullu valley. The pass is named after Hamta Village, below
Sethan village.
Hampta Pass is located on the Pir Panjal Range and a
trekker scales the maximum altitude of about 14,000 feet on their way to the
pass. The pass has a journey of river crossings and lush-green meadows with
pine and deodar forests.
Manikaran is located in the Parvati Valley on river Parvati, northeast of Bhuntar
in Kullu District. A pilgrimage centre for both Hindus and Sikhs, it is known
as a land where two different Gods live together. Located just 79.3 km from
Manali, the town houses the pious shrine of Sri Gurunanak Dev called Gurudwara
Manikaran Sahib. According to legend, while traveling amid the Himalayas, Guru
Nanak Dev’s disciples were hungry and there was no food. Guru Ji sent his
friend, Bhai Mardana, to collect food for the langar.
Many people donated food but the only problem was that
there was no fire to cook. Then Guru Nanak Dev lifted a rock and a hot spring
appeared from the place on which the food was cooked later. The hot spring still
exists and the Sikhs cook food using the holy water.
If you are looking for a serene spot, Jogini Falls
is a must visit. Just 3 km from Manali city centre, the falls offer a short
trek through wild orchards, small creeks and pine woods. With many small
shrines at the base of this waterfall, Jogini is considered sacred by the
locals. The white cascading beauty on the rocks is just amazing.
The Great Himalayan National Park is located in Kullu region and is spread over 1,171
km. Altitudes range between 1500 and 6000 m. The great alpine grasslands with
dense pine and deodar forests hide wild creatures of the Himalayas.
The park houses some endangered species — 1,000
plants, 209 species of birds and 31 species of mammals. The snow leopard is the
apex predator of the park. Tourists can indulge in hiking and camping in the
allowed zones of the park.
Rohtang Pass is a high mountain pass on the eastern end of the Pir
Panjal Range of the Himalayas, around 51 km from Manali. It connects Kullu
Valley with Lahaul and Spiti. The pass offers access to Lahaul and Spiti in
summers.
Due to immense snowfall, the pass remains closed
during winters from November-end. Tourists can also enjoy thrilling adventures such
as skiing, paragliding and trekking.
To protect the delicate beauty of the pass, alpine
ecosystem and small creeks, the Government has restricted overcrowding by o
tourists.
Bhrigu Lake is located in Kullu district at an elevation of
around 4,300 metres. It is located to the east of Rohtang Pass and at the base
of Bhrigu peak. Known for trekking trails, the lake is surrounded by snow-clad
peaks on all sides.
According to folklore, Maharishi Bhrigu used to
meditate here. This is why the lake is rendered sacred. Even when the
temperature goes down to sub-zero, the lake never freezes completely.
The locals also believe that all Gods and Goddesses
come down from heaven to take a dip in this holy lake.
While returning, we spotted a lot of brisk construction
of some mega projects along the highway, which is like a double-edged sword. While
development is necessary, it has its flip side too, which we can see in the
form of flash floods and landslides. I just hope God saves the region from
nature’s fury. Places such as Manali are losing its charm because of
overcrowding and over tourism. Personally, I feel there should be a cap on the
number of tourists during peak season to save the place and to restore its
charm and beauty.
Crazy Trio: Our sudden trip to Manali
