| Submitted by: Sukhendu Roy Chowdhury , India |
| Submission Date: 23 September 2007 |
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A visit to Himachal’s Tribal Belt:
Narkanda, Sarahan and Kalpa
Having visited a number of places in Uttarakhand, we decided to focus this time on Himachal Pradesh. We browsed through almost all the places in Himachal Pradesh through internet and we found the tribal belt to be the most attractive one. We had about 10 days time to spare before our daughter’s school reopened on 3rd of July. We wanted also to experience our first ever air travel and the Air Deccan just opened cheap tickets from 1st of July for the Delhi-Shimla sector. So the plan was to go to Shimla by Train. The plan was first reach Kalka and then catch the toy train to Shimla and coming back to Delhi by flight. This way we thought we could enjoy the travel in addition to Himalayan spectacle.
As soon as I could buy the flight tickets on-line, the rest of the program fell in line. Himachal Tourism has on-line booking of their Holiday homes/hotels and very soon the confirmed bookings were made and we were set to leave Delhi on June 22nd night by Howrah-Kalka express leaving Delhi station at 10.30 p.m.
For me it was a hectic schedule as I was out of Delhi for 4 days to Bareilly and SatTal, near Nainital on professional duties. I got only one day in-between two tours. However, I always welcome any number of visits to the hills.
On 22nd June, 2007 we left for Delhi Station about 9 p.m. and reached at 10.00 p.m. The Howrah-Kalka mail was already on the platform and we found our compartment and berth and settled comfortably. But the train refused to move. I felt little bit hot in the compartment in spite of Air conditioners running. Having left the decision to the authorities, we went for the night’s sleep. Probably the train started after 2 hours behind schedule. In any case, we found ourselves in the morning 5.30 at Kalka Station. The connecting train, the Shivalik Express was awaiting our arrival. This train is a beautiful one having big glass windows and a carpeted floor. Except a few flies and little bit of mouldy smell, the rest was wonderful. Three things I liked in this train travel, the vegetation along the route, the tunnels it was passing through and the little cute stations where it stopped.
We reached Shimla station around 11.50 a.m. and took a cab for the Holiday Home run by Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC). This Holiday Home is well maintained and services are excellent except the rates are little on the higher side. After our lunch and rest we went for a walk. To reach the Mall road, the famous shopping area, we had to take two lifts @ Rs. 7/-. These lifts are run by HPTDC for the benefit of tourists. The crowd was so much that even walking was difficult. On the Mall road all kinds of vehicular traffic are banned. Most of the eating joints were overflowing with people. There is a Church just above the Mall Road standing like a presiding deity of Shimla. We went to Scandal point to book our bus ticket from the HPTDC office for Narkanda. We thought instead of taking a regular bus from the Bus station, it would be better and comfortable if we took the bus run by HPTDC. This idea costs us dearly. We had to pay twice the fare to Narkanda and back to Shimla. This was not told to us by the staff there although we told them our itinerary. Of course, paying that extra fare was compensated by three stopovers - Green Valley, Fagu and skiing area at Narkanda and the tour guide informing us of the geographical statistics and other related information.. We reached Narkanda just at the right time for lunch. As we had a booking at Hotel Hatu, we took our room and had lunch before we went out with other passengers to the Skiing ground. This ground is about 1 and half km. away from the Hotel. Narkanda located amidst thick green vegetation by the NH 22 at a height of 2715 meters. The Hotel Hatu is about 200 meters off the Highway at a higher altitude. During the summer months this hotel is fully booked and I saw a number of families who came there without reservation had to be turned away. Of course, if you are driving towards Rampur or Kalpa, you can have your lunch at this hotel. It maintains a reseasonable standard in hospitality.
We came back to hotel around 3.30 p.m. and we needed rest for some time. About 5 p.m.it was time for tea, I went down to the lawn and ordered for a cup of tea and let Shivani and Krishna rest for some more time. The thing I like most in a trip is to sip a cup of tea sitting leisurely on the lawn looking at the valley and the sky. Here you can feel the silence while the time stands mute only the chirping of birds can be heard now and then. The cool breeze soothes your innermost being and you are lost in nature’s beauty.
The sunlight was available till 7.30 p.m. and I thought in the hills it gets dark early! About an hour later Shivani and Krishna came to the lawn and also had tea. In the meantime, other families also joined. There was a young girl who had two rackets and a shuttle **** but no one to play with her. So I played for sometime and then a few more members joined her. We took a walk around the Hotel and we planned to trek to the Hatu Peak next day. The night was cloudy so we could hardly watch any starts. After dinner I had a walk on the lawn while the clouds invaded our hotel and covered the whole area under its wings. By the time we went to bed it was 10.30 p.m.
In the morning we had a quick bath and got ready for breakfast around 8 a.m. It was drizzling but we were determined to trek to Hatu peak located at a height of 3400 meter and about 8 k.m. away from the Hotel. We carried some sandwich, biscuits and water and rain coats in case there was a downpour. As we left our Hotel and came onto the road, a dog followed us. Sometimes it went ahead and waited for our arrival. In one place on the way we stopped for a while and the dog came back and looked at us to see whether we were coming or going back. The weather was wonderful neither very cold nor warm. The clouds hovered around us and gave us company all along the route. We could hardly see a few meters away. So our walk was slow. At times we had doubt whether we were taking the right path. But the dog leading us ahead on the same route did away with our doubts. Now and then we would stop to take a snap or two. On the way, we came across a water spring and we drank the water. It was so sweet and refreshing. Krishna (my wife) was doubtful about it’s quality but was convinced when Shivani (our daughter) and myself drank this water and appreciated it’s quality. In the midst of natural surroundings you feel one with the nature and enjoy it’s beauty and quietness. You very well understand what you miss in the crowded cities. One remarkable thing we noticed that someone had already marked the road every 10 meters so you know how far you have trekked. In the meantime we could see only three tourist cars bypassing us and we could not see any other trekkers. However, finally we could make it to the top. The view from the top could have been breathtaking but for the clouds covering the entire area disappointed us. Of course, the views we had on the way were sufficient to compensate this loss.
At the Hatu peak, we met Mr. Balyan and his family and they offered us a ride back to the Hotel. This ride gave us a definite relief from the strained legs and saving on time but it took away the opportunity to trek through the winding forest path once again. By the time we reached the hotel, it was time for lunch and we too were hungry. After little wash, we joined others in the dinning hall. Unlike in cities, clothes do not get dirty here and almost no sweating and you always feel fresh and clean. After the lunch was over, we needed little rest to soothe our overstrained body. Around 4.30 p.m. we all got up and refreshed ourselves with tea. Many a guests sat on the chairs leisurely on the lawn provided by the hotel. We too joined them. We discussed about children’s education and how alarmingly morality of people in general was declining.
In the evening we went for a walk along with two more families up to the Circuit House. We found the Circuit House was in a better location than our HPTDC hotel. All the four sides are open and lawn in front and back. It also had a clear view of the Himalayan Panorama. Of course, in the hills every location is unique, every corner is beautiful and every view is attractive. The breeze that blows across is an elixir indeed. These hills have a connection with eternity and in comparison we human beings are of recent origin. Mountains and hills have been here before our advent on earth. Perhaps these will continue to dominate the landscape even when we would be gone.
By the time we came back to our hotel, the sun had already set deducting another day from our life span while adding another day’s experience. So silently a day passes away from our life that it does not let us feel a day’s loss as if infinite number of days are ahead for us. This is the illusion we live in.
We continued our discussion with the families about the experiences of each one of us had on our visit to hill stations. Mr. Balyan told us that he had been to Kelong, Kaza and Manali with his family before coming to Narkanda. Their next program was to go to Chail. He drove all the way from Delhi to all these places and that too without any confirmed reservation of accommodation! Really I should say that he is an adventurous person while we moved out from home only after full reservation in all the places on our itinerary. I personally like to hear and read travelogues of places I already visited or plan to visit some time. As we had to leave next day for Kalpa in the morning we reluctantly parted company and spent some time in arranging our rucksacks. After finishing our dinner, I went out for a walk while Shivani and Krishna went to room to watch their favorite serial. By 10.30 p.m. we all went to bed. So this was the last night we spent in Narkanda. I summed up in my mind our visit here and found the trekking to Hatu Peak to be the most enjoyable and exhaustive one.
In the morning after a quick breakfast and clearing the dues with hotel, we walked of about 100 meters away to the bus stand. The bus stand shed was crowded and major part of it was occupied by the buffalos and smell in the air was like a cowshed you experience in villages. I found people were least bothered of the smell and they were in their usual mood. After waiting about half an hour two buses bound for Kalpa came around 8.30 a.m. We boarded the bus wherein we could get seat for all of us. The bus waited for another 20 minutes before it moved on. The journey to Kalpa is via Rampur, Recong Peo and then Kalpa. It reached about 6.30 p.m. The route along the Sutlez river was precariously beautiful. There were a number of Hydro-Electric power stations being built thus making the road more rough. There were a number of water streams we saw coming down from the upper reaches. The bus stopped for lunch at Jeori. Jeori is the place from where the road to Sarahan about 17 kms. at a height of 2100 meters. The only problem we faced was that we could not get a decent hotel for lunch neither at Rampur where it stopped for quite a while nor at Jeori. We managed with fruits and sweets. Another thing which we felt absence of was cleanliness. Perhaps cleanliness is not in our blood. Unfortunately, we do not give it a priority and we are very casual about cleanliness. I think our nation will really progress only when this cleanliness will be a part of our nature. It is not due to lack of resources but it is a poor mentality we are satisfied with. This must change.
The bus dropped us at Kalpa bus stand at 6.30 p.m.. We really did not know where the HPTDC Hotel was. The conductor pointed his finger up in the hill which will be, I presume, about 200 meters above the road. We were already tired by the whole day’s journey and now we had to carry our rucksack up there. We felt that the conductor played a trick on us. He could have very well dropped us at a parallel road to our guest house that would have made our walk a bit easier. Perhaps he could not resist a little temptation of harassing the tourists, I guessed. |
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