Thursday, 16 June 2016
Rohtang Pass
23:17
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Rohtang Pass. The name “Rohtang” means ‘ pile of
corpses’ due to people dying in bad
weather trying to cross the pass. The
Pass is located 51 Kms from manali and connects Kullu Valley with Lahaul &
Spitti Valley. Rohtang Pass is located in Pir-Panjal mountain range of the
Himalayas at the height of 13050 Ft.
But unlike its name meaning, Rohtang Pass is a beautiful
place in Himalayas with pristine white snow all around, chilled weather, breath-taking
views. It attracts 2.5 lakh tourists from India and the world every year. It is
a popular destination for Adventurous & Winter-sports loving people and
Honeymoon couple. Pass is open from May to November, in other months it
receives heavy snowfall.
We started our journey to Rohtang Pass from Solang Valley. Distance
in between was 44kms. Since me and my friend were on bike so we decided to ride
22km each. Travelling to Rohtang Pass on bike is an advantage as, road is
narrow.
Traffic jam is daily and common in may-november. Cars, Trucks got
struck while bikes enjoy easy passes.So keep this thing in your mind.
The journey towards Rohtang Pass on bike is like “Wow”. Scenic
nature enthralls people all around the year who come to visit or pass through
this heavenly pass. View of tall majestic snowcapped Himalayan Mountains
touching the sky, lush green views, flying parachutes, waterfalls etc.
Many
Bike-Riders can be seen going towards Leh-Ladakh on their Harley-Davidson
bikes. Besides the road small dhabas could be seen selling hot beverages, Maggie,
momos ,biscuits etc.The weather of Rohtang plays in very flirty manner. A moment
of warm sunshine can change into heavy rain with snow.
In the way we got struck due to landslide of snow on the road . Luckily, snow moving vechile was available there at the distance ,and it cleared all the snow.
Finally we reached Rohtang Pass. The whole area was covered
with pristine white snow. Huge crowd of tourist was present there before. Children’s
and adults were throwing snow on each other. Couples were clicking selfies and
photographs. One can do skiing, trekking, paragliding, yak-riding there. Also rides of snow-mobile ,all-terrain
vehicle is also available there. We also stayed there for some time and had done trekking , yak-riding , snow throwing
on each other etc.
Rohtang is a beautiful place which every nature lover would
love to visit with great degree of
enthusiasm. Pass is a surreal place of glaciers providing panoramic views.
Do visit this place and spend some moments..:-)
Thursday, 28 April 2016
Kufri
10:15
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Kufri is a green
hill station located in Shimla district of Himachal Pradesh. It is located
just 13 kms away from Shimla. The name “Kufri” is derived from the local word
“kufr” which means lake.
While my visit to Shimla ,I visited this place also. This
place always comes into news due to heavy snowfall there in winters. Tourist
enjoy skiing, winter sports and heavy snowfall here.
Following are the things to go around in Kufri:
1. Kufri-Zoo
Kufri
has a Himalayan wildlife zoo, where
one can see Himalayan antelopes, birds, leopard, white tiger ,bear and many
more species of fauna. One can also see Himalayan monal, the state bird of Himachal Pradesh. Entry to the zoo costs
only 25 per person.
2. Kufri-Fun World
One
must visit Kufri-Fun world there. It is located at a height of 2.5 kms and one
can do trekking to go there at the height. But the best way to reach there is
by taking the horse ride. It fills
you with excitement and fun.
During winters this place is full of snow ,and thus become a destination for skiing. There is also a a small market at the height where you can buy woolens ,sweaters ,hats ,mufflers etc. One can also enjoy Yak-ride here.
3.Go-Karting
Kufri-Fun
world features world’s highest go-kart-track.
Kids and adults can both enjoy
go-karting there.
The best time to visit Kufri is Jan-March. Do visit Kufri and enjoy your trip..:-)
Sunday, 10 April 2016
Shimla "Queen of Hills"
00:15
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“Shimla” also known as “Queen of Hills” is the capital of
the Indian state Himachal Pradesh. In
1864 ,Shimla was declared as the summer capital of British India. Shimla today is one of the most visited hill
station that attract tourists all over the world throughout the year. One can
enjoy the sceneric beauty of that place and can rejuvenate in the lap of
Himalayas.
Day
1
On the first day, firstly i
visited the Mall Road also called The
Shimla Ridge. It is located in the Centre of the town. It is one of the
most famous tourist destination . One can enjoy the view of mountains from the
the Ridge. Christ Church can also be visited on the mall road.
Then I headed to
Summer Hills in the local bus. Summers Hill
provides spectacular views of Shimla valley from the height. Himachal
Pradesh University ,is also located on the Shimla Hills. When I visited the
university the students were doing practice of some cultural programme. One
group was singing Himachali songs, while the other was dancing on the songs.
They were doing “Nati”. It is a Himachal form of dance. I loved the way in
which they were singing and dancing, making me to sit there for a moment and
enjoying the show.
Then I visited Viceregal
Lodge, which is also a part of Institute of Advance Studies. It is a must
visit place and depicts an excellent work of architecture. One can have
spectacular views of the hills surrounding the estate.
In the Evening I enjoyed Coffee at the Indian Coffee
House. One must enjoy coffee and local food experience here.
Day
2
Next day in the morning I went to Annadale. It is a beautiful place and is situated 5 kms from the
Ridge.The Britishers used to play cricket , polo and golf here.
After visiting Annadale, I went to Naldehra. It is 25 kms away from the Shimla. Local people told me
it’s the must place to visit full of greenery in the surrounding. The
atmosphere there was cold due to long deodar tress making the surrounding shady.
Northern Himalayas can be seen from there covering with snow .One can do horse
riding there in the dense forest.
Naldehra is also famous for its Golf Course.
Here a huge and tall
statue of Hanuman is built, considered as world’s tallest statue of 108 feet at
the height of 8000 feet. The temple is dedicated to god, Hanuman. The temple is very nicely maintained and, a park
is also available for the kids.
On the evening of my last stay at Shimla, I hang around in
the Ridge visiting the Lakkar Bazaar.
This place consists of shops that are famous for their wooden works. Youcan buy key rings, kitchen utility things, watches, interior decoration items, toys, bangles etc. made of wood. One must visit this place to do some shopping here.
The night view of the Shimla at the Ridge is very good. One can view Jakhoo hill and the tall Hanuman statue from the ridge. Shimla looks more beautiful at the night .It seems as if the sky full of stars has falled down in which the lights of the houses acts as a stars.
Thursday, 31 March 2016
BAIJNATH
01:44
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Baijnath is a beautiful town situated in kangra district of Himachal
Pradesh. Baijnath is famous for its beauty and ancient temple of Lord Shiva .
Several monasteries also exist of Buddhist monks nearby. The temple is situated
on the bank of river Binwa..
Baijnath
Temple is famous for 13th century temple dedicated to Lord shiva.
According to Hindu mythology it is believed that during Treta Yug, Ravana
pleased lord shiva by offering his 10 heads. Influenced by his worship the Lord
Shiva restored his heads .Lord Shiva also converted himself into Shivling
and gifted the same Shivling to Ravana ,and
warned him that not to place Shivling down on the ground on the way. Ravana in
the way towards south feel the urge to answer nature’s call. On seeing a shepherd,
Ravana handed over the Shivling to him and went away to get the relief. The
Shepherd finding Shivaling very heavey
Put the linga on the ground .Thus Shivalinga got established there in
the form of Ardhanarishwar.
In Baijnath,
Dussehra is not celebrated as, Ravana is
repected here and is not burned in flames. Also there are no blacksmiths in the
town.
The temple
is very beautiful. There are lot of inscriptions on the walls , doors of
temple. Temple is enclosed with high walls from all 4 sides. Prayers are
offered in the morning and in the
evening daily
Downside the temple ,stairs lead you to river Binwa ,also called "kheer ganga". One can enjoy bath here in the river.
One can also visit the market of Baijnath ,and can buy things. Local food is also very tasty and they keep cleanliness in the shops.
Downside the temple ,stairs lead you to river Binwa ,also called "kheer ganga". One can enjoy bath here in the river.
One can also visit the market of Baijnath ,and can buy things. Local food is also very tasty and they keep cleanliness in the shops.
Choukling Monastery is situated in a place named Bir, which
is 10 kms away from Baijnath. Monastery is very large and beautiful ,and a must place to visit. Small
monks can also be seen living and worshiping together.
One can also visit places like Bir,Billing, One can enjoy aerosports here. Paragliding can be done. World Level Paragliding Championship is held here.
Sunday, 13 March 2016
Trip to kullu-Manali
10:03
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Trip to Kullu-Manali: Since my school days… I always heard friends talking about
kullu-manali trips, movies showing the beauty of that place, honeymoon trips of
couple to that place.
Finally one good day me and my friend decided to visit that
place on our bike… we started from
jogindernagar(H.P.) Jogindernagar is hill town in Mandi district, named after Raja Joginder Sen. Riding the whole way from Jogindernagar ,we
reached Mandi. Mandi is a beautiful
district of Himachal Pradesh. River Beas
flows though it. Gurudwara Shri Guru Gobing Singh ji ,is located in
Mandi district. It consists belongins of Guru Sahib’s such as holy bed , holy gun,
holy rawab ,holy mattress etc. Gurudwara is very beautiful.
After visiting Gurudwara and bowing our heads…we moved further towards Kullu. Few kms away ahead from Mandi, some sound
stopped us…and the view was exotic. It was Pandoh Dam. It is on Beas river in Mandi. The sound of water
hitting ground was so much that it could be heard from a km easily.
Then we start moving towards kullu. In the whole way river
beas accompanied us. It flows besides the road. Several hanging bridges of iron
could be seen on the river beas.
Then we came across a huge tunnel of 2.8 km long.It is called
Kullu-Manali tunnel. Smell of wet rocks can be felt inside it.
Finally covering 120 kms we reached Kullu. Kullu is located on the bank of river
beas. Here the flow of river beas is very
fast. The water is also very cold of the river …as it comes directly
from the glacier. One can enjoy river-rafting, rope-way river crossing ,camping
& trekking here. We enjoyed river-rafting
there. Our stay was at hotel “kailash”. The market of kullu is also good. One
can eat and shop here. We spended night at
hotel. Whole night I was curious to visit “Manali”.
Next morning we
started moving towards Manali. Manali is
40 kms away from kullu. While moving towards Manali we stopped our bike at “bhunter” after reading a board. It was a
rabbit- farm named Angora Rabbit Breeding
Farm. It was started by Mr P.P.Gupta
in 1965. There are large
number of rabbits there of bigger size. One must visit this farm .Finally
driving the whole way we reached Manali.
Manali is a beautiful hill station covered with snow
mountains. Foreign Tourist also visit
this place. One can do skiing, paragliding ,hill climbing, camping and trekking
here.
First we went to Hadima
Devi temple ..also called Hindimba Devi Temple. It one of the most beautiful and most visted place of Manali. It
is in waiting list to become UNESCO
world heritage site.Acoording to Hindu Mythology, in the era of
Pandavas(Mahabharata) Bhima married hidimba, after killing hidimb(brother of
hidimba).Temple is sourrounded by beautiful cedar forest consisting pine and
deodar trees.
Temple consist of
three square roofs covered with timber
tiles, and a brass cone shaped roof at
the top. Inside the temple there is a huge rock with a small brass image
representing Hidimba Devi. At the gate of temple one can ride on yaks. Local
boys who provide yak-ride are available there.
Then we went to Vashist Temple. It is 3 km away from
manali.Temple is at the height and near to a market. Temple is good and inside
the temple there is a black stone idol of Vashist Muni. According to mythology
it is 4000 yrs old. There are wooden carvings on the temple. Temple also
consists hot water springs which is
believed medicinal. Separate bathing arrangements for men and women is
avialble.
At the night, we enjoyed and roam
across the market in manali. The market looks beautiful at the night. It’s a really good place for shopping and food. You can buy Sweaters, Shawls , Stoles , Mufflers and many things. Local food is also tasty…and a lot of restaurants are also there to hang around.
across the market in manali. The market looks beautiful at the night. It’s a really good place for shopping and food. You can buy Sweaters, Shawls , Stoles , Mufflers and many things. Local food is also tasty…and a lot of restaurants are also there to hang around.
Do spend some time in Manali. Enjoy scenery around river
Beas.
Saturday, 12 March 2016
A visit to NARKANDA/HATU PEAK
04:11
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A visit to NARKANDA/HATU PEAK: Narkanda is small hill town situated at an altitude of 2708 mts ,few kms ahead of Shimla in Himachal Pradesh -the hill of Queens. It is one of the favorite tourism and travelling spot in Himachal Pradesh for people who loves travelling and sightseeing in the mountains. People who visit Shimla must also give a try to this beautiful place. Below are some places to visit in Narkanda.
Hatu peak is situated at a height of 3352 meters. From Narkanda to Hatu is a very steep ride with scary turns .The smell of tall deodar trees could be felt easily on the way. The steep valleys gaves you a, mesmerizing view and charms you and at the same time.. Reaching on the top one can have the view of Shrikhand- Mahadev range of Himalayas. Luckily I had that view. Drive itself is worth remembering. If you like Adventure Trip, hike up the Hatu Peak. While heading towards Hatu-Peak do check the weather.
Right on the peak, lies the Hatu Mata Mandir. The Mandir is built in with wood. Temple is very beautiful .Stories exist that this temple was built at a place where Draupadi died when Pandavas were heading towards the heaven. Around the temple there exists carved wooden panels signifying stories of epics Ramayana and Mahabharata .The panel itself signifies a good work of art.
While coming back from the Hatu-Peak to Narkanda, we turned our bikes towards a beautiful lake aka “Tani Jhubbar Lake”. It is a small artificial lake near Nag Devta Temple. Temple consists a simple idol in small room. Tani Jhubbar Lake has tall deodar trees all around it. It is a pleasure to sit or walk around the lake .The atmosphere is quite and shady, with chirping of birds. Tani Jhubbar is also a popular picnic spot for the local Himachalis.
One can also visit Kotgarh , Thanedaar .They are the places full of vegetation and fruits.Visit these places around months of June-July when the trees are full of Apples. Other Fruits include peaches, and berries. You will also find dry fruits like almonds, apricots.