Sangla Valley: Part 1 (The Beginning..)

Himachal Pradesh (HP) is one of the states in India which is always bustling with flocks of tourists and travelers round the year..And why not? HP boasts of all five mountain ranges that comprise the mighty Himalaya, making it the best state in India for me.This great Himalaya is carved by Beas, Chenab, Sutlej and Ravi along with their innumerous tributaries to form resplendent and beautiful valleys like Kullu, Chamba, Kangra, Lahaul and Kinnaur. Elevation varies from some few hundred meters to some 7000 meters. It is the state where people live in houses built on impossible slopes of mountains, simultaneously in a hut at the bank of a river alone in solitude. It is the state where one hardly finds a road that stretches over a half kilometer without a bend. This treacherous but awesome terrain has got its own color because of diverse culture it possesses from pretty old monasteries and temples. Well to state awesomeness of this state from a traveler point of view, just put your finger anywhere on the map of HP with your eyes closed and literally go there without any hesitation because every place in HP has something incredible waiting to be known to you :)

I have been to HP once before October 2011..To Chamba and Dalhousie in March 2010..After making some great trips to some other places like Ladakh, Rajasthan and North East, I decided to go for the second expedition to HP. As I said earlier, any place in HP can be chosen blindly. But I didn't do that :p I came to know about Sangla valley, a part of Kinnaur valley from one of my friends, Nikhil Joshi. He said that this valley is relatively unknown and less visited by travelers, so still maintaining its raw charm. And till then, I was also completely oblivious of it. And so my destination for mid -semester recess of October got fixed! I love to go to the places which are relatively less known. After reaching there, I felt that many of the people visiting HP were also not aware of Sangla valley, looking at the number of tourists at Sangla and comparing it to the number of tourists visiting rest of HP.

So a call for a trip was made..Finally, eight enthusiastic people set off for Sangla..The plan was simple from October 1-October 8..I'll focus mainly on "Sangla" part of this trip in upcoming posts.

Itinerary:

A church at the ridge in Shimla :)

1) Meet at Delhi.

2) Shimla via Chandigarh.

3) Then Sangla (230 kms from Shimla).

4) A two days Sangla-Kanda trek (24kms) and Chitkul, a beautiful place near Sangla.

5) And if time permits, visit Kalpa.

The preparation for this trip was minimal. I booked Youth hostel at Shimla in advance, but that was unnecessary. First, hotel was not worth the money though it offers great view from balcony and second, no need to book hotels in advance for Shimla. We didn't book hotels for any other places. We had our first stay at meticulously planned Chandigarh with a late night visit to Sukhna lake. Next day we made our way to Shimla. Unfortunately, we couldn't get the tickets for trains for Shimla from Kalka. A train journey to Shimla from Kalka is highly recommended, but a road trip to Shimla is also equally recommended :p 

Road to Jakhu temple..

Our entry in Shimla was happened to be preparation for Sangla trek..Carrying a lot of luggage from lower part of the Shimla to the hotel at the upper part situated on the other side :p But our efforts were praised by unexpected rains, making weather soothing, soft and more pleasant. The visit to Jakhu temple tested our stamina on steep climb through mysterious trees, giving a feel of increased age :p  The best evening for me till now was waiting for us at the ridge where a fantastic military band lost in the fog, was playing amazing instrumentals on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti (October 2), which ultimately created moods for ballroom dance in an empty balcony :) The atmosphere at that time was so cheerful and enthralling that the evening cannot be erased from memories in whole life. The best part of Shimla is the ridge, with a magnificent church, free from any kind of vehicle traffic, allowing people to take hassle free walks :) The benches were there to sit and talk leisurely simultaneously enjoying pleasant surrounding. Photos in traditional dress were taken. A pizza night arrived in front of town hall..But everything of course cannot go smooth..We faced much difficulty to find a vehicle for Sangla for next day..Because of some cycling event, many of the vehicles were already booked..At late night, we finally managed a vehicle for whole 5 days ahead, Shimla - Sangla - Shimla. At the end, a perfect day at perfect Shimla had a perfect ending..The day went to a peaceful sleep after many games of cards!! :):)

The Eight :)
Top row from left: Chetan, Sanket, Prachita, Kedar
Next row from left: Sonali, Prashant, Manali, Onkar

Some Numerical Info:
Hotels at Chandigarh: Rs.500/- per double bedded room per day (we adjusted 3 per room).

Hotel at Shimla (Youth Hostel): Rs. 1100/- per 4 bedded room per day.

Vehicle (Tavera I guess) : Rs. 14000/- for Shimla - Sangla - Kalpa - Shimla (around 550kms)
Actual cost could have been Rs. 8000/- if booked directly, Rs. 6000/- was taken by travel agent :-o.