Wander through India

DAY 5: RAMPUR – CHITKUL (160 KM)

Destination: Chikul, Himachal

1.       As usual I got up early to catch some morning sun rise shots of the town and the surrounding peaks especially as the hotel was located in a good spot. I was able to click a few pictures but then again the absence of a good DSLR was sorely felt.

2.       My destination or the day was Chitkul in the Baspa Valley however the night before as I was glancing at the pictures placed in the hotel corridor I had come across the Bhima Kali Temple picture at Sarhan.On further research I came to know that Sarhan was only an odd 45 km from Rampur, so I decided to visit the temple.

3.       Accordingly we started from Rampur at 0800 hrs and topped up petrol at a BP petrol pump just outside Rampur. There are many petrol pumps at Rampur which is actually a good thing. From Jeori one needs to deviate from the NH-22 towards Sarhan.The historical temple at Sarhan is a centuries old temple and one of the Shaktipeeths.It is a fusion of Hindu and Buddhist architecture. The highlight of the temple is its all wooden construction. The temple also houses shrines of Lord Raghunath, Lord Narsingh and Lord Patal Bahirva.The darshan at the temple was the highlight of the past four days and I really had a good feeling offering prayers here. Post the visit we had breakfast at Sharma Bhojnalayawhich was in one word-awesome.

4.       Soon we were ready to roll towards Chitkul.We retraced our path till Jeori where we again rejoined the NH-22 and proceeded towards Karchcham from where we again had to deviate from the NH-22 and take a right towards Chitkul.Around 10 kms ahead of Jeori one is amazed with the road architecture, the entire sections of the road are cut deep into the mountain side with the huge uncut rocks hanging overhead as one travels on the road. I was amazed with this kind of road laying and proud of the people who made it happen and on the left in the valley one sees one after the other Hydro electric power projects, I feel Himachal is the land of Hydro Power Projects. The biggest among them is the Jhakri Hydel project at 1500 Mw which is mind numbing. I really thank the engineers who made this happen for sitting in the cities one never comes to even know on the scale these projects are done and the engineering feats associated with them.

5.       Post Jhakri the roads started deteriorating and finally vanished all together. We crossed the Wangtoo Bridge by 1345 hrs after covering a total distance of 100 km from the Hotel. As we continued towards Tapri, we were contemplating topping up fuel again as the petrol pumps were going to get scarce very soon. The roads were now under the charge of Border Roads Organization and no more under the state government.

6.       Tapri was reached by 1420 hrs and is at a distance of 08 kms room the Wangtoo Bridge. The going was real slow now as the roads were nonexistent and hence I was driving cautiously and getting a feel of the mountainous terrain. Post Tapri we continued towards Karchcham.

7.       From Karchcham we turned right and proceeded towards Sangla which is a major place on the must see circuit but I felt that more than Sangla it was the stretch between Sangla and Chitkul that was worth seeing. Soon we noticed a unique concept ,atleast for me .The apple orchards were way up in the mountain so the locals used a series of pulleys like a mini cable car to transport all the apples down below in to the valley where they were loaded into the trucks. The distance that there apples travelled through the air could easily be 3-4 kms and I was amazed with the ingenuity of it. We were indulging in a lot of photo shoots and running way behind schedule but then just could not help it, the places and the views were so breathtaking.

8.       Sangla had been cut off in the month of June or close to two months from the outside world and hence at many places the roads were closed due to rockslides and one had to take detours.Sangla was reached by 1615 hrs after covering a distance of 30 km from Tapri.It had started to drizzle by this time and we stopped to catch a breather and also have some chai and snacks as we just had not stopped for lunch on the way, not that there were many options available.

9.       From Sangla we proceeded towards Rakcham which is at a distance of 14 km and a small village.Sangla is at a height of 2621 mts above sea level and the mighty Raldang Peaks tower behind.It is a sizable town with numerous guest houses and also hiking groups come here to begin their treks.The Baspa river flows in the valley and it is one of the cleanest river that I have seen .The Baspa valley is one of the prettiest valley and I was so glad that I had decided to visit chitkul and Sangla contrary to reports that suggested that the roads were very slushy and risky.

10.   I did give a lift to a family of three going towards Chitkul and came to know that over 75% o the children of Chitkul were well educated and employed in good jobs. Reached Chitkul by 1800 hrs and the weather was extremely cold and chilly.Chitkul is at a height of 3450 mt above sea level and I now knew that I was no more going to go down wards in the days to come.

11.   Chitkul is the last and highest village in the Baspa valley and is next to the Indo-Tibet border with no roads progressing beyond Chitkul except trekking trails. So in effect I had journeyed to the last motor able road in this region of the country. The Baspa River rises in the Indo Tibet border and is fed by perennial glaciers up ahead. The raw beauty of the Himalayas is shown like a preview and makes one yearn to actually visit the Himalayan ranges .The booking was at Panchali resorts and soon we were unloading our luggage. It was quite a drive with my first experience of driving on dirt tracks the entire afternoon and evening. The Indomitable too was steaming by the time I reached Chitkul.Cooled it down and shut down for the day. There was just enough daylight left for us to walk down to the Baspa River and just reflect on where we were and feel content and satisfied.

12.   Odometer for the day. RAMPUR – 56521 ; CHITKUL - 56681