Wander through India : SPITI EXPEDITION ( DAY IV

DAY 4: BAROG – RAMPUR (212 KM)

Destination: Rampur, Himachal

1.       I had decided to wake up early to do some sunrise photo shots as we were now in the hilly terrain. Accordingly the alarm did go up and I was up by 0700 hrs to see if I could catch some sunrise shots. Though i was late yet the sun was not totally out and I seriously regretted the absence of a DSLR, the digital camera just cannot do justice to the beauty of nature.Anyways clicked some few pics of the fog rising out of the solan valley.

2.       Soon it was time to prepare for the day with the destination being Rampur. As was customary cleaned the car windows properly and had a thorough look under the bonnet as to the condition within and satisfied that all was ok decided to warm up the car and load up the luggage. Soon we were ready to roll. Our path took us to Khandaghat and then onwards towards Shilom Bagh, Kufri, Fagu, Theog, Narkhanda, Kingal and finally Rampur.

3.       We were now travelling on the NH22, which originated in Ambala .After it enters Himachal it runs through Shimla till the check post of Sumdo from where it turns right towards the village of Kaurik near the Chinese border which is around 40 km away. The village of Kaurik has since been abandoned and is now only used by the BRO personnel. There is some discrepancy on whether the NH 22 is also known historically as the Hindustan Tibet Highway for near the the town of Khab just before the Line Of Actual Control the road runs for a short distance to the village Namgia and then on to the Shipki La pass , where it enters the Chinese territory. I actually could not find two separate roads and in my opinion both are one and the same.

4.       Coming back to the present day of the travel we reached Khandaghat from where we turned right towards the town of Chail .The left from Khandaghat goes towards Shimla which is 30 km far. The fog was slowly lifting up from the valley and it was a mesmerizing view and we really were in high spirits on this stage of the journey.

5.       Breakfast was simple consisting of parathas with curd and hot tea sitting in the sun. Now Khandagahat was 18 km from Barog and beyond Khandagaht we made our first mistake of the route, there is a place called Challanda from where we are supposed to take a sharp let towards Kufri however somehow we were not able to see any board detailing this and continued straight and reached the town of Chail by 1150 hrs.On enquiry as to the route to Kufri I was again pointed back exactly to the direction that I had come from and this caused a lot of confusion and I was perplexed. Initially I thought that I was being taken for a ride by the locals but then eventually I figured out that probably there was an intersection which I might have missed.

6.       So any way I retraced my path backwards looking for some sign board which would tell me the route to Kufri.Eventually after 08 km I was back at the intersection at a place called Challanda.The next way point was Shilom Bagh and I simply loved this name for it sounded so good to say aloud.Shilom Bagh is basically a small town that has some good resorts to stay and one can get away from the maddening crowd of Shimla and yet be close to all the action. I recommend the Toshali Royal View Resort.Shilon Bagh is 57 km from Barog.

7.       By this time i was seeing vehicle after vehicle laden with apples fresh from the orchids high up in the mountains being transported to the main distribution centers for onward transmission to the rest of the country .Kufri was reached 25 km later and now we were just engulfed by canopies of firs, birches and pines as tree after tree stood shoulder to shoulder like a great army waiting for some kind of a directive. It was a totally mesmerizing sight to see and the camera just could not do justice to what the eyes were seeing and words cannot even begin to make someone understand the feelings that were coursing through one.

8.       From Kufri our next target was Fagu and thereafter Theog.Pre Kufri we encountered heavy rains and this was my first experience of driving through a heavy downpour through dense woods with the mountain streams flowing all over the road. From Fagu which we reached by 1330 hrs we cut across in to the NH-22 which had come all the way from Shimla or we had left the NH-22 at Khandaghat when we took the state highway towards Chail.

9.       Theog was reached 30 minutes later and the heavy downpour had ended by that time and the odometer showed 111 km covered in five and half hours. So basically now one can grasp how the the time taken to cover small distances has considerably increased. As a tourist byte Kufri is long famous for skiing activities while Fagu offers the first views of the Himalayan Ranges. We filled up fuel at Theog for now the availability of fuelling stations would start reducing as we climber deeper towards the upper reaches of Himachal.

10.   Our next way point was Narkhanda which was is 33 km from Theog and is famous for apple Orchads.It is situated at 2708 meters above sea level and is surrounded by the Shivalik Ranges and one can see the Hatu peak (11000 ft) closeby.The prime apple belt of Thanedar is close to Narkhanda.Lunch was done at a small outlet on a rainy afternoon and thereafter we proceeded to purchase some Mp3 cds for as a mistake I has not carried sufficient collection with me. After a break o an hour we started for our destination Rampur. Rampur is situated on the banks of the mighty river Sutlej and there is a specific point from where one catches the first glimpse of this mighty river.

11.   The river Sutlej is the longest of the five mighty rivers of north India. The source of the Sutlej is Lake Rakshastal in Tibet. From there she flows westwards for 260 km and then enters India at the Shipki La pass and finally meets the river Beas and thereafter enters Pakistan after about 360 km from Himachal.Historically it is said that the Sutlej was an important tributory of the legendary Saraswati River. We had our customary photo shoot when we first saw this mighty river and thereafter she became our constant companion for the days to come.

12.   Rampur was reached by 1830 hrs and just before entering the town we visited the Shri Maharishi Mardini Mahalakshmi Temple while the aarti had just begun .The room was average and comfortable if I may say so but the lighting could have been improved. The food was hot and simple; a relaxed affair .The only down point was that there was no payment by card which I feel should be rectified .We went for a walk to the nearby market and the town main road just to relax ourselves .Simple town with bustling people is my opinion.

13.   Final Odometer read as Barog – 56309 : Rampur -56521