Jeori to Chitkul

Waking up at 4.00 am had become a habit by now. Most of the time I would be waiting for the alarm to go off. Next morning after our customary cup of tea with biscuits we were ready with our bicycles packed up. A customary group photo outside the hotel and we were off. I do not know what happened to all those photographs. At the start of our trip it was decided who so ever took photographs would upload them on the Whats App group and at the end of the journey I found out that lots of photos were missing. The highway was along the Satluj river and we were happily rolling along on national highway 5 There was slight chill in the air but nothing alarming as of now. The landscape had started to change slightly. The trees were less. There was more grass. (This reminded me of another time when my wife and myself were driving to Gangotri) There were places where one could see some form of agriculture. As we passed along the highway I noticed that there were a number of tunnels which were probably made during the various hydroelectric projects. The entrance gates were heavily padlocked.

The sun had started to turn on its heat. The water breaks were more frequent but we pushed ourselves towards Karcham where our lunch was waiting, organized by the courtesy of the Indian Army at one of the transit camps.

Lunch was an elaborate affair. It had been a long time since we had such scrumptious meal. While Col Gurung was chatting with the officer in charge and making arrangements to transport our bicycles and us, I took this opportunity to have a quick power nap. This resulted much to my dismay using a vehicle to go to a place called Chitkul the last village in Kinnaur district which was about thirty five kilometers away from the main highway. This was also part of the ancient Indo-Tibet trade route of ancient times.

What was unknown to me was that Col. Gurung was making arrangements for the vehicle before we reached Karcham

Once the vehicle had arrived we loaded our cycles and six of us proceeded towards Chitkul. The vehicle was Bolero camper double cabin pickup.

We crossed the Baspa river barrage and the road had turned narrow and quite rough and we were climbing roughly to 11,000 ft .The first part of the journey to Sangla was quite an experience. The road was cut into the mountains and was dry and dusty and no side railing barriers. Travelling on pickup was quite a bone jarring journey with lots of potholes. All of us were hanging on to where we could fine a handhold. In the distance we could spot the bridge which had been destroyed during the last monsoons. According to the driver/guide a huge boulder had come rolling down the mountainside and crushed a car and then the bridge was destroyed. Chitkul is also gateway to some Borasu and Lamkhaga pass.  At Raksham we stopped for a quick cup of tea and then proceeded towards Chitkul. Here at Raksham there were some small fields and the vegetation was more green with apple orchards I spotted a huge mountain peak with a very smooth rock face. My first thought was if anyone ever attempted to climb this peak. Talking to our driver /guide I was informed that Red bull had organized climb before Covid the lockdown, but at present the Govt does not allow any climbs from this face. By the way our driver/guide was supposed to have undergone advance mountaineering coarse from Manali.

After tea we moved on towards Chitkul. The road now was quite rough, I think I can easily mention that there was no road. It was more like a dirt track with lots of boulders. We crossed a number of streams on the way. Some of these streams had the reputation of sweeping away motorcyclist who were attempting to cross when there was sudden flash flood. This was known as ‘Pagal Nala’. Later on I came to know that all the streams that had no names were known as Pagal Nala which could be translated as mad stream in English .Finally after much rolling around in the pickup we reached Chitkul.

At Chitkul I noticed that most of the houses were made of stone and wood with sloping roof. We saw lots of signboards stating the last post office and last Dhaba and last village.

The last village signboard had lots of stickers pasted by various

Motor bike groups who had visited this place and this was something which I had seen all along the route

Some of the village houses were done up in bright colors with wooden balconies really looked picturesque.

Chitkul has the cleanest air in the country according to survey conducted by IIT Delhi.

Lots of trekkers use this route to go trekking to famous Kinnaur Kailash Yatra to the height of almost 5000 mts plus and is considered to be a hard trek

According to the locals the deity of Chitkul is related to the deity of Gangotri and in the past people would carry this deity to Gangotri on foot crossing many high passes.

Finally after gathering all this information we rolled back to Raksham our stopover for the night. A quick wash and hot dinner we packed up for the night.

Losar,Chandartaal ,Sissu

It was day 10, I woke up early in the morning, I rushed out to the solitary shit house which was away from the main structure. It was still dark and the early morning chill had my teeth chattering. To my dismay it was occupied. I stood out in the cold with my hands in the pocket and my toes had started to get numb so I was stamping my feet. It was not even winters. At that time I was wondering what it would be like during winter months especially when the local people were snowed down.

After easing myself I went back to my room and packed my bags and went back inside the warm blanket, waiting for others to wake up. Col. Gurung, Capt. Gopal Rana and myself were sharing the room. They all woke up one by one and got ready, for the onward journey. We marched down for breakfast Tokpa and his wife were busy in the kitchen preparing food for us. She was making pancakes and I had never eaten pancakes like that ever before. These pancakes were so soft that they simply melted in the mouth. We had them with peanut butter and jam. Then we had momos left over from the previous night. After breakfast we went to our pick up and packed our bags. In the meantime Tokpa spoke to one of his neighbor who promptly pulled out a can of 25 liters of diesel and Tokpa refueled his vehicle. Just close to the place where our vehicle I saw a state transport bus which must have come from somewhere during the night. I was fairly impressed that this remote village has a government bus service.

Today we were supposed to visit Losar, Kunzum La, and Chandertal and then onwards to Sissu.

Losar was the first place where we stopped. It is about 50 kms from Kaza, at an elevation of 13500 ft. The river Spiti flows on the left side of the highway. It is mainly very dry and does not support any kind trees, however villagers grow some variety of barley and peas here. Usually they have three, four month window to sow and harvest the crop. The villagers use Yaks to plough the fields.

As we were passing through we met a local person who stopped our vehicle and said something to Tokpa. Later on Tokpa informed us that Mr. Saklani was spotted here and he was on his bicycle. Soon we reached a junction and we turned right to go to Chander Taal .The road was narrow and very bad condition. The B.R.O. was busy trying to finish the repair work before the onslaught of the winter months. All this time I was thinking how fun it would been if we had gone cycling, and I was slightly envious of Mr.Saklani.

We crossed Kanzum-La which is at a height of almost 14500 ft. This pass connects Lahul valley and Spiti valley together

It was here that I learnt from Tokpa that one should always keep the Gompa on the right hand side when passing. The landscape was changing. The ground was covered with dried moss and grass, and rocks were fairly darkish in color. We continued on this track, I tried to capture the stark raw beauty of this place in my mind. This was in between the few micro seconds when we were not thrown around like pebbles in an empty can!! We stopped at a check point, and there I notice that lot of tents were being dismantled and packed in pick up vans. It was the end of tourist season. I could spot a few toilet commodes thrown around and in pieces. On seeing this I was little disappointed, and thinking if they would pick it up later or leave it lying around. (Similar thing I had noticed at George Everest Estate near Dehradun many years ago) A few eating stalls were open offering tea and Maggie, but the workers seemed to be in no mood to serve. They were just sitting around enjoying the sun. A few kilometers before Chandertal we parked our pick up. Beyond this point vehicles were not allowed. Actually it was a kind of enclosure made of stone walls on three sides.

We climbed the stone wall and started to walk towards Chandertal. Here the wind was fairly strong and one could feel the chill. Probably wind factor.  All of us were taking it easy as we were at an elevation of 14500 ft. plus.  Along the way I noticed typical tourist left overs, like cigarette butts and empty wrappers of lays chips. This actually was quiet annoying. Soon we reached Chandertal lake.

This lake is near the mouth of a river which joins the Chenab rive. It is supposed to be sweet water lake though we did not taste. The water was so clear that we were able to see the stones at the bottom of the lake .It is in a shape of moon. In hindi the moon is called Chandra hence the name. There was a notice issued by the forest department of Himachal Pradesh which forbade anyone from jumping into the lake. The beauty of the lake and its surrounding were mesmerizing. The water was so crystal clear that one could see the bottom of the lake All of us took photographs, but the beauty of the place cannot be captured by any camera. Soon we returned to our pick up van.

Now we proceed towards Sissu and I think all of us were little tired mainly due to the rough ride.

I don’t remember about having lunch somewhere but I am sure we must have eaten.

We passed through a place called Koksar which according to our guide was one of the starting points for treks. There were lot of dhabas around here. The landscape was slowly changing. It was greener as compared to the brown barren landscape of Spiti.

I think I must have dozed off for a fairly long time because when I opened my eyes we were close to Manali or rather Atal tunnel. We stopped for tea at a roadside tea shop which was managed by lady. Capt. Rana tried to flirt with her and politely was told to have his tea peacefully. This incident gave us an opportunity to pull his leg for the onward journey. We crossed the north portal of famous Atal tunnel which links Manali to Leh. This tunnel is about 9 or 10 kilometers long. It is built under Rohtang pass and is situated at an elevation around 10000 ft. When the tunnel was finally finished it gave all weather access to Lahul valley. When I saw this I was fairly impressed by the size of this, and once again I thought to myself how one would feel cycling through this. I could see that on either side of the road there were I kind of special lanes were made keeping in mind that one day cyclists would pass through this tunnel. This was later confirmed by Mr.Saklani when he used this tunnel o his way to Manali.

We reached Sissu. We quickly off loaded the cycles and our baggage from the pick up and then two incidents which upset Capt. Rana immensely as both the incidents involved him.

We forgot to remove his helmet from the pickup and had to recall Tokpa back. Fortunately he was not far. He returned and gave the helmet. Capt Rana’s cycle frame had been rubbing against the pickup and due to vibration was almost in two pieces. So as soon as we discovered this we made enquiries for a welding shop if they could repair it but unfortunately there was no welder who could repair this. So we got three pieces of Iron rods, each piece must have been about six inches in length and about 6 to 8 mm in diameter. We taped this using rubber from a discarded tube and this was good for the whole journey till we reached Dehradun. Then we did a quick service of our cycles. By this time it was almost dinner time and when we asked the owner about food, she told us that there was no dinner and we would have to go out. Personally I found her behavior little rude unlike other places where the owners were polite. For dinner we found a small eating joint run by Nepali persons. What I noticed there were many eating joints which were run by people of Nepal.

We came back to the home stay and a quick bath went off to dreamland.

Kaza Komik Hikkim Langza

End of day nine, we reached Kaza the sub divisional headquarters of Spiti valley. It must have been around four in the afternoon. Our group leader and guide was Col. Gurung he took us through the winding narrow lanes of Kaza town. The way he was riding his bicycle it appeared to me as if he was well versed with this town. After a long time I saw a petrol pump with a bill board stating that it was at a height of 12000 plus feet, and supposedly world’s highest retail outlet.

We passed by a restaurant where lot of bikers (motorcycles) were gathered. They were gorging themselves on burgers and pizzas. As we zigzagged through the narrow lanes of town I noticed a bicycle repair shop, I thought to myself at least here we could fix Kamaljeet’s Sir bicycle . Unfortunately it was closed and on enquiring we found that it had been closed for some days and no one had any idea when it would open.

We reached our home stay.which was close to newly constructed health center. Here our host and owner of the home stay was waiting for us. She was very soft spoken. She showed us our rooms. We were sharing the bathroom. At the entrance of the bathroom were a pair of slippers to be used only in bathroom.

One of the customs which I liked was that the shoes worn outside are not worn inside the house. We quickly dumped our bags in our rooms and went out for a walk through the town. We passed by the bus stand which was deserted except for one single bus parked, which would leave for Manali at about 5.00AM. The single ATM was deserted (run out of cash.  Vinod Saklani checked out the bus timing as he was leaving us here at Kaza. He had done Manali Leh Khardungla a number of times so was not interesting doing this sector. We had an early dinner in one of the restaurants .By now it had turned dark and the temperature started falling. We rushed back to our accommodation.    

Early morning Mr.Vinod Saklani bid me adieu and left (both of us were sharing the room) He was going on his own to Manali and on the way would visit all the places by bicycle. (The way I wanted to do as well),but we had long way to go and the majority decided to visit the nearby places by pickup, thereby saving some time.

In the meantime we all had decided that we will use a pickup to visit the nearby places, so we booked a pickup .Next morning our vehicle came at I think about 9 and after customary photo with the owner of the home stay we loaded our bicycles and left Kaza. The name of our driver was Tokpa, he was a man of few words. (I shall tell about him later on) We had decided that we would first go to Langza.

Langza is a small village about 15 kms from Kaza. The road was fairly narrow. The drive took us about 40-45 minutes. From the distance we could see a huge statue of Buddha overlooking the valley. When we were about 2-3 kms from the village, the land scape changed. We saw grass lands with brown grass and  tracks running criss cross, made by the local people going around doing their daily work. This would make on ideal place for camping. Soon I spotted two tents pitched and few campers were just appreciating the harsh beauty of the village. There were two pickup vehicles parked as well. Their kids were running around shrieking with joy. I think less than one kilometer away one could spot the small village with few houses. 

Our vehicle was parked and we walked towards the statue. This statue overlooked the gentle slopes of the valley, and I got the feeling that if I continued walking I would reach the end at the bottom of valley. The Monastarey here is more than five hundred years old and many deities are worshipped here. We were walking towards the statue when we were approached by an old lady who was trying to sell a small fossil. According to Tokpa (our local guide /driver) this whole area was under the sea billions and billions of years ago.

Most of the fossils found here are of marine plants and animals. The most common sea animal fossil is known as Ammonoids Close to the village are two lakes which we did not visit because according to Tokpa one has to trek to these lakes and spent the night in the village

As it was close to the end of the tourist season the solitary home stay was closed (people prefer to stay at Kaza )

Our next stop was Komik. Word Komik means eye of the snow cock. The distance between Langza and Komik is about 12/14 kilometers. This is village is famous for being the highest village in the world which is connected by a motor able road. The drive to Komik is very picturesque. As we reached Komik we saw a cloud of dust caused by group of motor cyclist maybe twenty or thirty riders. This group we met at Dhankar monastery as well.

The monastery at Komik is a 500 years old. It is built like a fort and is of painted in reddish maroon color with white stripe painted. It is believed that women are not allowed inside during prayer time. We entered the monastery through a very small doorway and offered our prayers. It is believed that this monastery has the future Buddha. We saw the statue and it was covered with a silk cloth.  We were requested not to take any photos inside as the flashlight could cause damage. Tokpa informed us that in much before the monastery constructed it was predicted in Tibet that the monastery would be made in the eye of the snow cock. I found the crows of this place strange. They sound different from the usual crows I came across in my hometown. They have yellow beaks.  

Our next stop was Hikkim. (one of the places that I wanted to visit) Hikkim is famous for having the highest post office in the world. This is situated at a height of 14500 ft. It is situated about two or three kilometers from Komik. There is a track here connects Hikkim to Kaza. It is tough trek and usually used by locals. The post office is a very popular destination amongst the   visitors and one can send letters, cards from this post office.

The post master has been working here since the early 1980’s.His name is Rinchen Cherring. All the post is carried to Kaza by foot and then dispatched. Previously the house of Post Master was itself the post office, but now it is shifted  to a new place, which is in a shape of a letter box.(personally I felt that this was not suitable to the location.) Of course all of us sent cards to our homes as a souvenir. This usually takes about a week or ten days and overseas takes about two weeks plus

We drove back to Kaza and after lunch we headed towards  

Chichum was another place which I wanted to visit, so I was quite thrilled. The drive was uneventful. I think lunch in the afternoon and motion of the vehicle was putting me to sleep.

Chichum  bridge is famous for being the highest suspension bridge in the world at elevation of more than 4000 meters.

It is built over deep gorge connecting the two villages of Kibber and Chichum. It took more than ten years to complete this bridge. Must have been one herculean task.

We crossed the bridge and took a few photographs. I looked down the gorge, it was very deep (I was reminded of Lanka  bridge, when I visited  Gangotri a few years ago) There was a few abandoned food trucks. Besides us there was a group of people shooting a film. When we got talking them we came to know that they were making a documentary to promote tourism in Himachal Pradesh. One of the crew member was from Dehradun, so all of us happy in meeting somone from our hometown. (We had met the same people at Hikkim as well)

 As we were driving towards our night halt, saw a herd of blue sheep grazing. Our guide pointed them to us. They were perfectly camouflaged with the terrain and it took a while for our untrained eyes to spot them. This region one can spot a snow leopard as well. We reached Chichum village and as we were driving through the village all the local were greeting us very warmly. Our guide was the owner of the homestay as well.

We dumped our bags in the room which could bed 5 persons. Here I would like to mention that all the houses were made of stones and mud and had flat mud roof which helped in insulating the house during the harsh winters. The roof from inside was lined with wood.

In the mean -time Tokpa went to bring his cows back from the grazing fields which were some distance away. They had just harvesting the barley and peas crop. After a quick wash all of us gathered in the main hall. We watched Tokpa’s wife prepare dinner for us which consisted of Veg momos and some dal and rice. The momos had homemade cheese and was extremely tasty. We met a young boy who was trekking nearby and he wanted to hire a donkey to carry his supplies and go on a month long camping trip. His only fear was how to handle the donkey as he had never handled the donkey before. He was  asking us for tips. We were unable to give him any suggestions as we had no clue ourselves.

Our guide walked us through the house where he had converted two rooms into library for kids where they would  spent time reading during the winter months when the village is under snow. This really impressed me. All the rooms had wooden stove known as Bukhari, and has a central pipe running through the rooms, which heat up the room. The whole home stay had solar panels for lighting purposes. Our guide was very the concerned about the welfare of villagers. He mentioned to us that as compared to Lahul the Spiti was very much less developed, in terms of water and electricity. They used to be different districts but now they are merged.

Our guide was also an expert photographer and trekking guide. I was fascinated by his views and thoughts. He wanted us to try some local hooch, all of us politely declined the offer.

After a very interesting day I curled inside the blanket and was lost in the dream world.

Tabo to Kaza

It was the ninth day of our cycling expedition. The destination was Kaza, which was about fifty kilometers away from Tabo. It was another early morning departure from our night halt Home Stay. We gulped down few cups of black tea and biscuits. Our host was not chirpy this morning. I think she was still sleepy. After a customary photograph at the time of departure, we were on our way, travelling on Reokong Peo –Kaza highway. As we pedaled through the outskirts of Tabo I realized that there were plenty of Homestays along the side of the road. Since it was the fag end of the tourist season the owners were trying to finish the repair work before the onslaught of the winter. After crossing Tabo bridge we were cycling in what is known as Kartik Valley.It is  also called Kaber Valley. We passed by a place known as Tiger Point. I do not know the reason why it is called by this name. The highway was flat and dusty, the elevation was gradual, and next to the river were some apple tree plantation, which added some color to the barren landscape (unless one looked up at the beautiful blue sky)

We must have cycled for two hours or so, passing few home stays along the route. One of the name which stuck to my mind was Dolma Home Stay. Dolma is a very common name amongst the people of Spiti, Ladhak and Tibet.

We reached a point where the road bifurcated for Dhanker monastery and Vishu Ma’am saw a house with some cows and asked the owner for a cup tea. They happily agreed and all of us enjoyed the cup of tea and biscuits. After having tea Vishu Ma’am wanted to use the washroom. The owner explained to her that it was a dry toilet. I found this strange as it was the first time I heard about the concept of a dry toilet. Some of the other members of the group had heard about this before. Basically dry toilets are mostly used by the locals and the water usage is zero. There is a hole in the ground with a toilet seat and below the hole is a big chamber with a door size opening. There is a pile of mud in one corner and for the tourists there is roll of toilet paper. After one has taken a crap you have to cover up the faeces with mud. Surprisingly it doesn’t smell as the air is very dry. After a few months this chamber is emptied and used as manure for the fields. (All this I came to know later).

We decided to visit Dhankar monastery. We turned right and started the ascent, with our usual chit chat. The sun by of now was quite harsh, though the ambient temperature was very pleasant. After climbing for a few   kilometers we were overtaken by tourists travelling in their cars, and some riders on motor cycles. They were surprised to see six 60 +cyclists planning to go all the way to Leh. We reached a monastery which was newly constructed and was very neat and clean. We crossed the flat area dragging our cycle along and walked up to a restaurant. I think all of us were feeling hungry. We ordered aaloo parthas with butter and tea and enjoyed it sitting on a verandah from where we could oversee the old Dhankar Monastery

The monastery was constructed on top of hill which was at a height of 1000 ft approximately from the village. The word “Dhankar ‘’ means a fort on a cliff. The surprising thing about this monastery is (which I came to know later) is that—it is considered to be on the list of endangered sites in the world)

Soon we reached the outskirts of  Dhankar village This village is situated at an elevation of 12000 ft plus and when I came to know I felt elated as we had been cycling more than 10000 ft

When we entered the village I noticed that all the local people were wearing stylish sun glasses. When I mentioned this to some local people they told me these were a gift from some foreign NGO and every year they come after the winter season is over and organize eye camps at various remote villages. We also realized that the sun was pretty harsh and in no time one would look like roasted chicken (or famous tandoori chicken)

We came across the new monastery  in the village of Shichilling which was painted in maroon and yellow colors which looked spectacular against the clear blue sky.

We took our customary photographs and then looked for a restaurant where we found our staple breakfast of aaloo ka partha and boiled eggs with black tea. This place was just before the Dhankar monastery.  

From this point down in the valley below one could see the confluence of the Pin river and the Spiti river. According to locals only the head monk is allowed to enter sanctorum. Another interesting fact about this monastery is that once a year they have what is known as ‘’Medicine prayer “ As we were leaving I noticed an old coup they le, walking slowly. I decided to take a couple of photographs with them.  I got talking to them and found out that their kids were studying in a Sakya college in Dehradun and I thought to myself what a small world.

There must have been around fifty or sixty foreign tourists riding on motorcycles and were proceeding towards the monastery. The dry dust kicked up by the tires had obscured the sun. They had support vehicles as well. This was the first time I had seen such a large group of motor cycle riders together

This monastery too was built on Tibetan pattern which could also serve as fort. The Silk painting of various deities had faded probably with the passage of time.

Unknown to us at that time there is also a lake nearby situated at a height of 14000 ft approximately, and can be reached by trekking from the monastery.

From here we rolled down towards Kaza and we were in good mood when we came across few local ladies who were clearing the stones from the road. We greeted them by saying “Jule’’ (customary form of greeting). They were taking their lunch break. When they came to know that we were cycling from Dehradun to Leh they were very excited and invited us for tea, which we obliged. Soon they had a small fire going and brewed some tea (without milk)

While sipping tea. I started conversing  and I was told me they belonged to a village close by. The BRO people picked them up at eight in the morning and dropped them off at the work point. Their work finished at two in the afternoon and they were dropped to their village. They were provided with dry rations like rice pulses etc. This is beside their salary of six hundred rupees a day. We thanked them and continued towards destination. As mentioned before it was downhill ride and I think by two thirty or so in the afternoon we reached Kaza, and soon we checked in our homestay.

Travel, Uncategorized

CHANGO TO TABO

 Before I proceed further I must mention that the previous night while having dinner I noticed the owner of the home stay had a strange concoction, which was a liquid in a small glass(slightly bigger than tequila shot glass) with one boiled egg and few cloves of garlic, which he gulped down in one go. Later on I came to know that this was home brewed spirit made out barley!!  This also happened to be my sixty fourth birthday. It was simple affair where I paid for all the damages incurred. We also decided for a change we would leave slightly late, meaning around six-thirty in the morning, as Tabo was only forty or fifty kilometers .

In the morning after our usual breakfast of parathas and scrambled eggs (made the Indian style with finely chopped onion and green chillis and tomatoes) washed down with two cups of tea. Before this we had already packed our bags and lashed them to our bicycles.

When we stepped out we noticed that the owner had grafted his apple trees, so his one tree was growing both green as well as red apples. I think all of us packed our bags with four or five apples each.

As we started to cycle it was that beautiful moment, just before the sunrise where the valley was little bit dark and beyond the mountain peaks the sky was turning silver. The road was mostly gravel and there were boundary wall made out of stones which kind of protected the apple orchards. Beyond the apple trees the river Spiti was flowing. We came across a sign board showing us the way to Kaza, Tabo and Lossar on the left and Kaurik on the right, which is close to Indo –China border.We took the left road as we had to go to Tabo and Kaza. We passed through a police check post and then to wards Sumdo passing a place where lot road repair was being done by BRO. Here river Parchu flows into the river Spiti.

We continued on the road to Tabo. This was road though tarred was pretty narrow, on the sides one could see fields where barely was growing with patches of apple trees. At some places construction work was going on. People were trying to finish whatever they could before the onset of winter months. Luckily on this road the traffic was negligible.

After Sumdo we came across a temple built on a slope by ITBP (Indo Tibetan Border Police) the gradient of this slope was fairly steep.  The road was quite winding and again as usual it was cut in the mountains, with massive rocks hanging overhead. I came across arched gateway which mentioned “Welcome to Gue Monastery’’.  The distance from this point was about 8 kilometers. This is famous for a six hundred year old mummy of a Buddhist monk by the name of Sangma Tenzing in a sitting position. Once all of us gathered at this gate we had a long discussion as to should we go and visit this monastery or not. Col.Gurung and myself wanted to go and visit this place but rest of the team was not upto it. My argument was that it was very unlikely that we would pass this route again, so any tourist place within a radius of ten kms or so should be visited. My reasoning fell on deaf ears and I had to go with the majority. This incident pissed me off greatly.

Anyway we continued on our journey towards Tabo We passed through various villages which basically were one street towns void of any kind of human activity. We came across a village known as Chandigarh village. When I saw the signboard I was stopped for a few minutes scratching my head in wonder, because Chandigarh is a famous city. After sometime we reached Tabo. All of us stood at the arch and were thinking if we were at the right place or not. Again there was no human activity, and the first shop on the left hand side was shut. We entered the village and proceeded towards the homestay.  We checked in.

The home stay was managed by an old lady and her children. After we checked in the old lady offered us some tea and biscuits, which we gulped down. She joined us and was exchanging local gossip and kept telling us she had lot of work to do. The home stay was very neat  and clean. We took this opportunity to service our bicycle and were very careful to ensure no grease stains or oil patches were on the floor. In the meantime our host was busy cleaning the rooms and chatting with us. It was bright and sunny day so we took this opportunity to do up our dirty laundry, after which we had another round of tea and biscuits. By this time it was lunch hour and all of us marched to one of the restaurants close by.

I decided to go for Spiti Thali which consisted of barley based rotis dal and vegetables more like thupka minus the momos steamed bun and a cup of butter tea  washed down with sea buckthorn juice . Rest of the people I don’t remember what they ordered .The place was managed by a young person who must have been in his late 20’s or early 30’s.He belonged to Dehradun (our home town ) and was working for an IT company. He had lot of interesting tales about the culture of the people of Spiti. I must mention something about this youngster. According to him after finishing his school he came to Spiti for the first time, and fell in love with this place. While in college he made a point to come here every holiday. During the covid times he was working from home then he moved to Tabo and continued working remotely and at the same time manage the guesthouse and the restaurant. During the peak season when the rooms were full he would pitch a tent amongst the apple trees. He was doing this just to spot the elusive snow leopard. At times he would become a trek guide.

After lunch we went to visit the famous Tabo monastery. This monastery was founded in 990 A.D. and is made out mud. Every time bit any portion of the monastery is damaged it is repaired using the same mud. There are three halls and the main one is bigger in size as compared to the other two.

Before entering the halls we were asked to remove our shoes and given slippers to use inside the halls. Then one of the monks was our guide and took us telling us about the history of this monastery (I will not go into detail) The frescoes were quite faded out and require repair work. In one of the halls we spotted a lady meditating ,and as we entered she bowed down and she left. Our guide informed us that she was from Australia and she spends six months every year in this monastery meditating, and most of the time she is living on apples.  Our guide told us the reason behind the small doorways and small size windows in most of the houses in the mountainous villages. It is because the people living in the mountains are very superstitious and they thought that the evil spirits are very huge in size and would find it very difficult to enter the house. This made sense to me because I had noticed this small size doors in number of different hilly villages of the country. He informed us that after the death of a monk, their work mostly in form of journals is also buried. Then we moved to the new monastery which was re-built after the earthquake in mid- 70’s and was inaugurated by Dalai lama. All of us decided not to go to the caves which were used by the monks for meditation.

We walked back to our home stay and then we were by invited to sample sea-buck thorn tea by one of the ladies staying close to the home stay. The tea was very refreshing and of course the chit-chat was equally interesting.

We took her leave after thanking her for the hospitality and walked to our home stay. By now it was dark and we picked up our dry laundry packed our bags after dinner and were soon lost in the dream land.   

Gue monastery, Kaurik, Kaza, Losar, River Parchu, Sangma Tenzing, Spiti Thali, sumdo, Tabo, Tabo monastry

POOH TO CHANG

Today is day seven of our bicycle ride to Khardungla. Another early morning and after our usual cup of tea and biscuits, we were off to our next destination, which was not decided, not to mention the customary photograph of the group with our bicycles at the departure gate. Strangely these photos were never put in the group so nobody got to see them. The early morning downhill ride was exhilarating and lifted my spirits up. As we rolled down I imagined myself to be an eagle floating in the sky. The silence was amazing at that time of the morning. The only sound one could hear was that of the wheels whirring as we cut through the chilly morning breeze. All of us pedaled hard on the downhill and soon our bodies were fairly warm except the nose, though we tried to cover our nose with our neck warmers but soon I was pulling it down to my chin to ease the breathing.

After five or six kilometers the downhill gave way to gradual climb and we slowed down. The wind was still chilly so I could not take my wind cheater off, but the climb warmed me enough so that I started to sweat, much to the delight of my fellow cyclists. I have this tendency to sweat a lot. The river Satluj was on our left as we climbed. The landscape had started to change though it was still green but the trees were few and were growing close to the river bed. The mountain were more blackish in color and could be seen exposed .The top of the mountain snow peaks were covered with golden light of the rising sun. It was really beautiful. We reached a police check post where we had to show our identity card and register ourselves. Here we were informed by the policeman that a few days ago a cyclist in his mid- thirties along with his ten or twelve year old son passed this check-post cycling from Shimla to Manali. I thought to myself what an amazing experience it must have been for both father and son.

In the distance I could see the daunting elevation of the road and the tankers carrying fuel for the fuel pumps were belching black smoke as they moved slowly .  We were in what is known as Hangrang Vally. Here the two rivers, namely Spiti from the left and Satluj  from the right meet and hence is known as Khab Sangam.

As we were nearing a bridge which known as Khab bridge we had our first breakdown.  

 The chain of Kamaljeet Sir bicycle broke. Fortunately this happened just few hundred meters before the bridge. We walked upto the bridge.

On the right hand side there was a dirt track which had signboard stating “welcome to forest area Malling’’. There was also another signboard which mentioned  about Tashigang monastery which was about sixteen kilometers from here and is supposed to be nine hundred years old.

On the left hand side there was a small path leading to a tea shop. The owner had just woken up and was opening his tea shop. Some dogs were curled up and were fast asleep. I think the shop owner must have been feeding them It took us around one and a half hours to fix the chain, in the process we also damaged what we call the chain breaker tool. Luckily we had a spare one as well in  my toolkit. After the chain was fixed we had a cup of tea and some biscuits, we crossed the bridge and started to climb .The road appeared to be very smooth and shiny. As we hit the incline we slowed down considerably and soon we were huffing and puffing. Soon the road was again rough and with potholes. According to one of the signboards which we had passed along the way we were moving on one of the toughest roads. The road itself had narrowed down to a single road and at places it was cut into the cliff. The cliff face was smooth and had trails running across which reminded me of veins in human hand. We must have covered around ten kilometers or so when some people on motorcycles passing by stopped us and informed us that one of our team members had a broken chain. We were very disappointed there was no tea shop or something. Two of us rushed back to fix the chain. The place where the rest of the team was waiting had no shelter or anything. In the meantime we met a pickup who volunteered to take Kamaljeet and his cycle to Nako which was about ten or twelve kilometers away. The same driver had met us on our day one when we had crossed Nahan What a coincidence. He was actually carrying some spares for one of the hydel power projects The sun was pretty hot but there was cold wind blowing across which dried our sweat in real quick time. This incident partially took the wind out of our sails. Sometime later we passed a suspension bridge running across the Spiti River, which lead to some kind Government buildings, but there were no signboards or anything like that. By now the landscape had started to change .It was more barren with lots of stones and dust. I think the humidity must have been very low. Soon we reached what is known as Ka Loops. These loops were eight or nine in number and comparatively easy not like the famous Gata loops on the Manali –Leh highway.

When we reached the top of the mountain the scenery below reminded me of Mackanna’s Gold (an old western movie 1969/1970 ) Along the way we passed RK Dhabha and which going by the stickers on the glass windows seemed to be quite popular with the bikers. Here the elevation was about 9500/10000 ft approximately. Now we were reaching Nako and my stomach was telling me that it was lunch time. There was little bit of greenery here. Actually we were on the highway and the town of Nako was on the right. Here we missed the Nako lake. I think none of us were aware of it’s existence. In the meantime Col Gurung and Kamaljeet Sir were scouting around for a bicycle mechanic shop as they had reached before us,thanks to the pickup driver. We met them at a eating house which was either called Sonam or Somang Dhaba .  There were few motorcycles and SUV’s parked. It had huge glass windows with full of stickers of various travel agencies promoting motorcycle excursions.

As we entered the restaurant we heard loud music. There was a flight of steps leading to a big hall with open verandah overlooking the Nako village. There were some bikers who were dancing to the music . This reminded me of a scene from Hollywood movie. Here we met a newly married couple who were on a motorcycle and they had passed us when we were in Simla. They were returning back after spending few days in Spiti valley. Both were working in the same company in Delhi. We exchanged few pleasantry. After a quick lunch of Rajma and rice we were on our way. Of course the chain was not fixed. On our way to Chang we crossed Malling Nala which was a stream running across the highway. We were riding at an approximate elevation of 12500 ft. After riding for about ten or fifteen kilometers or so we encountered and landslide and were asked by the BRO to wait till they cleared the landslide. This happened because the road widening was under process. The BRO workforce was using two bulldozers from either end to clear the rubble. We took this opportunity to munch a few apples. Now there was a long queue of vehicles on our side and here new met a young person from Dehradun who was supplying quilts and blankets to the local people. He gave us an idea to request the foreman to allow us to pass.  Col.Gurung was worried because our destination was still some distance away. He was requesting the foreman to clear enough rubble to enable us to cross this section. After an hour or so this was cleared and we were allowed to cross, and soon we were on the other side  we were in a rush. Now I was high on adrenalin rush and pedaled very fast. Chango was about twenty kilometers from this place. It was downhill all the way so that was a boon but road widening was under process and it was covered with fine gravel, which was little risky as chances of skidding on gravel were very high. The sun had set and we had our lights on though it was not completely dark, another reason for our rush was if the vehicular traffic from behind caught with us we would be riding in dust. This whole section was not tarred road. We crossed what is known as “Moonland Spiti’’Basically these are slopes of yellow clay and resemble the landscape of moon. After six or seven hairpin bends we were parallel to Spiti River and almost at the same level. Finally around six in the evening we were at “Yellow Leaves Home Stay’’ our destination for the night.

As we entered the gate we could see the home stay was surrounded by apple trees. We were relieved. The staff of the homestay was very courteous. We had a wash and gathered for our group dinner to plan for the next day. The distance covered was less than seventy kms or so. Today happened to be my birthday as well. Before going to bed I checked the data on Strava and was very surprised to see that I had reached an amazing speed of 87 kmph!!    

Chitkul to Pooh

Another early morning wakeup, by now the body clock would wake me up and then I would wait for my alarm clock to go off. All of us trooped down to the dining hall for our customary cup of black tea and a rolled up chapatti (which according to some was an excellent source of slow energy). Our cycles were still loaded on the pickup. It was still dark when we were climbing down the steps. We dumped our bags on the pickup and secured them. By this time the dawn was breaking and we started our journey towards Karcham,a distance about 45 kms.

We passed through Sangla, a typical small mountain village which could be found anywhere in India. The streets were narrow and winding. The shops lined on either side were small with sloping roof made of slate tiles. At number of places we could see various houses offering homestays. Some of them were made out of wood, and some with concrete. To really enjoy the beauty of this place one should spend a day each in Chitkul, Raksham and Sangla. Though the distance between these places is not much but one can spend time walking around and enjoy the nature and interacting with the local people who extremely friendly and are capable of giving lot of historical information about the area .

From Chitkul there is supposed to be a trekking route to Harshil in Uttrakhand and is considered a tough route .

 All of us were quite this morning each lost in our own world. At that time I felt that this journey could have been done on cycle and it would have taken extra two days. I do not know if anyone else was sharing my view as well. Later I found out that some other members were also thinking along the same lines. Maybe that was the reason for the silence.

We crossed the bridge at Karcham where river Baspa  river meets Sutlej river and were on the main highway going to Pooh. We quickly offloaded our cycles from the pickup secured our bags, checked our  cycles for any loose nuts and bolts and tightened whatever needed to be tightened and hit the road meaning national highway 5.

The road was broad and winding quite smooth and devoid of trees. We were trying to cover up as much distance as possible, before the heat of the day started to hit us. We passed by Baspa power plant which was huge, and especially when you are riding a bicycle.

I was focused on pedaling at a constant speed, in a manner so as not to tire myself .By now the sun had started to roast us slowly, though there was still plenty of greenery but there was no respite from the sun. The only kind of trees that one could find were the apple and apricot. We crossed a bridge known as Rali Bridge. One thing that I noticed here in Himachal was that most of the bridges here were made of heavy steel girders and had heavy metal plates. When any fully loaded truck crossed them the noise was quite scary. After crossing Powari we passed by a place where food was offered to the pilgrims doing the Kinnar Kailash trek. Of course we were not so fortunate as to avail this offer.

After Powari little away from the main highway is what is considered to be one of the most dangerous roads of the world. One of the major tourist attraction here is what is known as Suicide Point. Here the road is cut into the mountain on one side and on another is a sheer drop of maybe thousand feet or more to the river below .There are no known cases of suicide at this point. This is actually on the road from Kalpa to Rohgi. Kalpa is roughly around 3000 mts elevation We at that time were not aware of this place.

 We passed by Rekong Peo which is the district headquarter of Kinnaur. We passed by Pangi nala towards Kasang Waterfall. The next point of interest was Martyars Bridge. This bridge is before Riba waterfalls and according to the story it is said that when the bridge was completed one of the inspectors was swept away by a sudden flash flood hence the name.  As we cycled towards Pooh the head winds had become stronger and one had to pedal hard. The road was fairly broad at this point. As I turned along with the road the sudden cross wind took me by surprise and pushed me and I lost my balance and fell down on the road. Fortunately at that moment there was no vehicular traffic. The witness to my tumble were few labourers who rushed to pick me up and offered me some cool water which was very refreshing. I thanked them and proceeded forward. These cross winds I discovered as we moved towards Leh were fairly common phenomenon. Usually the wind picked up speed around noon and were accompanied by small grains of sand which stung like miniature bees.  (Similar feeling I had encountered while working in Sahara desert during sand storms) I do not remember having lunch but I guess we must have stopped at some point. Just short of Pooh I met an old man who enquired as to where I was coming from, when I told him that we were coming from Dehradun he volunteered his house for our night stay, but our arrangements were made in one of the army transit camps, which was on the outskirts of the town.  Pooh has lots of green fields and apricot and almond orchards. There is also a very old monastery dedicated to Sakyamuni                                                                                                                                                           

By three or four o`clock in the afternoon we were at transit camp.The climb to the camp was quite tiring and at places some of us were walking with our cycles. Once we reached the camp, unloaded our bags and after a cup of hot tea and biscuits, I decided to clean my bicycle and later on everyone followed me. After a bath and fantastic hot dinner, and dessert courtesy Indian Army after which all of us went to bed, to catch up with much needed sleep.

Kumarsain to Jeori

The previous night while having dinner we were informed about a short cut by the owner of the restaurant. This short cut would reduce our distance by eight kilometers or so.

Next morning we woke up as usual around 4.00am and packed our bicycles with our bags and we were ready to roll. In the meantime the caretaker of the inspection bungalow offered us steaming cups of hot tea without milk (usually in India tea is had with milk).This once again charged us up. Everybody thanked the caretaker and took off.

 The road was very narrow and it was downhill all the way. Initially I was enjoying myself and was reminded of my childhood when we rode our bicycles weaving in and out of traffic, though  at that time all the shops were closed and the only kind of traffic was the stray cows sitting on the side of the lane and chewing cud with a bored expression.

Gradually the shops gave way to hedges marking the boundary of their owners and the road was full of twists and turns and we were literally flying down. Fortunately there was no upcoming vehicular traffic, except for one odd car climbing the steep slope and heading our way. We had enough time to move out of the path. At this time my fear was if anyone of us slipped for sure we would end up with broken bones. From the top of the hill we could see the Sutlej river.

  Soon we hit the main highway and stopped for tea, a welcome break since all of us were feeling slightly chilly. I do not know if it was due to the morning chill or adrenaline rush. As usual I was feeling hungry so the biscuits were also munched along with tea. Incidentally most of the tea shop were run by women  

We were still very much in the apple country. The scenery was quite good, lot of greenery. In the distance we could see the snow peaks. We stopped for breakfast again at a roadside dhaba. Here I must add that Vishu Ma’am very graciously decided to help the lady.

The roads were still pretty much broad but in a very bad condition. I suppose the heavy monsoon took its toll. The repair work was underway and I think even road widening was in progress  

Machinery like excavators and bulldozers was being used and of course man power. I was quite impressed by the speed at which they were working .I guess the organization in charge of the road repairs was trying to achieve maximum results before the onslaught of winter. This we encountered in lot of places during trip. Here one of our members had the first flat tyre. We were still very much in apple country. Later on I came to know that this region was famous not only for apples but apricots as well though I did not see trees not that I would recognize one if I saw one unless fruits were growing on it. Along the way we passed through a hydroelectric power project site. I was intimidated by the heavy machinery that was moving about. The road was quite rough and slushy. The road at this point was actually downhill so we were riding at a fairly fast clip. All along the way we could see the pickups loaded with apple baskets taking them to various godown for packaging after being sorted. What I noticed here was that these godowns were one after the other in  rows.

It was around four pm when we entered the town of Jeori and the first thing noticed in a school there was some kind of sport activity taking place. We decided to stop here for the night and after looking around we searched for a hotel and found one. The entrance to the hotel was very narrow but inside it was spacious enough to park our six bicycles. In a corner I saw a pile of apples and I asked the owner if we could have few apples.  He told us that we could fill our bags with them. All of us took few apples and put them in our bags. In the meantime the owner of the hotel informed us about hot water springs. We rushed into our rooms and dumped our bags. I quickly got out of my sweaty cycling clothes and all us went to the hot water springs which was walking distance.

At the entrance of the hot water springs there was a temple then was a cemented walkway which was surprisingly clean.

There was a water tank into which the hot water flowed through a six inch water pipe. This was under a shed which was opened on all sides. At one end there were hooks on a wall to hang clothes The steam rising out of the hot water was little scary. I was unconsciously looking for some place where I could mix the hot water with cold water, but found none.  At the water tank there was a notice which stated that it was forbidden to jump into the pool. We scooped out water from the tank using plastic containers and poured it on ourselves. Jumping into the pool of hot water was forbidden  This dip in the hot water pool was quite refreshing and we walked back to the hotel, and we decide that we will go to Bhima Kali temple. This temple was about fifteen kms away from Jeori. We decided to take a taxi as the temple would close for the evening.

On reaching the temple we were given head scarves to cover our heads. The temple was made of wood and stones and the entrance door was surrounded by intricate silver work.The temple is dedicated to Goddess Bhimakali and is supposed to have been constructed in 1827. From a distance it appeared as if the temple has been constructed on a pedestal. The main area where the idol of the deity was placed had a narrow wooden gallery running all around, and the floor was covered with red carpet. We spent some time walking around the temple and were awed by the construction By this time it was dark and we walked back to the car park. By the time we reached our hotel it was dinner time and bed time. That day we covered around seventy seven kilometers .

JATOG TO KUMARSAIN

The previous night we had gone off to sleep to the sound of light rain falling on the tin roof of the accommodation.

We woke very early in the morning at about 4.30 am and after a quick wash and our cup tea with biscuits we stepped out of the guest house and to our utter joy the skies were clear and I could see morning stars. This lifted my spirits greatly and we took off from there.

The uphill road from the previous evening was now downhill and it added to our joy. As we were crossing the railway tracks of Jatog railway station, we met a lady who was walking her dog and when we asked her directions she got after us to come to her house and have tea. She also pointed out a shorter route to the famous ridge of Shimla. Some of us wanted to see this famous tourist spot .We peddled along the road where we encountered morning walkers and joggers. We passed along the Circuit house boundary wall. Many walkers were quite fascinated by our group when they came to know that we were cycling from Dehradun and all of us were senior citizens. We passed by Railway Board building, which is near Summer Hill and Mall road.

This building was constructed towards the end of 1800’s and is considered to be a fine example of colonial architecture. It is made of iron and steel and is supposed to be fire proof. Students of architectural colleges come here to study the design.

 From here we proceeded towards the famous ridge of Shimla. This is vast open space where many cultural events are held. It is quite popular with people who are fond of shopping as plenty of shops are around this. Basically the ridge is a vast water tank built by the British for supplying water to the town. The most significant landmark of Ridge is the Church .This church is supposed to be second oldest church in India .First being a church in Meerut. The church was built in 1857(the year of Indian Mutiny) and is of Neo Gothic style of architecture. It has five stained glass windows. Many ancient books and scriptures are housed in this church. As we were cycling along the ridge a group of children in school uniform cheered us on. Further down the road, another group of girls who were jogging cheered us as well. This encouraged us greatly and our legs peddled harder.

 We passed by the hospital on our way to Kufri, which was about 15 kilometers away. By this time the traffic had started to increase .The road  was pretty steep and narrow. At one place a loaded truck brushed my saddle bag which was quite scary. After this I decided to walk pulling my bicycle till my nerves were back to normal. Finally we reached Kufri and stopped for breakfast at Sher e Punjab Dhaba (much to my relief.) Dhaba means a restaurant. Most of the time our breakfast while on the move consisted of Aloo ka paratha.(The most common breakfast of North India)

After breakfast some of us took photographs with Yaks. We resumed our cycling in a very relaxed manner and proceeded towards Theog.  At this time we had no idea as to where we would stop for the night.

We had entered the apple country. The slopes of the mountains were covered with apple orchards.

Huge white plastic sheets covered the apple trees to protect the fruits from the birds and monkeys. The roads were broader now. One could see trucks and pickups parked by the side of the road near the apple godown.

The apples were sorted out and packed indifferent kinds of cartons,according to the quality for transporting to the vegetable market across the country. By this time we had decided to halt at a place called Kumarsain. We reached here around 4.30 in the evening and looked for a place to stay, which was a PWD inspection bungalow. After putting our bags in the room and securing our bicycles we went for a small walk to the town which was basically just a single narrow street. A quick dinner and back to the room.

That day we covered around 90 kilometers.

Jatog, Shimla Railway Board Building ,Ridge ,Church, Kufri,Kumarsain.Apple orchards

Cycle ride Sarhan to Jatog

The following day we woke up around 4.30 am. A quick wash and we were ready to hit the road again. The place where we spent the night was “Himalyan Home stay”. When I stepped out of the home stay it was cloudy, and all of us got busy lashing our bags to the bicycles. We had a cup of hot tea with some biscuits.(with the exception of Kamaljit Sir the oldest member of the group.He always drank two cups )  Some of the members of the group clicked a few photos and of we rolled off to our next destination which at that time was not decided, but it was more or less Shimla using National Highway 970 A. At the time of departure it was misty. We had to put on our rain jackets.

We passed through Sarhan town which at that time was closed.

As we left Sarhan the first three kilometers were downhill so we literally flying especially after yesterday’s climb. Our joy was short lived and soon we were again climbing again. As we were moving upwards on the winding road I could see a huge white monument which later on I came to know that it was Bhureshwar Mahadev Temple

This temple is situated on top of a hill in Sirmur district at a height of 1870 meters above sea level and is dedicated to Lord Siva. According to the legend Lord Siva along with his wife Parvati sat on top of this hill and watched Mahabharat being fought between the Kauravs and Pandavs.

This temple is named after Bhur Singh a brahamin whose family performed various religious ceremonies in the village.

According to the legend Bhur Singh was banished from his house by his step mother.  He had lost a calf while grazing cows and was sent back to look for the lost calf, where he died.(unfortunately none of us bothered to take any photographs of this place even from a distance ) There is supposed to be plateau here which is quite popular with motor cycle gangs. After one hour of riding the bicycle I had started to feel hungry and was wondering as to when we would stop for breakfast. None of the other members of the group were having the same problem. So silently I continued to paddle trying to enjoy the scenery. For the entire journey I was suffering from small hunger pangs in the morning.

By now the landscape had started to change. We were riding through pine trees.  The air was   filled with the sweet aroma of pine needles. The traffic was sparse so the ride was really enjoyable especially as the sun had not hit us as yet. I don’t remember having our breakfast but I am sure we did eat something .

Our next place worth mentioning here was  Solan brewery.

The brewery was established in 1855 by the father of General Dyer, and the name was changed to Mohan Meakins much later. During that time the natural spring water of Solan was most suitable for brewing purposes.

The most popular brand of beer that I know of was Golden Eagle. For a long time I have not seen this beer in the market.Then there were lot of other beers as well which were manufactured at different breweries

Next is Black Knight Whiskey another popular brand and then is Solan No.1.These brands were very popular with the defense personal Both these whiskies were blended whiskey.(Years later my nephew presented me with a bottle of Solan No 1 single malt known as Solan Gold and as usual good things in life are short lived

Then there is famous signature Old Monk Rum. Which is very -very popular all over the world. This rum was launched in 1954 and has been the biggest brand for many years.

There is no advertisement for this rum and it is usually word of mouth. I think this enough talk about Rum and Whiskey and I should get back to my cycling blog.

There are many places where the railways tracks are running next to the road .Here the toy train between Kalka and Shimla runs train. Many Bollywood movies have been shot here.

We were not fortunate enough to witness this train while we were cycling hence no photographs.

After lunch we proceeded towards Shimla. Our accommodation was arranged by Col.Gurung at Jatog army camp. Somehow due to mis -communication we bypassed Jatog and we were three or four kilometers short of Shimla. After asking for directions we were shown the correct way By now the traffic was most annoying. Most of the people were riding their vehicles pressing on their horns continuously. It started turning dark and to add to our woes it started to rain heavily. The roads had turned into rivers and we had to wade through it pulling our cycles. Around 7pm we reached our accommodation and heaved a sigh of relief. We quickly unlashed our bags and pulled out our clothes and set them to dry. I was very lucky that my stuff was dry. A quick hot shower and hot dinner and all of us hit the bed

That day we covered about 100 kms

Cycling from Dehradun to Khardungla and back to Dun.