Sutlej- The Flowing Beauty

A morning date with the longest river in Himachal running 1500 kms…

The longest river (in km) in Himachal Pradesh originates from Lake Rakshastal in Tibet, lying near Lake Mansarovar and south of Mount Kailash. The waters of the Sutlej are allocated to India under the Indus Waters Treaty between India and Pakistan, according to this treaty, India can utilize only 20 per cent of its total discharge of water.

On our recent road trip, we had this beautiful opportunity of spending sometime basking in the charm of Sutlej.

As the light began to touch Earth’s surface, the deceptive cover of fog came into light, it seemed as if the ‘Sutlej’ was asleep under the covers of fog, and the gradual rays were making an attempt to wake her up, slowly and beautifully….

Keeps flowing, continues it’s journey, what come may.

Just like Life, it goes on, just like the waves, you’ll never experience the same time again, enjoy every moment!

A Walk to Remember!!

The surreal peaceful charm of Sarahan will devour you as you enter the village. It’s a beautiful village, just 17 kms off the main road (from Jeori) in Himachal Pradesh. We covered Sarahan as part of our 11 days road trip to Spiti Valley.

A landscape view of the village

Sarahan is adorned by impressive Bhimkali Temple that is over 800 years old. The archaic architecture of the temple is intriguing. Take look at pretty pictures!!

Another factor that makes Sarahan so gorgeous is the Shrikand Mahadev peak. The views that surround the village from every angle will make you fall in love with Nature every hour.

The ‘Hawa-Ghar’ at Sarahan!!

It’s not a touristy spot, let me clarify that and no wonder we were the only ones at the location! We spoke to some locals there (as we mostly prefer) and found out about  ‘Hawa-Ghar’. As we approached the location, we were stunned to witness how gorgeous it was.ζ♥ Felt like in the lap of Nature ♥

The super pretty trail luxuriant with greens

Surprises on the road in Himachal, India

Our fondness for backpacking has taken us on lots of road trips in past five years and maximum of them have been to some location in Himachal Pradesh. Himachal is like assorted bouquet of exotic flowers, you just can’t have enough and can’t get over it, the more you explore, the hungrier you become 🙂

So, in all the road trips we did, primarily Mcleodganj – Dainkund, New Delhi – Spiti, New Delhi – Shimla / Manali / Rohtang, there were few things absolutely common!!

• The School Gang – You are going to witness pure happiness when you’ll run into little kids going to school in blue uniform. So cute they all look !! They have to walk really long distances on a daily basis.

• Be prepared to meet unexpected companions on the road – You are going to find the roads inundated with pashima goats, yaks, cows and sometimes monkeys too 🙂 (though at regular intervals).  A must watch short clip here from our Dainkund trip when our bike waded through the goats covered route!!

• The Natural Springs and Streams – Himachal Pradesh provides water to both the Indus and Ganges basins. The perennial rivers of the region are the Chenab, the Ravi, the Beas, the Sutlej and the Yamuna. The road trip in this region will get you to witness beautiful streams at unexpected places and do they look beautiful!!

So people ‘Travel more to find your surprise’ 🙂

The Solitary Traveler

Travel more to find your surprise :)

The beauty of nature will never stop surprising you…. Go ahead give yourself a treat. We shot this pic on our bike ride from Mcleodganj to Dainkund Peak. The odd symmetry between trees and the view of the Dauladhar range seemed amazing 🙂

You can explore more on here https://untraveledroutes.wordpress.com/2015/01/17/adventure-ride-to-dainkund-peak/. In case you are planning a bike ride to the destination just have a glance at the link it certainly will help 🙂

Adventure Ride to Dainkund Peak

Things to know, before you go on a bike ride to Dainkund Peak

Our fondness for backpacking has taken us on lots of road trips in past five years and maximum of them have been to some location in Himachal Pradesh. Himachal is like assorted bouquet of exotic flowers, you just can’t have enough and can’t get over it, the more you explore, the hungrier you become 🙂

This Road Trip was part of our 3-days tour to Himachal Pradesh, India covering Mcleodganj-Dalhousie-Dainkund Peak and back. Time was certainly of essence as we had 4 days including travel from Delhi to the destination. We boarded HPTDC Volvo from Delhi to Dharamshala, then took a cab till Mcleodganj (the distance is ~9kms) and continued our journey on bike from there. We experienced incredible moments of wonder, adrenaline rush, excitement and peace and experiences shall always be shared, so here we are! There are certain things one needs to evaluate before taking a road trip by Motor Bike, particularly on this route.

• Fitness is Critical: ‘Healthy body and healthy mind are keys to blissful life’. This applies to road trips as well. Being fit has really helped us during traveling, we have been able to explore & test our limits on most of our trips – be it Srinagar, Rajasthan or Himachal etc. It gives you so much of confidence and mental strength.We follow a fitness regimen to the maximum extent possible & have tried to inculcate a routine in our lifestyle and that really helps to continue our grueling tours.

 

• Right Time of the Year: The climatic conditions are likely to impact your travel plans always. We planned this trip in April as the season from March – May bears pleasant climate & moderate changes in hill stations. Definitely a road trip has to be avoided in monsoons to hill stations as there is an impending danger of landslides & during extreme winters also it’s not conducive. It always helps to keep track of the meteorology of a particular place before your visit.

The beautiful views that you’ll witness will fill your heart with wonder 🙂