The detailed travel story of Roadtrip to magnificent Kinnaur in Himachal Pradesh by 3 friends…
Planning is a predominant & indispensable part in any trip, which if executed correctly, results in a hassle free & comfortable travel. For us, it all started in July 2020 when during a conference call between myself (Prabal) & my friends Sharad, Shivam, & Vaibhav: Shivam suggested the idea of a road trip to Himachal /Uttarakhand.
Finally, after one month of planning and preparations, the day arrived when we planned to start our Roadtrip from New Delhi to various offbeat destinations in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh (most of which fall in Kinnaur District).
Hatu Mata Temple was the only thing listed in our plan at Narkanda. There place is famous for scenic beauty away from busy Shimla (some do prefer this city for trekking opportunities, skiing and other winter sports). Temple is situated atop Hatu Peak at an elevation of 3400 meters.
As we woke up to a cloudy morning at our hotel in Reckong Peo, immediately we looked outside the window, and boom, what a heavenly sight.!! The mountains around us were almost touching the sky and we felt like tiny puppets of nature. Today’s plan was to visit Kalpa and then towards Sangla for 3 nights stay. But the weather prediction of snowfall in Chitkul tomorrow forced us for a slight change.
23 km from Sangla, located at an altitude of 3450 meter and famously known as the last inhabited village with a motorable road on the Indo-Tibet Border, Chitkul is the most beautiful village of the Baspa Valley. According to a study by Centre of Atmospheric Sciences at IIT Delhi, Chitkul has the cleanest air in India.
We were full of energy after yesterday’s dream trip to Chitkul, and were looking for more and more adventure to make our entire trip a memorable one. Since locals asked us not to leave Sangla today due to slippery roads, we decided to spend time in visiting local places. The very first thing me and Sharad decided was to head towards Baspa river bank visible far away from our hotel terrace and prepare maggie on camping stove there.
Finally the day arrived when we had to say Good-Bye to Sangla for our next destination: Sarahan.
But wait a minute……..as we stepped out of our room, it was snow, snow and huge amount of snow everywhere. There was a silence among us, as all 3 of us understood that we are stuck and in no way we could travel today. Moreover, snowfall was still on.
We were in Sarahan and today’s plan was to visit Bhimakali Temple in the morning followed by hotel check-out and proceed towards Narkanda as a stop-over before moving towards Delhi next day.
But around 9 AM, our hotel owner from Sangla sent some whatsapp images of today’s weather and view in Sangla, which was simply unbelievable. Sky was clear with no clouds, rain or snowfall and the shining sun was making everything majestic.
After finishing/visiting each and everything as per our plan, today we decided to return back to Delhi (500 km from here). GPS was showing 12 hours if we go non-stop, plus there was road blockage near Delhi entry point in Sonipat/Murthal due to farmer’s protest against farm bills.
We were also discussing an alternate route from Sarahan, which was bit long but there is a waterfall on the route (as told by our taxi driver the day before). Finally we decided to take this route, unaware of the road conditions.