HILL TALK

Not all those who wander are lost.
- J. R. R. Tolkien

Snippets from the 10 day trip to the hills.

Travelers: Ryan Williams and Mandar Sawant

7th May (Mumbai – Delhi flight)

We began our so called budget trip lavishly by deciding to fly from Mumbai to Delhi. This was in a way a more viable and convenient option in order to reduce travel time. Our destinations Dalhousie and Dharamshala were located in far away towns in northern Himachal Pradesh. There isn’t any train that will take you directly to Dalhousie or Dharamshala station from Mumbai. So rather than hopping stations in different states we decided to take the flight and then continue on the wheels.

I was rest assured of having a smooth beginning considering it’s air travel and not some long haul train journey. But hurdles always stalk you when you are in a hurry. Thanks to the highway traffic, we were very close to missing the flight.  We scampered through the baggage and security checks and made it to the waiting lounge.

However, all the hustle-bustle seemed futile when it was announced that the departure is delayed by 45 mins. This was sort of a set pattern throughout our trip. On your mark. Get set. Stop! Read further to figure this out.

We reached Delhi airport at 2pm. The new reliance metro from the airport is fantastic to say the least. Bhai,London jaisi feeling milti hai usmein bhaitke. Prim and proper. Delhi was welcoming as always. Thankfully, unlike the last time, my phone was intact in my pockets and there were no casualties.

We meet our dear friend Mihir who always becomes our host when we touchdown his city, Dilli.

When in Delhi, do as the Delhiates do. Eat.Chill.Eat.Chill.Eat.Burppp! Eat again.

Our train from Delhi to Pathankot was scheduled at 10pm. That meant we had a lot of time to unwind before we get moving again. So we chilled and chilled with lazy elegance. But lethargy almost got the better of us. It was only at 8.30pm we realised that we might miss the train if we didn’t pack and make a move now. By 9pm we scuttled out of the house.

So once again we were racing to make it in time for the train. What if we miss the train! The entire itinerary goes for a toss. Dreadfulness lurked.

And guess what. The cardinal rule applied. We reached comfortably 15 mins prior to the train’s departure. But as luck would have it, the train only took off half an hour later.

Perhaps, time had already started slowing down for us. Half an hour later, a slight jerk before the start and our journey had begun to the hills.

Dalhousie [Gandhi Chowk(GPO) ,Punchpula, Sathdhara]

8th May

After a comfortable 11 hour train journey, we reached Pathankot station. A splash of water on the face, a cup of chai with Parle-G and we were set to take on our next jaunt.

We had to take a 4 hour bus ride to reach G.P.O - Gandhi Chowk,Dalhousie. While the bus gyrated on the spiral hilly roads, we caught on to some of our quota of sleep. The flimsy bus ride however made a point to make our necks wriggle like a spring while our eyes were dozing.

By afternoon, we had reached GPO. With proactive hotel vendors hunting for tourists, we managed to find a reasonable and comfortable hotel stay. The view from the hotel was spectacular as we could see the hills far off, inviting us to come and explore.

After a quick cold water shower we were again on the move. Our first hunt was for some good food. We began by hogging on some delicious maggi. Suddenly maggi started tasting as the most sumptuous meal ever eaten – appetizing and fulfilling.

We were then in search of some local momos. Our research had claimed them to be a delicacy in these areas. We did manage to eat them at one place but it didn’t meet our expectations. With no more intentions to experiment, we helped ourselves in a decent punjabi restaurant and gorged on chicken tandoori and kebabs.

Our first walk in the hills started from GPO towards Punchpula and Sathadhara. Treading in the hills gives a different high which is inexplicable. Silent. Serene. Soothing. We reached the Punchpula point where we got a glimpse of the waterfalls which was running a bit low on water due to summers.

We walked on further, enjoying the quietness amidst the mountains. Then a gate with a name board Birds and Chirps housestay came into our path. The steps were uphill and it lead to a big guest house. We were pondering for a second whether to go upstairs or not. Our curiosity got the better of us and we took the stairway.

The caretaker first showed us the housestay and then introduced us to the owner named Dr. Bhalla. He was dressed in jeans, a white shirt, a dark brown jacket and a cowboy hat. Dr.Bhalla resembled a hunter returning from the woods. With a deep baritone, he welcomed us and asked us to have a look of the entire house stay.

 

As we reached on the terrace, we got a bird’s eye view of the Dalhousie town. Blissful.

Dr. Bhalla was kind enough to offer us tea and have a pleasant chat talking about himself and his place in Dalhousie. He shared stories of how he has travelled to so many countries, have been a practitioner to the Prime Minister or President (don’t remember exactly which one of them). All and all, he was a man who exhibited his swag quite stylishly.

After having spent a good amount of time at Dr.Bhalla’s guesthouse, we started heading back to our hotel. However, it had already begun to get dark and there weren’t any street lights. Luckily, I had carried my small reading torch in my bag. Darkness encroached upon us. There is a funny feeling you get when you and your friend are the only ones walking alone in the hills and it’s pitch dark. Even a slight burp from either of us would have scared the guts out of us. You see, hearing your own footsteps while walking in dark hills amongst tall trees can be really creepy.

On our way, we tagged along with some local guys who were closing down their shop for the day. We reached our hotel with tired legs. Our mind had relaxed and body felt a bit weary. A lot of traveling had gone through. Finally we were living, breathing in the hills. A few drinks to reminisce the day and off we crashed.

9th May (Khajjiar, Kalatop Wild Life Sanctuary)

Khajjiar

Our next place on the checklist was Khajjiar, which is also supposedly called the Switzerland of India.

We took the morning bus which was scheduled at 9.30am but evidently reached at 10am. Apparently there were only two buses that leave in the morning for Khajjiar from GPO. So we were quite lucky to get the second and the last one for the day. It was an approximate 45-50 mins bus ride on the steep and curvy roads in the mountains. The higher we went, the deeper the valleys curled.

Khajjiar is a pleasant tourist place. It’s a huge mass of grassland with a picturesque look amidst the hills. Being a stereotypical tourist centric place, there were various activities like horse riding, paragliding (the faked one which didn’t get you anywhere higher), ball revolving and other fun and games for kids.

 

One story I would like to share is of different salesman relentlessly offering us Kesar and Shilajit. Now, Kesar as we all know is saffron. However Shilajit(please google) gave us feats of laughter discussing it. Shilijait, a nitro boost that will pump your adrenaline and help you last long, really really long like amaron. (sorry the advertising bug crept in there).

So let me tell you more about it. A comment from a young kid salesman “Sirjee yeh leke aap bilkul tandoorust rahoge. Sab mazboot rahega and after a minor pause, he passed a subtle one saying aap jo cheez 2 min mein karte hai woh aap 25 min tak kar sakoge. LOL.

As we were strolling we came across a pahadi singer. We requested him to entertain us with some local songs. He settled himself ready to charm us with his performance.  He swiftly played the rihaab and the dholak together and pleased us with some soulful music. These songs have got stuck in my head ever since and whenever I hear them it makes me miss the hills.

Here’s a dose of some pahadi magic. Also notice the nonchalant screen presence of the singer. Simply knew how to grace the camera effortlessly.

From Khajjiar we took a bus to Kalatop Wildlife Sanctuary which supposedly had snow leopard, black bear and other species residing. I was eagerly looking forward to get a glimpse of some wildlife in the hills. Alas, it didn’t turn out the way it read on the net. We hardly saw any inhuman creature around.

The bus which picked us up from Khajjiar stopped at Lakadmandi from where there is a 3km walk towards the sanctuary. The walkway was a muddy road in the hills but a pleasant one.

As we reached the sanctuary our eyes popped out and tongues swiveled at the sight of a canteen. Having eaten nothing since morning we hogged on the ever-so-tasty-and-reliable maggi.

We planned to spend the night in the sanctuary. The old man who was the caretaker there claimed that we were the only 2 who were going to stay over at night. So here we were, in the middle of a jungle along with the caretaker and his son. Ok, a sanctuary to be precise.

By late evening, we could see the sun descending behind the mountains. It started getting colder. There was limited light with darkness at its peak.

The dinner served to us couldn’t have been better. It comprised of a perfect meal - dal, rice, subzi, roti. Simplicity is bliss. 
Rum was our partner for the night along with books to keep us engaged. The sanctity of the place was soothing and we didn’t intend to disturb it by conversations. We just relaxed and felt every moment as night took its own leisurely time to walk through. We both were quite skeptical of moving outside due to pitch darkness and the subconscious fear of being the only two in the whole sanctuary. Though a bit unnerving but it was a sublime experience. The rum seeped in, pink floyd played on and the book kept me alive.

10th May (Dhiunkund Trek)

We needed to have a good heavy breakfast to be all set for a long trek ahead. We helped ourselves with some chai, pakodas and of course maggi. It was a day of being a non-stop walker. We bid goodbye to our caretaker who treated us really well with good food and service. We took off for the trek to Dhiunkund at 9.30am.  

We walked 10kms at a stretch, right from leaving Kalatop to the Kali temple at Dhiunkund. But we never stopped. The further we walked, the more refreshing and liberating it got.

The Kali temple at the top of Dhiunkund was divine. As we reached right on top we again refueled ourselves with pahadi maggi and a cup of chai. As far as our eyes could see, the scenic beauty of the far away ranges kept on mesmerizing us.

 

The descent though was very smooth. We reached Lakkadmandi and were waiting for a bus to take us back to GPO.

We had a glass of fresh chaas churned from the jar at a dhaba near the bus stop. The bus arrived. We hopped on. With that, our first destination had come to a delightful end.

Next was Dharamshala. We had to take a midnight bus from Baniket, a 1 km downhill bust stop from GPO.  The bus was scheduled at 12.We had lot of time to kill by then. The darker it got, the stranger and deserted the place became. 

There were hardly any people walking around by midnight. A zooming car passed by. It suddenly stopped and took a reverse. The front side door was pushed open and a man walked towards me. Strange time, strange place, strange people. It got slightly discomforting. But the guy was just asking our whereabouts. We told him we were waiting for the midnight bus and then the car left. We were staring at a long curve at the end of a dark road where the bus was expected to come from. Then we caught a glimpse of flashing headlights moving towards our direction from there. The bus arrived at 00.10am. As luck would have it, it was again a shaky-I-am-not-allowing-you to-sleep-peacefully-motherfucker bus.

11th May - Dharamshala (Dalai Lama Temple, Bhagsu Waterfall)

After catching the overnight 12 O’clock bus we reached Dharamshala bus stop at 4am. Our bodies were creaking with the joyful shaky ride. We decided to crash in the bus as it made no sense to venture out at 4 in the morning. Moreover, we needed to catch some peaceful and static sleep.

We woke up at 7, got fresh, had some coffee and took the bus to Mcleod Ganj. It wasn’t a long ride. Around 15-20 mins and we were at the main Mcleod Ganj Chowk.

Mcleod Ganj is a quintessential Tibetan market and one of the prime tourist destinations in Himachal Pradesh. We loitered around to get a hang of the place. It gives you a Pahadganj sort of market feel, albeit run by Tibetans. Most of the shops were run by Tibetans barring a few by Punjabis playing Yo Yo Honey Singh as in-store music. After walking around for a while we managed to find a decent and reasonable accommodation.

We alighted our bags in the room, a good shower scraping the travel filth from our bodies and then took off to visit the prominent places in the market.

We first checked the Dalai Lama temple. It’s peaceful and the compound even consists of the home where the 14th Dalai Lama stays. There was a notice outside the gate of his house which stated that prior appointments are mandatory to meet His Holiness. In any case, he was currently travelling and wasn’t around. People yearn to catch a glimpse of him and visit in person but it is a difficult task as the waiting can be as long as 6-8 months. 

After visiting the temple we took a halt at a cafe. We then headed towards Bhagsu waterfall. A simple 1 hour brisk walk from the market and we reached Bhagsu falls which appeared to be a huge stream flowing from the mountains. Being summers, the water flow at the bottom was less. As we reached to the top of the hill, the waterfall could be seen in its full splendour.

We stationed ourselves near the flowing pond of the waterfall with shimmering hill water coming down. It was a lovely and exhilarating experience. The disturbing sight however was of a Gujju family with innerwear clad men swimming in the pond like crocodiles. The despicable crocs had beers in their hands while their wives fed them maggi,theplas and pakodas from the banks of the pond. For a moment, that part reminded me of a god damn Water Kingdom in Mumbai. Can’t blame us - Indians. We are proud to be loud.

The most enthralling part of Bhagsu falls is experienced when you climb up a little 500 m further and reach Shiva Cafe. The sight from Shiva Cafe was simply beautiful. One can see the waterfall going down the valley. The place in itself is artistic and soulful. Good place, good food and a natural ambience to die for. We spent almost 3 hours chilling there. After the long leisurely time, we descended within the next 40 mins and went strolling in the market.

On our way back, we visited the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts. A bunch of guys were playing football in the main quadrant. We then got to know later that they were practicing for the Football League that happens in Dharamshala where all Tibetan communities compete.

There weren’t any shows or performances lined up currently at the performing arts institute. We had a chat with a theatre professor there who told us that this place has been a venue for many rock bands like Parikrama, Joan Osborne and more. We were really glad to have visited the performing arts hub of Dharamshala.

We had our dinner at a Tibetan restaurant. A plate of Momos and Thupa (Tibetan soup with Momos). Momos take an exclusive privilege to tag themselves in almost 90% of Tibetan meals. A good dinner ended with a fine dessert at Cafe Coffee Day.

After a long day we went back to the room. 3 pegs of large whisky and then it was curtains for me. The next day was chalked out for our longest trek of the trip.

12th May - Triund

A 9 km long and steep trek from the main chowk leads to a mountain top site called Triund. It’s a place where you come face to face with the snow clad mountains.

After walking 2 kms, we reached Dharamkhot and from there the actual trek began with muddy and stony roads. We picked up a bottle of Gatorade to energize ourselves for the steep ascend. Of all the treks, this one here was the most challenging and persevering. It was a 4 hour long climb up the hill. Our legs had got stronger and our panting had reduced considerably. Perhaps the first two treks got us all geared up for this one.

After walking for continuous 3 hours we stopped to have some tea on the way. It’s admirable to see these guys running these stalls up there. To bring food and other supplies right up in the hills is a daunting task but it does pay them well for the time and effort put in. Business works that way. After all, there’s a market for everything everywhere.

Once we got done with our tea break we proceeded further. The peak was still a 45 min walk ahead. We marched on. And then there came a moment which will stay with us forever, at least until the next time we walk in the hills. As we climbed the stony road and made our walk through the contours, the sky above us had gone grey with a rendezvous of dark clouds sketched on it.

There was a sudden cloudburst which took us by surprise. I immediately went into hiding amongst the bushes to protect my camera. And then out of the blue I was hit by a piece of crushed ice on my right forearm. And it continued. Crushed ice fired like bullets from the sky. A moment that can be held on. An experience to live for. Ryan was equally awestruck. Our bodies went numb. Palms lost sensation. It was a snowstorm indeed. I think this is how the hills give you a warm welcome. Not literally warm though. In fact, the extreme opposite of it.  

We were stranded. The hills were showing off their charm. The icy shower wasn’t stopping. Luckily a localite, an inhabitant of the hills called us over to take shelter below a big rock. He lit a small bonfire which helped us get some sensation back into our palms. As the locatlite truly said - “Yeh hai asli pahado ka mazza.”

We were now pondering over our way ahead. If it continued being dark and rainy like it was, the road ahead would get much tougher. However, within 15 mins the rains subsided and the sun started shining like summertime. We walked ahead and reached the top notch of the hill. And there it was. A picture in front of the eyes that you are used to seeing only as desktop wallpapers. The snow clad mountains. They were there. Right in front of us. Face to face.

The Triund point was a wide stretch of grassland on the top of the mountain. We could see the neighbouring mountain ranges dressed in thick snow layers. We laid ourselves on the grass and just gazed at the mountains. Such visuals cannot be captured by camera. It’s the eyes which behold real beauty. Snow in front, sun above the head, grass beneath and awesomeness in the air.

Lying down gazing at the hills, we just let time take its own jolly walk while we held still in the moment.

It was time to depart. This was probably our last rendezvous with the hills on this trip. The road ahead was of going back. We gorged on some omelets and sandwiches and set ourselves for the return. We estimated the descent to be around 3 hours. We had to make a move without further delay so that we don’t encounter darkness on our way back. And as we had thought of, it took us some 3 odd hours to reach down and hit the market again. A hard day’s toil had come to an end. And with that, our walk in the hills too.

We headed to a Tibetan restaurant called ‘4 seasons cafe’ and helped ourselves with some fine Tibetan cuisine. Delicacies like Chicken Thupka (Tibetan soup with noodles mixed), Momos in soup and Thentuk , which is again lots of vegetables and chicken pieces.

Post dinner we had a slow walk towards our hotel room. Our legs had almost given up on us. We were walking our way back with tired limbs, sleepy eyes and relaxed heart. It was fulfilling. The hill walk had its solemn end. It was time to walk back home.

13th May (Dal Lake)

The agenda for the day was to shop and chill on our last day in Mcleod Ganj. We first headed to have a proper Tibetan breakfast.

Tibetan breakfast consists of a healthy combination of meals. A pot of Tibetan butter tea which tastes like soup, a special village omelet, Tibetan bread with peanut butter/jam/honey and a bowl of dry fruit Tsampa porridge and the Tibetan Sorig tea(herbal tea). After this good heavy breakfast we made our way to the last point to check in - The Dal Lake.

Dal Lake is some 4 km away from the main chowk. On our walk to the Dal Lake we met an old monk. We had a small talk with him and he was thrilled to hear that we were from Mumbai. He said how Mumbai has everything. I was going to reply - Yes, the city that possesses everything but feels nothing.

After relaxing for an hour at the Dal Lake, we walked back to do some shopping from the Tibetan market. At around 6.30pm, we boarded the bus to Delhi. Compared to our other jerky rides, this proved to be a comfortable one. Not to mention, the tyre puncture on our way, but it just gave me a peaceful non-shaky reading time. A halt on the highway restaurant for dinner and we were off to Delhi.

 

The trip to Dalhousie and Dharamshala unarguably goes down as one of the best North India trips we had together. 3 years back it was the white water rafting in the holy Ganges in Hrishikesh and visiting the majestic Taj Mahal that had given us a high. That trip was epic in its own way. Ryan and me hardly knew each other well back then. 3 years later we were destined again to walk together in the hills.

What’s next?  I don’t know. A traveler need not plan his destination. The destination finds you when you walk on.

Photo Credits: Ryan Williams