This blog is an amalgamation of our family trips to the mountains for two consecutive winters. The first one was of Shimla-Kufri-Chail.
Day 1: Reached Kalka by train and headed to a home stay named ‘Aapo Aap’ in Shimla. Surprisingly this place turned out to be way better than any luxurious 5-star resorts. It was as guessed by most of you correctly a proper home with all the utilities converted into a guest house.But it was maintained so efficiently that we didn’t felt the need to shift anywhere else after spending the night there. The breakfast comprising of savoury paranthas made a great start to our 1st day there. Started the day with a walk on the ‘Mall Road’ and visited ‘Jakhu Temple'(Hanuman ji Temple with lots of monkeys!)
View from Aapo Aap home stay
P.S.: If you have motion sickness and especially on the curvy lanes eat a piece of ginger, it really helps or else keep a piece of lemon with you.
Day 2: This day was adventurous in a way we had never imagined , we took a cab to Kufri and once we reached there , there was no proper way that could lead us to the snowy terrains of the place, though there was a proper gate but it was locked by the locals as they wanted people to use mules to cross a muddy path leading towards the main viewpioint of Kufri. Somehow we made it to the place and it was indeed spectacular.!
Snow Snow everywhere-Kufri
We shifted to another hotel which was on the way to Chail, named ‘Toshali’ . The architecture of this place was done in a very contemporary manner and food undoubtedly was sumptuous.
Day 3: Early morning we went to Chail and again it was very steep ride. Chail has a museum for which it is famous and also the cricket ground. We also went to ‘Kali Tibba’, it is probably the cleanest temple I have ever visited made of pure marble we could see Himalayan ranges from the top of the temple.
Shivalik Range seen from Kali Tibba
Day 4: We had our train in the evening that day and we headed to the Mall Road to grab some lunch.
The trip got over but the experience we had there can never be replaced. It was one of our best trips to the mountains!
The next leg of trip to the mountains- Chandigarh-Manali
Day 1: Took a train to Chandigarh and reached there mid -afternoon. Spent the day there visiting various sectors and especially ‘Sector-17′, don’t miss out on a very famous dhaba there ‘Pal Dhaba’, though wherever you’ll eat in Punjab you will not stop appreciating the food but the food at this dhaba was absolutely fantastic.It’s a must try.
Day 2: Left Chandigarh early in the morning for a 10 hour drive to Manali.But it actually took us 12 hours to reach Manali. The drive from Chandigarh -Manali can be really taxing especially for people with motion sickness so keep some things to relieve you during this ride. Finally we reached our hotel named ‘Apple Nest’. It was a newly built hotel and again the food was absolutely amazing there , even the view of sunrise from the hotel room was astounding.
Day 3: The next day included a walk on the Mall Road which is not that great as Shimla’s but still it was a nice walk. Visited ‘Hidimba Temple’ and ‘hot springs in Vashisht Temple’. Came back tired to the hotel and passed out.
Day 4: It was New Year’s Day that day and we had planned a trip to the Solang Valley. The mode of transport was very managed and easily done here as compared to Kufri. Once we were on top the place , it just blew my mind away, first the freezing cold was making my mind numb but after seeing such an amazing natural beauty I felt refreshed.
Day 5: Returned back to Delhi via Chandigarh by taxi .
These two trips to the mountains will remain etched in my memory forever , the natural beauty, serenity of these places made us envy the locals who have the pleasure of absorbing these things on a daily basis. Mountains, greenery, no pollution it never felt we live in the same country where one city gets covered with a smoky blanket with the onset of winters while other cities begin their charm with bright , pollution free air and sunlight.
It is really a question that we should ask ourselves that what have we really done to our own habitat..
On a lighter note..if your inner voice is yelling to move out of the city and give your lungs a break from the smoke .. go to the mountains as they are waiting;)
#8 blog as part of NaBloPoMo-National Blog Posting Month=Thirty Straight Days of Blogging
Photos taken by Iphone 6 & 7
Fish Tales;) 