DAY 1 : En route Manali from Chandigarh
After landing in Chandigarh, we booked a cab which took us all the way from the Chandigarh airport and dropped us at Old Manali in about 8-9 hours. The twisty and curvy road to reach the mountains had already drenched out my energy for the day. It was almost night by the time we reached and I could see the entire town light up infront of my eyes. I wanted to get out of the cab for a while and enjoy the sight but my tired soul just wanted to retire in a cozy warm bed. It was freezing cold and the temperature had dropped below 0°. I had never experienced such a low temperature before and I swear my hands had gone all numb.
As soon as we reached the hotel and checked in to our rooms, we turned on the heater. To our surprise there were electric blankets which would make my bed warm and cozy, just as I wanted it to be. I don’t even remember when I dozed off that night.
DAY 2 – Snow time at Solang Valley
The next day we woke up all fresh, the sun was shining bright and the weather was really pleasant. I could see the beautiful mountains capped with snow from my room’s window. I had never been this far north of the country before and I was really excited about seeing the snow and the high mountains.
The tiredness had all vanished once I got the glimpse of the mountains and I was really looking forward to spend the day amidst it. So we helped ourselves with a really healthy breakfast in the hotel and set out to explore this beautiful place – Manali.
As soon as we had planned on going to the North of India, all I had in mind was the snow. I had never been to a place which was covered with snow. So the excitement was real and I had geared myself up with a lot of woolen wear to keep me warm. We were on our way to to Solang Valley, which was nearly 15 kms from old Manali and it took us more than an hour to reach there because of the heavy traffic and the zig-zag narrow roads. We enjoyed the scenery on the way filled with the snow capped mountains and pine trees. As we went higher up the mountains, the snow patches became more clear.
We halted on the way to get the clothes for the snow on rent which was a full length snow suit, a pair of gum boots and a pair of gloves which cost us around 250 rupees. It wasn’t really necessary is what I realized later as I was already wearing a lot of warm clothes. Lesson learnt.
Anyway, as we reached Solang Valley, the cab dropped us at one point and the driver told us that we would have to walk a distance of around 2 kms to reach the snow clad area. So we started walking through the unconstructed road through which we could see people riding horses and the four wheel motor bikes.
As we approached the area, we could already see the snow patches around us and the mountains filled with snow ahead of us.
In the distant, the Himalayan range was clearly visible. It was one of the most beautiful thing ever.
We made our way through the snow and trekked towards the top where the snow looked really fresh. I was glad I had taken the pair of gum boots on rent because it helped to keep my feet stable. Finally I was surrounded by snow. My nose had started to freeze, I couldn’t feel my feet nor my hands. It was freezing cold. But the feeling was so fresh and it still felt amazing.
After a little while, I adjusted to the temperature and like little kids we started making those balls of snow and throwing it at each other. The fun had just began. We slided through the snow and also got stuck in between the little tree sticks. The snow felt good. It was indeed good. We stayed there for a long while and I was so happy to be there.
I have always been a beach person and I never thought that the snow and the mountains could make me this happy too. We climbed a little further up to move away from the people and to get a little sunlight.
The sun was shining bright and the sun rays fell on the snow making the place look more beautiful than ever. The sun also relieved us of the chills from the snow and my numb fingers finally gained back their senses.
We sat down there for a while enjoying the view – the mountains and the sun and the snow. Everything looked so perfect. It felt really peaceful and calm out there, away from all the chaos and all the negativity.
The mountains and the snow became my favourite thing from that moment.
I didn’t want to climb down, but it started to get a little cold and my nose could have exploded any second if I stayed longer. So we made our way down towards the road and before getting into the cab, we had a warm cup of chai and some maggi to fill our stomach while enjoying the moments amidst the mountains.
We went back through the same way, enjoying the scenery and really happy with the experience. The traffic was still there but I had plugged on the earphones and I enjoyed the way back listening to “The local train” (their songs are just the best for mountains, I believe).
The cab driver, who was a local Himachali guy was also listening to the radio meanwhile. The “pahadi” people have this peculiar rough and tough look about them and so did my cab driver. He was also a Kishore Kumar fan and he told me that at the end of day, the people in the mountains when they go back home, they love to sit down by the bonfire and listen to old songs after having a puff or two of the local stuff. He said that it was the most relaxing feeling for him.
We reached the hotel and it was almost dark by that time. The temperature had started to drop. We relaxed for a while and later went out to have something to eat in a cafe nearby. I treated myself to a warm cup of coffee and some momos (my favourite thing) and later on we had some north-indian food for dinner at the hotel.
Food will never be a problem if you are in north India. Vegetarian or Non Vegetarian, you will find everything nice out here.
After the amazing dI went back to my warm bed with the electric heater blanket in the hotel, read something for a while and slept like a baby.
DAY 3 – Exploring the Manali town.
The next day I woke up very early and decided to go for a walk around the hotel. It was really cold and I couldn’t stay outside for a long time. So I came back and had my breakfast while reading my book (I think I was reading the book – The Color Purple by Alice Walker at that time. It was a good read.) When the sun was out and the weather became tolerable, we decided to go out and explore the Manali town.
We started with this beautiful temple of Hidimba which was surrounded by a canopy of Deodar trees through which the sunlight was trying to make its way. The greenery all around was so pleasant to eyes. The beautiful green forest in between a busy town, was something very unexpected. The place was filled with a lot of people who had come to visit the temple. There were few photographers carrying the traditional dress and trying to convince the tourists to get a click with the dress on, few even had rabbits with them to be used as a prop for the photographs.
It was a typical day at a tourist spot.
We walked our way from the temple towards the Mall road. The path gave us glimpses of the beautiful mountains once in a while and I was really happy to be there.
On reaching the mall road we treated ourselves with some “Makai-Bhutta” which is just a roasted version of corn. I have never had a bhutta which tasted so so so great anywhere else. There were a lot of fruit shakes available as well. You can find an abundance of fresh local fruits in Himachal, specially Apples and Kiwis which are the best.
The people speak in Hindi or English which makes it easy to have a conversation with them. They were quite happy people, is what I could observe.
The place was filled with some shops selling woolen clothes and people hanging out with their family and friends. The streets were quite clean too.
You can find glimpses of the beautiful Beas River making its way through the rocks while exploring the town. The crystal clear water surrounded by the tall trees on the side making it all the more beautiful. We spent a lot of time sitting on the rocks by the river side as the current of the water was not very strong at that particular spot.
In the distant we could see some people enjoying with their friends and family.
We went to a Tibetian Buddhist Monastery nearby which was a very peaceful place with a lot less people as compared to the other spots we had gone to.
Beautiful, calm and peaceful – just as it is supposed to be.
The monastery was surrounded by the Tibetian Prayer flags which you can find almost everywhere in the mountain area. The beautiful colorful flags flying in the direction of the breeze.
After a while we ended up in the hotel again as it started to get cold. Really happy to have visited Manali. It was our last night there and we had to leave the next morning.
I was so happy to have experienced what it felt like to be amidst the mountains and snow. The feeling is so fresh till now and I can never forget those days.
Few things I do regret – Not being able to to go and see the Rohtang Pass which opens up only in the summers. So that thing is still there on my bucket list and I will definitely be back to explore that paradise.
I regret that I did not get to see or experience the snowfall (which happened 2 days before I reached Manali) and it did not happen while I was there. Pretty bad luck I would say.
So it seems like I have to come back again. I will definitely go back to the mountains again. Soon.
The Travel Tales 