Day 4 - 23rd June, 2015: Location: Kokhsar, Jispa, Keylong, Sarchu
It rained heavily last night and it was clearly noticeable when we woke up the next day at Kokhsar. A cloudy morning welcomed us.
Rainy Morning
Ready for the day
Today we planned to reach Sarchu and stay there for the night. We started around 10AM from our homestay at Kokhsar. It was going to be a pleasant day as it seemed from the weather.
Morning tea at Kokhsar
Reminds me of song "Tu hai ki nahin..." from Roy movie
The weather was very pleasant and we had some breathtaking views on our way to Keylong.
Ready to summit the top.
Last filling station at Tandi (~80kms from Manali) on Manali Leh highway
Still a long way to go...
Entering the beautiful valley of Keylong
Beautiful tents at Jispa
If you feel Sarchu is far and you feel tired, you can have a pitstop at Jispa or an overnight stay too at Jispa camps.
Darcha Valley
We had to provide identity proof documents at Darcha police checkpoint. Also had some refreshments.
Such violent water streams are quite common in this terrain.
Now begins the tricky part! The roads ahead were full of violent stream and some were so long that it took nearly half an hour for all 6 of us to pass.
Watch us how we crossed this stream near Darcha!
Stop 2 - the second nalla that crossed our way. This one was real tricky and hard.
Ashish toppled off his bike while crossing this stream coming down from under a glacier.
And thats how its done. #Brotherhood
Then we headed towards Suraj Tal and the mighty BaraLacha La.
Completed my 10000th milestone while ascending the Baralacha La.
And then came the another giant, the Baralacha La pass.
We could not get down to click more pics as it was unbearable cold and snow. Out of all the passes in our trip, the Baralacha La was the most tricky and difficult for us to pass.
The locals have setup such shops for travellers to take shelter and dine. Without such shops, we couldn't imagine any such trips possible. This one was after crossing Baralacha La (~4500m above sea level).
Lake near BaraLacha La
That was our stay at Sarchu. We surpassed the tents in anticipation of better accomodation but ended up with this. Nevertheless, its still in the lap of nature.
An interesting and adventure full day comes to an end. But more was ahead for us and we were all set.
Finally the day arrived when we started for our legendary and most awaited trip - Manali to Leh. We decided to cover this 470KMs distance in 3 days making night halts at Sarchu and Pang. But fate had something different planned for us.
preparing to start
Abhilash
We started on our bikes at 9 AM in the morning. After fuelling the bikes and filling the 5 litre tanks (2 per bike) we headed for Rohtang Pass, our first pitstop-to-be. We decided to have lunch at Marhi (35kms from Manali), a small settlement before the Rohtang Pass.
Ready to roll
But as soon as we reached Solang valley, the road ahead was closed due to a landslide that just occurred few hours ago. When we reached there, they were on the final stages of clearing. Luckily it didn't take quite long and the road was opened in 30mins.
Landslide near Manali
After the road was opened for commute, we headed to Rohtang, It had been 11AM and we were getting hungry now. Between Manali and Rohtang, there are many small villages. We kept crossing them one by one when we were around 15kms away from Manali.
Right when we thought we are on our trail to Rohtang, a second unwanted pitstop happened. A flat tyre. Sabir's RE ran into tyre puncture and it was clear that under no circumstances, we are going to make it to Keylong even.
Puncturrrrrrrrre
We called the guy from whom we rented these bikes and he assued to arrive within half an hour with a spare wheel. Till then it was a long wait. we were getting hungry. Me and Gaurav found out a small settlement, actually a house where a housekeeper was preparing his meal for lunch. We bargained with him for a meal for 6 and he was ready to cook us 'khichdi' for our lunch. I went and called others while the bike was getting repaired.
The guy's hospitality - our khichdi getting prepared
The joy on our faces while our lunch getting cooked.
Meanwhile the punctured wheel got repaired and we started again for Rohtang after the 'khichdi' meal. We crossed Rani Nalla and reached Rohtang in half an hour.
Rani Nalla
crossing Rani Nalla
Lola at Rohtang
Rohtang Pass
Reached Rohtang Pass
Rohtang Pass
The other side of Rohtang Pass
Descending from Rotang Pass towards
By eve, we reached Kokhsar and planned to stay there for the night. Although the plan was to reach Jispa or Keylong, but the flat tyre delayed us and we decided to stay at Kokhsar.
Got a comfortable accomodation and delicious dinner at a homestay for the night. Dinner especially prepared by our hosts on demand.
After a tiring ride of day 1, it was time to relax a bit in Manali with visits to Solang and Manali Mall Road for some shopping. Not much was planned for this day as we also had to take full rest before starting out Leh journey from Manali the next day.
View from hotel window
The day started with drizzles but then the clouds scattered and it kept switching between bright sunshine and cloudy weather.
Mighty Beas river in full valor
It was a clear bright sunny day and we headed towards Solang Valley after a sumptuous breakfast at the hotel. Solang is around 20 odd KMs and we reached there around 10 AM.
Solang Valley
Solang valley is famous for its adventure sports activities such as Paragliding,Zorbing, Kart Racing, Dirt Biking and also its serene landscape. Me and Ashish had already tried paragliding during our previous trip to Manali. Others wanted to try their hands on it so bought a ticket of Rs. 3000 each. There are 2 tickets available, one starts gliding from a shorter height and lesser duration (Rs. 1500 per head), the other one for much higher altitude and longer duration(Rs. 3000 per head).
Point where paragliding starts
You have to go via ropeway to reach the high point of the latter paragliding option. A professional also accompanies you during the glide.
Abhilash : "Let the 'glide' begin!"
We spent 3-4 hrs in Solang and then after they were done with their paragliding, we had lunch in Solang and then came back to Manali Mall Road by evening. We had to shop for some riding gears, especially rubber shoes for the journey to start next day and few other essential items for the trip.
We also got our bikes arranged by evening which we had booked in Manali for 10 days tour. We contacted Hadimba Motors for this and their servicing had been good. These folks prep the bikes especially for hilly terrain. Their entire fleet consists of Royal Enfields and you can get your desired one starting from 1000/- per day per bike to 2000/- per day per bike.
Royal Enfield 350cc getting ready at Hadimba Motors.
You can rely on them undoubtedly.
These people know what terrain lies ahead so they prep the bikes perfectly for the trip and also gave advices regarding how to handle them under unforeseen circumstances.
I started filtering out places where I can go out for a day or two to just enjoy the scenic beauty and lower my craving for a bike trip since long. I wanted to go a place where there were less crowd as it was a scorching heat in NCR and everyone seem to elope to a hillstation.
Out of the list, Mukteshwar was finalized as I hadn't been there ever and the distance also seemed fair for a bike ride. We were four of us Ashish, Anurag, Sumit and myself, who started on two bikes, my Bajaj Pulsar 200 NS and Ashish's Royal Enfield 350 Classic.
Late night riding to Hapur
We started our trip late night from Noida home around 12:30 AM. The plan was to reach Kathgodam by morning ( a distance of ~270kms) so that we can start ascending further in the morning hours.
Noida to Rampur was a simple stretch with well laid roads via NH 24 - NH 9 - Moradabad Bareilly Expressway. Only few drizzles along the way which made the ride more pleasant.
Some lightning and scattered thunderstorms
At Rampur, 5:00 AM
Fields near Rampur
After Rampur, around 5 AM in the morning, the road conditions changed drastically with 1-2 feet long potholes and broken down road. The 35 KM stretch of Rampur to Rudrapur was so bad, it took us 1.5hr to cross it.
After crossing Rudrapur, there is a left turn which turns towards the Haldwani road and the road is suddenly engulfed in a forest with trees overshadowing the entire road. That was one wonderful experience as the road was full of flora all way along.
Rudrapur to Haldwani
Can't miss to click this!
We reached Kathgodam at 6AM. The first sight of the Kumaon hills add more to the excitement within. Mukteshwar was 65KMs from here now.
We started our ascend in order to reach our destination by 10. From Ranibagh (2kms) the road towards right takes you to Mukteshwar. The straight road would take you to Nainital. We crossed Bhimtal, then took a right U-turn from Kutani towards Bhatelia-Dhanachuli road. After Kutani the clouds surrounded the hilly roads and it started drizzling along the way.
Near Kutani
We took a small halt under a shade near Dhanachuli as it started raining heavily and it was difficult to ride. Some pics that we took here are below:
Captivating view!
After Dhanchuli, you have to turn towards left for Bhatelia. We reached Mukteshwar at around 9:30 AM. After checking-in to the Homestay, we went for a stroll in the town and returned after having lunch.
Our Homestay at Mukteshwar
Beautiful Flora at homestay
The dining area
Mukteshwar, being a very small town in the district of Nainital, is loved by tourists who are looking for crowd-free and small escape hill station. Mukteshwar is famous for a temple named after Shiv (Mukti-Eeshwar). There is "Choli ki Jaali" which is famous for its mountain rocks and cliffs overlooking the valley. After visiting these we came back to have a nap.
At "Choli ki Jaali"
At "Choli ki Jaali"
At evening when we woke up, the warm sunset right outside the window welcomed us. It was so soothing and relieving to see such a warm sight after so long. I was really craving for such moments. Sipping evening tea with a sunset view atop a hill.
Beautiful sunset view from homestay
Had dinner outside at a cafe on the outskirts. We tried "Bhatt ki Churdkani", a local Kumaoni dish made from black beans. It was good.
Bhatt ki Churkani, a Kumaoni delicacy
Had bonfire at night
At night we had a bonfire and just sat back and relaxed our souls in the warmth of the bonfire and listening to the clear audible sounds of the nature, winds rustling through the trees and any honk of a vehicle from the valley. It was so quiet and serene that you could listen to people talking to each other at a distance. Exactly what I was looking for - Peace.
how can Maggi be missed here!
We sat near the bonfire till 1 AM in the night and then went to get some sleep.
In the morning, we got up to have our breakfast and it was the day to head back to Noida after pitstopping at known landmarks on the way. We went for a short trek to Mukteshwar temple and then had to start our day.
Morning breakfast - "Aloo ke Gutkhe" with tea.
On way to Mukteshwar Temple
Mukteshwar Temple
Started at 11:30 AM after enquiring about places to visit on the route, we took the road via Bhowali. It was such a pleasant drive through in the Bhowali ranges. Some pictures from the drive:
Leaving Mukteshwar
Bhowali Hills
We reached Bhimtal at 1PM but it was too crowdy and cars jammed the roads. We didn't stay there for long and moved forward to Naukuchiatal. It was much better staying at homestay at Mukteshwar than visiting these places as they were really crowded.
view of Bhimtal from a distance
Didn't stay for quite long at Naukuchiatal too. We started our return journey to Kathgodam and reached the same at 4:30PM. After having lunch at the outskirts of Haldwani, we headed back to Noida. Reached Noida home at 9:30 PM.
It was really a much needed break for me and Mukteshwar proved to be a perfect spot to enjoy the calmness and beauty of Mother Nature.
