It was early August, and I just arrived in Shimla with my 12-year-old daughter. I intended to travel to Manali via the Spiti Valley.
I had brought my daughter on this trip as a birthday gift and a way for father and daughter to bond. It was her first time outside Europe, and she was coping quite well. Actually, it felt like she already had been there. She was a natural traveler like her father. Shimla, the summer capital when the British ruled over India. As soon as we set the foot of the train, the usual hustle, and bustle of Indian towns started. With every single person trying to tell you that their hotel was better than the guy next to him. Various techniques could work as the traveler. I opted for going with guys with the sweetest smile and shouting less. It worked well; he found us a spotless room and a fantastic safe driver to take us on our adventure in the mountains. We got an excellent deal, driver and accommodation for 400 euros for 3weeks traveling.
We would set off early next morning, the weather was perfect. We made our way to the village of Sarahan, where we stayed for the night. Sarahan as Temple dedicated to the goddess Bhimakali with some of the images believed to be from the 1st to 3rd centuries CE. We stayed at the Krishna homestay. From then we crossed the following fantastic villages, Nako, Chango, Tabo and then we took a deviation from our main road into the doors of the pin valley to a hamlet called Mudh, where our episode would happen. We arrived just after lunchtime and stayed at the Tara guest house. After stuffing ourselves in the daily dose of veggie thali, We decided to go for a walk and explore our surroundings.
I saw a couple of places that I could scramble on the rocks, so we headed towards to the foot of a mountain. As we were crossing a tiny wooden bridge that crossed this small stream with barely any water in it, it must have been 3feet across at most. I glance at some glaciers further up the mountain and as a good father I decided to show them to my daughter. We walk up this stream up until a bend that was overshadowing my view. There it was, magnificent view. I explained a bit about it, then we went back down and carried on on our way. It must have been 15 minutes in total. We kept following the track that leads from the bridge, and we headed towards the area where I originally intended to go. We had such a beautiful time. Total zen. A couple of hours later, we go back to our guest house. As we within site from the bridge we crossed earlier, I could see a big crowd gathering, a lot of agitated people. The nearer we got to the bridge, we could see something was wrong. What we saw after blew us away, the bridge was nowhere to be seen, and the old stream was now 12 feet across, with the fiercest water and rocks flowing down. Our driver was looking relieved to see us. The whole hamlet was there, even the guest house owner. They were so happy to see us. How are we going to cross this? We had to wait for another hour or so for the water to calm down a bit, once it was calmer, they got the most robust yak, and together with a very happy teenager, they crossed the stream to reach us. They had a rope across the was going around a loop that was attached to this black and white yak. The teenager stayed on the side of the river holding the line, across to an older man, while sending the yak across first with my daughter, then by me. We finally made it across, just to realize that everyone thought that we had perished in the landslide provoked by the falling glaciers that I had been showing to my daughter earlier. For a split second, I had that flashback moment and thought how lucky we were, and how stupid I had been. I put both my daughter and my life in danger. She looked up at me and hugged me realizing what had just happened. I have to say that I learned a big lesson, I never felt so alive, all my senses were at full power.
I still love exploring and going to secluded places, but now I try and learn as much about the terrain as I can.
Remember, always be safe on your travels but never lose the spirit of exploring.
The rest of the trip to Manali was terrific and problem free. We had a night camping at 4200metres in Chandartal lake and we also we went down one of the most dangerous roads in the world, the Rohtang pass (Leh-Manali highway).
I genuinely recommend this part of the world for the sheer beauty and the kindness of the people of the Himalayas.
I recommend this journey be made from Shimla to Manali instead of the other way around, due to transport link ups. You will find many options in Shimla.
Namaste
I had brought my daughter on this trip as a birthday gift and a way for father and daughter to bond. It was her first time outside Europe, and she was coping quite well. Actually, it felt like she already had been there. She was a natural traveler like her father. Shimla, the summer capital when the British ruled over India. As soon as we set the foot of the train, the usual hustle, and bustle of Indian towns started. With every single person trying to tell you that their hotel was better than the guy next to him. Various techniques could work as the traveler. I opted for going with guys with the sweetest smile and shouting less. It worked well; he found us a spotless room and a fantastic safe driver to take us on our adventure in the mountains. We got an excellent deal, driver and accommodation for 400 euros for 3weeks traveling.
We would set off early next morning, the weather was perfect. We made our way to the village of Sarahan, where we stayed for the night. Sarahan as Temple dedicated to the goddess Bhimakali with some of the images believed to be from the 1st to 3rd centuries CE. We stayed at the Krishna homestay. From then we crossed the following fantastic villages, Nako, Chango, Tabo and then we took a deviation from our main road into the doors of the pin valley to a hamlet called Mudh, where our episode would happen. We arrived just after lunchtime and stayed at the Tara guest house. After stuffing ourselves in the daily dose of veggie thali, We decided to go for a walk and explore our surroundings.
I saw a couple of places that I could scramble on the rocks, so we headed towards to the foot of a mountain. As we were crossing a tiny wooden bridge that crossed this small stream with barely any water in it, it must have been 3feet across at most. I glance at some glaciers further up the mountain and as a good father I decided to show them to my daughter. We walk up this stream up until a bend that was overshadowing my view. There it was, magnificent view. I explained a bit about it, then we went back down and carried on on our way. It must have been 15 minutes in total. We kept following the track that leads from the bridge, and we headed towards the area where I originally intended to go. We had such a beautiful time. Total zen. A couple of hours later, we go back to our guest house. As we within site from the bridge we crossed earlier, I could see a big crowd gathering, a lot of agitated people. The nearer we got to the bridge, we could see something was wrong. What we saw after blew us away, the bridge was nowhere to be seen, and the old stream was now 12 feet across, with the fiercest water and rocks flowing down. Our driver was looking relieved to see us. The whole hamlet was there, even the guest house owner. They were so happy to see us. How are we going to cross this? We had to wait for another hour or so for the water to calm down a bit, once it was calmer, they got the most robust yak, and together with a very happy teenager, they crossed the stream to reach us. They had a rope across the was going around a loop that was attached to this black and white yak. The teenager stayed on the side of the river holding the line, across to an older man, while sending the yak across first with my daughter, then by me. We finally made it across, just to realize that everyone thought that we had perished in the landslide provoked by the falling glaciers that I had been showing to my daughter earlier. For a split second, I had that flashback moment and thought how lucky we were, and how stupid I had been. I put both my daughter and my life in danger. She looked up at me and hugged me realizing what had just happened. I have to say that I learned a big lesson, I never felt so alive, all my senses were at full power.
I still love exploring and going to secluded places, but now I try and learn as much about the terrain as I can.
Remember, always be safe on your travels but never lose the spirit of exploring.
The rest of the trip to Manali was terrific and problem free. We had a night camping at 4200metres in Chandartal lake and we also we went down one of the most dangerous roads in the world, the Rohtang pass (Leh-Manali highway).
I genuinely recommend this part of the world for the sheer beauty and the kindness of the people of the Himalayas.
I recommend this journey be made from Shimla to Manali instead of the other way around, due to transport link ups. You will find many options in Shimla.
Namaste
