One of my resolutions when I returned to India was to travel all over the country. It is more than 10 years now since we returned and we have hardly averaged a trip every year. Noteworthy trips to places of culture and history include Hampi, Ajanta & Ellora, Mahabalipuram and Tanjore. I wrote about the Hampi trip earlier in this blog. As for places of nature there is a lot to cover. This summer, we decided on Manali. After looking at the exorbitant flight tickets that take us close to Manali (Kullu), we decided to fly to Chandigarh and drive the 300km to Manali.
We had heard about how organized a city Chandigarh is, and it did live up to its reputation. In addition to the grid layout of the streets, what was remarkable was the homogeneity of the architecture. The streets were lined with long red brick buildings, which housed all the shops and retail outlets. While one might argue this is rather boring, it was part and parcel of the infrastructure that included paved walkways and curbed roads, things that are sorely missed in Indian metros. And the food was great, wholesome Punjabi (and Haryanvi?) food at its authentic best.
We made the last minute decision to cancel the self-drive rental and booked an Innova with savaari.com to get to Manali. This ended up being a smart decision, as the drive was a grueling 10 hour bumpathon on middling to terrible roads. There is work happening to widen the road which meant that the roads were in worse condition than usual as we waded through work crews chipping away at the mountain side to create room for the wider road. In the last 60 km however, the Kullu valley's beauty recharged our tired bodies. Our driver knew all the good eateries along the way and we enjoyed real Malai Kofta and rotis doused in white butter.
The Club Mahindra resort (White Meadows) did live up to its premium designation with big rooms that were luxuriously appointed.
This being early in summer, the road to Rohtang pass had not thawed out yet and we were allowed only up to the scenic Solang valley which is another 15 km up the mountain. A pony ride took us up to a point where we could hang out in the rocks and the rollicking snow-melt. The snow itself was elusive, a good 200 ft further up. On the drive back from Solang valley, we stopped at a point, where we could go sit on the rocks by the river. Sitting on a rock and putting your feet into a gushing river in the mountains has got to be one of the defining pleasures on planet earth. Missing out on Rohtang Pass was a disappointment; I guess you will have to travel after May if you want to get up there.
On the way back from Manali, my wife and daughter decided to brave the rains and went river rafting on the Beas and had a rollicking good time.
- Balaji
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