Himachal Pradesh kept us enchanted for eight days
Posted : July 25, 2007 at 6:16 am [IST]
It was an outing planned and executed in hurry. And I tested my Alto for this mountainous trip. Alto proved to be a little less roomy for 4 persons and their essential baggage. But it was wonderfully reliable and smooth.
We spent the first night in Chandigarh, the creation of the French architect, Le Co busier. Chandigarh that was as hot as Noida was. My main interest was to see Tekchand Sharma’s rock garden. We could make it in hurry but it was already evening when we reached there. The photographer in me remained dissatisfied. The garden is a unique example of an individual’s endeavour to create something that makes a city worth visiting. The market and the mall of sector 17 were also impressive because of the crowd of young men and women enjoying in the big area without any vehicles. However, we couldn’t walk through the rose garden or enjoy the fountain of Sukhna Lake.
En route to Simla, we visited the Yadvindra Garden at Pinjore that has become a good picnic spot fro the people of Chandigarh on a weekend. Originally, it was a garden of Mughal era that was reconstructed by the Maharaja of Patiala. We stayed in ‘Heemkunth Resort’ at Garkhal near Kasauli on Tuesday night. Kasauli was cool enough and picturesque. We spent our next night of Wednesday at on-the-road HPTDC hotel ‘Apple Cart Inn’ at Kiarighat few kms before Simla. Next day we went to Simla, the hill station that served as summer capital during British raj. It is crowded, but its long mall, and ridge provide a great glimpse of this popular hill station that is today the capital of Himachal Pradesh. Unfortunately, Yamuna couldn’t get her Himachali attire that she had a plan to buy in any shop. We moved out of Simla well in time to reach our night stay at ‘Hotel Bhagal’ in Darlaghat.
‘Mandav Hotel’ at a small hilltop in Mandi was our next night stop before moving to Manali where we stayed for two nights at ‘Hotel Beas’. From Mandi, the drive in the valley was all along river Beas, one of the five rivers that gave Punjab its name. Hotel Beas is right on the bank of River Beas, and from the balcony of the room one can see and hear the roar of water gushing down with speed. Manali is simply beautiful.
Surprisingly, Manali, as per a publication of Himachal Tourism, is a place where ‘Manu’, the ancestor of mankind struck land after battling a deluge for forty days and nights. The great mythological flood had wiped out all humanity and it was from Manali that the great march of all recorded history started again.
And yesterday night we returned safe after eight nights out of Noida.
- Indra
Category: Personal |
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