We started our road trip from Delhi at 7pm . Vehicle for most of
our roadtrips is Scorpio, it is rear wheel drive apt for roadtrips in rough and hilly terrains. At late evening hours traffic is relatively less, we swiftly crossed Delhi and reached GT Karnal highway around 9pm. GT Karnal
highway is the popular roadway for several tourist destinations. It is brightly
illuminated with well lit Dhabas
alongside.
Road journey at night has its own charm, there
is subtle transition of lights as the night advances, envisaging the idea of
routine. Lights at homes lit first then those of commercial buildings and
roadside dhabas, as the hours pass by brightly lit flyovers dominate over the
dimming lights of homes and buildings. One can find many good Dhabas along the
highway, we had our dinner at Mannat dhaba, tea breaks, in between can be taken
late at night as well. The eating joints along side highway keep buzzing with
tourists in the late hours of night.
We took our first halt in Zirakpur (Punjab),
we booked our rooms in advance for night stay. It is advisable to book rooms
here as this place is not very popular with tourists, so one can easily get
good accommodation at reasonable rates. We
checked in our hotel (Sun Park) at Zirakpur at 1:30am. Hotel staff was very quick and
efficient, rooms were very clean and well maintained. Next morning we started our journey early for Narkanda. Himachal expressway is well paved and
comfortable to drive, it is one way upto Kasauli . However, some parts of the road are still
under construction, so one has to take care of ‘diversion boards’ while driving.
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| Driving on Narkanda mountains- Real treat |
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| Inky clouds and Apple orchards |
In the month of April , the serpentine road beautifully fringed with purple coloured gulmohar trees in full bloom canvassed
with green fields spreading all over, are feast to the eyes. The purple hue of
gulmohar trees continued with us till Parwanoo. As we drove and started gaining elevation, the
vegetation gets replaced with lush green cover of rhododendrons.
We stopped at Kasauli, for breakfast at a small restaurant.We were served with simmering paranthas
and tea at a restaurant. Refreshed with cool breeze and the tasty food, we
started for Shimla around 12:00pm. Our next stop was Shoghi, we had our lunch. From
Shoghi to Shimla the drive is a real treat to eyes. It is endowed with scenic beauty,
beguiling mountains fresh cool wind blowing all around swaying trees
spreading the aroma of pine trees which synthesise an aura rejuvenating body, soul
and mind.
We drove continuously till Narkanda via Shimla. Narkanda is 62km from
Shimla, it takes approximately 2 hrs from Shimla to Narkanda. Each mountain
defines its own beauty and uniqueness, so are the mountains of Narkanda, breath taking beauty, blanketed with lush green cover of deodar and pines.
Narkanda is at the elevation of 2500 metres above sea level. It is advisable to carry jackets in summers as
the mercury dips down during night considerably.
Mountains of Narkanda gets covered with
flowers of apple in the month of April. Apple trees bloom and become
heavily laden with pinkish white flowers. Narkanda is famous for its apple
orchards. Locals cover apple trees with white nets to protect them from strong
winds and dew. The enchanting panorama of luxuriant green mountains with sun
hiding behind the inky clouds striving to sprinkle its rays is simply
captivating. The intriguing beauty of these mountains shadowed with waterladen inky clouds all over can compel to stop by
and take quick snapshots of the view in between.
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| Sunrays and apple orchards |
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| Apple trees covered with white net to prevent from dew . |
We checked
in our Hotel at Narkanda around 4:30pm. The view from the balcony was
mesmerizing, we could easily spot the snow covered mountain peaks of Kinner
Kailash.
After getting refreshed we went for a walk in
nearby market. Many small eating joints here provide mouth watering food with very
reasonable rates. We had our dinner at hotel though. Sun rise is early at 6am the mountains are lit with golden shimmering snow. We walked to one of the restaurants nearby which became our regular for next tow days of our stay. We satisfied our appetite to the core with mouth
watering hot giant sized paranthas and dollaps of butter on them.
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| The ultimate beauty. |
After
breakfast we booked taxi for Hatu Peak which is 3400m above sea level. The
climb to Hatu peak is very narrow, a trained driver and a small car (preferably
Alto) is prerequisite to mount. The peaceful ambience of this temple gives it a
peculiar unanimity , the absolute paradisiacal union of nature and
spiritualism. One can easily spot thick
sheets emulating the fact that this place receives heavy snowfall in winters.
Narkanda has a peculiar unadulterated mileau. Locals busy doing
their routine work, women dressed in
woolen salwar kameez, koti, their heads wrapped in colourful bandanas, carrying
big baskets on their back for collecting wood, groups of children going to
nearby school , men wear traditional Himachali topi with green strip at the
front, kurtas and woolen koti . Because of less footfall of tourists Narkanda shows
true culture and essence of mountain life of Himachal.
The stay in Narkanda ended next
day, we started back to Delhi. While coming back we visited Golf course ground
at Nal Dehra located near Shimla, around 20kms from Mashobra. We took horse
ride to Golf course. Horse ride gives a closer peep into the pine jungles of
Naal Dehra. On outting an ear attentively, one can listen the sound of wind blowing over tall pime trees which resembles fast flowing water. With the short tryst with jungles of Naal Dehra we
had our lunch and headed back to Delhi. This time we booked our hotel at
Parwanoo for night stay. Next morning we started our drive to Delhi. We reached
Delhi at 12:30pm. The experience of this three day road trip to the mountains
of Narkanda is quite satiating as window for our nerve shaken souls and busy lives
back here in cities.
